Airport diner/Family Restaurant - Lunch

Burger (1/2 lb.) with swiss ($4.40) The burger came with a small cup of cole slaw, pickle and a pile of chips. The burger was not a purchased pattie and was very moist. I asked for it to be medium rare and it was. As an option I got it on an English muffin (sandwich size) for 65 more cents. I also opted for tomato slices for 50 cents. I could have purchased the platter which came with fries, lettuce and tomato, but I did not want the fries. This place, right at the Sussex airport is food like you would cook at home. Nice food and reasonably prices. Just be aware it is a luncheonette - only breakfast and lunch.

Airport diner/Family Restaurant - Breakfast

Two poached eggs on corned beef hash ($6.50) This was served with hash browned potatoes, toast, and coffee. Eggs (especially poached) are a good way to test a place and these were cooked perfectly. This place is right at the airport on 565 (about a 15 minute drive from Newton.) It has a great deal of local color -- you can sit at the counter and joke around with the local people and waitress. It is a luncheonette (serving only breakfast and lunch) so don't show up for dinner. I am told that they have incredible hamburgers (their menu says the best in Sussex County.) If you want a friendly place like what diners and luncheonettes used to be years ago, give this place a shot. I will head up there soon for one of their hamburgers.

Taco of the Town (dinner)

Chile Relleno ($13.50) The meal started with chips and salsa with chunks of onions and noticeable celantro. The chile relleno was by far the best I have had around here. It was made with a large pepper, breaded and fried and stuffed with plenty of cheese. It was served with refried beans, mexican rice and a nice slaw (warm in a good way.) My iced tea was served with lime. For dessert I had flan.. which was mediocre. The flan was piled with whipped cream. If the flan was good with a nice caramel sauce it wouldn't have needed the cream. The decor at Taco of the Town is Mexican. Parking is adequate on the street (in the town of Sussex.) Besides the mediocre flan, the other thing that bothered me was chipping paint on the ceiling in the dining room. I know it is an old building.. but could it end up in your food? I have not been here in a long time and I guess my first visit several years ago... the menu confused me. Now, after being at several Mexican places around here and judging by this one meal, it is the best in Sussex County. It is worth the trip to Sussex from Newton.

Atlantic Manor (Ogdensburg) dinner

Paella Valencia ($23.00) Atlantic Manor is a new place in an former restaurant on 83 Main Street (517) right in the center of Ogdensburg (almost across from the school.) There is adequate parking. It is a Portuguese/Brazilian restaurant with seafood and grilled meat (steakhouse.) At the table was bread and assorted olives. I ordered a half pitcher of red sangria. (They have a licquor license and a bar.) My (smaller) paella valencia had a half lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams chicken and sausage and of course rice. It was a lot to eat .. two people could eat the small.. even though there is also a large one for two people at $42.00. With the meal came a wonderful white bean soup (soup of the night.) A salad or appetizer would have been extra, but I had plenty with just the soup an paella. It is not a inexpensive meal, but if you want to have a real dinning experience, it is well worth it. The also have an outside deck if you wish to eat outside. They have something called a Rodiza ($27.00)which is a bunch of Brazilian rotisseried meats ending with an pinapple on the rotisserie. I am so glad to have a different cuisine in Sussex country. Give it a try. It is well worth it. [Phone: (973) 823-6378]

Riviero Mayo - Dinner

Camarones Verdes - $15.95
The meal starts with chips and salsa with a nice bite (it may be too hot for some people... buy why then go to a Mexican restaurant.) I ordered black bean soup ($4.00) for an appetizer. It was the thick kind with a lot of black beans (I prefer a more brothy one.) There were diced raw onions on top with a swirl of yogurt. It was served in a wide, yet shallow bowl so it is not as large as you think when it first arrives. The Carmarones Verdes was shrimp with in a green sauce. There only 5 medium sized shrimp! It was served along with Mexican rice an beans. The sauce was excellent with a lot of celantro and thinly sliced onions. The mean was fine. They even have some padded chairs mixed in with the other wicker type ones which I have always found uncomfortable. There is adequate parking. There service was TERRIBLE. I left less than a 15% tip which I rarely do. I had to wait and wait for the bill. If you are looking for a Mexician Restaurant, give Riviero Mayo a chance it is north of Branchville on 206 in what used to be Mamaroni's. They have a liquor license and bar if that is important to you.

O'Reilly Pub and Grill - Dinner

Scallops on Risotto $19.95
Five scallops were served on smooth risotto with some snow pea pods. While this entree was expensive, the scallops were cooked just perfectly! The outside was brown and crispy and the inside was translucent. O'Reilly's does now include a salad with its entrees, as stated in the menu but sometimes you have to ask for it.. the waitresses, may not be aware. Service is not speedy at O'Reilly's but a lot of that I imagine has to do with the fact they are cooking all their frood, fresh from the start. I frankly think it is worth the few minutes more wait. I really enjoy the homey pub feeling at this location on lower Spring Street in Newton. Their parking lot is small if you arrive for dinner, there is parking around, on the street.

Cheddar Alley - Lunch

Cheddar Alley is specialty shop on 155 Spring Street in Newton (what used to be the Book Shelf.) I chose a sandwich - Spicy Cowboy on chibata (sp?) bread (several choices of bread) - $8.95. It was roast beef, jalapeno cheese, designer lettuce, tomato, may. The sandwich was grilled and pressed. It was served in a basket with a pickle and a bag of vegetable chips. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheddar Alley has many kinds specialty foods to purchase... chips, bread, mustard, cheese, honey, jelly, etc. ALSO... and a BIG also. They serve Cliff's ice cream. The only downside to this place is that parking sometimes can be a problem on Spring Street but there is a large municipal lot off Trinity Street, right behind the Cheddar Alley.

Dominick's (new location) dinner

Garlic Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes $14.00
For starters, I ordered a bowl of their "spicy seafood soup ($5.00.) It had a variety of seafood (including some mussels in a their shells in a tomato based broth.. I would not call it spicy though. The entree came with a salad.. lettuce, olive, pepperoncini. A roll and two slices of their excellent pizza were served also. While very good, the roasted chicken was not what I expected. I was two large chicken breasts covered with a creamy garlic sauce with roasted red peppers. There was also spinach on the plate. I ordered this as what I thought would be a healthy choice.. it was not.. but very good. The whole mean with iced tea came to a few cents over $20.00. I did not need the soup... especially since a nice salad comes with the meal.
The new Dominick's is across the street from their old location on East Clinton Street in Newton, in the new shopping center. The old Dominick's has always had the reputation as one of the best pizza places in town. Now it has a roomy dining room decorated tastefully Mediterranean. When you walk in you pass the pizza for pick-up. There is plenty of parking. It is newly opened, so the wait-staff is still in training.

Kathy's Restaurant - change

I understand that Kathy's place in Freedon out on Route 94 is no longer serving dinner. It is only open for breakfast and lunch. That is a shame. It was a nice option for good home-cooked food like mom used to make.

UPDATE - Kathy's is now once again open for dinner. If you haven't given it a shot, go out Route 94 towards Freedon. It is on your right. Great ice cream right next door.

House of Kebabs

The House of Kebabs which was just north of Newton on 206, diagonally across from The County Seat is now closed. While it had an unusual menu, I think the main reason it is closed is that the parking was terrible at the location. It is a shame a see a place out of the usual Sussex County fare, close up.

Dee' Place - Dinner

Roast Pork - $10.95
Dee's place is now open for dinner on Thursday and Friday. You can get anything from the regular breakfast/lunch menu or one of the evening specials. The night I went they had Roast Pork or Meat loaf. I chose the roast pork. The meals some with soup or salad. The dinner plate had wonderfully cooked roast pork, roasted potatoes and canned green beans. A dessert was also included. I had a chocolate mint chocolate pie which was nice. While I am not a fan of canned vegetables, there are some realities for a small place and the either could have canned or frozen benas. I wish they had chosen frozen. Dee's place is in the Center of Branchville and there is adequate parking on the streets around it and a small lot in front. The place is an old fashioned luncheonette... you can almost imagine Opie rushing in calling "Dad.. Dad.."

Hampton Diner - Dinner

Yankee Pot Roast w/potato pancake ($14.95)
This was kind of a disappointment. The pot roast meat was cooked enough to be tender like a pot road but it had not been browned. It was a tomato based gravy instead of a rich brown gravy which I am used to with pot roast. The side potato pancake was thick and greasy like it had not been cooked with the proper heat. The meal also came with red cabbage and the usual soup and salad. There are much better choices at the Hampton Diner.
The Hampton diner is north of Newton just before Lowe's on 206. There is a large parking lot.