Digging for Fire

Thanks to being a Kickstarter contributor to Thirty Acres' launch, I was able to have two chef's choice dinners there recently.

Originally, the dinners were supposed to include drinks but because they weren't able to garner a liquor license, I was told in lieu of drinks, we'd be given more plates. Now, I love booze as much as the next high functioning alcoholic but I cannot imagine a cocktail that would have tasted better than some of the plates I had during my visits to Thirty Acres.

Here's a quick breakdown of what we had:

January: Cucumber Pickles - classic dill, bread & butter, spicy Yellowfin Tuna - grapefruit, pickled shallot, jalapeno oil, cilantro Red Wine Egg - grilled rye, trout row, pickled mustard seeds, mache Pickled Mussels - Brussel sprouts, hazelnuts, meyer lemon, apples Cured Duck - blood orange, beets, ricotta, Sichuan pepper, pistachios Fettuccine - rabbit, guanciale, green olives, raisins, pine nutes, chilis Gnocchi - mushrooms, sauerkraut, sour cream, mustard, ricotta salata Swordfish - fennel, ancho, almond, roasted onions, anchovy Beef Chuck Flap - buttered turnips, radishes, horseradish, shiso

February: Oysters - beet cocktail sauce Yellowfin Tuna - same as above Carrot Salad - buttermilk, trout roe, Tabasco, pumpkinseed brittle Fettuccine - same as January Spelt - pork meatballs, cranberries, chipotle, ancho, sage Trout - smoked broth, rutabaga, celery root, hon shimeji, chili oil Half Chicken - buttermilk, black beans, spicy carrot puree

Between both visits I was lucky enough to taste almost everything on the menu!

January:

I made the mistake of trying to bring my boyfriend who is probably the pickiest eater I've ever dated. When I say he's a meat and potatoes kind of guy, I mean that literally. Anything "from the sea" is off limits as are about 99% of all vegetables on this planet. Basically, the worst person I could bring to a foofy restaurant like Thirty Acres.

The first course to come out consisted of 3 kinds of pickles ($5). Already off to a bad start, I felt terrible letting those pickles go to waste because neither of us enjoy pickles. Or anything pickled. And.. there are a lot of pickled things on the menu. A lot.

After the pickles, I was given the Tuna ($14). I'd never had raw tuna before (usually stick to crab and salmon for sushi) and was not expecting to fall in love with this dish. The soursweet burst from the grapefruit and the spicy kick of the jalepeno oil mixing in each bite was nothing short of amazing. Crispy tendrils of shallots atop the tuna and grapefruit gave another dimension of texture.

The boyfriend was then served the Red Wine Egg ($12) and, oh wait, did I mention he doesn't eat eggs either? Sigh. All I could get out of him was "This piece of toast is okay." The yolk of the egg was deliciously runny and the marroon colored outside did taste like wine, but aside from that, I didn't find it remarkable. The mussels ($10) were chewy and yummy and plentiful for the price.

Next up, Cured Duck ($14). Chewy and salty it paired well with the ricotta. Another dish I couldn't get any feedback on. Hmph.

We were then served the fettuccine ($17) and gnocchi ($14). On my first visit, we both found the olives in the fettuccine overwhelming. The entire dish tasted too salty and everything else got lost. The gnocchi on the other hand was amazing. I referred to it as a deconstructed pirogi and I mean that as a compliment. If I wasn't worried about the rest of the diner's reactions I would have licked that bowl clean.

Finally, the boyfriend was served the beef chuck ($27), finally, you're thinking, meat! some comments, yes?. No. He, and I quote, "enjoyed the parts that weren't touching anything else on the plate. The untainted meat, if you will." I was served the swordfish ($27) which was the biggest portion I've seen of any of the dishes (aside from 1/2 an entire chicken) and delicious.

Also, three Queen songs in a row played while we ate. Not sure why this is worth mentioning but.. it is.

February:

This time, I decided to bring a more adventurous (re:normal) eater. She loves pickles and on our way to Thirty Acres mentioned how she hates oysters. Are you guys ready? No pickles this time and our first plate was two oysters ($6). Even though I'd been warned by my plus one that oysters tasted like "snot" I gave it a shot. I think I can safely say now that I don't like oysters. I'm positive they all taste this way so this shouldn't reflect on thirty acres at all, but it reminded me of getting a mouthful of water from the jersey shore.

Luckily, this was followed up by that fantastic yellowfin tuna again. The only difference I could notice was the pieces of grapefruit seemed larger this time around; I think I prefer smaller pieces so the flavors mix more evenly but this is splitting hairs, really. It was delicious!

Now then. The carrot salad ($12). This was probably my favorite dish of the night. I don't think either of us wanted to share this plate. The buttermilk foam dotted onto of the lengthwise sliced orange and yellow carrots was amazing. Especially when pared with the pumpkin seed brittle. We both agreed we really couldn't taste the tabasco, and I didn't enjoy a mouthful of the roe on it's own, but when taken as a whole this dish was perfect. I really hope this stays on the menu long enough for me to have it again. And again. And again.

The fettuccine this time around was less salty/briny and all round very tasty. The spelt ($16) dish consisted of three juicy pork meat balls atop, what else, a bed of spelt (wheat grain). What really made this dish was the sauce. Chef Kevin Pemoulie really has a grasp on the whole sweet and spicy thing. The mix of cranberries, chipotle, and ancho was drool inducing. It resulted in this sweet, slow, soft burn that we really couldn't get enough of.

The trout ($23) was cooked well but the real star of this dish was the broth. We wound up dipping the chicken breast from the half chicken ($26) dish into it when we ran out of trout. The half chicken was just that, with two pieces of buttery dark meat and (what seems to be a buttermilk poached?) breast that was practically the size of an xbox controller. All of it was juicy and soft. The only complaint I could come up with on this dish was that I would have loved more of the spicy carrot puree that I'm pretty sure included one of my faaaavorite things ever, sriracha.

Unfortunately, we were not given a dessert either time which I was a bit dissapointed with, especially after seeing Coffee pots de creme with spanish paprika on the menu during round two.

All in all as long as you don't have a huge appetite, sharing a few plates does seem worth the price. The staff was incredibly attentive and the chef introduced himself and asked how everything was halfway through my first visit. On my second visit he quickly stopped at our table to say hello again. My plus one on 2/1 was so enamored with some of the dishes, that she went back today for more. (Seriously, you guys. The carrot salad. Go eat it.)

Since they are byob, I suggest picking up something at Jersey Wine & Spirits on the same block. The staff there is also friendly and they have a large selection of wine and beer.

Thirty Acres is located at 500 Jersey Ave in Jersey City. They can be reached at (201) 435 - 3100.