The Best of NJ (Monthly) That's Located In Montclair

Montclair is more than a place to live and work. It's home to restaurants, stores, a music venue, and a museum that are known and recognized statewide. New Jersey Monthly’s “Best of New Jersey 2011,” hot off the presses, represents voters from around the state who told the magazine what’s best from around the Garden State and why. 

When it came to food, Toast snagged a runner-up spot for its pancakes, as did Applegate Farm for its ice cream, and Beyond Pita for its falafel. It may not be in Montclair, but nearby Holsten's won a first prize for having the best milk shakes.

In the shopping category, the Montclair Book Center scored a runner-up place for being one of the state's best independent book stores. Williams-Sonoma was one of the runners-up in kitchenware and Milk Money, which has various locations, was at the top of the heap when it came to vintage/consignment shops.

Mia Yoga was a runner-up in the yoga category but Montclair surprisingly had no winners in the hair salon or spa categories.

The Wellmont was a runner-up in the live music category and the Montclair Art Museum was a runner-up in the museum category.

When it came to local blogs, Stephen L. Baker of Montclair and his thenumerati.net scored well. Started in 2005, the blog is for the tech savvy. He posts daily and has somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 readers a day.

Congratulate your local merchants on another year of fine food, superb shopping, close to home. Then tell your friends to come shop and dine in Montclair.

Cheers and congratulations to the winners! For the complete list, click here.