Three Montclair Restaurants Among Best In State

Montclair has always been known as a great town for foodies. And recognition of the town's restaurants is not unusual.

This week, New Jersey Monthly released its annual list of the state's 25 best restaurants and three Montclair eateries made the cut:  , and . That number tops those achieved by Bloomfield, Maplewood, and even Hoboken.

When it comes to Blu, the magazine said: "Blu is chef/owner Zod Arifai’s gastronomic laboratory. To the onetime rock ’n’ roll bassist, a self-taught chef, creativity comes naturally. But what is remarkable about his approach to New American is not so much the number of ideas he has (even on a given day), but his ability to shape them into compelling, well-balanced dishes, expertly cooked."

The magazine praised CulinAriane for its signature cornmeal-crusted oysters with horseradish cream and dry-aged, on-the-bone ribeye with creamed spinach.

And Fascino's kitchen was cited for making 10 different shapes of pasta. "So, long live the ricotta gnocchi with sweet-sausage Bolognese; the porcini-dusted sea scallops with faro risotto and spicy red-pepper foam; and of course the for-the-table must, mascarpone-polenta fries with Gorgonzola fonduta."

To see the complete list of restaurants, go here. 

So what do you think? Are Blu, CulinAriane and Fascino the best restaurants in Montclair? Let us know in the comments section below.