Friends!

So excited to share that the food scene in New Jersey is alive and well. We recently had our first COVID-19 world outdoor dining experience. One that we’ve been looking forward to for months.

The story begins a few months back. Shortly after moving to New Jersey, we found this restaurant via instagram. It seemed like all the local celebs were dining at the Butcher’s Block. The pictures and videos of the food were mouth watering! The meat looked so good & so fresh, so much so, that we made a reservation for March 2020.

After doing some research, we found that the restaurant is actually connected to an actual butcher shop with a wholesale distribution- its a family business. The best part is that they specialize in local meats from small, family-run farms in New York State and New Jersey. The beef is 100% all natural -this is the way we should be eating meat!

Unfortunately, covid-19 hit and the restrictions on the restaurant business killed our plans to eat at the Block in March. Fortunately, Block Boxes, were made available to order and so we were able to try meat, pork and poultry products. The quality was great & we highly recommend placing an order!

Finally, in June, the state of NJ lifted some restrictions and opened outdoor dining. We finally got a reservation for what ended up being a 2 1/2 hour dining experience.

So, what did we eat?

Appetizers:

There was one thing that I’d (Chiara) been eyeing for months, the steak tartare. Man, I’m still thinking of it, that’s how good it was! We wanted to have bone marrow but only bone marrow pizza was available. We did order the octopus, and it exceeded expectations.

Now on to the MEAT!

We went into this thing, thinking that we’d get one full steak a piece. What I can very much appreciate is that when we went to pick out our steak, the butcher was honest and told us that what we were ordering was way too much (typical). Anyways, we ended up going with a porterhouse steak, that was the highlight of the meal. Easily one of the top meat eating experiences!

The sides!

WOW you guys, we were blown away. You know often times, you go to a restaurant and they do some things super well and others are mehhh. That was not the case here! We ordered Brussel sprouts and Mac & Cheese. The pictures speak for themselves…

Seriously the Brussel sprouts were out of this world! Hubs loved the Mac & Cheese, for me, it was too hot outside to truly enjoy.

AHH lets not forget- its BYOB- someone (cough, cough) legitimately showed up with an Aperol Spritz drink kit! There also is a wine list available.

To end the night, we opted for some espresso. Look at that crema!

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I do want to mention that the drive in was probably the most New Jersey experience I’ve had thus far (prepare to laugh)! We drove through a bit of a “rundown” area to get to the restaurant, as soon as we stepped foot in the patio, it legitimately felt like we were in Italy. Truly though, the decor and the vibe was great! The service was really great too! And let me say, that we felt safe as we ate. They even had masks available for us to enter and use the restrooms. I applaud The Block for making this dining experience pleasurable while maintaining safety during these weird times!

It was such a great experience! I highly encourage making a reservation at this hot restaurant- you will not be disappointed!

Cheers & thanks for reading!

@LaCatanese