exerda

Ask and ye shall receive.

I visited Friday, 9/23, around lunchtime (my res was originally for 10:30am, but with various delays on my inbound, I moved it back). Per the instructions in the reservation email, I went to the hostess at the restaurant which it's "hidden" within, and it must have been a light-booking morning, as she said, "Ah, Mr. Exerda, yes, I have your reservation," before I even got 2 words out.

We walked back through the restaurant and the "hidden" door, down a hall, and she pointed out the restrooms, then seated me toward the back of the restaurant. From where I was, I only saw one other diner present, a couple of tables away.

Ordering is via QR as others have mentioned, though they do hand out a paper menu for reference upon request. I wish they put a QR code on the paper menu; the one at the table was either reflecting too much or something, and it took several tries to get my phone to recognize it. I think in fine print on below the QR code the URL is there, too, so you could just enter it into your web browser--but don't take that as gospel. The food was pretty pricey at first glance, but honestly, not much more (and maybe even a bit cheaper) than that offered by the various terminal restaurants. Appetizers averaged around $20 and mains around $38. IIRC, the beer I ordered was $13, again par for the course inside EWR IMHO (where I regularly pay $12 for a decent beer).

First out was this "compliments of the chef" mussel. No complaints; it was briney, with a hint of the sea.



I went with two appetizers as I just couldn't bring myself to eat a main knowing I had late lunch/early dinner plans already made for my arrival after my connecting flight. Above is the current iteration of the crab cake--quite tasty, but very different than the breaded and fritter-style one posted upthread.



If I'd gone with a main, I would have opted for the burger I think, so instead, I got the Snake River Wagyu beef sliders. The beef itself didn't disappoint, with a lightly-crispy outside and a smooth, unctuous mouth feel. My only objection is that though the bacon-onion jam topping the sliders was itself delicious, the flavor and textures were really strong and thus took away from the wagyu. The jam shouldn't dominate the slider, but it did. The pickles on top could have been brinier, honestly; they were a bit dry.

Overall, I enjoyed the meal, and I'd go back next time and try some other items on the menu.