New Farm-to-Table Restaurant in Carlstadt Offers a Serene, Down-to-Earth Dining Experience

Terre à Terre, a new farm-to-table restaurant featuring locally grown and sustainably raised foods, offers a unique local experience beyond its menu. Decorated with down-to-earth materials that include terracotta, woven linen and burlap, wood, birch bark and other natural fibers, Terre à Terre owner Chef Todd Villani was inspired by the rustic simplicity of the materials that helped give his restaurant its unique identity and perfectly complement its namesake.

"Once we decided that we wanted our décor to complement The Farm-to-table cuisine that we're serving at Terre à Terre, the rest of the design elements followed suit," said Villani. "In designing the restaurant's interior, we commissioned a talented group of artisans to make many of the hand-crafted furnishings and accessories, using reclaimed and upcycled eco-friendly materials. While we wanted to remain true to our 'roots' we also wanted to mix things up with a fun and inviting ambiance so we also included a number of vintage pieces such as authentic fruit and vegetable crate labels, which depict the originating farms, views of the orchards, or the food itself. They're beautiful representations of our early family farming."

From birch wood menu holders to hand-stenciled burlap curtains and a handmade pallet wood table, Terre à Terre uses unique one-of-a-kind pieces made by artisan craftsman from around the area and throughout the Northeast. "Everywhere people look they will see artisan-made furniture, accessories and lighting. Among my personal favorite is a Mason jar track light made from salvaged wood. Local artisan Jennifer Lengares couldn't have found a better use for the debris left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy than this beautiful fixture," said Villani.

"The bench in our food retail area was made by Recycled Brooklyn, which goes the whole nine yards with everything from benches made of wood planks salvaged from a film studio to tables created from salvaged bowling alley floors to padded benches covered in recycled coffee sacks."

In creating Terre à Terre, translated as down to earth, Chef Villani brings many years of restaurant experience working for some of Manhattan's top restaurants, including Marcus Samuelsson's renowned Aquavit restaurant and at his subsidiary interest, World Yacht, combining simple fresh foods with a creative blend of exotic flavors and ingredients - his signature approach to preparing foods with an international flair.

With almost 45 seats and a private dining area, the Chef's Table, which offers a multi-course gourmand tasting menu, Terre à Terre provides dining from Wednesday through Saturday 5:30 - 10:00 and on Sunday for brunch 11:00 - 2:30 p.m. In addition to private parties, the restaurant also does catering.

Terre à Terre is located at 312 Hackensack Street. For more information, or to learn more about The Farmers and artisans supplying Terre à Terre, visit http://www.terreaterre.biz. The restaurant has begun taking reservations online at http://terreaterre.biz/reservation/ and by phone at 201.507.0500.

To post a comment, you must register and login.