"Pairings palate+plate" - A Good Try

I recently got hooked on livingsocial.com and came across a deal on a new restaurant in Cranford, New Jersey called "Pairings - palate + plate." 


Parings looks like it could be part of the New York scene but its located in suburban New Jersey.


When entering you feel the vibe - mauve and brown/grey walls, cool lighting, wood flooring, large windows, sleek and clean lines.  The chairs were unique with tall backs to make guests comfortable in front of their white clothed tables.  You can tell someone took some time and paid attention to the whole dining experience; from its fashionable drop ceiling tiles to the cone shaped coffee cups. 
The bathroom was clean, sleek and modern, and gets 3.5 flushes out of 5.



I also took notice of their menus, printed on paper bag paper.  When later presented with a dessert menu, there was a thank you message at the bottom - nice touch.  I also noticed that beverages did not include any soda products - only carbonated water and ice tea.  Upon arriving though, a bottle of filtered water was served and placed at out table - another nice touch.


Parings palate + plate takes a food item and pairs them with a complement.  This is fine but I'm the type of guy that like too see my plate filled with food.  In this place, you see more white on a plate rather than food....which got me worried at first.


We were first served two Asian rolls with some soy sauce - mmmm... tasty.  We were also served biscuits with butter, also tasty.  For my "beginnings" I ordered the chicken and salad while Thos ordered crab cakes and salad. While I enjoyed the salad and the balsamic vinegar, the chicken was a bit charred.  Thos' crab cakes were good but his salad was a bit bland.


In between we were served a lemon sorbet.  It was a bit granular and had a interesting taste, but did it clean my pallet?  Not so sure.


Our entrees included sea bass and scallops with linguini and saffron; and salmon with macadamia with Brussel sprouts.  The sea bass was a bit fishy (Thos didn''t think so) but the two scallops were delicious.  The linguine was fresh but lacked the saffron taste.  Thos' salmon was very good. He really liked the Brussel sprouts; I thought differently.


Lastly for dessert we shared the giant chocolate cupcake with raspberry filling topped with whipped cream and almond ice cream.  Now, when the dish came, it was very fancy and artistic which made me think "uh oh", but to my surprise it was delicious!  Add my cappuccino and Thos' black coffee and what a nice ending to a good meal.


As far as service - our server, Karen gets an A+.  She was friendly, attentive and willing to engage in conversation, but not too much to be annoying or upsetting the boss.  Her helpers we also attentive and pleasant.  You can see this place put extra attention into service, and it shows.


Would I go back...not so sure...for the price and the product, not so sure, but it's one of those places you have to go to once, to say you went.


Parings palate+plate is located on 1 South Street in Cranford New Jersey and is BYOW (Bring your own wine).

Ratings
Food - 3 out of 5
Service 5 out of 5
The Experience 3.5 out of 5
Bathroom 3.5 flushes out of 5
Money - 3 out of 4 dollars
Value 2 out of 5