Piquant Bread Bar and Grill - New Brunswick

I passed by Piquant a few weeks ago while in New Brunswick on business. The tight entrance on a somewhat dreary section of George Street only lead me to think it might be a good place for lunch.

This past Sunday, at a Slow Food NNJ lunch event, I learned that Kirti Rahi's Piquant is so much more. Piquant is a fabulous Neo-Indian cuisine restaurant that is filled with surprises.

Slow Food Northern New Jersey is part of the international Slow Food movement, a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization founded by Carlo Petrini in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Piquant is dedicated to this calling and serves delicious, beautiful, sophisticated cuisine using organic and local ingredients whenever possible.

Once inside, the comfortable stylish decor welcomes you to another place.

Kirti served the group a splendid 4 course lunch that she said represented her restaurant well. She offers vegan, vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The full menu is a book of culinary delights.

Our lunch included appetizers of a roasted butternut squash soup with spiced sunflower seeds and cilantro pesto that floated on the soup making the flavors distinct and a tomato pumpkin rasaman with roasted pumpkin seeds which was like a small stew of delicious vegan flavors.

For the second course our table shared the bright avocado mango salad which was very fresh and beautifully presented; the Piquant crab cake with fresh guacamole, chipotle and tamarind dressing which was rated by one member of our party, as the best crab cake ever, and we have tasted many. The crab was nicely accented with cardamom and other spices. Lastly we shared a chicken turnover with truly amazing homemade Meyer lemon chutney. This was so good we ordered another to share.

Our third course offered a choice of grilled polenta with roasted vegetables and seasoned bean puree. "Not a traditional Indian dish" says Kirti, nicely representing her eclectic style. I also tasted a spiced Scottish salmon with basmati rice, green beans, and tomato yogurt sauce, as well as the grilled chicken breast with sauteed baby vegetables and fresh citrus jus.

Each course was served with plenty of time to breath and savor. With the meal we enjoyed a wonderful 1999 Charles Scherlet Gewurztraminer a wine that goes very well with Indian cuisine, a 2003 Vouvray from Domaine Pichot, one of my favorite wines. We also enjoyed a tasting of three Indian wines provided by Dreyfus, Ashby and Company, wine importers, a Zinfandel Rose, a Shyraz and a Chenin Blanc from Sula Vineyards all nice sippers.

When we thought we were completely satiated, ready for a nice afternoon nap, the desserts arrived. Not to be outdone they excelled in unique taste and beauty.