White Birch Restaurant, situated in Flanders, New Jersey, offers one of the best dining experiences in the Garden State in a handsome space staffed with a friendly, welcoming team.

About the Space

The spacious open dining room is modern, airy and comfortable. The far wall is papered in white birch wallpaper creating a calming, peaceful feel to the space.

The color palette is whites and creams with some rustic wood accents. The same carries over to the table setting which features crisp white tablecloths, white ceramic dinnerware with some serving pieces in darker wood. The contrast is stunning and a perfect conduit for the beautifully-presented food.

About Chef Sam Freund

Chef Sam Freund grew up in a small farming town in New Jersey where his family had a restaurant. It’s there that he learned about local sourcing and working with area purveyors. Spending summers in the kitchen learning about hospitality inspired Freund to pursue a culinary career.

Chef Freund holds a culinary degree from the New York Art Institute and has a wealth of experience, which started in New York City at One Hudson Catering and Eleven Madison Park under Chef Kerry Hefferman, then as Executive Chef at One If By Land, Two If By Sea.

From the Big Apple, Chef Freund spent time in top kitchens in Denver prior to returning to New Jersey in 2013 where he created a seasonal tapas place, The Café & Wine Bar in Long Valley, and then opened Slamwich Scratch Kitchen in Madison, NJ, a deli concept where everything is homemade.

About the Food

The food at White Birch is both beautifully-presented and simply delicious. While some do ‘pretty food’ well and others serve tasty food that’s not necessarily Instagram-worthy, Chef Freund excels at both plating in a creative way and serving delectable food.

White Birch works with some of the finest local purveyors including Ashley’s Turkey Farm, Donaldson Farms, Greater Greens, Ort Farms and Valley Shepherd Creamery. The menu, as should be the case in a restaurant with this level of focus on seasonality, changes frequently to reflect the freshest available ingredients.

When we visited, our favorite starters were the Ricotta Agnolotti, delicate stuffed pasta with pancetta, lemon and spring beans, the Octopus, which was flavorful and tender and served with olive tapenade, spiced chickpea and blood orange and lastly the Onion Tart served with carrot, frisée and Gruyere cheese.

Outstanding entrées were the Chicken Duo with black garlic, lollipop kale, spring onion and a rich chicken jus and the Black Bass paired with leeks, carrot in a bold lemongrass broth.

We couldn’t pass up the special dessert of the evening, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie which featured a flaky, buttery crust and a lovely sweet/tart filling.

I look forward to visiting White Birch for lunch and brunch. It’s a truly special place.

White Birch – 380 US-206, Flanders, NJ 07836. https://whitebirchrestaurant.com

Cheers,

Veronique