By Beth Carroll
March means one thing to the Morristown Rotary Club:
The Westin Governor Morris Hotel on Monday hosted the 21st edition of this increasingly popular annual fundraiser.
More than 35 local eateries set up booths and served samples to approximately 700 ticket holders at the sold-out event.
Proceeds are earmarked for the Morris Educational Foundation, the Literacy Volunteers of Morris County, the Morristown Rotary Scholarship fund, and local food kitchens.
Kathy and Rich Schneider from Morris Plains are regular attendees, but this time they brought their adult sons. “They’re here somewhere,” said Rich, scanning the crowded room.
While their sons were off foraging, the Schneiders enjoyed sushi from 1776 by David Burke and crab dip from the Black Horse Inn.
Vince Mele of Morristown and his wife, Gayle Shepardson, were first-time Tasters.
“She gave the tickets to me as a birthday present,” said Mele. “It was a great present!”
While he enjoyed the peanut butter tequila from Gary’s Wine & Marketplace, his spouse, a history teacher at Chatham High School, touted the pork tacos from Nom.
More faces in the crowd: Slideshow photos by Beth Carroll and Kevin Coughlin:
Dorma and Ken McFarquhar from Jefferson came with their friend Diane Marks of Rockaway for the fourth time. They enjoy checking out new dining venues.
Their verdict?
“The Address is great, and since we go to MPAC (the Mayo Performing Arts Center) frequently it’s a convenient place for us,” said Dorma.
All three of them topped off their dinners with ice cream from Scoops the Chatham Creamery.
Some local officials made the rounds, too.
Steve Pylpchuk, a Morristown councilman and state assembly candidate, attended with his wife, Siegi.
“I’m excited to try everything,” said Siegli, nibbling food from Sonny’s Indian Cuisine. “My family background is German so anything spicy is new to me!”
The two reminisced about going on their first date to a Morristown restaurant, the late Brick Oven at South and Pine streets.
“Fifteen years ago,” recalled Siegi.
“Sixteen!” corrected her husband.
State Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25th Dist.) praised the rigatoni from Guerriero’s (now at the defunct Brick Oven’s location). But she was irresistibly drawn to the booth manned by Andrea Lekberg and Cathy Gervasio of The Artist Baker.
“Life is short,” Dunn said, brandishing a brownie. “Eat dessert first.”
Other dignitaries included state Sen. Anthony M. Bucco (R-25th Dist.), Morristown Councilwoman Toshiba Foster, Morris Township Committee Vice Chair Jeff Grayzel and former Township Mayor Cathy Wilson.
WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
Karen Ferretti and Brian Bateman of Cedar Knolls were big fans of ice cream from Scoops, particularly the mint chocolate chip.
“Mint ice cream can taste like medicine,” said Ferretti. “But this is delicious.”
At that, Bateman grabbed a mint dessert from Nothing Bundt Cake, which he split with Ferretti.
“We do like mint!” she admitted.
Andrew Medina, chef de cuisine at the newly renovated Dublin Pub, handed out samples of its signature chicken pot pie. What’s a nice Italian boy doing at an Irish restaurant?
“I grew up near here,” he said. “I make sure to serve all the old favorites.”
Twins Edea and Eneida Gjoni and their friend Genesis Vicente, all sophomores at Morristown High and members of the Rotary’s Interact Club, were among the army of student volunteers.
When their task of supplying booths with utensils and napkins was done, they chowed down on mini sundaes.
Steven Nikolovski, who manages Tiffs Grill & Ale House in Morris Plains, came with his wife Catherine.
“We like to come to try the food and meet other restaurateurs,” said Steven. “And we always get people coming to Tiff’s after trying our food at the Taste of Morristown.”
Leslie Raff was there thanks to Cathy Wilson, her friend from yoga class and former mayor of Morris Township, who urged her to attend. Leslie likes to cook, and enjoyed sampling other people’s culinary creations.
“The vegan soup from South & Pine was really good,” she said.
Martin Prentice, who has served as trustee of several area nonprofits, held up a glass of white wine from Gary’s. “They have quite a nice variety,” he said. “This one is called ‘Graves’ – I’m sure I’m mispronouncing the French. But it’s very good!”
Melanie Smith of the Morris Educational Foundation was there as a sponsor. She praised the brownies from The Artist Baker and the meatballs from Millie’s Old World Meatballs & Pizza.
A GRAND GRAND PRIZE
In addition to ticket sales, the Rotary Club raises money through a raffle. Grand prize was dinner for two at 30 participating restaurants. Runner-up prizes of one dinner for two at a single restaurant also were awarded.
This year’s big winner was Bill Burke, who was joined by his girlfriend, Barbara Andrisano. Burke is active in the Knights of Columbus and other local organizations. He bought a lot of raffle tickets and it paid off.
“We’ll be eating well,” he said, holding up a gold box full of gift cards.
But perhaps the happiest person on Monday was Nicole Berezny, Morris County coordinator for Table to Table, a food-rescue organization participating in its first Taste of Morristown.
“We take the food that’s left at the end of the night that would normally be thrown away and we donate it to local organizations,” Berezny said.
Despite the hundreds of eager gourmands grazing at the event, there were enough leftovers to fill 13 trays and boxes of food and desserts for delivery to the Market Street Mission.
Morristown has a long history of people stepping forward in pivotal moments.
When you chip in to Morristown Green, you’re helping your neighbors stay informed, strengthening our civic backbone, and carrying on the spirit that’s defined this town since its earliest days.
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