Restaurant review: Novo in Ridgewood
January 30, 2015 Last updated: Friday, January 30, 2015, 5:45 PM
By Elisa Ung
The Record
With its gentle lighting and soothing tones of blue and cream, the modern dining room of Ridgewood’s Novo lulled me into a false sense of calm. Then the food began arriving, and I spent the rest of the evening on the edge of my seat.
Piles of tiny handmade couscous, the lightest I have ever had, cushioned impeccable sautéed mussels, shrimp, squid and fish, putting other seafood pasta dishes to shame ($32). Slices of rich house-made lamb bacon gave heft to a flatbread appetizer ($14) and character to steak-like Colorado lamb chops layered over a musky date-eggplant purée ($38). And the only dish I ate that didn’t look like it belonged on a magazine cover — a powdered-sugar-dusted duck confit pie called duck bisteeya — made up for its plain appearance with an exhilarating sweet-spicy-tangy flavor ($33).
