Before your visit Sugar and Plumm Purveyors Of Yumm at Bergen Town Center , you may envision yummy treats like sweets—and, you’d be only a third correct.
“We’re all three concepts together,” claims Steven Ferdinand, Executive Chef of the two-month-old eatery. “People come in for the retail, and then they see we have a restaurant and sweets counter.”
What Sugar and Plumm has is a 5,000 square feet of fun that will remind you of Willy Wonka and his Chocolate factory, plus the cuisine of chef Ferdinand, and the service of hostesses and servers.
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Lamia Jacobs, a former oil trader in France and owner of Sugar and Plumm, said she created the restaurant in part for her family.
“I stopped working for a while and said, ‘Now I’m going to do my dream,'" she said.
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When she moved here from Paris, Jacobs had four girls, and it struck her that there was no eatery for her and her children to go together.
“Sometimes you go to a place and it’s a beautiful design and the food is OK," she said. "I wanted a spot that was nice and clean, with good food that is not expensive, and fun. A place where parents could come and eat and kids could have fun.”
Ferdinad, a 2001 graduate of the French Culinary Institute who was Executive Chef at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and has toiled in other renowned kitchens, prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner from sustainable, fresh ingredients for not only mall shoppers, but also nearby residents looking for a different place to eat.
Maria and Jose Carlos live in neighboring River Edge.
“This is a nice place to be,” Jose said while sipping coffee after enjoying a crepe. “It’s like being a kid again.”
Above his head, white, fluffy clouds decorated the ceiling, and leather seating in purple ran along the wall. His wife had a cobb salad with smoked chicken.
“I didn’t know what to eat, so he brought me here," she said. "I wanted something light for dinner. It’s like you’re in a different place.”
“Like you got stuck in Willy Wonka’s factory,” Jose said.
The top seller here is crispy free-range chicken and waffles, which both kids and adults eat. But a host of other eye-catchers dot the two-page menu.
For breakfast are a variety of egg dishes, and an offering of ricotta pancakes. Crepe and waffle dishes follow, and then sandwiches, including the American “Kobe” Beef Tri-Tip, and the highly recommended “Foot-Long” angus beef hot dog.
As for entrees, there is a fish special every day, along with chicken, steak and more, and classic soups and salads.
“The chicken and waffles are a hip dish," Ferdinand said. "It is retro, plus my team does it well. The added touch is the smoked house hot sauce. You get it all, a sweet, salty, smoky explosion in your mouth. The savory waffle program. The pulled pork waffle is another great one; it has maple BBQ with a pickled onion cole slaw.”
And then there’s the sweets. Don’t pass on either the Pistachio Vanilla Dream or Over the Yumm ice cream sundaes. The former has one scoop each of pistachio and vanilla ice cream topped with a pistachio crumble, fresh ground pistachios, and vanilla whipped cream with a meringue baton. The latter? Homemade brownie topped with scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream covered with chocolate fudge sauce and vanilla whipped cream, with a host of meringue batons included.
After your meal, visit the retail section at the Sugar and Plumm for a gift or candy.
“Our best products are our chocolates, macaroons and cakes,” said Lisette Mena, General Manager of Sugar and Plumm, who in 2012 will open an Upper West Side of Manhattan location.
“I hire the best chefs,” said owner Jacobs, who notes that her chocolatier and Corporate Executive Pastry Chef, Franck Labasse, is also from France.
“I think Manhattan will get the same package and experience,” said Ferdinand, who will work out of the new location while his Executive Sous Chef, Ben Dodaro, runs the Paramus eatery. “You have to have a respect for the business. It takes organization, discipline and passion. I feel S&P brings the complete package for a family a wonderful whimsical experience, a great spot for the kids while the parents can have a wonderful sustainable meal. I live 10 blocks away (from the Manhattan location), and I know that parents are looking for great food at a cool whimsical fun place for the kids.”
Sugar and Plumm Purveyors Of Yumm, 620 Bergen Town Center, Paramus, 201-880-8156, www.sugarandplumm.com
