Hat City Wins Critics' Choice Award

Hat City Kitchen has quickly become a go-to bar, restaurant, and music venue for many South Orange residents. No wonder: it won Critics' Picks in the New Restaurant category in New Jersey Monthly's 27th annual Readers' Choice Restaurant Poll.

Patch has visited Hat City many times. The first, last January, was before the restaurant opened, when the paint wasn't yet dry on the walls and the menu still a work in progress. We look back now at where the restaurant was then:

When the businesses closed in the late 1920s and took with them Orange's designation as hat-maker to the world, the factories remained. Between Orange's Highland Station and South Orange's Mountain Station, narrow streets are lined with homes, businesses that once served the hatters, and, now, a restaurant that is a collaboration of Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc. (HANDS) and Valley Arts. Hat City Kitchen is open, serving food, drinks and a steady diet of art and music.

At the corner of Valley and Forest streets, in the shadow of Our Lady of the Valley Church, Hat City Kitchen is an old building with a new vibe. Previously Ricci's in the Valley, the 1890s building has long served as a restaurant. Hat City Kitchen was able to take advantage of location and basic structure, while adding a fresh look to the place.

Chef Patrick Pierre-Jerome has put comfort food on the front burner, with a menu rich in Southern and New Orleans influences, a combination he calls "Creosoul." The menu grows daily, as new entrees are debuted; Wednesday's specialty was Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Also popular in these early days are the Honey Roasted Pear Salad and Classic Jambalaya. The most expensive menu item, Braised Short Ribs, is $19, and side dishes are served family style for a casual vibe. 

The restaurant is a project of HANDS, Inc., a nonprofit agency that has pioneered planning and redevelopment in the Valley neighborhood. The agency targeted 100 art spaces as part of the Valley Arts project, including the site of Hat City Kitchen. The restaurant is owned by HANDS, and its profits return to the community in support of the Valley Arts District.

Orange banners mark sites in the Valley Arts District, and the color orange is found inside the restaurant as well. The bar area has an original tin ceiling and wall, decorated with purple fleur-de-lis. The dining area is rich in color and texture; art works made from sawdust line the walls. At the same time, the restaurant shows its roots in a factory town; pipes and functional lighting contrast with the color. 

Hat City Kitchen is across from a Catholic War Veterans memorial, and its neighbor is a plumbing supply firm. True to Orange's history as a small city where culture and commerce meet in the street. Hat City Kitchen is a happy collaboration of art, urban planning, food and music, playing for the neighbors late into the night.