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CLOSTER, NJ – The well-attended Greek Independence Day Celebration in Closter, NJ, took place on March 25, beginning with the Flag Raising Ceremony at Ruckman Park in Closter. The National Anthems were sung by talented opera singer Olga Xanthopoulou who is a Closter resident and vocal teacher at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in Tenafly, NJ.

The celebration also included traditional Greek dances and a reception with appetizers at Locale Ristorante following the program. Closter Mayor John C. Glidden gave the welcoming remarks and presented a proclamation for Greek Independence Day. The celebration was organized by Greek-American Borough of Closter Councilmember Anna Maroules and Locale Ristorante owner Raul Mazon.

Closter resident Mary Karas raised the flag during the ceremony. She is a Bergen County Hellenic Women’s Club Board Member who has served as President and Co-President of the organization for over 25 years.

The Hellenic Women’s Club is a social, cultural and philanthropic organization that plans various events and makes donations to many charities including Ronald McDonald House New York, St. Michael’s Home for the Elderly, St. Basil Academy, a children’s fund in Ukraine, local food pantries, among others.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 25 of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Theologian of Tenafly, NJ, also participated in the event.

Fr. Gregory Gilbert, presiding priest of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in Tenafly, also participated in the event, giving a blessing and sharing his best wishes to all those celebrating.

Teacher Anna Lilikas was the keynote speaker and discussed the history and significance of March 25th.

Tenafly Mayor Mark Zinna also attended the event and shared his greetings and best wishes for Greek Independence Day.

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o matter the weather outside, it’s always laser season at Bare Aesthetic MedSpa in Closter. The medical spa, which specializes in minimally invasive cosmetic procedures and facial aesthetics, has an array of new laser services. In addition, they now offer an annual membership that lets loyal patrons save on treatments.

Vanessa Coppola is an FNP-BC Board Certified Nurse Practitioner, aesthetic specialist, and the owner of Bare Aesthetic MedSpa. Speaking about their latest treatments and services, she says they have a new Fraxel Dual Laser.

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The Fraxel Dual Laser is ideal for skin rejuvenation, skin resurfacing, sunspots, discoloration, fine lines, wrinkles, and acne scars. However, its usage is completely customizable. For instance, lower settings offer a more gentle treatment with little downtime. Likewise, higher settings provide more aggressive treatment for deeper lines and acne scars. “We call it the magic eraser in the industry!” Vanessa says. She also mentions it has an excellent safety record, and is the most studied and researched laser in the world.

Aside from the Fraxel Dual Laser, they offer the Clear + Brilliant and new Clear + Brilliant Touch service. The latter boasts a “no downtime” laser. In particular, the Clear + Brilliant touch combines two wavelengths in one treatment for accelerated results without social downtime. “It’s a game changer!” Vanessa says. What’s even better is both the Fraxel and the Clear + Brilliant are safe for all skin types and tones.

Another new service available at Bare Aesthetic is the VI Peel. “We love it for that red carpet glow,” Vanessa explains. This peel is also safe for all skin types and tones. “We really work hard to ensure that our medical spa is inclusive; and specifically look for devices and services that can be enjoyed by everyone,” she adds. Click here to learn about other available services at Bare Aesthetic MedSpa.

Besides new treatments and services, Bare Aesthetic now offers a rewards program: The BARE Insider membership. “It’s a thank you to our loyal patients” Vanessa says. “We thought long and hard about how we can thank our patients, and this was the culmination of that effort.”

For $129 per year, the BARE Insider membership offers members discounts on all services. Key benefits include 15% off all neurotoxin treatments such as Botox; 20% off Neurotoxin treatments scheduled at the last minute (less than 7 days); and 10% off all other products and services. Members also receive one complimentary $250 Skin Ceuticals facial per year. Bonus perks include birthday rewards and exclusive access to VIP events and promotions.

Meanwhile, the Bare Aesthetic app is coming soon, and will make it easier for patients to book services. They’re also launching a Brand Ambassador program and will soon start looking for local brand ambassadors.

Visit Bare Aesthetic MedSpa at 200 Closter Dock Road, 2nd floor in Closter. (Click here to see them on Google Maps.) To learn more: Click to visit their website | Follow them on Instagram | Click to give them a call.

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All Photos: © Bare Aesthetic

Let’s face it: Dining out with the whole entire fam often turns out to be something of a yin-yang situation. Us grown-ups want to sink our teeth into something, well, grown-up, while our kids’ taste buds typically want, well, anything but that. So when we saw that the motto of just-opened Tao Haus, a fast-casual artisanal Asian joint in Closter, is “we put the yin to the yang,” we rounded up our brood for an “everybody wins!” mealtime moment.

And, oh, how we won—big time. Owner Mr. Chou’s extensive but surprisingly manageable menu is heavy on Hong Kong/Cantonese favorites infused with Japanese, Indian, and Mexican influences, to name just a few, and all those flavors add up to a ton of options sure to please any palette (even gluten-free and organic-only ones). House specialties include a long list of made-to-order noodle entrees (personalized with your choice of protein, sauce and noodle), dumplings, buns, dim sum, chopped salads, kid-friendly Chinese “tacos” and “burritos” (wrappers include moo shu pancakes, roti, scallion pancakes, and lettuce) and—everyone’s favorite—the Superior Steamed Soup Dumplings, made with perfectly flavored pork.

We popped in for a family sit-down last week and it wasn’t long before we all agreed this might be our new gastro go-to. First off, the ordering process—placed at the counter located in front of a large window where the organized chaos of the kitchen is on display for all to see—was just plain fun. Equally fun was the ease of finding a table big enough to seat everyone. The roughly 1,200-square-foot industrial-style space has plenty of clean tabletops, not to mention the comfy multi-couch front lounge area, which also houses a mini café serving up a variety of Asian-style coffees and teas (traditional steep and, coming soon, bubble-style). Even more seating—outdoor, to be exact—is set to debut once spring temps rise to the occasion.

Dessert is also on the menu, with steamed dumplings filled with crowd-pleaser flavors including pumpkin pie, sweet potato, red bean, and classic custard. At long last, hungry-time harmony has been achieved!

Tao Haus

272 Closter Dock Road, Closter

(201) 784-9988

When I first visited the newly opened Brasserie Mémère in late February 2020, I was thrilled by its scrupulously authentic Alsatian food. My meal was as hearty and satisfying as the one I had once enjoyed in New Orleans at chef John Besh’s lauded Franco-German brasserie, Lüke. I couldn’t wait to make my second visit to Mémère, but within days, the pandemic had shut restaurants down.

I recently returned to Mémère to start from scratch. Unchanged was the nostalgic Gallic dining room, with antique prints collected at Parisian flea markets by chef/co-owner Thomas Ciszak and his wife, Evelyn, Mémère’s sommelier and mixologist. On both visits, the restaurant was lively, its bar animated by patrons relishing a sensational weeknight deal: half off wine, beer and cocktails, and just $10 for the kitchen’s well-made savory tarts.

Taking a bar table, I commenced with the enticingly composed tarte Parisienne, laden with Taleggio, pear, arugula, shallot jam, and chunks of the house’s impeccable, silken foie gras. Brasserie Mémère is the latest project of Closter resident Ciszak. Now 51, he grew up in northwestern Germany, “learning all about food and cooking from my Oma [Grandma] Maria, a private chef,” he says. “We’d make big family meals with our garden produce and foods we’d canned. I knew around age 11 I wanted to be a chef and worked in restaurants for the internships we had in high school.”

The budding chef went to culinary school in Germany, then assisted in German Michelin-starred restaurants, including the two-star Résidence, “Europe’s first high-end, fusion-cuisine kitchen,” Ciszak says. “It was a new kind of freedom and very exciting.” He emigrated in 1994 and landed at the Manor in West Orange, and later at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan’s Central Park, and then at Copeland in Morristown. In 2010, he set a trend by transforming Chakra in Paramus into a nightclubby, Moroccan-looking destination with a tempting global menu. Chakra closed in 2019, but Ciszak still oversees Copeland’s reincarnation as Blue Morel.

“Mémère is my passion now,” he says. Mémère is French for “grandma.” The faithfully French menu is his creation. Recipes are a collaboration with his executive chef since opening, Kevin Takafuji, a Hawaii-raised, French Culinary Institute-trained alumnus of Le Bernardin and Daniel in Manhattan and Ciszak’s Blue Morel. Most recently, Takafuji had been top toque at the Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster (a recurring pick on our 30 Best Restaurants list). “Kevin runs the kitchen at Mémère,” Ciszak says.

Takafuji was cooking on my first visit post-reopening. To follow up my dreamy tarte Parisienne, I ordered the velvety butternut squash soup, which I later learned is vegan, made with coconut milk instead of cream. I was eager to dig into Mémère’s choucroute garnie, or “dressed cabbage,” a porkfest set upon sauerkraut. This was the dish that, pre-pandemic, had transported me back to Lüke in New Orleans. Distressingly, this time, it was overcooked and bland. My companion’s pork schnitzel, a flattened, fried pork tenderloin, cried out for more oomph in its breadcrumb batter than furnished by its recipe of flour, egg, salt and pepper. The accompanying red cabbage braised in apples, red wine, vinegar and aromatic spices was more sweet than savory.

For dessert, I sampled cognac ice cream, a custom flavor from Piece of Cake in Rahway. It was pleasant, but not revelatory.

I figured the kitchen was having an off night and returned with high hopes a few weeks later. The meal began promisingly. A bowl of French onion soup flaunted a lid of broiled Gruyère, its puffy shape resembling a chef’s toque. Enriched and intensified with shredded oxtail, this splendid soup was an umami tsunami. Chunky, house-made paté de campagne proved impeccable. My table’s only disappointing appetizer was an American Wagyu steak tartare, underseasoned and overchilled. On a third visit, however, the temperature was just right, the flavors pickly, with a flicker of spicy heat.

Optimist that I am, I ordered the choucroute garnie again, seeking redemption for the Alsatian icon. Not to be. This time, the pork chop was dull and dry, the weisswurst soggier than before, the potatoes and carrots squishy. And the dish had come out tepid. So had my guests’ bœuf bourguignon and duck confit. Once they were reheated, we passed them around. The slow-cooked stew of American Wagyu beef cheeks was overcooked, its components spongy. Its namesake Burgundy wine had been added too late to blend in, creating excessive wine flavor and an alcohol tang. On the third visit, we tried it again, and it was sumptuous and on-target.

As for the duck, the confit method (cooking low and slow in duck fat) should produce crisp skin and tender meat. But the hefty Moulard duck leg was tough, its skin leathery. The underlying, cassoulet-like stew, composed of French white beans, Toulouse garlic sausage, pork shoulder, pancetta, bacon and confit gelée, had cooked into mush. Pervading the stew was an unwelcome sweetness laced with what I perceived to be chai spices; the duck leg’s sugary glaze of orange, star anise and clove had oozed down.

My guest who’d ordered steak frites lucked out. His half-pound hanger steak had been cooked sous vide to tenderize this sometimes chewy cut. The ideally crisped fries were Bintje potatoes imported from Belgium, precut and frozen, yet as sprightly as fresh spuds. Those Belgians know their taters.

My table shared two desserts The Kouign Amann apple turnover flaunts an exotic Breton name from Celtic Brittany. It was toothsome, but the pastry shell was pedestrian. Our other meal-ender was chocolat pot de crème, a chocoholic fantasy involving three types of Valrhona chocolate (bitter, milk and flakes), plus a layer of salted caramel. But this batch was too sugary, overwhelmed by caramel. A dessert that brings smiles is the tree of Parisian macarons on lollipop sticks.

I learned after this meal that Kevin Takafuji had been on vacation, and the spatula had been passed to the kitchen’s three sous-chefs. I know from my first dinner that Brasserie Mémère can do much better. In fact, at my final visit, when Takafuji was back at the stoves, the kitchen recaptured its initial élan. It seems you can always count on the savory tart, foie gras, onion soup and steak frites.