Good Night, Montclair, in All Your Glory

Above: The Montclair Art Museum, on the National Register of Historic Places.

Update on the town we have lived in since getting married in 1991--here is the current pulse:

• Beachy, surfy bowl places--Playa Bowls--with smoothies, too. Skipper likes Boho Cafe and there’s another new place on the corner of Valley and Bellevue. But we still miss JOYIST big time.
• Lululemon, of course. Fit, toned mamas of all ages here.
• Many, many yoga studios, reopening slowly after pandemic.
• Hot pizza places--from coal-oven to old-school, prosciutto-fig to pepperoni.
• One excellent independent bookstore--Watchung Booksellers (Margot, Carolyn, other great team members).
• Italian specialty stores (Rosario’s).
• Lots of Chinese, sushi and Thai options.
• LOTS of coffee. Even before the pandemic, this was the land of many people (writers etc.) working from home. See LOCAL, Starbucks, Bluestone Coffee Co., Paper Plane--and Java Love, in two locations.
• VESTA Chocolate. Handcrafted.
• Ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt.
• Montclair Art Museum in elegant housing on South Mountain Avenue.
• Whole Foods, a requirement.
• Handfuls and handfuls of nail salons, beauty salons and eyelash places. (The last puzzles me.)
• Liquor stores, from high-end (with cheeses from Vermont and dry pasta from Italy) to essential.
• Hardware stores.
• Clothing, shoe and accessory boutiques.
• Restaurants, from white-tablecloth Italian to Turtle + The Wolf.  The Turtle is known for Lo’s Famous Fried Chicken, which is superb and I think must be preordered. But since fried foods are on my red light list now, tonight I ordered the whole roast chicken with a container of gravy, Brussels sprouts slaw, salad, whipped potatoes, baked beans and four of the LEGENDARY biscuits for a family supper. The chicken was also wildly welcomed by 17-year-old dog and kitten. I planned not to eat a biscuit but I did eat one. Layered perfection.
• Middle Eastern eateries.
• Bagel shops.
• Bakeries.
• Floral design/plant shops.
• Home design stores, each with its own flavor and style (Rabbit Rabbit).

And that doesn’t count all of the beautiful parks, playgrounds, churches.

It’s a colorful, walkable place. Good night to it all.