First-Rate Pub Grub

Locally sourced meats, poultry and superbly conditioned craft beer? Discover this new culinary element of taverns like The Dog & Cask.

Take a lively watering hole and add upscale food, and what you’ll get is the latest trend in taverns: gastropubs. This new wave of accessible fine dining hasn’t been around too long—the idea originated in London in the 1990s—but has swept through taverns in Bergen County.

At The Dog & Cask in Rochelle Park, the idea isn’t to compete with five-star restaurants in the area, says owner David Parker. It’s to serve up eclectic dishes using locally sourced seafood, meats, poultry and vegetables accompanied by superbly conditioned craft beer. Parker’s pub offers a dozen craft beers as well as cask-conditioned ale and barrel-aged cocktails, with menu items such as suckling pig and monkfish with steel-cut oats presented in an array of small plates, charcuterie boards and main dishes. Culinary elements like these keep patrons munching while spirits soar.

The Dog & Cask, 55 Route 17 South, Rochelle Park, 201.845.5101; thedogandcask.com