A water table, wine room and salt wall: Central Jersey must-try dining experiences

With the flurry of online cooking classes, TikTok inspirations, meal kits and takeout options, it's easy to see why you'd want to have dinner at home.

But some local eateries are bringing big ideas to customers' plates.

From a table tucked in a wine nook to tea served in Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate son's haunted home, here are some of the coolest, must-try dining experiences in Central Jersey.

The Water Table at the Stone House at Stirling Ridge, Warren

More than 77,000 people liked an Instagram video that the Stone House posted in mid-July featuring its Water Table, where food on bamboo floats atop water around guests.

That reaction sums up how diners have been responding to the fine dining restaurant and wedding venue’s newest feature, which was added this spring to its outdoor patio.

“They just think it’s so different,” said Chef David Drake. “It’s a similar concept to a conveyer belt of sushi.”

However, contrary to the guesses of some Instagram users, food doesn’t fall into the water too often from the bamboo floats, said Drake. The water is also drained, cleaned and sterilized every day, as well as right before and after events.

A private party of eight to 16 guests can book the Water Table’s four-course tasting menu, which is $150 per person. Each course includes a combination of both floating and non-floating food, such as salmon poke tacos, truffle potato croquettes, goat cheese balls, hot honey chicken, braised short ribs and macarons.

A Water Table public dining event is also being held on Thursday, Aug. 24 from 7-9 p.m. for $270 per couple. Details and tickets can be purchased here.

“I come from a traditional French culinary background,” Drake said. “The idea came up when we were trying to do something that was a more modern and casual take on a tasting menu.”

Go: 50 Stirling Road, Warren; 908-754-1222, stonehouseatstirlingridge.com.

Pig, ribs and more: These Central Jersey caterers bring BBQ to your backyard

The Wine Room at Uproot, Warren

A year and a half ago, there was no wine list at Uproot, a creative American restaurant in Warren. But in July, the eatery had 700 bottles of wine ranging from $38 to $25,000.

The Corner Village At Warren restaurant, which was bought by Chef Scott Cutaneo in early 2022, now features an intimate 150-square-foot private dining room that can accommodate two guests while surrounded by Uproot’s wine offerings. There is no additional charge to book The Wine Room’s sole table.

“If you love wine, here you have wine wallpaper,” said Cutaneo. “It’s subtle elegance.”

The room has been booked for birthdays, anniversaries — even an engagement. But for Cutaneo, the creation of the Wine Room was just another day.

“I had built four wine rooms already in my previous restaurants,” said Cutaneo, the former owner of four-star Le Petit Chateau in Bernardsville and the Oldwick General Store in Tewksbury. “Our goal is to bring more choices to our guests so they don’t need to go to one restaurant for wine, another for drinks, etc.”

Uproot was named an Award of Excellence winner of the 2023 Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards. Cutaneo's previous restaurants received the awards, too.

“I don’t want to push things on guests,” he said. “I want them to say, ‘Oh, I got engaged,’ and people ask, ‘Where?’ and they say, ‘The Wine Room at Uproot.’ ”

Go: 9 Mt. Bethel Road, Warren; 908-834-8194, uprootrestaurant.com.

Earlier: Chef Scott Cutaneo turns over a new leaf at Warren's Uproot

The Salt Room at Orchard Park by David Burke, East Brunswick

For more than a decade, celebrity chef David Burke’s use of pink Himalayan salt bricks for dry-aging beef has been a Burke staple — and a U.S. patent. The Himalayan pink salt has also made its way into the interior design of some of his 19 restaurants.

It’s also on full display at Orchard Park, located on the grounds of the Chateau Grande Hotel in East Brunswick, with a colossal wall inside a private wine room made of bricks of salt.

The retro black-and-white tile floors of the Salt Room are topped with a custom white marble table with hand-blown bubble chandeliers floating above. The room can accommodate up to 22 guests and has a $2,600 food and beverage minimum per party.

“The room is behind a glass wall so guests are on display and can sense the restaurant's chill and romantic vibe, but they have the privacy of the room all to themselves,” Burke said. “The pink Himalayan salt wall is backlit, illuminating the room with an enchanting, warm pink glow where everyone looks beautiful. It sells itself.”

Go: 670 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick; 732-554-5714, orchardparkbydb.com.

Tea at the Proprietary House, Perth Amboy

Nearly 260 years ago, the domed, brick and stone space nestled deep into the ground was the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin's wine vault. Now, it's a tearoom in the Proprietary House, the only remaining official royal governor’s mansion still standing in the original 13 colonies.

Visitors can sip on tea and munch on desserts made by volunteers on select Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. by reservation-only in the "1764 refrigerator," said Proprietary House Association president Lisa Nanton. The cost is $20, which includes a tour.

The Proprietary House was completed by William Franklin and has served as a hotel, private mansion, retirement home and boarding house. In addition to tours, the museum offers lectures, concerts and storytelling.

You also might meet an unexpected visitor at teatime as Proprietary House has been featured on the TV show "Ghost Hunters."

However, you won't find dark vibes in the tearoom, Nanton said.

"As soon as people see it, they just fall in love with it," she said. "It's unique and has been completely redesigned furniture-wise, with round pedestal tables and ladderback chairs."

Go: 149 Kearny Ave., Perth Amboy; 732-826-5527, theproprietaryhouse.org.

Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ restaurants offer must-try dining experiences