While this week’s Harvest Dining cover story focuses on Princeton restaurants making waves in the world of wine, two Trenton establishments are making moves of their own.
That includes the downtown café scene getting a boost with the recent opening of the café at the Orchid House at 134 East Hanover Street.
Owned and operated by Elijah Dixon and Nicole Brown, the Orchid House was originally founded as an event venue for local crowds in 2015, through renovations partially paid for by a City of Trenton Building Improvement Grant.
The venue has since become known in the city for hosting a variety of private and public events including musical showcases, book fairs, art exhibits, and educational workshops. Now, the café opening is the realization of the founders’ original design.
In a past interview in U.S. 1’s sister paper, the Trenton Downtowner, Dixon shared his city connections:
“I lived on Beechwood Avenue, off Stuyvesant Avenue, right across the street from (Cadwalader) Park.
“My dad’s side of the family is from Trenton. My dad and his dad owned barbershops. He sang in the men’s choir at Shiloh Baptist Church. My grandmother was a long-time principal of Village Charter School. I come from a family of educators and entrepreneurs, so it is natural for me to want to aspire and to learn.”
“I’m focused on grassroots economic and political organizing. I was a student at Rutgers in New Brunswick after I did two years at Mercer County Community College. I was in the cognitive science program and studying behavioral economics. I was doing well. I was interested, but my heart was back here.”
About the café opening, Dixon told a crowd of supporters about fighting negative perceptions. “‘It’s Hanover Street. It’s Trenton. It’s the hood. You can’t do it. It’s no market for it.’ We’re still doing it! And because of your continued support, we’ll be able to keep on doing it for years to come.”
The Orchid House, 134 East Hanover Street, Trenton. Monday through Fridays, 6:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 609-206-6467 or www.orchidhousecafe.com.
Meanwhile, Trenton restaurateurs Reggie and Maurice Hallett’s 1911 Smokehouse got some national attention at its Newark Airport branch.
That’s where conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks complained in a social media comment about the cost of a hamburger and fries.
Along with the photo of the burger and beverage, Brooks posted: “This meal just cost me $78 at Newark Airport. This is why Americans think the economy is terrible.”
Yet, Brooks’ bellyaching was too much for some to swallow, and it did not take long for people to start sizing up the beverage and doing the math using airport restaurant pricing.
As a New York Post article noted, Brooks’ posting “landed 16 million views, as online food court judges demanded to know if the drink was whiskey, which might explain the hefty tab.”
“Commenters tried to hunt down where Brooks’ burger came from, with several guessing 1911 Smoke House BBQ, a Trenton, New Jersey, steakhouse that has a location at Newark’s Terminal A.”
One of those making a comment was noted American novelist, retired Princeton University professor, Princeton-area resident, and social media user Joyce Carol Oates, who offered the following equation: “Bar bill: $66. Food bill: $12. Tip: $0. NY Times expense account.”
According to the Post, it was Hallett who provided the final reckoning and, using the known figure of $17 for the hamburger, “guessed that in order to reach a $78 tab, Brooks would have had to have ‘two doubles.’ He said a double whiskey costs between $28 and $29.
“Hallett explained that his menu items at the Newark airport are more expensive because the restaurant works in partnership with food travel company SSP America.”
He also said that to give “David Brooks special thanks for all the publicity he’s given us” he was proposing a new item on the menu: “It’ll be a cheeseburger and a double whiskey.”
He soon reposted a photo of the meal — complete with booze — as the D Brooks Special with $78 marked down to $17.
1911 Smokehouse, 11 West Front Street, Trenton. Open Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesdays and Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 1:30 to 10:30 p.m.; Sundays, 1:30 to 9 p.m. Closed Mondays. 609-695-1911 or 1911bbqcom.
