New Chef @Bell's Mansion owned Cara mia's
My girlfriend works at Bells and found out that the Chef from Cara mias is gunna start cooking at Bells mansion! It's awesome because he made the best food in hackettstown. She also said he is a really cool person. Maybe more people will go to Bells knowing that a REAL chef will make better food!! Can't wait to go back!!
TownGalI haven't been to Bell's in a few years. Used to enjoy it, but it went downhill IMO. If Tommy is going to be doing the cooking there, I would definitely try it again.
Calico696 
Just Asking 
Christine JA - That was actually in 2009 believe it or not. I can't remember if DH at there or not or just had drinks.
Christine - You were there with Bergey....LOL
I've never been to Bells Mansion but I have known Tommy for years. NOBODY can cook like he can. I've never tasted food like his before except from my grandmother, and the secret ingredient is love. I will absolutley go to Bell's if he really is the new chef. Thanks for the info TownGal..
I agree Calico, Bells was very nice when it first opened but food went downhill. I haven't been in ages but in light of the good reviews about Tommy, might have to get there for dinner soon.
Bessie Try Marleys Gotham grill right in town they have the best chef!!!! He owns other well known restaurants and has premiered on many shows so worth a try to go there!!!!!
Maminj82 Manminj82- What is the chef's name at Marleys? What are some of his other well known restaurants? I'm curious to learn more.
Greg Marley's was pretty good, but nothing like Tommys food. Not only have I eaten his food off of Cara Mia's menu, I've had the pleasure of eating pizza's & burgers, meatballs, sausage & peppers, to homemade French fries & chicken strips that he always makes from scratch. The man has talent.. Is Bell's expensive? And what kind of food do they serve?
LOL I didnt remember the name but I remember the place. we never ate there we just had drinks. Loved the bar there.
happy2bhere LuLu - Check out this link...
http://www.restaurantpassion.com/listing.aspx?a=561&sid=8&sn=NJ
We've had a restaurant.com certificate for Bell's that we've been waiting to use. Never been before, though. Never got to Cara Mia, unfortunately, either.
Tracy 
maja Thank you Calico!!! Can't wait to try it out! Oh- & Maja, you do get to go out when your married, it's when you start having kids it seems like getting out even just to shoprite is a chore!! Lol
Anyone know when he starts there? Can't wait to see some old favorites appear on the menu.
eapos i hope he does a basic baked ziti.. he used to get so crazed when we would order that at cara mia.. oh well..
feline feline - Of course he did. If you want baked ziti, go to a pizzeria/restaurant, not a Cara Mia type place.*
* Disclaimer - I mean no offense by this.
Feline- if baked ziti is on the menu at Bell's and Tommy makes it- I can promise you that you won't be disappointed. He has catered many events for my family and his ziti is awesome.. It wasn't on the menu at Cara Mia's so he didn't make it for people who ate there. He cooked more " Northern Italy" style food at his restaurant. I miss it!!!
Hello all! Here to pass on some Bell's Mansion updates!! Tommy from Cara Mias is the new chief. He is adding specials to the menu, while adding his creativity to the already diverse menu available. Also there has been great additions to the bar staff, with very reasonable prices for drinks. So if you haven't been to Bell's lately, now is the time to stop in and check it out. My girlfriend and I went there last night and got great service and an excellent pork florentine and pierogies. Plus, the martini's were awesome. Nothing but a great experience and nice people.
I just called Bell's Mansion. They have confirmed that Chef Tommy, formerly of Cara Mia, is the new chef. Can't wait to go now.
great wht hope My husband and I ate dinner at Bell's Mansion last night. We've been before but like others have said, have noticed something of a decline in the quality of late. But with the news that Tommy of Cara Mia is the new chef, we decided to see if there was any difference.
We got the pierogi appetizer (excellent as always) and I had the pork cordon blue special, which I enjoyed very much. My husband had a burger that he said was very good. So on the basis of the one dinner we are giving it a thumbs-up.
The restaurant was not very busy, which was disappointing to see. The bar was pretty busy though.
I hope the news that Tommy is the chef now gets around. It's a nice place and I'd like to see it stay around.
Will never go back. Had a gift certificate that was a few years old but clearly marked on the front "No expiration date", went for dinner and they would not accept it. This was a few years ago. Apparently they changed owners in between but somehow outstanding gift certificates should have been included in any restaurant selling deal. The owner was not there at the time and was very nasty when I called about it the next day. I will never go back no matter who is cooking there.
hey birdnerd if the resturant changes owners why should they honor a gift cert from the old owner? Maybe for a good business point they should but they dont have to why you wait so long to use it anyway?
patricka Patricka -
A restaurant that wants yo have a positive customer service reputation would accept the GC from the former owner. They should have included outstanding GC amounts in the price of the sale. In addition the previous owner specifically put no expiration date on the GC.
OK - I get that the person should not have waited so long yo us it, but it should have been honored. Here is the issue. The restaurant not only lost this customer, but they lost other potential customers that this person knows. As you know, this was not good business to refuse the GC and to be nasty to the customer when explaining that they were not going to honor the GC.
Years ago I bought a GC for a relative in another state when we visited her. The restaurant then changed owners, but they honored the GC from the former owner. This generated the good will that is important in the off season for this restaurant. We went back many times because of both a good restaurant and the customer service.
Sometimes I wonder what our small businesses ae thinking when they do some of the things they do!
Coralie Please excuse the typos above. Was typing in an iPod The keyboard is way too little - LOL.
Has anyone used a restaurant.com certificate there recently? We purchased one awhile ago but haven't used it. The terms and conditions only state a minimum purchase amount, dine in only, etc. But now on restaurant.com, to purchase a new one, the terms and conditions indicate Sun.-Thurs. only. I will call before we plan on going, but I was wondering if anyone knew. Thanks.
Tracy if it was a while ago check the expiration. It may not be good. Calling is a good idea IMO on any restaurant.com coupon.
"A restaurant that wants yo have a positive customer service reputation would accept the GC from the former owner. They should have included outstanding GC amounts in the price of the sale. In addition the previous owner specifically put no expiration date on the GC.
OK - I get that the person should not have waited so long yo us it, but it should have been honored. Here is the issue. The restaurant not only lost this customer, but they lost other potential customers that this person knows. As you know, this was not good business to refuse the GC and to be nasty to the customer when explaining that they were not going to honor the GC.
Years ago I bought a GC for a relative in another state when we visited her. The restaurant then changed owners, but they honored the GC from the former owner. This generated the good will that is important in the off season for this restaurant. We went back many times because of both a good restaurant and the customer service.
Sometimes I wonder what our small businesses ae thinking when they do some of the things they do!"
It's just a coupon. How much are you really saving?
OakHillsFinest Oak Hill - you do not know the amount of the GC - That was not included in the post. I know that when I give a GC for dinner at a restaurant, I give enough of a GC to cover the cost of a very nice dinner for 2.
So, the amount saved vs. spent could be enough to completely cover the cost of the meal, appy and desert.
Ok, just curious. I didn't know if it was for an appetizer or a desert or a certain percentage off the meal itself.
I guess a good rule of thumb would be to call the restaurant ahead of time.
Went to Bells Mansion Friday night and saw Tommy, Had garlic clams, veal Sorrentino and crab stuffed sole, all delicious in the Cara Mia Style. Nice place !
eapos, is there a new menu at Bells? I don't remember any of the things you
ordered being on their menu. Or were they "specials" ?
i like italian, i could eat pasta five times a day all week long and never look back. :)
BrotherDog stopped in for lunch today. Tonights specials will be: Apps Spring Salad, Garlic Steamed Clams, Calamari Louisiana, Entrees: Lobster & Shrimp Risotto w/ Spanish churiso & plum tomatoes. Pork loin Diane w/mushrooms & dijon mustard demi glaze sauce W/sweet potatoe pierogies, Sole with crab Imperial, and finally Veal Laura Anna(Fresh mozzarella, shrimp & mushrooms in garlic lemon caper sauce with spinach and mashed potatoes. Can't go tonight but will make it next week for sure.
Wanted to bump this up...
We had dinner last night at Bell's Mansion and it was EXCELLENT! We saw Chef Tomeo and he stopped by our table for a really nice chat. He seemed genuinely glad to see some of his old customers from Cara Mia. We told him our meal was excellent, but that we really missed his calamari mala femina and gnocchi. He smiled and said "next time you're in, just ask!" His wife GiGi is hosting at a restaurant in Gladstone.
There were so many things we wanted to try from the regular menu and specials - I bet the wild mushroom bisque was to die for. For appetizers we had a steamed clam special (phenomenal!) and calamari (so good!) from the regular menu. Dinner was an ossa bucco ravioli (YUM!) and lobster tail and polenta special. Portions were a nice size - not skimpy at all, but not overdone. And we ended the meal with fancy coffee and dessert (mini pecan tart and raspberry cheesecake).
We've always enjoyed Bell's Mansion in the past (the inside bar area beautiful and you have to check out the extensive martini menu), but Chef Tomeo is now the icing on the cake!
dragonfly I miss the calamari mala femina as well. I have found that Rosa Luca's in Asbury actually has better ricotta gnocci than Tommy's (believe it or not). Will definitely have to get over to Bell's soon.
Finally got a chance to get over to Bell's Mansion tonight for dinner. Was able to sit and dine outside on their patio on such a fantastic night, and so beautiful, overlooking their extensive gardens!
Was so happy with everything served, from our appetizers to dessert. Quite an assortment on their regular menu as well as the specials, so it was very hard to decide. Will have to go back many times to try one of each!! And pricing was very reasonable, as well.
We had the calamari, carpaccio for appetizers, then duck and penne vodka for our main meal. A fantastic cheesecake and cannoli for dessert put it over the top for us. A very nice touch was a complimentary after dinner drink was served.
Chef Tomeo was very happy to have some old Cara Mia customers dining there and mentioned that next time, we just have to ask for favorites from the old menu if we don't see it listed.
I loved it!!
lola There's a great article in today's NJ Herald. Can be viewed at njherald.com also, but can't seem to link it up to here.
We finally had dinner at Bell's last night. Haven't dined there since before Tommy became the chef.
I hate to say it, but we were a little disappointed. It wasn't very busy, so we had the bartender ask Tommy if we could have a calamari appetizer dish that wasn't on the menu, which he used to make at Cara Mia. She told us he said no problem. It was good, but very different than it was at Cara Mia, way too much balsamic vinegar. Which stinks because I had thought about that calamari all day...LOL I had the gorgonzola chicken and DH had the duck magret. Mine was fine, but nothing outstanding and DH's duck was way overcooked. Definitely not worth the $90 or having to listen to DH says how disappointed he was for about a 1/2 hour. Put him in a grouchy mood for the band we went to see afterward. :o)
I love Tommy and have eaten many of his meals to extreme satisfaction over the years, I hope he was just having an off night.
I also was disappointed the last time I ate at Bells. I have gone there MANY times, and as a vegetarian my choices are limited. I've had the Eggplant Rollantini which is good, and also the pizza and the pierogies as entrees, but when I first had the Fettucini Alfredo (which has spinach, sun-dried tomatoes & mushrooms) it was so delicious that I have always ordered that since. I've had it more times than I'd like to remember (considering how many calories it must have !! )
Well, the last time I was there, I had it, and it was not very good. Very dissapointing.
Oh, and I am remembering now, how awful the service was. It was a nice day and most people were dining outside; there was one other table occupied in the room. Well, once we got our meal, the waiter was never to be seen again. I needed more water - but - oh well, the people outside were more important.
To top it off, I asked for the remainder of my meal to be wrapped to take home. He never came back, and when we left, I saw my plate on a table in the hallway where he dumped it off.
does anyone know bells mansion's email address? Im in a well known paranormal group and i have been getting tons of emails to check out the place.
clpslisa 
cs Ate lunch at Bell's last week - excellent food - and service - the new chef really improved even the items that were retained from previous menu - flavorful, well-prepared, fully worth the price... definitely give it a try
pmnsk They now appear to have a website --
http://www.bellsmansion.com
I see some changes -- no more Fettucini Alfredo, but two new vegetarian dishes.
Don't know about the non-veggie dishes (whether there are new ones or not) as I never paid attention to that.
Does anyone know how the Bells Mansion VIP card works?
I have been using mine for quite a while, but never got any 'rewards'.
I have spent over $300 easily by now.
I wrote twice to the restaurant asking how it works, but they never answered me!
Didn't know they had a rewards program. Are you sure you don"t mean Redwoods in Chester?
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