INDIAN NIGHTS @THE NATIONAL HOTEL, DINING REVIEW, MUSIC & THE ARTS...SO MUCH IN JUST A FEW WEEKS

It must be September, because the days are just SOOOOO full of things to do. Between The National Hotel, the girls' school (and let's not forget their afterschool activities), friends' fundraisers, etc., the days have escaped me and I am only now putting "pen to paper" to post another installment of our blog.

Pete's been in the kitchen! I know he's my husband, but I'm so proud of all that he's been able to do and the enthusiasm with which he embraces every day. He's been hard at work re-creating some Indian delicacies with which he grew up in India, and combining his memories with some delicious traditional recipes from classic Indian cook books with our terrific kitchen staff. These will make up our entire Additions to the Menu that started this past Thursday, September 23rd through tomorrow, Sunday, September 26th. Be sure to stop by and savor some exotic flavors right here in our own backyard--Indian Nights at The National Hotel! Click on the link to see some of the delicacies we'll be featuring this weekend...

This follows a wonderful write-up from Icon Magazine by Robert Gordon. Their Dining Out section took our summer menu to task and we are just so pleased to have passed their litmus test. What a terrific endorsement from a wonderful publication.

And we just hosted another Open Mic Night session on Thursday too, featuring Brian Molnar. The night's host was Kevin Gilson and it was a total crowd pleaser. Our other Open Mic Nights have seen new talent the the mic as well as some familiar faces.

And many of these familiar faces came out to support our featured performers these last few weeks, during our Sunday Musical Afternoon series. We've been fortunate to have had so many talented performers, including Mike Pfeiffer once again, Chuck Schaeffer returning for another successful night of country rockabilly fun, Steve Jones , and a former Frenchtown resident, Russell Norkevich . We also were treated to the sounds of David Falcone on the 12th of September, and tomorrow we'll host the return appearance of Ray McGeehan. Every week, another wonderful 2 hours of music that delight our patrons, and lift the spirits of those of us working on the premises. Sunday is one of our favorite days of the week! Just look and listen to a few of our featured musicians...find more at our The National Hotel NJ YouTube channel:

This entire month has been a month filled with the arts. We just finished hosting the last installment of "our" monthly People's Poetry last week--and I say "our" in quotes, because it's a program initiated and supported by our local community members...not something that Pete and I put into motion, but rather something that has grown organically. It was a treat to be a witness to the wonderful poets who took the mike. Be sure to visit the People's Poetry facebook fanpage to get up-to-date information on the poets, the events, and future plans. And last Sunday's poetry open mic was followed by our weekly Sunday Musical Afternoon series that has provided our guests with the wonderful musical performances of local talent. Again, yet another opportunity for The National Hotel to shine, simply because these artists have adopted The National Hotel as their chosen venue. Thank you!!! Thank you for bringing your art, your talent, your creativity to our establishment, for ALL of us to enjoy.

We can't wait to see you at The National Hotel. Whether you're coming to savor our Indian Nights Additions to the Menu items this weekend, spending time with us at the Rat's weekly Open Mic Night, joining us for our monthly People's Poetry, or supporting our local artists as they perform during our weekly Sunday Musical Afternoon series, please continue to visit our facebook fanpage, search our artists' webclips by subscribing to our National Hotel NJ youtube channel, or sign up for our twitter page. If you'd like to leave a comment on things you've enjoyed at The National Hotel, send a note to one of these artists, or just share some thoughts, please do so, or email me directly at marie@thenationalhotelnj.com. Hope to see you this weekend...the food is YUMMM!

Sunday Musical Afternoon Series Hits the Spot!!!

There are so many reasons to be proud of our little corner of the world...from the beauty and history of Frenchtown itself, to the businesses around town that welcome outsiders "into the fold" and encourage them to come back to our little town, to the local residents who go out of their way to support our local establishments and be a part of our community.

Today, we have the pleasure of hosting another session of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series. It's a day that we have been anxiously awaiting for a few weeks: Mike Pfeiffer will perform from 5 - 7 p.m. upstairs in our Restaurant & Bar. If you have been fortunate enough to catch him during our Thursday Open Mic Night series, then you know you have to come to The National Hotel today. What a performer! Just super. I'll try to capture some of it today on video & will post it to The National Hotel NJ youtube channel. In the meantime here's one from an impromptu jam session where musicians jumped in at The Rat:

For us, having recently celebrated our one-year anniversary of the date we took ownership of The National Hotel, it's just another gift Frenchtown has given us. One year. Oh yes, we remember the renovations in the dark, using flashlights to make our way around the shuttered building because JCP&L was busy restoring power to homes who had suffered losses during a recent storm, and was therefore unable to establish new lines...and the water that had been turned off and took yet another week to have in our building. Oh yes, we remember cleaning borrowing buckets of water from our neighbors...But no matter the challenges, we are so pleased with the result today--especially, because The National Hotel has become family to so many people who come through its doors frequently to enjoy wonderful food, great drinks, and above all, that sense of community, that warmth you feel when you see familiar faces, old friends and new.

Yesterday was Frenchtown's National Night Out, an annual celebration and "give-back" to the community, where the Frenchtown Police Dept. organizes a special day in town with lots of activities for the children, good food, and fun for the whole family, together with the Lions Club. Pete and I stopped by to share in a little bit of the fun, and we were greeted by SOOOOO many people that we felt as if we were floating. The music was fun, the food hit the spot, and the Birch Beer was awesome!

We loved seeing the kids enjoying themselves in gigantic inflatable bounce houses and slides...and to see their anxious faces when the raffle drawing came, each one waiting to see who would win the bicycles and helmets, raffle tickets in hand...incredible fun! Congratulations Frenchtown!

Alright, lots to do today...off to the races...getting ready for this afternoon's performance, while actually still having warm memories from last week's fabulous performance by The Royal Arboretum, featuring Lee and Kristen. I'm not done editing, but will share clips soon...