Moving to Denville- seeking "insider tips" on the area

Having lived in Summit, Maplewood, South Orange and Millburn I thought moving away from an "urban/suburb" would be a nice treat so bought a house in Arrowhead lake community on Cooper Lake

wondering if anyone is familiar with the area

Good eats? Fun things to do? Recommended service firms (landscapers, masons, painters, drywallers, etc)

Not a commuter so the longer distance into the city is not an issue

Um.  

Nope.  Can't think of a thing.

You might try the city-data.com NJ forums.

Several decades ago I moved from Denville's Rock Ridge Lake to Maplewood. My recollection is that each lake community has a homeowners association, and its members, your immediate neighbors, will be a very good source of information about service providers. More generally, Denville has a nice, fairly new library, built since my time. I think a good and apparently well funded public library says a lot about any area, and the Morris County library system is good too. I wonder if the excellent butcher shop on the wide Main Street (not sure of the official name) is still there. If so, consider it a good thing to live near. The same goes for the lingerie shop on that same street. 

I never found Denville in itself to be terribly interesting but Morris County overall is, especially in historical terms. A few places that come to mind are Gustav Stickley's  Craftsman Farm in Parsippany; Mount Tabor, which is sort of an inland Ocean Grove, architecturally and religiously speaking; and of course Jockey Hollow outside Morristown. Chester is commercial but maybe still worth a weekend day trip. There are lovely drives in any direction. New Jersey day trip books are full of ideas. Enjoy the move.

Denville Dairy for ice cream.

http://www.denvilledairy.com/

Almost every Italian restaurant is wonderful.  Also,  See Jockey Hollow Park in Morristown. Denville is so close to  i 80.    Travel west toward Delaware Water Gap National Park, visit Jenny Jump State Park where you can reserve a forest cabin for campimg, or hike mountain trails, enjoy western Jersey, and welcome!

Hunan Taste. Old school Chinese food. Think Poo-Poo Platters and Mai-Tais, but not cheesy. The place is absolutely elegant! Real marble and koi ponds. Peking duck served at the table. The food is really excellent. They will be opening a sister restaurant called The Noble East in Montclair soon.

http://www.hunantaste.com/#fine-chinese-food-newjersey

Carvers for breakfast is also very good.

http://carversdenville.weebly.com/

Lots of great arts options in Morris County. Not only the big ones (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Shakespeare Theatr, Morris Museum) but many other interesting cultural attractions. Check out the Morris Arts events calendar for ideas!

boomie said:

Um.  

Denville is not snobby, so it's got that going for it.  

It made a lot of financial sense for us to sell our too-big and too-expensive Maplewood home after our son left for college.  While we never aspired to move to Denville, we happened to find our dream home there and have been happily ensconced in it for almost a year.  

We are hikers and the Morris County parks system is incredible, giving you about a zillion options.  Our back yard is attached to 600 acres of protected forest - trails are linked to other parks so that we could hike to the Appalachian trail from our house if we so desired.  We're on Rock Ridge Lake, so we look at it from our 4-season front porch, kayak and swim there in the summer (well, the dog swims more than I do, but it's good).  We've also taken the kayak to some of the many other lakes in the area.

The butcher on Diamond Spring Road is excellent, as is the fish store on Main Street.  Carry-out Indian food (Main Street) is very good, as is Thai down the road a bit one town west.  (I can send you the names but I forever rely on my husband to remember them).

If you happen to be a yogi, Prana Yoga is wonderful.

TarheelsInNj said:

Lots of great arts options in Morris County. Not only the big ones (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Shakespeare Theatr, Morris Museum) but many other interesting cultural attractions. Check out the Morris Arts events calendar for ideas!

Too true.  

We've met quite a few artists and professional musicians in our neighborhood.  It's easy to meet people.  Like us, they're out walking their dog.  Feel free to send a pm and good luck with your move.

eta:  Also keep in mind that some of your new neighbors are black bears.  It's not at all uncommon to see them (along with plenty of other wildlife).

Denville Seafood, Thai Chef,  Cafe Metro (casual and vegetarian friendly) all good. If you haven't been before, don't miss iconic Pub 199 in nearby Mount Arlington (fabulous cheap lobster and clams amid taxidermy extravaganza). 

thanks so much everyone !!!!!

max_weisenfeld said:

Nope.  Can't think of a thing.

mjh said:

boomie said:

Um.  

Denville is not snobby, so it's got that going for it.  

So true!  Thanks mjh.

In Denville itself, Denville Dairy for homemade ice cream and Viking Bakery.  Nearby, DePasquale Spa in Morris Plains is a really nice place for a massage.  In that same shopping center, Il Villagio has good and reasonable Italian food.

The same restaurant group that owns Huntley Taverne, Roots, and Trap Rock has two restaurants next to each other in Morris Plains, Grato (Italian) and Tabor Road Tavern.  Down the road on Route 10, Vinburger looks interesting, burgers and wine.

Morris County parks have a lot to offer, including Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Lewis Morris Park and Pyramid Mountain in Boonton.  Patriot's Path is a place where you can walk or bike for miles. Ice skating at Mennen Arena http://www.morrisparks.net 

Hacklebarney State Park in Chester is a lovely place to hike, especially in the fall and Hacklebarney Farms Cider Mill is great for cider, doughnuts and pies.  If you haven't been to Washington's Headquarters in Morristown, it's worth a trip.

County College of Morris used to show foreign films, not sure if they still do.  If you like New Orleans music and food, the annual Crawfish festival is popular in nearby Sussex County.

Enjoy.

Having recently moved to Denville, just tried Denville Dairy for the first time. Wow. Outstanding ice cream. No wonder the place is crowded every night!

unicorn33 said:

Having recently moved to Denville, just tried Denville Dairy for the first time. Wow. Outstanding ice cream. No wonder the place is crowded every night!

You must also try Sergio & Co Italian Specialties.  Really high quality, delicious food and very nice people. 

http://www.sergioandco.com/

Definitely will. Sergio was also recommended to us by the people at Mia Familia in Millburn, one of our favorite places for great sandwiches, etc. (We also know a neighbor who told us he uses them to cater his Superbowl parties.) Now I'm getting hungry...

mjh said:

unicorn33 said:

Having recently moved to Denville, just tried Denville Dairy for the first time. Wow. Outstanding ice cream. No wonder the place is crowded every night!

You must also try Sergio & Co Italian Specialties.  Really high quality, delicious food and very nice people. 

http://www.sergioandco.com/

In addition to the Denville Dairy, there's the Dover Dairy Maid, which is a scant 4.2 miles away. In fact, you can pretty much go from one, to the other, back and forth on Route 46, scoop here, soft-serve there, scoop here, soft-serve there until your arteries clog and you croak. Honestly, there are worst ways to die. 

LOL. Adding it to my list. And someone else recommended a place called Cliffs Ice Cream in Ledgewood. Going to be a delicious summer...

Paul_Sotrop1 said:

In addition to the Denville Dairy, there's the Dover Dairy Maid, which is a scant 4.2 miles away. In fact, you can pretty much go from one, to the other, back and forth on Route 46, scoop here, soft-serve there, scoop here, soft-serve there until your arteries clog and you croak. Honestly, there are worst ways to die. 

Among the restaurants we've tried and enjoyed: Sogo for Japanese, Thatcher McGee, Red Hut Diner, Randolph Diner, Lemongrass (Vietnamese/Thai). 

Any recommendations for pizza?

https://therestavern.com/

I continue to be impressed by all the wide range of good restaurants in the area. To add to the list: Tuscan Table (Italian, Denville), Fasil (in Boonton, Turkish/Mediterranean), JaiLai (in Dover, Spanish), Hunan Taste (Chinese, Denville), and a number of others. Still trying to find the best bagel place. Have tried several, but no real standouts. And I'd kill for a decent Jewish rye bread of the sort Sonny's used to have in Millburn.

Viking Bakery - yum!

25 minutes away in livingston but excellent sliced or not rye bread - nanasdeli.com

And nearby: https://www.beignetsnj.com/

rhw said:

Viking Bakery - yum!

Good to hear. We were just discussing that in 5 years or so when our daughter is out of high school that the ideal thing for us may be a house on a lake in Denville. My wife wants a lake house and I still want to be able to take a train to NYC.

Sad to say, real great "traditional" rye bread is increasingly a thing of the past everywhere.

We moved to Denville last year after 39 years in Millburn and love it here (though our place isn't on a lake). Lots of nearby trails to hike, numerous restaurants, easy access to multiple highways. The train to NY--which is the same train that runs through Maplewood & Millburn--is a comfortable ride, though it would be a pretty long commute. There's also bus service into NY, which may be shorter (though I've never taken it at rush hour). We generally take the train into the city for the added comfort factor.

And yes, "traditional" rye bread seems to have vanished. I love some of the Italian bakeries (e.g., Anthony's in Denville, which supplies numerous establishments), but in all the years since Sonny's closed, I've never found a place comparable.

ska said:

Good to hear. We were just discussing that in 5 years or so when our daughter is out of high school that the ideal thing for us may be a house on a lake in Denville. My wife wants a lake house and I still want to be able to take a train to NYC.

Sad to say, real great "traditional" rye bread is increasingly a thing of the past everywhere.

One of the few remaining places I know of for traditional rye is Butterflake Bakery but that is all the way up in Teneck and is not open on Saturday. If we are driving to the GWB on a Sunday I will sometimes take a detour to go there if I have the time.

I'll keep it in mind, although I rarely am up in that area.

ska said:

One of the few remaining places I know of for traditional rye is Butterflake Bakery but that is all the way up in Teneck and is not open on Saturday. If we are driving to the GWB on a Sunday I will sometimes take a detour to go there if I have the time.

ska said:

One of the few remaining places I know of for traditional rye is Butterflake Bakery but that is all the way up in Teneck and is not open on Saturday. If we are driving to the GWB on a Sunday I will sometimes take a detour to go there if I have the time.

I believe Butterflake calls it 'Corn bread' rye. Growing up in Teaneck, we would go with my mom to Butterflake to buy a half loaf of the 'corn bread' (since they are very large), sliced. Often it would still be fresh and warm from the oven, and my sister and I would eat most of it during the short drive home.

They have both the "Korn" Rye (which has no corn in it) and the more typical Jewish style rye (which was always the more popular style). Korn Rye is a heavier rye bread. It was always my favorite and has become very hard to get. While inferior packaged Jewish rye is still very available, even while quality ones are rare, korn rye has almost totally disappeared. Yes, Butterflake is one of the very few places left where you can buy it. One bakery in Riverdale that had it recently went out of business and one in Whitestone went out a few years ago. At one time it was even available at Zarros. They had it every day, then only once a week. Then not at all.