This week we attend a concert by the Plainfield Symphony followed by dinner at Yelp favorite Jessica’s with a side trip to the place that invented the chili dog way back in 1924.
PLAINFIELD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
This is Plainfield Symphony Orchestra day, and we decide to attend the free afternoon concert Let Justice Roll, which showcases two choral works by Board President Mark Miller and composer Lucas Richmond. Conducted by Charles Prince, son of legendary Broadway impresario Hal Prince, the PSO was established in 1918 and performs in the historic Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Hal Prince conducting the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra in the Crescent Avenue Church with excellent acoustics
TEXAS WEINER I
We plan on a nice dinner afterward, but one member of our party opts to balance his high culture experience with a low one. A five-minute stroll down Watchung Avenue takes him to Texas Weiner I, whose claim to fame is having invented the chili dog way back in 1924. Such history!
The go-to spot for chili dogs
JESSICA’S
Jessica’s Cafe suits the rest of us, a quality restaurant on the eastern border of Plainfield. From the outside, Jessica’s doesn’t look like much, but inside it’s a treasure. The wild mushroom soup couldn’t be silkier, and the ribeye steak arrives perfectly cooked beneath au poivre sauce. Jessica’s made the Top 100 Yelp U.S. Restaurants list (#37 to be exact) this year.
The award-winning eatery that’s about to move to nearby Fanwood