The Priory, 233 West Market Street, Newark, has a new executive chef and a revamped menu featuring Cajun, Creole, and Southern cuisine. Located in a renovated 1882 former church, the Priory features magnificent ecclesiastic architecture--vaulted ceilings, original stained-glass windows, and decorative arch moldings--adding to the ambience. If you have a group of ten, ask to sit in the "alcove," a picturesque private nook in the dining room.

Executive chef Greg Gaglione's menu includes specialties such as crawfish-and-lobster bisque, Creole crab cake, Creole Caesar salad, fried chicken, "N'awlins" strip steak, seafood jambalaya, Voodoo Shrimp, country-style oxtails, and pastrami-seared lamb loin. Desserts are made in-house and include apple beignets, sweet potato pie, and bananas Foster tartlet.

The New Community Corporation, which reinvests its profits in community-based programs, manages the Priory. Its mission is "to help inner-city residents improve the quality of their lives to reflect individual God-given dignity and personal achievement." The company provides affordable housing, education, job training, employment, day care, health care, social services, community arts programs, recreation, and neighborhood economic development that impacts the lives of more than 50,000 people daily.

The Priory features Friday night jazz and a Sunday jazz brunch, as well as gospel and other musical programs, workshops, and special events.

Lunch: Monday through Friday, 11:30 AM to 3 PM. Dinner: Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 PM. Brunch: Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM. Call 973-242-8012 for reservations.

BY ROSIE SAFERSTEIN - NJ MONTHLY ONLINE

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