36 Spring 2017 mattersmagazine.com 37 Reverend Biggham and some of his gospel singers.at the Seth Boyden School fundraiser. Photo credit: Anna Herbst. One of the Georgia Mass Choir's album covers. Pimento Grill 1908 Springfield Ave., Maplewood 973-763-6700 pimentogrill.biz This family-operated restaurant and caterer serves up Jamaican food at its best. Offering an exclusive blend of authentic Jamaican dishes and tropical drinks, you’ll find wholesome food in a friendly environment. Sample the Peppered Shrimp, Jerk Chicken, and Curried Goat for the wonderful flavor Pimento Grill is known for. Closed Mondays. (L, D) $-$$ Restaurant K at Orange Lawn Tennis Club 305 N. Ridgewood Rd., South Orange 800-470-4335 krugcatering.com This sophisticated dining club is affordable with membership at $10 per year and serves Chef Krug’s highly-acclaimed New American cuisine with a Mediter- ranean and Middle Eastern influence. $29 two-course meals, tapas and desserts offered in an old-country setting. Exclusive food and wine events. Thurs. - Sat. (D) $$$ St. James’s Gate Publick House 167 Maplewood Ave., Maplewood 973-378-2222 stjamesgatepublickhouse.com Experience the best of Ireland’s Pub traditions fireside at this family-friendly gastropub. Serving traditional comfort food that is both basic and delicious and changes seasonally. Raw bar Fridays 4-7 p.m. Open daily. (L, D) $$ Splurge Bakery 105 Main St., Millburn 973-379-0740 splurgebakery.com Desserts and cakes are baked from scratch in small batches using only the finest ingredients. Try kid’s birthday cakes, specialty event fondant and buttercream cakes. Unique theme dessert tables, personalized logo and photo cookies, and corporate gifts ship throughout the country. Their famous Rainbow Cake begins shipping this summer! Open daily. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. $ Stony’s 10 Sloan St., South Orange 973-763-3330 stonysburgers.com If you’re looking for a place to please the whole family, Stony’s, owned and oper- ated by Laura and Stony Johnson, hits the mark with flavorful burgers and lots more. Choose from chicken sandwiches, lobster rolls, hot dogs, salads, fresh- squeezed lemonade and milkshakes. Dine inside or outside at the patio or choose pickup at the patio. Open daily. (L, D) $ The Roman Gourmet 153 Maplewood Ave., Maplewood 973-762-4288 theromangourmetpizza.com Family-owned and operated since 1971, The Roman Gourmet offers healthy, fresh Italian cuisine including specialty pizza, pasta, soups, salads, sandwiches and calzones. Dine in with counter service, takeout or delivery. Open daily. (L, D) $$ Village Trattoria 2 Inwood Pl, Maplewood 21 South Orange Ave., South Orange 973-761-7711 973-762-2015 villagetrattoria.com This bustling restaurant, with three locations including Maplewood, South Or- ange and Summit, serves up homemade Italian favorites in a family-friendly en- vironment with table service. Choose from thin-crust pizza, baked Italian dish- es, the freshest salads and mouth-watering daily specials. Open daily. (L, D) $ Interested in having your establishment featured in Food Matters? Contact us at MattersHello@gmail.com. FOOD MATTERS Starting with this issue, Matters Magazine brings you Food Matters a new section that showcases local food and dining options. Bon appetit! BGR (Burgers Grilled Right) 9 West South Orange Ave., South Orange 973-762-0050, bgrburgers.com Based on perfecting the art of grilling, Burgers Grilled Right (BGR) offers a creative lineup of burgers grilled on an open flame and cooked to order and temperature as well as salads, chicken, hand-spun shakes and veggie burgers made from scratch. Check out the burger of the month and $5.00 lunch spe- cials M-Th, 11-4. Open daily. (L, D) $ Lickt Gelato 411 Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood 973-813-5553, licktgelato.com This storefront factory uses hormone-free milk in their small-batch artisinal gelato and fresh fruits and juices in their sorbet (dairy-free and vegan). Favorites such as salted caramel and chocolate peanut butter are featured alongside rotat- ing seasonal offerings. Custom flavors and sizes available, as well as gift certifi- cates. 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Pete and Fifi serve up a great variety of food from the classic cheeseburger, gourmet salads, and sandwiches to the crusted tilapia. Top your meal off with their homemade baked goods. Open daily. (B, L, D) $-$$ B: breakfast Full bar L: lunch Delivery D: dinner Price range: $10, $$ 11-30, $$$ 31-60, $$$$ 60+ His ultimate break was when he and his choir were cast in the Denzel Washington/Whitney Houston movie, The Preacher’s Wife. This led the choir to tour the world, sing at the Atlanta Olympics and appear on Saturday Night Live. “The Preacher’s Wife took us to another level,’’ says Biggham. Biggham, of course, was already in a league of his own. He founded choirs from his earliest days; his Georgia Mas Choir was so big at one point – 600 members – it was difficult to find a place to rehearse. “I wanted to give people who would never have [it] an opportunity to record,” Rev. Biggham says. That he did. And not only through that choir. Biggham also had a long and illustrious career as a record producer, including a 2001 album by Lou Rawls. He was the Executive Director with the legendary Savoy Records, and won Grammys for producing Rev. James Cleveland’s albums Lord, Let Me Be an Instrument and Having Church. His work with Savoy brought him north – he had grown up in Georgia, Texas and Florida – and eventually to the great music city of Newark. In 1993, he became the preacher of the Mount Vernon Baptist Church and then bought a home in South Orange. He’s been here ever since. Among all the homes, careers and big ideas, Biggham has had two constants in life: music and church. “I was cloned from church,’’ he says simply. He comes from a long line of gospel singers, and his step- father was a preacher. By the time he was 10, he was singing in a choir. A few year later, he started piano lessons. Those didn’t take too well. He didn’t see a need for them, mostly because once he got a tune in his head, he could take it to the keys without ever writing it down. Even after writing some 500 songs he still doesn’t read music. In a sense, this seems how it should be for a singer in the gospel tradition. After all, the first gospel artists – African slaves – didn’t read music, often didn’t speak the same language, and had little, if any, access to musical instruments. Yet they composed some of the most important songs in the country’s musical canon. The tie between those singers and the ones Rev. Biggham directs became clear at the concert at Columbia in March. Entitled The Story of Gospel, the concert took its audience through a musical history of the art form, from those first spirituals to the latest incarnations, that adopt, as gospel always has, bits and pieces of secular music trends. What is striking about the songs is not only that the slaves took a religion imposed on them by those who enslaved them and found their own story reflected in it, but also took comfort and joy from that religion. The contemporary songs and those going all the way back to the spirituals are uplifting and often jubilant. It is as if the very making of the music begets the joy. “Church for us is the place where we found freedom.” Then and now. Biggham still travels to Georgia once a month to direct his choir. And they have a new release, I Still Have a Praise. But he says he spends most of his time shepherding his flock in Newark. “Church is at the forefront,’’ he says. “The great thing is I utilize all my gifts doing what I do.” Knowing people’s sorrows and weaknesses, and guiding them through their valleys, “takes you to a whole level that music doesn’t.” Of course, that doesn’t mean the showman is gone. The concert at Columbia High School was a fundraiser for Seth Boyden School, which his youngest son attends. But the show, which featured guest musicians who came from all over at Biggham’s calling, was such a success and the experience so uplifting, that Biggham is thinking about taking it on the road. If so, it will be the latest chapter in an incredible life story. Tia Swanson was happy to be able to witness Milton Biggham and his many gifts in concert at Columbia High School.