Baristanet Profile: Josh Glatter

The latest installment of our Baristanet Profile series, where we get to know the people in our neighborhood:

Name: Josh Glatter

Where do you live? Bloomfield, NJ

When did you move there? 2005

Where did you grow up? Brooklyn, New York (Kensington/Ditmas Park sections), long before Brooklyn became the land of artisanal pickles, odd facial hair choices,  and TV series outside of Welcome Back Kotter, The Cosby Show, or The Honeymooners. In my mind’s eye, I still see it this way (though I can’ t personally recall personally witnessing any bank robberies.)   And while I’m happy  that Brooklyn finally got a professional sports team, I’ve endured far too much emotional trauma at the hands of the New York Knicks to flip allegiances at this point, tempting as it may be especially this godforsaken season.

How do you make a living? I’m an attorney but, like a cartoon in the New Yorker I always liked quipped, hopefully not in the pejorative sense of that word.  I’m a partner of a boutique litigation firm, Osen LLC, with offices in Hackensack and NYC. Currently, our  practice centers (plaintiffs’ side) on cases involving money laundering, terrorism financing, and other sorts of “threat finance”cases.  I also occasionally still dabble in consumer fraud and commercial litigation matters.

Coffee, tea or … ? Coffee, except after what is now an annual bout with some illness that makes me unable to drink the stuff, and then go on a tea drinking spree for at least 10-14 days, that – to my wife’s understandable chagrin –  results in my obsessively trying to discover the “perfect” tea, cluttering up the cabinet with various boxes, and then (usually at the two week mark) realizing I’m fine and happily returning to coffee (and then shifting to obsessively trying to determine what device makes the best cup o’ coffee at home. So far the MyCafe by BUNN and the Clever Coffee Dripper have proven the best).

What’s your idea of a perfect Saturday?  I’d say that for the last 4 years or so, attending CRAWFISHFEST up in Sparta, NJ with my  family and a large group of friends on the Saturday of late May/early June has always hit that mark.  I believe it’s the largest New Orleans-esque music fest outside of N.O itself, and has featured Dr. John, The Meters, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Galactic, and a ton of some of my other favorite acts. Truly a day the whole family likes (my children simply cannot appreciate how lucky they are to have seen The Radiators in their second-to-last-gig ever), with a huge Crawfish boil, beignets, etouffe, a kids tent, the occasional trip to the beer truck, Frisbee on the lawn,  George Porter Jr. or Tab Benoit rocking the crowd, and a whole bunch of friends and their families with a similar passion for the music and scene that we do. I wouldn’t mind a few more dates like that annually.

What’s your favorite local restaurant? Tough question – really depends on situation.  If out with the kids, Grimaldis and Anthony’s , both in Clifton, for pizza, Chengdu 23 by Willowbrook for terrific, authentic Szechuan, Koreander on Watchung, or Jose Tejas on Route 46 for great Tex-Mex and Cajun.  If just my wife and I, we’re big fans of Bloomfield’s Stamna for Greek food, loved Aozara (though it’s been a while since we’ve gone) and we also greatly enjoy Egan & Sons.  We recently all went to Ruthie’s for the first time and loved it.

What’s on your nightstand? BOSE IPod dock, clock radio, a series of sleep masks, and a bunch of books I keep promising to put away and negligently forgetting to.

Your iPod? At this moment, playing “Eyes of the World” – Phil Lesh & Friends, Warfield Theater, San Francisco, Dec. 12, 2004. (God bless the Wayback Machine’s collection of free, awesome quality downloads, by the Grateful Dead and PL&F!)

What are your current addictions? Coffee, Sons of Anarchy, correctly enunciating the standards for the “conscious avoidance”  doctrine, pretty much anything The Meters ever recorded, actually competing an entire issue of The Atlantic, Robert Caro’s masterful biographies of LBJ, foreign affairs,  and learning new and interesting ways the Mets and Jets can crush my soul into a fine powder.

Talent you would most like to have. Ability to play the guitar. I tried teaching myself once – kind of reminiscent of this…except Woody Allen’s character actually made a band…

What’s the worst-kept secret about Montclair? Montclair (and surrounding towns in Essex County like Bloomfield and others) are obviously in close proximity to Newark. And, for all of the tough press and criticism Newark receives (some of which is understandable) Newark offers a ton of wonderful things that makes this part of NJ (especially for those of us who grew up in NYC) a great place to live. The Newark Museum is awesome, NJPAC has phenomenal acoustics and gets great acts, the Prudential Center is a fantastic place to watch hockey, and the Ironbound is a great night of dining.

What do you hope they say about you at your funeral? “He was a devoted father, husband, and son, a great friend, a tolerably decent lawyer who once wrote a really effective footnote, and had great taste in music, film, and long-form television dramas.  Now, for the love of God , bury him before he stinks.”