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EHREN RYAN IS A RISING TALENT, SERVING A TASTE OF THE WORLD TO THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY WITH HIS NEWLY OPENED RESTAURANT, COMMON LOT.

Born in Sydney, Australia, the young chef was inspired by his high school teacher to pursue a culinary career. Accepted into The Hotel School, Ehren Ryan spent his college years gathering real-world experience, working for popular Sydney restaurants while attending class once a week. Graduating with a degree in commercial cooking after four years, Ryan was hungry to build on his foundation. Traveling to Europe, Ryan began making a name for himself by working in upscale restaurants across the continent.

In a recent interview, Ryan explained how valuable his time in Europe was, specifically crediting his experience with renowned restaurant, Sketch in London, established by master chef Pierre Gagnaire: “I was never exposed to that type of food before, the foie gras, the truffles…the rich food and plating.” The high-end work in Europe taught Ryan discipline, precision and the demanding responsibilities of running a restaurant. Familiar with the industry and confident in his abilities, Ryan set out to open his own restaurant with his wife and partner, Nadine.

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By Vicki Hyman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

From deep-fried hot dogs to fresh caught seafood, from street food from all corners of the globe to every style of pizza you can imagine, there are countless ways to pig out prohibitively in New Jersey. But where to start? With lots of input from (and much arguing with) a handful of fellow Garden State food lovers, we came up with the ultimate restaurant bucket list — the 51 restaurants any self-respecting New Jerseyan should try before they die.
Many are among the state’s top fine dining destinations, but there are also roadside diners, pizzerias, barbecue joints, ramen bars, a hot dog stand and even a clam shack. Beyond sensational food, we also took into consideration dreamy views, peerless service, singular interior design, and just plain Jersey quirk.

12. Common Lot, Millburn
Open not even a year and a half, Common Lot has rapidly cemented itself as one of the hottest tables in the state with luscious and adventurous seasonal dishes in a stylish but down-to-earth atmosphere.

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HAMILTON, NJ – Common Lot of Millburn was named Best New Resturant on Saturday at the Garden State Culinary Awards. The original candidate list was released in February, and then the top three vote-getters in each category were announced in April. The candidates are voted on by about 100 independent judges from around the state – journalists, food writers, cookbook authors and other culinary experts… Read More

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

When it comes to selecting cheese, I have two options: extra cheese or extra, extra cheese. As sophisticated as my process sounds, it’s evident that my affinity for cheese clouds my decision-making skills. Fortunately, there are individuals whose job is to guide people like me through the over 650 varieties of cheese, and Nadine Ryan is one of them.

In addition to owning Common Lot Restaurant in Millburn, New Jersey with her husband, Ehren, Nadine holds a cheese sommelier certification from Wifi Hohenems in Austria. Most of us are familiar with wine sommeliers, but cheese sommeliers are somewhat rare in the United States. Nadine received her certification abroad in 2007, but the certification exam was not available in America until 2012. In fact, less than 1,000 individuals hold the title in the U.S., but Nadine’s Austrian roots are helping to boost those numbers…READ MORE

Thank you Inside Jersey for featuring us in the 30 Best Meals Edition!

Here is a look at the cover: http://sections.nj.com/SS/Page.aspx?secid=160785&pagenum=25&sstarg=&facing=false&

Here is a look at the feature: ttp://sections.nj.com/SS/Page.aspx?sstarg=&facing=false&secid=160785&pagenum=29

We are so thankful and honored to have our own Chef/Owner Ehren Ryan’s recipes featured in Millburn-Short Hills Magazine on pages 40-41.

You can find the feature here:  https://www.joomag.com/magazine/millburn-short-hills-magazine/M0237124001449177600

True voices in restaurants are in short supply. That is sad. Many diners don’t even know, let alone understand, what a voice in food is. They should come to Common Lot, to learn.

Cook fingerling potatoes, for example, in lamb fat, and that diner will be educated. Duck fat is the fat du jour, has been for more than a decade now in progressive restaurants. But lamb is inherently gamey, and potatoes, a crop that does best in cold weather climes, gain a brave new soul when cooked in something heartier, meatier than the fat of duck. We learn, then, through the Ryans’ rendition of this cunning “small-to-share” starter plate, that meat-and-potatoes, the Germanic-influenced mid-20th-century essential supper of suburban America, how the most basic of the basics can evolve. There is a bit more on the plate to emphasize the evolution: a wash of creamy, rich burrata, of piquant onions, and a little shrapnel—mere shots—of bacon marmalade to set the dish squarely in the 21st century… READ MORE

We are so honored and thrilled to be included in the NJ Monthly Top 25 Best Restaurants for 2016! 
Thank you so much NJ Monthly! This is a huge achievement and we are so proud of the entire Common Lot team.

And we were delighted to host Janice Huff for the photo shoot at Common Lot! It was great to meet you Janice !

Two visits to Common Lot, a new restaurant in Millburn, convinced me that Ehren Ryan, an owner and the executive chef, is among the most talented cooks in the state. By May, only eight weeks after it had opened, Common Lot was booked for every seating on Friday and Saturday nights through July, and the restaurant does not take reservations more than 60 days in advance.

Mr. Ryan, 31, and his wife, Nadine Ryan, 27, the other owner and the manager, took three years to realize their vision. “We threw everything that we had into it — savings, inheritance and all that we had earned in 14 years of working,” said Mr. Ryan, who was born in Australia and worked his way up from dishwasher at age 15 to chef positions at Dinner by Heston and Sketch, London restaurants that have each received two Michelin stars. Ms. Ryan, a graduate of hotel management school in Austria, earned a certificate as a cheese sommelier in Europe and is devoted to tea. Note the spectacular Cynthia Rowley cups in which some of her teas may appear… Check out the full story here: NY Times Common Lot Review