Published October 29, 2023

New Jersey had the most polarizing weather in October — it rained every weekend, the weekdays were sunny and in the 60s and 70s, and the mornings were brisk and chilly. The trees in our area were brushed from green to orangey-gold, and pumpkins and mums soon decorated front walkways and porches.

This is my favorite time of year. I was excited to enjoy the seasonal activities. For October, I avoided horror movies, haunted houses, and jump-scare hayrides.

Inspired by the historic adventures we had during our Maine vacation, I found a historical and somewhat spooky house tour, with an amazing restaurant nearby to visit.

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House

Tickets to the Armour-Stiner Octagon House sell out quickly, so if you want to book a specific seasonal tour, I recommend you do so a few weeks in advance.

I booked the Armour-Stiner Octagon House tour in October for its additional room featuring a cabinet of curiosities, which I felt was a nice nod to Halloween.

Armour-Stiner Octagon House Exterior

We followed a one-car dirt driveway through a row of pine trees, where we presented our tickets and parked on the grass beneath some trees.

Our car looked out onto the expanse of lawn, where gardens and greenhouses were tucked along the back of the property. The large carriage house was to our left. The Armour-Stiner Octagon House was to the right, framed by the reaching tree branches.

The house was stunning even from a distance. The architecture reminded me of Florence, Italy, with its dome and details.

The small tour group stood taking pictures of the blooming pink tree dead center of the long wrap around porch. Massive pumpkins, dwarfed by the architecture. trailed up the wide concrete steps leading up to the porch on either side of the house.

Our tour guide looked like an art director. Her white hair was cut into a sleek bob. She had thick rimmed black glasses and an entirely black outfit — from her boots to her cardigan. She corralled our group of 10 up to the front porch.

You could see the detail of the architecture as we climbed the steps, past the concrete lion and rows of pumpkins. The house had incredible detail, beautiful colors, and was gorgeously preserved.

We claimed various rocking chairs and benches on the front porch, where the first leg of our tour began. Our guide shared information about the history of the owners, the B-list horror movies that were filmed at this location, and that the Armour-Stiner Octagon House is the only octagon house in the world that is an octagon shape and has a dome.

We moved into the house where we went room by room. We learned about the architecture of the foyer — which reminded me of the Mark Twain House tour, as well as the unique room shapes (given that the house is an octagon).

I was happily surprised that we were allowed to take photos during our tour. I snapped photos of the wide, dark trim and the hand-painted ceilings. One of the triangle-shaped rooms, which functioned as an office, looked like it had striped wallpaper, but it was really all hand-painted details.

I won’t give away the unique stories from the tour. We visited multiple floors and stopped in several rooms throughout the house (passing over the personal rooms of the family who own the house). I loved the antique furniture throughout the spaces and especially the wrought iron stove in the kitchen.

We finished the tour with the Cabinet of Curiosities, which was in the basement. I expected this bonus exhibit to be related to Halloween, or to have some spookier paranormal elements. Instead, it was a collection of taxidermy animals, especially birds, and glass jars of different insects and reptiles. I didn’t love that, but it was a bonus exhibit with the tour, so one can’t complain. The tour itself was great.

Exciting through the gift shop — which had adorable Christmas ornaments and stickers — we climbed the steps back up to the property and popped out on the side of the home. We had a few more opportunities to photograph the building before the next tour started.

Overall, I highly recommend a visit to The Armour-Stiner Octagon House. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and funny. The house is gorgeous and there are many stories and facts to learn about its history. Plus, other tours are available offering different themes to correspond with the seasons.

Lunch at Mumbai Dreams

Since we were in the area, we decided to get lunch at Mumbai Dreams which is an Indian Restaurant that had been on my radar for a while.

We arrived at the restaurant at 2:30, which gave us pause, considering they closed at 3:00 to reset for dinner. I did not like to be rushed to eat, so I wondered if we should come back later for dinner.

The owner, or manager (I wasn’t sure), asked us, “Would you like a seat?”

“You close soon, right?” I asked.

“We won’t rush you.” He promised. We decided to take the gamble and were led through to the back dining room which was filled with guests.

Booth seating lined the wall and two top tables ran the length of the room. We took the last table on this side of the room and settled in with a variety of laminated menus.

Mumbai Dreams Menu

Three menus offered lunch portions, dinner portions, and specials.

We spent the most time studying the orange and white lunch menu. We placed our drink and appetizer order while we decided on our main courses.

Drinks

We saw the “refreshers” section of the menu and were intrigued to try some of those drinks with our meal.

Gulabo Refresher | $9.00 

My boyfriend picked this drink and it arrived in a narrow glass with several colorful layers.

The Gulabo Refresher was sweet and, well… refreshing. The menu said it had watermelon, lemon, rosemary and lavender. It reminded me of the flavor of a Starburst. I enjoyed this drink and would order it again. 

Aam Panna Refresher | $9.00

Let me preface this selection by saying I know nothing about traditional Indian dishes or spices. Thus, when I saw a refresher drink with mango, ginger, and mint, I assumed I would like it.

In hindsight, I should’ve stirred the drink before taking the first sip. It was not the sweet mango flavor I was expecting. Instead, it was bubbly and tasted savory, like spices.

As the first item of the meal, and on an empty stomach, I did not like it. However, after eating some of the appetizers, the flavor of the drink actually tasted a little sweeter. I wouldn’t order this refresher again, as I prefer sweeter drinks, but it was a fun experience to try it.

Appetizers

Dahi Puri | $14.00

I was excited to try this appetizer. The menu specified that it had channa masala, cardamom infused yogurt, and cilantro. 

The Dahi Puri were light and crisp. I was worried their filling would be spicy but it wasn’t. I think the yogurt helped with that. I would order these again, as they were a good size appetizer to share.

Butter Chicken Mac and Cheese Samosa | $15.00

This appetizer intrigued me. I was excited to try a dish from their “East Meets West” category. The idea of butter chicken flavors in a samosa with Mac and cheese sounded delicious. 

Two large samosas arrived cloaked in melted cheddar cheese. The outer wrapper of the samosa was dense and thick and reminded me of an egg roll wrapper without the fried texture. 

The filling was mac and cheese with butter chicken sauce, but the samosa wrapper absorbed most of the flavor of the sauce. There was a small coin of sauce beneath the samosas, and taking a bite with that extra sauce made a difference. 

Overall, I thought the concept of this appetizer was exciting, but the outcome was just okay. I wouldn’t order it again. I suggest adding a cup of the butter chicken sauce for dipping the samosas in, to help provide more of the butter chicken flavor. 

Our appetizer plates were cleared. By now, the 8-person table in the back right corner left. The two couples to my right finished their meals and paid. A pair of friends sat to our left and were served their lunches, so I wasn’t worried about us being rushed. The back left of the room was still full of two-person tables and a large circular table of 5 with a baby.

The front dining room felt light and colorful, likely because of the large windows that looked out on the parking lot. The back dining room was dimmer and cozier, but still had pops of color from the bright cloth napkins at each table setting and from the decor on the walls.

Entrees

Chicken Tikka Masala Basmati Bowl | $14.00

My boyfriend ordered the basmati bowl and selected chicken tikka masala for his protein. The bowl came with dal tadka, fried onions, cilantro, red cabbage, and raita on top of the basmati rice. We also ordered a side of butter naan.

This was a large portion and you can see that there’s a good portion of the chicken tikka and the dal tadka. My boyfriend said the dish had some spice to it, but the raita helped to cool it off.

Fried Butter Chicken Sandwich | $21.00 

I first learned about Mumbai Dreams by seeing their chicken sandwiches on Instagram. While I was tempted to order a basmati bowl for my meal, I decided to try one of the chicken sandwiches. 

This sandwich was massive. It had two crispy chicken cutlets that were dipped in butter chicken sauce and topped with melted gouda cheese. A pile of crisp red cabbage sat on top with a hot and sweet aioli, pickles, and brioche roll. Plus, I got a side of Masala fries which were crispy and seasoned.

I used a fork and knife to eat this sandwich, it was so large. It was divine. Most of the spice came from the aioli but it wasn’t unbearable for me. I would 100% order this again and would return to try the other items on the menu.

What was your October Highlight?

Overall, we had an exciting adventure to New York state. The Armour-Stiner Octagon House was gorgeous and the perfect level of spookiness for me. Our lunch at Mumbai Dreams was delicious and I was grateful that we could squeeze in for their lunch seating. Their chicken sandwiches are to die for, and I would love to visit again to explore more of their menu.

Did you attend a spooky Halloween activity, bake a new seasonal treat, or try a new restaurant? Leave a comment below and tell me about it.

If you’re looking for more restaurant recommendations and adventures, click here to read more.