Rating: 💋 💋 💋
Hello everybody! This week's restaurant steps outside New York state lines and brings us down to South Jersey, where I got dinner with my family.
Just to note: I was born in Pennsylvania, my relatives live in Philly, and I went to high school in Philly, but I grew up in the lovely South Jersey.
Yes, indeed, New Jersey is "the arm pit of America," as some people like to say. Here is the thing though, I am allowed to say that, because I am from there. I have experienced it. I know what I am talking about and I have earned the right. If you are not from New Jersey, stop talking now. You can say whatever you would like about your state, but don't come messing with mine. (I wince as I write that cos I really don't want to take ownership of New Jersey, but for the sake of the point.) My brother's crew coach in high school once said that New Jersey is just a sandbar intended to protect Philadelphia from a tsunami and, while that is a great slam, it was still uncalled for because he was from Pennsylvania. He does not truly know our suffering.
All that being said, (and no offense to my friends in New Jersey, you're all lovely), the good thing about Jersey is that is where my parents live. They'd like to get away from the chain of developments, strip malls, and diners and move back to Philly, but for now they are just across the Ben Franklin bridge and I love to go visit them there. On my last visit, we went to this Italian restaurant called ITA 101 and, if you are ever in the area, I recommend stopping by. It's a solid choice. New Jersey has some winners too.
Each night at ITA 101, the chef focuses on a different region of Italy, and draws all his inspiration from that region's cuisine. Personally, I love this. Italy is actually a younger country than the US, so each region was once an independent city-state. As you can imagine, this means they all have highly developed personalities. Florence, for example, where I lived two years ago, prides itself as the origin of the Renaissance and the widely accepted Italian dialect, so made popular when Dante switched to vernacular from Latin. It is the major city of the region, surrounded by the famed Tuscan vineyards, so it is proud of its high culture full of fine art, cuisine, and literature. When we went to ITA 101 for dinner, the chef had chosen the Liguaria region of Italy as his inspiration. Most famous for Cinque Terre, I had never gotten to visit there while I was in Italy, so I was excited to get a small taste of it while at home, as prepared by an Italian-trained chef.
To start off, our waiter was very easygoing and joked around with us as he opened all of the wine and beer we had brought. When my sister asked for a napkin, since her setting was missing one, he was comfortable enough to fetch another one right away and make a joke, rather than getting upset or thrown off. His good humor carried through the night and made the meal even more enjoyable.
The bus girl, on the other hand, very clearly did not want to be there. I have been a bus girl and I have been sixteen so I get it, but you've got to soldier on. I'd say she more of plodded through the night. She actually cut directly in front of our waiter when he was trying to take our orders so she could put bread on our table and fill our waters. Whether she had a Chem exam to worry about, bratty girl drama, or a turkey dump heartbreak on her hands, she wanted to make sure we all new it: she was suffering. Yikes!
The bread and oil she brought were delicious in their simplicity though. The bread had a firm, floury crust and a squishy center, perfect for sponging up the extra virgin olive oil. Additionally, my brother, Conor, ordered the focaccia con taleggio, olive, e rosmarino e mozzarella. I had a piece of the rosemary focaccia, because I thought that sounded the most exciting, and with the mozzarella dripping over it, my eyes were rolling into the back of my head with pleasure. So! Good! I would like to thank Conor very much for sharing.
Here we have everyone's dinner pictured, except for Conor's Corzetti al Vino Rosso con Ragu di Cervo, because he would not let me take a picture. Sigh. It's fine.
From top: my Dad's venison entree with carrots and beet farro, Reilly's Fetuccine con Ragu di Cinghale, Mom's Pesce e Capesante con Carciofe e Ceci, and the Capelli d'angelo Pesto Siciliano con Pomodoro that Shannon and I each ordered.
The verdicts: my Dad's venison was not bad, per se, but a bit confused. There was too much going on in the dish and it was not totally working. Reilly, on the other hand, our Pasta Princess, was over the moon with her fettucine, and my Mom would not stop raving about her red snapper until I took a bite. Actually, she kept raving about it, she just had me to back up her point: the fish was light and provided the perfect foundation to hold up the briny artichoke and garlicky pesto. The dish was a wonderful fusion of strong flavors on a fresh, neutral base. As for my dinner, I loved it. I am crazy about pesto, and I was glad they spiced it up here and did the Sicilian version, which adds tomato to the dish and makes things a bit more interesting. The pasta clumped together in a delicious explosion of shaved parmesan, pesto, and pignoli, and every bite was a happy one.
Of course, I ate the whole thing, and when my Dad pointed it out to the waiter, the waiter exclaimed, "I know, she eats like a mouse!" He then proceeded to refer to me as "The Mouse" for the rest of the night, so there's that.
It was a good meal fueled with great conversation about our Christmas plans, Conor's rude neighbors in D.C. versus Shannon's and my experience with a sauna as a living space in Brooklyn, and Reilly's final list of prospective colleges. It was a bit exciting too, as all of our conversations danced lightly around the possibilities in our futures and what we're going to do. I've got big plans, my friends, but all will be revealed in time.
As for now, all I can say is I went home from ITA 101 more stuffed than I was after Thanksgiving dinner, and I will gladly go back. Hopefully, the bus girl will be having a better day, and the chef will have switched out the venison, but no worries. Not every experiment can be a success, but as long as there's good wine and pasta as a back-up, you're doing okay.
XX,
MK
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