I have a carefully-sculpted list of favorite restaurants. So any new find—in Jersey or NYC—has to be great to make my list. A unique menu, good service, or a really convenient location—whatever it is, the place has to offer something to make me crave returning.

I feel this way about a couple places around my hometown. While I was growing up, both my parents worked and my mom had two jobs for quite a while, so ordering in was common. That doesn’t mean we ate fast food, though. I got my high standards toward food from my mom, who prides herself on her gravy (the red sauce on pasta, for all you non-Italians) and unique but very edible concoctions. So wherever we ordered from had to meet her standards. Suffice it so say (since my mom is half Sicilian) most of the places we ordered from were Italian. Several stand out and you’ll hear about them here.

(Note: Both are closed on Mondays)

La Venere
614 Schuyler Avenue
North Arlington
(201) 997-8778
http://www.la-venere.com/

My absolute favorite has to be La Venere (Venere is Italian for Venus, the goddess of love). They’re the only place with my most-craved dish: shrimp fra diavolo over linguine, and they do it so well. The linguine has never been mushy, or dry and flavorless, which can be tricky to do when it’s delivery. The shrimp is always divine and the fra diavolo gravy is spiced with red pepper to just the right degree and has chunky tomatoes in it, which keeps it from being watery. I’m so going there tomorrow.

The restaurant, a BYOB, is small and the decor is simple and clean, with the requisite Soprano-sightings photos. But its simplicity has charm and an informal elegance, if that’s possible (read: white table clothes but no chandeliers and the like).

The appetizers that I’d recommend are the stuffed mushrooms and fried calamari, although I have heard people complain the calamari can be chewy. Their house salad and broccoli rabe are worth ordering, too. The salad is simple but always fresh. I’ve never seen a wilted lettuce leaf. The broccoli rabe is perfect: not too skimpy with the garlic and not too generous with the olive oil. Make sure to ask about their weekly specials, too.

My husband almost always orders a chicken dish, whether it’s chicken parmigiana or marsala, which are always rich and filling, but he, like the rest of my family, prefers our next restaurant, JoJo’s, because their portions are noticeably larger, so you’re always getting more for your money.

JoJo’s
726 Ridge Road
Lyndhurst
(201) 933-0360

One of the first things you’ll notice about JoJo’s menu is they have a lot of chicken meals named after different women: Chicken Gina, Cheryl, Anne, Jennie, etc. Despite the odd names—they’re not even all Italian!—the dishes are stable (nothing too crazy) and delicious, ranging in flavors from the lemony and creamy Chicken Cindy with artichokes in lemon, to the hearty and spicy Chicken Enid (yes, Enid) with hot vinegar peppers, mushrooms and potatoes. If you’re wondering where the traditional options of chicken parmigiana and francese are, they’re there but they’re called Chicken Tracy and Chrissy. All the dishes come with Italian bread and most come with a choice of spaghetti or salad, like similar places.Their salads come with extra large green and black olives, which always make me happy. I avoid the carrots (ew, in vinegar?).

You can only get JoJo’s delivered, so see if they reach your area, or make friends with someone nearby. Be warned though: most nights, it’ll take up to an hour before you’ll get your food, due to their popularity. And when that happens, your food could be lukewarm, as mine was once, but only once. Of course, I guess you can also order food to go.

You will definitely get an enormous portion—enough for two people or two separate meals (or for one seriously hungry person). They also have typical pasta dishes like pasta fagioli and rigatoni in vodka sauce, which are also quite plentiful. The rigatoni in vodka sauce is heavy duty, creamy and hearty. If you’re on a diet, or just trying to be healthy, stay far away from this one. Don’t even breathe in the aroma. My favorite is the Chicken Anne, which is penne with chicken, mushrooms and broccoli rabe in garlic and oil.

Their appetizers are minimal, but include simple favorites such as Grilled Eggplant, Grilled Portabella Mushrooms, and Garlic Bread. The two I’ve tried, Stuffed Mushrooms and Buffalo Wings, were really quite good. My family, as with most things, are quite picky when it comes to buffalo wings — they have to be super crispy and medium-hot spiced — and even they enjoyed the wings, saying they’d definitely order them again. Ah, to please the masses is a joy.

Two things I always judge an Italian restaurant by: their gravy (red sauce for all you commoners) and how/if they prepare broccoli rabe (pronounced “lohc-la-lab” by my Sicilian relatives. I don’t ask why.). If you’ve never had it, broccoli rabe is a bitter green leafy vegetable that has broccoli-like sprouts. It’s usually blanched and sauteed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil. You have to find just the right balance between the bitterness and garlic and oil. Far too many restaurants either leave it bitter and bland, or drench it in garlic and oil so that you don’t taste the vegetable. And, well, JoJo’s, which has been around since 1959, achieves this balance fairly well, though they include lemons and toasted breadcrumbs on top, which is new to me, but I liked it.

(To hear about the pizzas from these places, you’ll have to wait for our upcoming Pizza Parlor investigation/reviews).

Next, I’ll be reviewing Trattoria Gelone, a more upscale, sit-down Italian restaurant that actually doesn’t serve pizza.

— by Donna M.
Donna is both a Jersey native and recent transplant from NYC. She is executive editor and a co-founder of GoOutJersey.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!