When Laicoâ€s Restaurant Jersey City  opened in 1972, it was a brick-oven pizzeria and bar for the neighborhood locals. The Laico family eventually expanded the menu to include an extensive menu filled with home-made Italian specialties. Mixing both modern and traditional dishes on the menu, the award-winning restaurant has been run by three generations of the Laico family for over 40 years. Lou Laico and his sons Adam and Gregory are presently at the helm.

“I used to work here after high school and college,” Adam Laico says. “Iâ€ve been here full-time seven years. My brother Gregory and I are third generation. My father still plays a big part; heâ€s still involved.”

Fresh ingredients and 40 years of cooking expertise are in every dish, from their famous homemade garlic bread and secret house salad dressing to their tasty entrees and delicious desserts.

“We make our own sauce fresh in the morning and every dish is made to order,” Adam says. “We stuff the mushrooms per order, stuff the shrimp per order. Anyone can walk into our kitchen in the morning and see seven or eight pots on the stove. We make our own sauce, we make all the doughs – we bake our own bread. We make our own salad dressing, too.”

(If you want to take home some of that delicious salad dressing, Laicoâ€s sells it for $6.95 a bottle; just ask your server.)

The menu features appetizers like Eggplant Rollatine, Baked Clams, Zuppa di Clams (Red or White), Spiedini alla Romana, Shrimp Cocktail, Shrimp and Red Onions with Garlic & Oil, Spicy Calamari, Mozzarella en Carozza, Mozzarella, Basil, Fresh Tomatoes, and Onions, Mussels (Red or White), and Stuffed Mushrooms.

Brick-Oven Pizzas include the Margherita, Quattro Formaggio (four cheese), Spicy Sausage, Spinach, Provolone, and Mozzarella, Broccoli Rabe and Sausage, and the Wild Mushroom. If youâ€re in the mood for pasta thereâ€s Ravioli, Farfalle (Bow Ties), Filetto di Pomodoro, Rigatoni Arrabbiata with Shrimp, Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage, and Paglia e Fieno with Shrimp and Scallops in a Vodka Cream Sauce.

“The Paglia e Fieno with Shrimp and Scallops is one of our signature dishes,” Adam says. “Our dishes are traditional Italian like our Eggplant Rollatine.”

Seafood dishes like Tilapia Francese, Marechiara, or Oreganato; Shrimp in White Wine Sauce, and Shrimp Scampi and Shrimp Parmgiana are also on the menu, along with poultry dishes like Pan-Fried Chicken Breast with Tomatoes & Onions over Mixed Field Greens, Chicken Breast sauteed with Peppers, Mushrooms, and Potatoes, and Chicken Breast Francese, Piccata, or Parmigiana.

From the Broiler, Laicoâ€s serves certified Black Angus Sirloin Steak, Filet Mignon (Grilled) and Filet Mignon Scaloppini Madeira with Wild Mushrooms. There are daily specials, too, and the regulars come back regularly for the different ways Laicoâ€s serves pork chops, Adam says.

“We run some type of pork chop special every day,” Adam says, “like Pork Chop Elephant Ear Parmigiana. Thatâ€s very popular. So is the Grilled Pork Chop with Long Hot Peppers.”

Laicoâ€s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Donâ€t worry about parking. Thereâ€s a dinner-time valet to park your car, even on busy Saturday nights.

One happy customer posted this on Laicoâ€s website: “I was raised three blocks from here and have been coming to Laico’s since the ’80s… Whether you are from Jersey City or Chatham or Los Angeles, this place makes you feel like a member of the Laico’s family.”

If you go

LAICOâ€S

67 Terhune Ave, JC

(201) 434-4115

www.laicosjc.com

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