Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that Bayonne will hold an Italian celebration on Thursday night, November 1.  The celebration will include a dinner and band music at the Villa Maria, 417 Broadway, Bayonne, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  The event is being presented by Mayor Davis and the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF), Bayonneâ€s community action agency. Mayor Davis said, “We would like to invite everyone to the second annual Italian celebration to benefit the BEOF.  It promises to be a fun occasion with great food and entertainment. This event will provide a great opportunity to enjoy Italian-American culture.  We look forward to seeing you there.”

The dinner will feature authentic Italian cuisine, along with beer, wine, soda, dessert, coffee, tea.  The admission charge will be $25 per person.  Music will be provided by Gerard Esposito, a Newark native who has sung at more than 4,000 performances since 1998.  Mr. Esposito sings the songs made famous by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Engelbert Humperdinck, Bobby Darin, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Paul Anka, and Tony Bennett.

          To reserve your place at the Italian dinner event, please visit beof.org, or call the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) at 201-437-7222.  Proceeds from the event will benefit the social programs and services provided by the BEOF.

          The Italian night is the latest in a series of ethnic celebrations in the past year that have also included evenings with Irish, Polish, Hispanic, and African-American themes.  The entire community is invited to all of the ethnic celebrations. 

The post Bayonne to Hold Italian Night With Food and Music on Thursday, November 1 first appeared on River View Observer.

Dining Italiano with Frankie and Dino on the Juke!

By Sally Deering

 The Barge Inn is a warm and cozy Italian restaurant on the corner of 3^rd and Monmouth Streets in Jersey City that offers lovers of Italian cuisine authentic family recipes in an atmosphere that makes you feel like you were invited to dinner at a friend’s home. And that’s just the way Linda and Peter “Bitzy” Paldino and Linda’s brother Richie Marto, who oversees The Barge Inn’s bar around the corner, want you to feel.

 Linda and Bitzy have been married 31 years and not only are they partners in life, they’re partners in business. They have a son Richard who is  a Detective on the East Orange Police Force for 6 years. Bitzy and Linda  have worked side-by-side for many years and  they even created one of the house specials named for him: Pork Chops Bitzy served with potatoes, onions, sweet and hot peppers ($22). The menu and a blackboard of daily specials offer variations of seafood, meat and poultry dishes that are cooked to order and made with fresh ingredients delivered that day.

 “Running the business has made us closer,” Linda says. “We’re partners every day and the reason it works is because we cut each other slack. We work hard. We’re here six days a week day and night.”

 With the aromas of fresh garlic and other seasonings wafting from Chef Peter Michielini’s kitchen, The Barge Inn’s small dining room beckons patrons to take their coats off and relax.  And as soon as you do, one of the waitresses – Eileen Gallo and Maureen Doyle – arrive at your table and take your drink order with a smile. It gets better from there. Not only is the service friendly and efficient, the atmosphere is warm and fun with Sinatra and Dino singing tunes from the corner Jukebox.

 “This is the ‘Cheers’ of Jersey City,” Eileen says as she serves a customer the house salad dressed in a light vinaigrette made with pecorino cheese, fresh garlic and Sea Salt. “Everybody knows everybody’s name.”

For appetizers, there are Fried Clams on the Half Shell (12 for $15; 6 for $8) Mussels Marinara (sweet or hot for $15) Shrimp Cocktail, Clams Oregonato, Shrimp Scampi and Sauteed Long Hot Peppers ($5-$15.) The Fried Calamari ($15) was absolutely delicious, moist and tender, in a light, crunchy breading. It came with a side of homemade tomato sauce seasoned just right for dipping. The Broccoli Rabe appetizer ($8) had just the right hint of garlic and olive oil and tasted like it was just pulled from the garden.

Seafood entrees feature Basa Oreganato, Shrimp Oregonato Fra Diavalo, Shrimp Marinara, Fried Shrimp ($20-$22) and Fresh Lobster Tails (market price.) If you try anything at The Barge Inn, make it the Fried Shrimp. They come topped with tomato sauce (the family’s “gravy” recipe) and mozzarella cheese and they were sensational.  The shrimp were not upstaged by the light breading and the texture of the shrimp burst with flavor with every bite.

Pasta lovers can choose from the Stuffed Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce; Homemade Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce, Penne with Vodka Sauce and Linguini with Red or White Clam Sauce ($13-$18).  The Homemade Cheese Ravioli were big and the cheese filling quite tasty.

Along with Pork Chops Bitzy, meat dishes include Chicken ala Barge with prosciutto, mozzarella, pimentos and mushrooms; Chicken Milanase, Chicken Savoy, Veal ala Barge, Veal Scallopini (red or white) and NY Strip Steak ($18-$24).  

There are Sides to choose from like Sausage or Meatballs ($4) and daily blackboard specials like Grilled Scallops ($20) Eggplant Rollitini with Pasta ($17) and Prime Rib ($19). Many of The Barge Inn’s recipes are those of Linda’s mother Maria Marto, like the “Sunday Sauce” which is the tomato sauce that’s made with  meatballs, sausage and pork. After the meats are cooked and removed, the sauce continues to blend the flavors of the meat which heightens its flavor. The cheesecake ($5) is Bitzy’s mother Lucille Fierro’s recipe and served on the dessert menu with Cannolli ($5) and Tartufo ($5).

The Barge Inn offers special nights, like Prime Rib night and their All You Can East Pasta night where for $7.95 you get a glass of wine, salad, appetizer and pasta served in the Sunday Sauce.

 “We’ve been doing that special a long time, but I don’t want to change it because the customers love it,” Linda says.

 Two regulars, Gina and Michael Lindsay of Jersey City say the first time they dined at The Barge Inn they felt like they were walking into someone’s home and they bring friends and relatives from out of town to show off how great the food is. Gina says, “They serve the best Veal Parmigiana I’ve ever had.”

 “It’s our neighborhood restaurant and our favorite place to be,” Michael adds.

 The Barge Inn has come a long way since John Marto opened the family business in 1961.

“When my father started the business, it was strictly seafood,” Linda says. “That’s why they called it The Barge.”

 One thing Linda, Peter and Rich have carried on from back in the day is their passion for serving delicious Italian food and their appreciation for their customers.

 “We have a good time here,” Linda says. “We love our customers.”

 The Barge Inn

324 3^rd Street

Jersey City, NJ

201-420-3268

The post The Barge Inn offers Fine Italian Cuisine in a Cozy Downtown Jersey City Neighborhood Bistro first appeared on River View Observer.

Thirty-eight years ago, Louis and Felice Laico opened a neighborhood restaurant on Terhune Ave in Jersey City, where families shared a huge pizza pie, soda came in a pitcher and beer flowed from the tap. A humble family eatery serving delicious Italian cuisine to neighborhood regulars, professors at the local colleges and old-timers who shared colorful stories of Jersey City back in the day.

 Although Louis and Felice have since passed on, their son Louis Laico, Jr, who worked side-by-side with his mom and dad, took over the restaurant, keeping that warm, ‘welcome-to-the-family’ ambience that invites you in as soon as you enter the door. Laico family members wait tables and bartend – Louis’s brother-in-law Jimmy Wolowitz is bar manager and Louis’ wife Gloria sometimes fills in when they need a hostess.

 Laico’s dining room offers a warm ambience and the bar has been somewhat modernized with sexy light spilling from Italian glass fixtures and HD-TV on the wall. But the restaurant’s main ingredient and menu regulars like spicy calamari; and Speidini alla Romana appetizers are house favorites along with entrees including Paglia e Fieno with shrimp and lobster in vodka cream sauce; Orechietti with broccoli rabe and sausage; and filet mignon scaloppini Madeira with wild mushrooms. Louis complements these dishes with daily specials like pan-seared Diver scallops; fresh-grilled Bronzino filet with grilled asparagus; and pastas like rigatoni with pork ragout. (Laico’s appetizers range from $6.95- to- $12.95 and entrees from $14.95- to- $26.95.)
 
“Louis started out using old family recipes and now he makes up his own recipes,” Nancy Salerno, Louis’s sister-in-law, who handles Laico’s PR, says. “Over the years, the menu has become fresher and lighter. In the beginning it was heavy Northern Italian, chicken parmesan, lasagna, things like that. Louis still makes those classics but added wonderful robust-y dishes like pastas, pork loin and veal chops.”

Hearty dishes attract hearty eaters and many of Laico’s regulars are Giants and Jets professional football players. When a reporter from Forbes Business magazine was doing a story on the teams, several members mentioned Laico’s as one of their favorite places. The reporter called Louis and said, ‘your name keeps coming up’ and after a visit to the restaurant, she named Laico’s the best Italian restaurant in New York and New Jersey.
 
Laico’s is also vegetarian-friendly and Louis can reconstruct dishes on the menu with a vegetable broth base and other vegetarian specifications. All entrees are served with a family-style salad made with Laico’s famous secret dressing and homemade garlic bread and fresh Italian bread. The full bar offers classic and specialty drinks and a vast selection of wines by the glass and bottle, and everything on the menu is available for take-out. Laico’s can also cater any type of party, business luncheon, wedding reception – you name it.

More than just a neighborhood eatery, Laico’s has a solid reputation in the tri-state area as a fine Italian restaurant serving great food at reasonable prices. And you don’t have to worry about finding a parking space, either. Laico’s offers free valet parking.
“Over the years, the clientele has become so diverse,” Salerno says. “It started out as a neighborhood pizza place and bar and now we have customers from New York, Pennsylvania. I have friends who live out of state and the first thing they do when they come to New York is eat at Laico’s. Teachers from New Jersey City University come at lunchtime and bring their family back at night for dinner. Seats are close and people are always striking up conversations with the people sitting next to them.  It’s really good food – nice portions at a reasonable price and people come back because it’s worth it. The atmosphere and the people that are here, it’s a nice social place.”
 
Laico’s Restaurant
67 Terhune Ave, Jersey City

201-434-4115
Reservations accepted – walk-ins welcome

Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-10 pm;

Fri, Sat 11:30 am-11 pm; Sun 1 pm-9 pm
Free Valet Parking
Photo of Laico’s Restauarant Yelp.com

The post Laico’s Restaurant Neighborhood Favorite for Over 30 Years first appeared on River View Observer.