Thursday, December 30, 2010

At Sanducci's Trattoria in River Edge

Olives in olive oilImage via Wikipedia


We finally had dinner at Sanducci's Trattoria, which was forced by the blizzard to close Sunday and Monday, though there was no change in the recorded message I got when I called.

We arrived around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and the bi-level dining room filled up fast. Dark-wood furniture, columns and booths, and black-and-white family photos dominate the pleasant decor.

My son wasn't feeling well, and me and my wife felt like pasta with seafood, so we ordered only three dishes. I brought a bottle of Italian wine and we munched on crunchy bread and focaccia squares, which were served with a small cup of olive oil, wine, garlic and pulverized sun-dried tomato.

My son ordered soup, a large bowl of pasta e fagioli, also called pasta fazool ($4.50). I wanted to have the squid-ink pasta I enjoyed so much on my first visit to Sanducci's a few years ago, and selected the homemade black fettuccine with lobster ($18.95). My wife ordered capellini  with crab meat, but asked the kitchen to hold the light butter sauce ($17.50).

Because nearly all the other tables were occupied, we had to wait for our food. I drank my wine and nibbled on a slice or two of the bread, which I dipped into the oil-wine-tomato sauce.

When our pasta entrees arrived, they looked as if they had been sitting under a heat lamp for a few minutes. Still, they were delicious and the restaurant is generous with both tender lobster and crab. Next time, I'll order my black pasta with a tomato sauce, instead of the rich pink sauce I got.

My son loved his soup, and my wife brought home the angel-hair pasta she couldn't finish.

Sanducci's moved to a new location in November, a few blocks from its old building. In 2008, readers of The Record voted it one of the Top 5 Italian restaurants in the region, in a poll taken by the advertising department. 

We'll return for the table-side pasta night, which the waitress was describing to people at the next table: Caesar's salad, antipasto and unlimited pasta ($16.95) on Wednesday and Thursday nights. An all-you-can eat dinner buffet is served Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays (also $16.95). Check the hours for both offers.


Sanducci's Trattoria, 620 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge; 201-599-0600.
BYO, open seven days, parking in front and rear lots. Web site:


The new Sanducci's Trattoria 

 
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2 comments:

  1. That's a nice picture of the two olives in a plate of olive oil ... but where's the nose and the rest of the smiley face?

    ReplyDelete

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