Giulia's Kitchen has new chefs, but the food is just as appealing

Cod Persillade on a bed of purple cabbage and leeks at Giulia's Kitchen, a Cliffside Park restaurant with new chefs and a new menu, described as contemporary comfort food.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The unsightly and noisy construction project across the street from Giulia's Kitchen in Cliffside Park could have something to do with why the dining room was nearly empty on Thursday night.

Slowed by rush-hour traffic, we were a little late for our 5:30 p.m. reservation, and the big hole in the ground has eliminated metered parking spaces on Anderson Avenue.

Forget about parking on the narrow side streets, which are packed with residents' cars and SUVs.

I finally found a space on Anderson, in front of a nail salon, but had to ask a cop if it was OK: The meter was covered by a plastic bag.

We were the only couple in the dining room of this neighborhood spot, and another customer sat at the bar in the back.

We had a terrific dinner of salad and fish, with only minor disappointments, and the meal was a relative bargain, thanks to a Living Social voucher, another sign the restaurant isn't doing as well as it could.

Branzino is a staple of restaurant menus, but Giulia's Kitchen managed to grill the farmed fish until the skin turned golden and crispy, and still deliver moist flesh. Delicious.

A wonderful salad of Grilled Corn, Tomatoes and Avocado.

Giulia's Grilled Romaine Heart sounded terrific, but was served still refrigerator cold, and the two big pieces were difficult to cut with a knife. The best thing about this salad were the anchovies.

I ordered a glass of Nero D'Avola Reserva from Sicily for $8, but was served only a half-glass. 

No other table was occupied during our meal.

I am sure the Pyramids in Egypt were completed in less time than this residential-retail project in the heart of Cliffside Park -- across the street from Giulia's Kitchen -- another sign of incompetent leadership in a town that has been ruled for decades by the Calabrese family.

Salad, cod and branzino

We started with a terrific Grilled Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad for my wife ($10). 

The salad, crowned by a large shrimp, was dressed in balsamic vinaigrette and rosemary aioli, a mayonnaise.

My salad, Giulia's Grilled Romaine ($8), would have been better if it had been cut into four pieces and spent more time on the grill to take away the chill from the refrigerator.

I couldn't have been happier with my entree, described as Fresh Top Loin Cod, a wild fish fillet, covered with fresh herbs and served over a warm salad of savory chopped cabbage and leeks ($24).

And I asked my wife to let my try some of her delightfully crispy Grilled Branzino, which was served whole with Ratatouille ($25). 

The farmed fish also is available as a fillet.

Our last visit

We visited Giulia's Kitchen last June, when Chef Michael Ostros came out to greet us at our table.

Chef Mattia Miradoli, 34, originally opened Giulia's, named for his daughter, in March 2013, but died unexpectedly in September of that year.

Thi Bay Miradoli, the chef's sister, is now manager of the restaurant, which reopened in May 2014.

Ostros is gone now, but the restaurant still serves many of Mattia Miradoli's original recipes with the help of a kitchen crew under the family's culinary guidance:

Fred, who was Mattia's sous chef; Moises, who was hired by Ostros; and Juanita.

Then as now, we purchased a Living Social dinner voucher for $35 that entitled us to $70 worth of food, plus tax and tip on the full amount.

Click on the following link to read about our first meal at Giulia's:

Our Day Boat Comes In

Details

Giulia's Kitchen, 696 Anderson Ave., Cliffside Park; 201-945-1680. Open for dinner only. Closed Sundays. Liquor license.

Parking meters are in force until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

Web site: Contemporary comfort food

My day boat comes in at Giulia's Kitchen in Cliffside Park

Four plump Day Boat Scallops served over broccoli rabe and polenta at Giulia's Kitchen in Cliffside Park ($24). Scallops harvested by day boats are the freshest around.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I wanted to have an early dinner at Giulia's Kitchen in Cliffside Park on Friday to make sure the chef didn't run out of fat sea scallops, one of my favorite shellfish.

Photos of the scallop entree were seared in my memory from a newspaper story and on the Living Social site, where I bought a $35 voucher for $70 worth of food.

The dish didn't disappoint: Perfectly grilled, medium-rare scallops perched on top of pleasantly bitter broccoli rabe, a bit of pesto and a cheesy cake of polenta ($24).

But I couldn't help notice my entree had only four scallops, compared to the five I saw in the photos. A great dish, nevertheless.

The Lobster Roll appetizer is served on a much larger roll than elsewhere, meaning a lot more lightly dressed lobster meat ($20). 

Hearts of Romaine is an interesting take on Caesar's Salad, with shaved Manchego Cheese, white anchovies, nuggets of delicious fried eggplant and grape tomato halves, but it could have used more dressing ($8).

Another great salad

My wife ordered Hearts of Romaine ($8) followed by a Lobster Roll appetizer ($20).

I started with another terrific salad, a Beet Stack, which was served with goat cheese on a bed of peppery arugula ($9), and I finished my meal with Day Boat Scallops ($24).

I ordered a glass of Five Rivers Pinot Noir, which cost a reasonable $7.

A salad of peppery arugula surrounds the Beet Stack ($9).

The spacious dining room is in a brick building at Anderson and Grant avenues in Cliffside Park, opposite an enormous hole in the ground that has been under development for more than five years smack in the middle of the shopping district.

"Contemporary Comfort Food" is the phrase that appears with the restaurant's name on the large plate-glass windows.

A Bob Marley soundtrack welcomed us when we arrived for an early dinner on Saturday. Large blackboards list charcuterie and desserts.

First to arrive

We made a reservation for 5 p.m., and got a table in the window.

After a while, Chef Michael Ostros came out of the kitchen to greet us, and I told him I was looking forward to the Day Boat Scallops.

I wanted to make sure they were on the menu. He said he got them from the Hunts Point Market, and I mentioned day boaters from Viking Village in Barnegat Light, on the Jersey shore, are famous for their sea scallops.

Ostros said he would look them up.

Minor complaints

I plan to return to Giulia's Kitchen to try other seafood dishes on the menu, but have two minor complaints:

The bread served with olive oil isn't a match for the high level of food preparation, but that would be easily remedied by ordering crusty dinner rolls from Balthazar Bakery in Englewood.

And some staffers seem inexperienced.

We called the restaurant a few times, and the man who answered the phone asked, "How can I direct your call," as if he had worked in a hotel for many years.

And on Saturday evening, around 5:45, I got a call from the restaurant, asking if I planed to keep my 5 p.m. reservation.

I explained I did -- the night before. 

Details

Giulia's Kitchen, 696 Anderson Ave., Cliffside Park; 201-945-1680. Open for dinner and, starting Wednesday, for lunch. Full bar. Closed Sundays. Free parking on side streets.