Caruso's Grill

[tommy]

on the strength of jason/rachel perlow's post about this chain-looking place, i stopped in tonite for a quick bite.

the place reeks of a chain. but, as jason suggested, it's really not. the restaurant group that owns Candela (NYC) and Fratelli (Ridgewood, NJ) owns this place. from what the manager says, they are more "closely" related to Candela. hell, i'd say the same too. but i have a feeling his point was valid. they share the same chef.

this place suffered from the same problem that i've seen at Candela, but not from the same problem i've seen at Fratelli:

1) warmish oysters, found at Candela

2) crappy food, found at Fratelli

maybe it's me, but i like my oysters a bit on the coldish side. i distinctly recall having warmish oysters at Candela. perhaps, along with a chef, Caruso's shares ice with Candella? the oysters were served with a generous amount of horseradish and a cocktail sauce that had separated and tasted more of ketchup than anything exciting. i understand the need to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but cocktail sauce is a cheap and easy way to make a dish stand out, with little thought. assuming the sauce was presented simply as a base for the horseradish may be one explanation, but not a very good one.

the pasta, however, was much better than what i've, um, sampled at Fratelli. Fratelli suffers from mediocrity. overcooked, oversauced, bland pasta. (decent pizza though).

the bolognese at Caruso was actually pretty good, as jason suggested. veal, beef and pork, in a sauce that was full of flavor, and not too creamy. this dish, right or wrong, often suffers from too much ground beef and too much sauce in this area of NJ, imho. the pasta here was done very well.

the wine list was reasonable, both in selection and price, for a place like this. new world and old world wines were offered, at anywhere from 100 to 300 percent markup. i found the amarone, which normally retails at about 18, offered at 40. not bad. a 1998, i expected to see a fuse hanging out of the cork as this thing was such the fruit bomb. [homer voice]mmmmmmmmmmm, fruit bomb with bolognese[/homer voice]

while they pride themselves on not being a chain, they really can't avoid the vibe. the room is huge and multi-level. the sign outside is neon. the clientele looked like they'd be just as happy at TGIF (subjective opinion, of course). apparently, on thursday nights, the place turns into a real "disco-pahtay". tables are removed. DJ comes in. tunes are cranked. i'm not sure i'll ever witness this (oh i lie, i'm sure i'll end up there with the boys on some night, looking for trouble), but it doesn't help them shed that "chain feel". but hey, whatever pays the rent.

happy hour at the bar starts at 4 i suppose, and goes through til 8 pm. half price on all drinks. this includes wines by the glass. my glass of prosecco was 4 bucks. can't get hurt there.

6 oysters, 1 prosecco, 1 (40 dollar) bottle of amarone, and the pasta came to about 65 before tip.

after a 3 month quest for decent pasta in this part of bergen county, i'm happy to say that i'd return for this particular dish. but not the oysters, which are orders of magnitute better at that place in the mall down the street whose name i always forget.

note: in Fratelli's defense, Drew Nieporent, who is da man at Myriad Restaurant Group (Nobu, Layla, Tribeca Griill, Montrachet, Heartbeat, et al) has a home in the town that Fratelli is located, and has cited it as one of his favorite local places. maybe he likes pizza.

Edited December 17, 2002 by tommy (log)

[Rail Paul]

note:  in Fratelli's defense, Drew Nieporent, who is da man at Myriad Restaurant Group (Nobu, Layla, Tribeca Griill, Montrachet, Heartbeat, et al) has a home in the town that Fratelli is located, and has cited it as one of his favorite local places.          maybe he likes pizza.   

Of course, Drew is one of the more recognizable characters around. Not Mario-visible, but any busboy who desn't recognize him deserves to have his butt kicked...

[tommy]

now he is for sure.

[pete ganz]

Is this the place across from Sam Ash, where Jose Tejas used to be?

[tommy]

yes pete.

[menton1]

Tommy, I'm with you 100% on this one-- Any place that calls itself "Tuscan" and hasn't the foggiest idea even where Tuscany is, no less have food representative of the area, qualifies in my mind as a "gimmick" place where the food is lousy. Ask them what Ribbolita is (the ubiquitous soup of Tuscany) and you will get a blank stare. I also agree that Fratelli has "chain" style food as well.

[pete ganz]

I went there once about a year ago and didn't think much of the food (nice surroundings however). The osso buco was extremely fatty, even for that cut of meat, and the sauce tasted like it came out of a jar. Seems like it's worth going back for the pasta though. Don't they bill themselves as a Tuscan steak house? Maybe it's worth trying the steak as well.

[tommy]

Tommy, I'm with you 100% on this one--  Any place that calls itself "Tuscan" and hasn't the foggiest idea even where Tuscany is, no less have food representative of the area, qualifies in my mind as a "gimmick" place where the food is lousy.  Ask them what Ribbolita is (the ubiquitous soup of Tuscany) and you will get a blank stare.  I also agree that Fratelli has "chain" style food as well.

but i actually *liked* it.

[Jason Perlow]

Like I said, if you disregard the atmosphere and stay away from the dubious high ticket items, you can actually have a pretty good meal there. Considering all the horrendous food on the main RT 4 Paramus shopping drag, if traffic is bad and you are stuck in that area, its a good respite for a nice bowl of pasta.

[201]

I figured it might make more sense to put my comments here on the Caruso's thread (since they originally were on the La Vecchia Napoli thread):

RE: Caruso's

I'm glad that someone had a good experience at Caruso's. My own experience there was enough to dissuade me from going back. Granted, it was a long time ago, but the service seemed to be a little condescending (such as overly emphasizing the prices while reciting the specials as if to say "Hey guy, are you sure you have the money for this?") and the food was pretty forgettable. Actually, the only entree I remember (out of the four at the table) was a steak ordered medium and coming out charred to a crisp on the outside and extremely rare on the inside (I believe that's black-and-blue rather than medium, right?).

The other aspect that I thought was amusing was how the waiter made a big deal of how large the portions are, but of course, my friends and I all left the restaurant still hungry. I'm sure that others have had much better meals there, but I guess we caught them on a night when they were particularly "off".

edit: I guess I should note that no one at my table ordered a pasta dish... at least not one that I can remember!

Edited December 17, 2002 by 201 (log)

[tommy]

specials were not mentioned to me. perhaps they have none on monday.

[201]

specials were not mentioned to me.  perhaps they have none on monday. 

Hey, at least they're open on Monday! That's a plus in my book.

[Rachel Perlow]

Come to think of it, it may have been a Monday when we went there. Probably part of the reason we ended up there.

[menton1]

Napa Valley Grill, Garden State Plaza, Route 4-- Open Monday-- A VERY good restaurant!