Cinque Figlie-Whippany

[Rosie]

Chef Joe Mucerino has opened Cinque Figlie in Whippany and will also keep Cinque Figlie Morristown open. We had dinner at the Whippany location last night. We haven't been to this charming house since Le Delice closed. The interior is lovely; a flowered carpet, floral borders on the walls, pink tablecloths and fresh flowers along with delicate lace curtains all add to the ambiance. Villroy and Boch china was used. The menu covers were drawn by Chef Joe's five daughters.

Cinque Figlie Whippany has a full bar and we enjoyed a bottle of Carpineto 1999 Chianti Classico. When seated endive filled with a shrimp vinaigrette and bruschetta topped with juicy tomatoes were placed on the table. Bread was served warm--thank you-- and a bottle of fruity olive oil was on the table. For appetizers Lowell and I shared a pappardelle with fresh arugula and pecan pesto. Other enticing choices I would like to try next time are pumpkin and leek soup with grilled sea scallops or the grilled calamari in a fresh herb dressing. Lowell had a fabulous tilapia coated with pecans. It was the best rendition of this fish that I have had in a long time. I had tilapia in Israel fresh from the sea and this version topped that. Fresh vegetables and deliciously lumpy mashed potatoes came as sides. I had a pan seared salmon served over curried rissotto with sauteed shiitake mushrooms which were a delightful change. Other interesting entrees were grilled shrimp over black pasta; black risotto with mixed seafood and veal scallopini in a sweet and sour sauce with pinoli nuts. We were too full for dessert although the crème Catalana--Italy's version of crème brulee served with poached pears was tempting. Lowell had coffee.

Cinque Figlie is located at 302 Whippany Road, Whippany  973-560-0545.

[Jason Perlow]

"Other interesting entrees were grilled shrimp over black pasta; black risotto with mixed seafood and veal scallopini in a sweet and sour sauce with pinoli nuts."

He always has at least 1 squid ink dish on the menu... I like it when he has the ravioli or fettucine..

[tommy]

Quote: from Rosie on 9:35 am on Oct. 6, 2001

Lowell had coffee.

alright, who are you and what did you do with the *real* Rosie!?!?!?

rosie, i always got the impression that coffee was your favorite part of the meal.  you didn't have any?? ;)

[Rosie]

Tommy--I have been cutting out coffee at night unless I am at a restaurant that serves French Press. I am always disappointed. The most I will do is sip Lowell's coffee to see if it is as bad as it smells. However, the coffee last night was fine. Not great. But fine for NJ coffee. I sent you an e-mail about another matter.

[Jason Perlow]

Went to Cinque Figle Whippany yesterday with my in-laws after spending an entire day fixing their computer -- the menu is virtually unchanged from the original location in Morristown, which now has a scaled down menu and is run by the sous chef.

appetizers: I had a puff pastry with sea scallops and shitake mushrooms in a light black pepper sauce, very good.

Dad and rachel had the pumpkin soup with sea scallops, main comment was that the soup was a bit on the sweet side and needed salt. Even I who hate pumpkins and tried it liked it, but I agree with the salt comment.

Mom had a ceasar salad which was billed as "prepared at table" but was actually prepared out of view -- never the less it was a fine example and she at all of it, and it was a pretty big portion.

Fusspot Dad in-law decided to make a special request order modication of an appetizer special -- Prince Edward Island mussels in a saffron cream sauce -- ordered it as a dinner served over linquine. Ate the whole thing, didnt share any, so I guess he liked it a lot. :)

Mom had black and white bowtie pasta with shrimp and asparagus with fresh tomato sauce -- She didnt like the aftertaste of the squid ink in the pasta, but I tried a few bites and didnt notice anything weird, I thought it was really good. I'd definitely order this the next time around if it was avalaible, since I love shrimp in pasta. Each peice of pasta was half black and half white, sort of like the character Frank Gorshin played on that old Star Trek episode. Really neat looking.

Rachel who was in a meat mood ordered the filet mignon in a pink peppercorn sauce, which was not quite as piquantly harsh as a standard au poive and has a slight sweetness to it, very good. Rachel only gave me a little bite so I guess she really liked hers as well. :)

I had the Petti di Pollo gorgonzola, which was a pounded chicken breast topped with prosciutto, gorgonzola and a marsala-like sauce, accompanied by fresh sauteed spinach with garlic, a swirl of rich mashed potatoes, and a swirl of butternut squash puree. My only complaint is that there was not enough chicken there and I really wanted to order dessert, but we were rushed and had to leave after an hour and fifteen minutes.

All in all a really pleasant dining experience, and I'd definitely go back again. Chef Joe is really at the top of his form and I think this place is going to really start getting busy soon.

[Rachel Perlow]

I agree with most of what Jason said, just want to add a few points. First, the soup did not need to be heavily salted, but it did need a little salt. When I added it I definitely noted a perked up pumpkin flavor. Second, the farfalle wasn't equally half black & white; even more interestingly it was striped black & white. Really cool looking and we had a conversation about how it could have been made. The only waiter to move from the Morristown location, Joe, said it is made offsite, but specifically for Chef Joe.  Third, my steak was wonderful and cooked exactly to order medium-rare.

Comment on Rosie's post: Jason and I had been to that location in its previous incarnation as Alfredo's. The decor is exactly the same, maybe they changed some pictures on the wall.  I'm curious as to why Alfredo's closed. Since it never seemed too busy, I'll assume that is the reason and hope that Chef Joe will have the following to fill his new, larger space. Waiter Joe promised that they will keep Chef Joe in the kitchen (one of our favorite restaurants was ruined when they moved to a larger and fancier location and the Chef/owner decided to run the front of the house and stopped cooking).

Also, there is a large backyard area, I hope they make use of it either as a vegetable garden or as an outdoor eating area during the spring and summer.

[Rosie]

I was never at Alfredo's so didn't realize that some of the decor was the same. Rachel--I found your salt comment interesting. In the past Chef Joe was criticized for using too much salt. He must have cut back. Jason--I would be happy to give you a taste of my food anytime.

[SIPiller]

Alfredo is now working at Rosse's Cafe in Martinsville.

The food is quite good and very reasonable.