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Trattoria Fresco, Caldwell 7/16

adegiulio

By adegiulio
in New Jersey: Dining

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Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted

I'm officially emotionally traumatized by Mr. & Mrs. Tommy's cancellation. :wacko:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted

Fatcat's too...!

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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phenomprincess

phenomprincess

Posted
Posted

I just found out that my husband is playing hookey from school tonight, so we would like to join everyone for dinner. Any suggestions on wine?

We are really looking forward to meeting everyone.

Thanks!

"I can resist everything except temptation." Oscar Wilde

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Rosie

Rosie

Posted
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Great news phenomprincess and Mr. phenomprincess. Bring what you like or if possible go to Tommy and fatcatbrews house and get their wine to bring~

I'm bringing a Turley(red) and either a reisling or cab sav.

I've lost count of who's coming and who is not coming.

adegiulio???

Anyone hear from zeman?

Rosalie Saferstein, aka "Rosie"

TABLE HOPPING WITH ROSIE

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adegiulio

adegiulio

Posted
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Me and Amy

Evie

Nj2FLA and his GF

Rosie and Lowell

Mike and Joanne

Mark

Frank n' Lindsay

Phenom and Husband

Sounds like 14 to me...

Zeman, if you get back to me before 3:30, you're in...Thats when I am calling to confirm our number...

See you all tonight!

Anthony

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted

I'm going to bring a bottle of Moscato d'Asti, unless y'all want me to bring something else...

And the sun is back out--great night for dining al fresco! :biggrin:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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adegiulio

adegiulio

Posted
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Shoot, I confirmed for 16....

Zeman, you out there?

Brady?

Beuller?? Beuller??

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted
Shoot, I confirmed for 16....

Zeman, you out there?

Brady?

Beuller?? Beuller??

hopefully it won't be a problem with a few people plus or minus, no?

i think that perhaps zeman spends some time on the road away from the PC, so you might not be hearing from him. just throwing that out there.

tommy:eats.com
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adegiulio

adegiulio

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Sorry, bradyjr is my husband's account!

Ah, the mystery is solved...So we will be 14 for dinner...Unless Zeman shows up. Or if Tommy's other date stands him up. :biggrin::raz:

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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Curlz

Curlz

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I just love that He Who Has Bailed is still keeping track of who's going and adding his two cents!!! :laugh: But I know we shouldn't be surprised by that...

Getting out of the office--see y'all in Caldwell!

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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adegiulio

adegiulio

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Wow, we had fun!! Dinner was great, but we ran out of wine!!

I will post pics and reviews tomorrow...

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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WestOrangeFrank

WestOrangeFrank

Posted
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The eG get together at Trattoria Fresco in Caldwell was a big hit. We had about 17 people.

Lindsay and I arrived to a table today in the outside courtyard at Trattoria Fresco in Caldwell at 8:05 PM tonight. We were glazy eyed novices compared to the eGullet regulars that were already seated and chatting. Our glazed eyes were quickly welcomed into the regular group. The laughter and bottles of wine invited us to sit down and meet the crew who we’ve been reading posts from for the last few weeks. Everyone was great, for those of you who aren’t regulars; you can easily assimilate into this crew.

Soon our gracious, gracious host Evan put a platter of heirloom tomatoes on our table. The green, yellow, and red tomatoes were drizzled with a garlic, olive oil, and light vinegar.

Soon a few platters of seafood fritto misto were brought to our tables. The mildly tangy creamy tomato sauce was delicious over the nicely crisp, juicy calamari and shrimp (in the 35-40 count range).

The garlic breadsticks and imported Newark bread on the table tasted delicious with the garlic roasted skewer cloves that spread nicely over the crusty loaf.

After a few more glasses of tasty Turley, the pizza course came out to our table. The brick oven pizza came in at least four versions. All of which had a nice appetizer cut sized slice and crust. The pizzas below were devoured in the following order:

- Mushroom truffle rectangle shaped pie

- Margarita pizza with fresh mutz , plum tomatoes, and basil

- Bruschetta and arugula salad-type pizza

- Roasted red peppers and fried eggplant

I found this odd because the roasted red pepper and eggplant pie was the best IMHO, maybe it was in front of my face so no one asked for it?

The next course was a few tremendous platters of fresco ensalada. The Trattoria Fresco family style salad had plenty of mixed greens, celery root, chopped walnuts, and strawberries. The light vinaigrette dressing had a pleasant salty blue cheese taste to it.

It was around this time that I truly realized the eGullet crew was a fun bunch. A gathering of people that appreciated food as much, or much more so, than we did…. or maybe it was the 17 bottles of wine kicking in (Curlz will have a report on the wine).

The famed pasta dish was pappardelle with truffle. The brown mushroom sauce was likely the creamy porcini advertised. Some noted the starchy noodles could have used a few more minutes in the boil.

Now for the ‘Tuscan Skirt Steak’. Skirt is a favorite of mine, and I’m quite particular to a well prepared/marinated cut of beef diaphragm. The rain drops were too much for us to stay seated outside in the courtyard. Magically, a table matching our utensil/glass and plate needs was already prepared in the main inside dining room. A few minutes after our seamless transition from outside to in, a crew of servers bombed our table with the skirt steak exactly as ordered.

The marinade was not overpowering. A nice combination of red wine, balsamic, basil/thyme, and a touch of honey brought out all the flavors of the skirt, without the marinade hijacking the beef taste. Our gracious host Evan claimed the skirt takes a two day marinade bath, but if he said it was only 45 minutes I would have believed him. The skirt was wonderful, not too salty, not too sweet, as one might expect from this usually marinaded cut.

Smack on top of the beef, a crisp potato manicotti was placed. A plantain slice impaled the crispy manicotti at a 45 degree angle. A nice garnish, as was the juicy spinach under the beef.

Most of the eG crew was slowing down; except for a few egging on one of our dining mates to put their feet behind their head (a picture speaks a thousand words). As the dining room turned around to marvel in the wonder of our flexible friend, deserts were served. We are waiting for Rosie to show us her perfected ‘crow’ yoga position next time.

We were ready to roll out of the place, but before then, the servers carried out a couple trays each of fondue and zeppoles. The zeppoles were sprinkled in confectionary sugar and served with an accompaniment of caramel sauce. The Costanza ‘double-dipping-allowed-rule’ was enforced at first byte. The fondue was great. The above-par milk chocolate dip quality was mentioned by a few. I enjoyed the peel on the banana as a nice touch, but some couldn’t understand why the peel was served on the banana. From what I remember in this wine induced state, the fondue had pineapple, strawberries, and banana.

My arm was twisted into trying the vanilla cappuccino, holy sit, it was rich and good. And the MALK was top notch.

All in all, a great night. If anyone remembers more about our evening, please feel free to elaborate.

Someone named ‘Tommy?’ was mentioned many times, nothing that can be repeated on these boards.

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