La Griglia

[hitmanoo]

Ate at La Griglia for the first time last night.

La Griglia

A cozy little place right on the main boulevard in Kenilworth. The service was prompt, courteous and friendly-- the food excellent, the wine list extensive.

I started off with the Cajun Calamari. I've never had calamari quite like it. Not overly spicey, full-flavored with a perfect texture. The mixture of diced tomatoes and scallions added a delightful contrast to the flavor of the calamari. Interesting dish in that each bite offered a different flavor, depending on if there was any combination of the calamari, tomato, and/or scallion. Great Ap.

For a main course, I opted for the Chicken Giambotta. Basically boneless sauted breasts of chicken w/ pepper, mushroom, sausage, artichoke hearts, onions and potatoes. Just a great combination of flavors. Cooked perfectly, I truly enjoyed it.

I got to try my wife's dish. She ordered Zuppa di Pesce. A nice mix of seafood with a tomato based seafood sauce with garlic. Very tasty broth, and the seafood was fresh and delicious.

The very generous portions led to us taking about half of our main dishes home to try again tonight.

The dessert list was very tempting, but I was far too full to give it a shot, and given that it was a Monday night, I chose not to stuff myself.

Moderately priced--not too expensive, I have to give this restaurant a full recommendation. I'm excited to go back and give it another try. There were multiple items on the menu that I'd love to sample, and the nightly specials sounded excellent.

[Rosie]

Did you have anything to drink and if so how was the wine list?

[hitmanoo]

I did NOT have anything to drink other than water. I've been trying to drink more water lately. On a Mon night, I didn't have much cause to deviate from that goal.

The wine list is extensive. I think they have a link off their website. In addition, they feature nightly wine specials. The wait staff did an excellent job of explaining the various wines, going into great detail of the expected taste, boldness, dryness and overall flavor of the wine specials. I'm sure they'd be able to answer any general wine questions regarding the regular list that you may have.

Not being a connoisseur of wine myself, I'm not really able to answer many specific questions.

The wine list, while not as extensive as Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, FL, was impressive.

[Oceangroveguy]

Last time we were there, they had a Turley zin on the winelist........

[Rosie]

Last time we were there, they had a Turley zin on the winelist........

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That is amazing. You rarely see a Turley on a wine list unless you are in Hawaii.

[Oceangroveguy]

I'd never seen it on another list in New Jersey, for sure. I think La Griglia was charging about $90. The only NJ retail store I've seen Turley was the Spring Lake Bottle Shop (Shoppe?). They had one or two bottles about 6 months ago - don't remember the price

[bobferdon]

Did you have anything to drink and if so how was the wine list?

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Rosie, Excellent wine list. I would love to have some wines on it. They are very well trained also and know how to offer and pair wines properly... RAF