WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? TINY SPACE, HUGE FLAVOR

Mar 31, 2017

Meatballs in a perfect Sunday-style sauce with grilled pesto shrimp. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Found at the end of a short strip mall on White Road in Shrewsbury, the onetime My Sister’s Kitchen space is now home to a venture called Two Cousins Catering under new owners who are, indeed, cousins.

Stopping in on a weekend afternoon, PieHole finds Sue DellaGatta and Rob Klingebiel — whose mothers are sisters — working in a pint-sized kitchen. But the dishes they’re preparing are titanic in flavor.

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March 31, 2017 - 11:17 am |

FAIR HAVEN: SCHOOLED ON MEATBALLS

Nov 18, 2015

Meatballs and gnocchi in San Marzano tomato sauce with parmesan-ricotta crema made by chef Julie Aurichio, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

It takes courage to stand in front of a class full of gourmet-minded students and declare that your recipe for meatballs will be the best they’ve ever tasted.

Lifelong Fair Haven resident Julie Aurichio did just that. Chef, personal assistant and owner of Just Julie — a luncheonette that occupied the space now rented to Seed to Sprout in the Acme Shopping Center in Fair Haven from 2002 to 2004 — she’s now adding culinary instructor to her résumé.

PieHole caught up with Aurichio and her fiancé, Rob Candiotti, a chef at the Raven and the Peach, while they taught a cooking class at Taste and Technique Cooking Studio on River Road in Fair Haven recently. Read on to learn about “Meatballs and More,” their unique twists on the Italian mainstay.

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November 18, 2015 - 11:00 am |

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? GAETANO’S MAKES IT EASY

Aug 7, 2015

A sizable eggplant parmigiana sandwich on foccacia bread served in the open-kitchen dining room at Gaetano’s. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

When your day is filled with decisions and you get to that point where all you’re craving is a simple, easy, and effortless lunch, Gaetano’s on Wallace Street in Red Bank is a breath of stress-free fresh air.

Owner Tom Capello’s style of cuisine is what he calls regional Italian, offering familiar dishes and large portions. Oilcloth-covered tables, tile floors, and a kitchen open to the dining room in customary trattoria fashion keep the restaurant casual and comfortable. That homey sense of eating in someones kitchen comes to mind —if that kitchen happened to have an enormous pizza oven dominating the room.

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August 7, 2015 - 11:10 am |

LITTLE SILVER: SANDWICH SWAP AT GIANNI’S

Nov 14, 2014

The Neopolitan Panini served on fresh house-baked bread at Gianni’s. Below, the spacious dining room. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Lunchtime at Gianni’s Pizzeria in Little Silver is busy. Between the hours of 11:30 and 2:30, the tables fill up with people from all walks of life. Mothers with small children stop in for a slice while truckers pull over to pick up an order of subs or a full pie.

Helping PieHole watch its waistline, Jeff Lopez, the always-smiling counterman and pizza maker, suggested the Neapolitan Panini ($8.95).

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November 14, 2014 - 11:18 am |

Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? TINY SPACE, HUGE FLAVOR

FAIR HAVEN: SCHOOLED ON MEATBALLS

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? GAETANO’S MAKES IT EASY

LITTLE SILVER: SANDWICH SWAP AT GIANNI’S