GOURMET
ENTREES Favorites
among Spiga’s
regular customers
include specialty
menu items such
as rack of lamb
and crab meat
encrusted salmon.
SPIGA ITALIAN CUISINE
331 Union Blvd., Totowa
973-389-0200
www.spigaitalian.com
y a o g h t p
A Touch of Italy in Totowa
WRITTEN BY ADRIANA MARIELLA
R
estaurateur Giuseppe
Tramontana recently
reopened his Spiga
Italian Cuisine restaurant on Union
Boulevard in Totowa.
A 30-year veteran of the restaurant
business, Tramontana serves up classic Italian cooking with some modern
twists for lunch and dinner.
Tramontana got his start in the
business in 1982 when he worked as
a waiter, but quickly advanced to
restaurant management and opened
his own with the Spiga name in
Wayne. He later opened another
eatery, Segreto, in Tenafly, but Spiga
of Totowa is his most recent endeavor. “We serve mostly regular customers,” says Tramontana. “People
dine here once, and then they come
back regularly,” he notes.
The menu showcases a healthy
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG PALLANTE
selection of fish, meat, pasta and
homemade desserts. To start,
Tramontana suggests the Rapini
al Forno (grilled bread topped with
broccoli rabe, fresh ricotta and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and
truffle salt). Other popular appetizers
include baked clams with breadcrumbs and lemon, and Spiedini alla
Romana (pan fried mozzarella with
bread and anchovy sauce).
For pasta lovers, Tramontana
suggests his personal favorite, the
Cavatelli Stracotto (red wine braised
short ribs stewed with fresh cavatelli
pasta). The Orecchiette Pugliesi (with
sausage, broccoli rabe, garlic and extra
virgin olive oil) and the homemade
Gnocchi di Patate Genovese with
pesto are both specialties of the house.
Classic Italian comfort food dishes
such as Chicken Marsala and Veal
Parmesan can be found on the menu
alongside gourmet entrees such as
Salmon Incrostato (crab meat
encrusted salmon, baked on a cedar
plank and drizzled with a honey
Dijon glaze) and Pollo Al Mattone
(roasted baby chicken prepared
“under the brick” and served on a
crispy wild mushroom risotto cake
with baby spinach and fresh herb
pan sauce).
Other specialty menu items include
Branzino prepared any style, Chilean
Sea Bass, a selection of steaks and
rack of lamb.
For dessert, the homemade bread
pudding and chocolate zeppole
dusted with powdered sugar cannot
be ignored.
Spiga is open seven days a week
for both lunch and dinner and offers
take out in addition to table service.
Private parties and off-site catering
needs can be accommodated. ■
MAY 2015
WAYNE MAGAZINE
61