VIAGGIO
Dining Review
CHICKEN CACCIATORE
OLIVE OIL CAKE
ATasteful Interpretation
WRITTEN BY ELISA UNG PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS PEDOTA
Drop everything, head to Wayne’ sItalian hotspot, Viaggio, and order the chicken. Yes, the chicken. Yes, this is arare and ringing endorsement of what is the most notoriously boring dish in most restaurants.
And no, it’ snot Parmigiana or Francese. Those Italian-American favorites happen to be banned from the premises of Viaggio, a strip-mall restaurant that seeks to present food as it’ scooked in Italy. With his chicken, chef-partner Robbie Felice presents an unforgettable interpretation ofcacciatore that involves brining the breast and stuffing adelectable herb-cheese-breadcrumb mixture under the skin, then serving it over mushrooms whose flavor has been amped upwith chicken-leg confit and ground pancetta.
Felice is aformer sous chef for the restaurant group of Mario Batali and Joseph and Lidia Bastianich. Now, many chefs have toiled in big-name restaurants, and you wouldn’ talways know it from their own creations. Here, the influence is clear: Felice’ sbest dishes bear intense, soulful flavors that evoke those of the acclaimed Babbo in Manhattan, where Felice was once anextern before rising to sous chef atthe group’ sB & B Ristorante in Las Vegas.
You’ re set up nicely here with a crunchy-crusted loaf from the famous Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan,
• MOSTENTREES OVER $ 20
• CLOSED MONDAYS
• BYO
• TAKE OUT
but it’ s worth springing for the $ 7 pillowy foccacia, heaped with caramelized onions, if only for its accompanying bowl of pungent Sicilian olive oil.
That’ s the first of many ingredients that set this restaurant apart. Felice is serving Berkshire pigs and free-range chickens from Lancaster County, and his cured meat and pastas are either
house-made or imported from Italy. Alas, the restaurant was out of the house-made charcuterie when Iwas there, but my platter of imported mortadella, soppressata, calabrese and prosciutto was one of North Jersey’ s most satisfying charcuterie selections. There’ s also a comparatively ordinary cheese plate that should be skipped to make room for some extraordinary appetizers.
First, calamari. Felice soaks his squid in buttermilk before frying it, then tosses in pickled shallots and Calabrian chilis, and mellows it all with a lemon butter sauce.
Next, try the octopus tentacles, braised and charred and arranged over an herbal combination of the large white gigante beans, all pulled together with a tangysweet apricot mostarda. And lastly, sample bruschetta. The standout is a deeply scented eggplant caponata; carnivores may also appreciate the house-made Berkshire pork pastrami.
As in Italy, Viaggio’ s menu offers both a“ primi” section of pastas and a“ secondi” section of entrées; our waiter correctly
Wayne
VIAGGIO
1055 HAMBURG TURNPIKE( 973) 706-7277, VIAGGIORISTORANTE. COM
described the primi dishes as smaller and suggested ordering both, but that’ s overkill ifyou’ ve ordered appetizers.
Both categories offer good options, though. We swooned over two housemade pastas: cappellaci pasta filled with kabocha squash, and super-light gnocchi made of both potato and ricotta. But Batali’ s influence is most clear in the fiery bucatini all’ amatriciana flecked with pancetta. In the secondi category, redmeat lovers should spring for tagliata – slices of famously tender imported Piedmontese beef accented with a faintly sweet cipollini onion agrodolce.
As for desserts, ignore the too-salty pine nut crostata and try the phenomenal house-made cinnamon gelato – or the delicate panna cotta. The star? A luscious rosemary olive oil cake that is Felice’ s tribute to the acclaimed late Babbo pastry chef Gina dePalma.
Our confident, gregarious waiter effortlessly described dishes and did his best to make us feel comfortable, even when the talk at my table revolved around the logistics of bringing our own chair to a restaurant. Or maybe just a stadium seat cushion? Or a big puffy coat to sit upon? The testament to Viaggio’ s food is that it is absolutely worth that kind of effort. ■
WAYNE MAGAZINE MAY 2017
53