I am actually a
little envious of their date and wish not to be excluded, as I have recently
become hooked on their food. Jason White, a co-owner of Benvenuti along with
Vincent Spera, gives me a foodie tour of what’s and fresh out of the kitchen
each week. I was instantly addicted to their grilled long-stem artichokes. They are lightly charred and just the right touch of smoky. On my last trip I bought out
the rest of the platter, not wanting to share.
They have a snazzy display of
prepared salads, veggies, appetizers and sides that tantalizes you while you
wait for your order. They serve a fabulous bowl of chicken soup in a ceramic
handled crock. I’ve dined on the Chicken Francese and Chicken Parmigiana over
pasta with their homemade Marinara. At $6.99 on a Thursday night after 4pm, it
feeds my two kids easily.There is also a large selection of packaged and prepared goodies. This is where I blow my margins from the money I am saving on the dinner specials. Italian cocoa star-shaped cookies are way too precious to bypass, as are dried pastas in every possible shape and size.
There are wraps, paninis, sandwiches, etc. The fridge holds their homemade Marinara and Vodka sauces, in addition to
soups, hand-rolled Mozzarella made on-site and chicken and eggplant entrees
that are ready to grab and go. There are also the long, pinwheel sausages in
pork and chicken with various herbs and cheeses. The freezer holds an even
greater bounty of frozen pastas, like cavatelli, meat tortellini, whole wheat
linguini, and pumpkin ravioli.
Oh yeah, and
they also have pizza! I almost forget about the pizza, because I get so
distracted by the store, food, and freezer. But they have a gorgeous brick oven
where they churn out pizzas made to order. Benvenuti claims to have recreated Sicilian pizza with their gourmet brick-oven thin-crust Sicilian pie. The June issue of Hometown Quarterly shows a gorgous photo of their Tomato and Black Olive Pie and includes coupons for a free pie & half-off discounts for their Sicilian Pies.
Or try something light, like the artichoke roll. Finish your meal off with some fresh cannoli and for a few
seconds you will forget all your worries. You could be in Sicily, or Tuscany,
or even Brooklyn. But you are only 2 miles from your house, so if you choose
not to dine over red & white checkerboard or at an outdoor table, you can
bring the best of Italy right to your own kitchen table.
Last week as I
dined with my daughter and enjoyed a crock of soup, another young family sat
next to us. It was Jason’s wife Jessica and their 2 kids, Avery and Zack. I didn’t need the
vodka sauce, but she made it sound so good I had to toss it in my basket. Some
boys and their fathers trudged in to pick up dinner after baseball on Gumpert
Field. A true mom & pop shop, Benvenuti is a real treat to have so close
to home.
 |
| Jason White and his daughter Avery |
The Daddy Daughter Date Night is Wednesday June 20th from 5-9pm at Benvenuti Italian
Specialties & Catering, 512
North Avenue, Garwood NJ 908-389-9999 / www.benvenuticatering.com.
Dinner includes a drink, appetizer, entrée & dessert for $30 per couple and
$10 each additional daughter. Each Daughter will recieve a rose & each table
will have a picture to take home. Due to limited seating this is a
reservations-only event. Please email reservations to
Jason@benvenuticatering.com.
