Al Dente Fresh Pasta Co. 301 Center Ave…read more Westwood, NJ 07675 Eggplant Siciliana Using the kiosk, you have the option to choose your own pasta, sauces, and toppings or simple order a specialty plate. I always leave it to the professionals and I'm glad I did because the penne, marinara sauce and toppings were spot on! This was my first time mixing fried eggplant and prosciutto. #aldentefreshpastaco #eggplantsiciliana

Pasta is certainly a weeknight dinner hero. Quick pasta recipes are easy and inexpensive to throw…read moretogether, so dinner can be ready in a flash. While each pasta shape has a unique cooking time, just about every package instructs one to cook the noodles until they reach the "desired consistency"/"al dente." This phrase literally translates from Italian to mean "to the tooth." It describes the texture of cooked pasta when it's tender but firm and chewy when one bites into it. Located on Center Avenue in Westwood, my colleague and I had the opportunity as first-timers at Al Dente Pasta Fresh Pasta Co. for lunch. Upon entering their casual and friendly vibe, we were greeted by the staff and had the place to ourselves in their dining area with an open kitchen. Their menu features a fantastic variety of appetizers, salads, pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and desserts. The star of this establishment has to be the fresh homemade pasta dishes made from Caputo Semola flour imported straight from Italy, accompanying the amazing sauces, each crafted with care and creativity. We decided on their Pasta Bar--Spicy Chili Vodka Cavatelli with Chicken Cutlet and Bolognese Pappardelle. Each came with fresh focaccia bread. The food arrived, and one can taste the difference of freshness. It was absolutely delicious using the high-quality ingredients. The portion was just right as well as the price. Our server, Hunter, was friendly and accommodating. We even had a chance to make small talk with the owner; Joe connected next door at the sister location, Luciano's, for pizza and garlic knots. It's Old World charm with a modern twist, and we can't wait for a repeat performance.

I stopped having pizza from other shops after i tried this restaurant…read moreAll the pies are great I absolutely love the pizza here Delicious sandwiches and pastas too I come to this spot every week and i dont even live close I highly recommend it Great staff Fast service and very clean and organized Try it and you'll thank me later

- Nice little pizzeria that shares its space (and menu) with an affiliated restaurant, with plenty…read moreof tables available if you want to dine in - Fairly busy on a Friday evening during the dinner rush, but the service was very friendly and impressively quick - You can grab pizza by the slice at the counter for a fast, casual meal - The pizza was very good, with a thin yet sturdy crust, well-seasoned sauce, and flavorful toppings; the beet salad was fresh and generously portioned, served with a tasty honey mustard dressing on the side--the grilled chicken was well seasoned and stayed juicy; the kids' rigatoni Bolognese was especially meaty with plenty of sauce - One small note: complimentary water is available, but was served straight from the kitchen sink

Service was excellent, food was a mixed bag. For apps, Tuna…read morecrudo and fresh mutz with prosciutto were excellent, clams were meh. For entrees, the lemon pasta was forgettable, the short rib pasta was good, but very rich (it would be great as an appetizer) and the steak was nicely cooked to a perfect medium rare. Desserts were both delicious with the rainbow cookie gelato narrowly beating out the butter cake as the table favorite. We should have chosen an outside table to avoid the expletive laden rap playlist, I see what they're going for but this isn't Brooklyn, it's Westwood NJ.

It may sound crazy, but I have yet to find a really good pasta spot in NJ. NYC, no problem, but I…read moredon't always want to cross the river. I think I finally found a spot where I can confidently get good pasta AND dessert. My partner and I stopped in this week, and we were immediately met with cool, industrial-style decor and a BOMB playlist. The staff was super friendly and helped a lot with specials and recommendations, as it was our first time. For drinks, we started with a Fig & Melon cocktail and their Old Fashioned. Both were great, but I think the old-fashioned wins over the Fig & Melon. It's smoky and sweet, while the F&M was citrusy and refreshing. To start, we ordered the Mozzarella Sticks Di Bar Mutz with Mutz Hot Honey & Sour Milk. Personally, I am tired of hot honey on everything, haha, so this wasn't for me. If they served it on the side first vs drizzled on top, I probably would have enjoyed it more, as the mozz sticks alone were delicious. The breading was more like a garlic bread than the traditional coating. It also comes with extra hot honey on the side. For our mains, we shared the Spicy Rig and Trottole. Again, both are really good, but the Trottole was the CLEAR winner. The short rib was rich, and the overall dish was perfect for the savory lover like me. The Spicy Rig was lighter, and the bite of pasta with basil was excellent. For dessert, we ordered the mile high espresso martini, affogato martini, which had ice cream they make in-house, and the Samoas cheesecake. Every single thing was delicious! It's a good problem to have when you're dining somewhere, and you're battling it out for who has the best dish. Can't wait to come back and bring friends!

A group of 8 went last week and we had a great experience. Out server Julian was very attentive…read moreand made sure we were satisfied every step of the way. We had a variety of meal ranging from chicken to steak to fish and even a burger. All the meals came hot and cooked to perfection. Definitely a place we will recommend to friends.

The 2 stars are for the service. The staff were great. Nice and attentive. Came several times to…read morecheck on us and made sure we had all we need. Food was way below bar. I honestly think it's frozen halibut they were serving me. Dry. No taste. I could not finish it. Steak was well done instead of medium (what we ordered). Lobster was ok. Fried oysters flavor was there but the oysters were small. Grilled octopus and the French fries were only things I liked. They charged $45 for halibut and $80 for surf and turf. The whole bill came out $200+ but it was not high end dining for sure. Decor is nice inside. Bathroom is clean. Indoor and outdoor dining areas. Parking lot in the front. They really need to work on the food.

I eat fairly regularly at Granita Grille. I am always happy here. I love bringing my own wine. Who…read moredoesn't?! Food here is fresh and tastes good. You can order pretty much anything on the menu and you will be happy. I recently had my son's graduation dinner here. 15 people. I was not the only large party on a Saturday night as well as a full restaurant with customers. I mention this because I was happy with how smoothly everything went. I did pre order appetizers for the table. Calamari, antipasto plates, eggplant rollatini, clams and...everything delish. We had extras to take home. Salad was next, freshly made. Everyone ordered a dinner. Some ordered fish, pasta, shrimp franchise, veal parm...etc. Every person was happy. My friends and family were happy, then I am happy. Thank you Granita Grille. I am definitely coming back. Lol...maybe tonight!

Not my vibe! We got here around 8:30 and was able to be seated for a table for two. We got sat, had…read moreto wait a bit for menus. Waitress finally came over and we ordered the arancini, which was on special. Waitress took the menu to check if that was on there because she seemed confused when I ordered it. The arancini were for sure frozen and refried. Just not good and bland. The bread was the best part tbh but I'm not sure about whatever the dipping sauce was. I'd rather just butter. My bf was disappointed with the cheese raviolis - they were not hearty at all. The chicken parm was okay. I didn't love the red sauce and hate that the penne was drowning in sauce, just not much to break up the flavor of it. There was a guy playing guitar and the overall atmosphere of this place is just not there. Ceiling tiles are dirty, bathroom was dirty and not well maintained. I can see the Restaurant Depot sized box of cannoli shells. If you're craving Italian, go anywhere else.

The setting is nice, attempting a classy feel. The staff is friendly. The drinks are better than…read moreaverage. The octopus appetizer is very good, although I wasn't enamored of the sauce provided. The ravioli was good and tasty. Overall a good experience.

Hello again everyone, back again with another review. This time me and momma dukes went to a…read morerestaurant I have wanted to try for a long time and everything was perfectly pretty damn good. Being that it was on a Thursday barely anybody was inside and that was fine with me. I seen they had a pear drink and it was great and I had 2 of them. By the way pears are my favorite fruit of all time. For appetizer we had to get the calamari and it was delicious. For dinner for me I had pork cheeks and it was so fucking food and buttery tender. It came on top of creamy polenta and they were delicious. For dessert I had I had to the pb&j cannolis. That's the name reason I wanted to try this restaurant. I plan on going back real soon for the same thing but try a dessert for research purposes. Peace out .

Westwood Prime Meats 190 Westwood Ave…read more Westwood, NJ 07675 Brewery burger The interior is set up in two sections; a deli for placing to-go orders and a sit down restaurant. There are multiple seats in the dining area. There is a unique procedure when ordering the burger. A customer may select one of three blends: steak blend, SSB (short rib, sirloin, & brisket), and dry aged. I selected steak blend, which was 80% beef and 20% fat. At first, I was filled with concern as I observed the specialty burger. The burger itself looked like it was sliding apart. The bun did not have any physical resemblance to a pretzel as it looked like an ordinary bun. As always, never judge a book by its cover. I took a single bite and my taste buds were in paradise. The burger was cooked medium and topped with butcher cut bacon and IPA beer cheese sauce. The thick slab of bacon strips were chewy and they melted right in my mouth. The beer cheese was so mouthwatering that I requested an additional cup. The pretzel bun may look like a regular hamburger bun, it has the texture and taste of a pretzel; it is even sprinkled with a dash of rock salt. As a bonus, a full size pitcher of water and crispy fries with a smokehouse dipping sauce are all included with the burger. Both the burger and fries can be dipping in both the smokehouse sauce and cheese sauce. These sauces are the backbone to the burger and you won't even consider supplementing anything else. Although the initial appearance didn't catch my eye, they had me by taste and that is what matters in the end! #westwoodprimemeats #breweryburger #westwoodnj

Burgers and fries are great No complaints…read more Service was always attentive and friendly

The dessert shop is simple and bright, with all the cakes neatly arranged. The Korean owner is very…read morenice. The cakes at this shop are all exquisitely made and delicious. The cream is smooth and creamy, with a rich texture and not overly sweet, and they are very fresh. Ciel Dessert's cakes are all beautifully made and not too sweet, meeting all the criteria for deliciousness.

From the moment you walk in you just want to stay inside because of the smell - amazing, enticing,…read moreuplifting aromas of the freshly baked goods, just something truly special. We got a few croissants, and a number of beautiful, artfully presented pastries - we were ordering just by the looks and everything was absolutely delightful. Highly recommended.

This is Roman pizza, not flatbread! There are many different varities of pizza other than boring NJ…read morepizza with Sysco ingredients. Here, the dough is fermented for days and it is made from Italian wheat, rice and spelt flour (like a proper, authentic Pinsa Romana, Google it!) instead of unhealthy bleached, bromated flour found at 75- to 90-percent of most pizza restaurants in North Jersey. The quality of the toppings is also considerably better, which is why Mercato's pizzas are more expensive. Is the extra effort and expense worth it? I think so. I can taste the difference and I appreciate the crunchy exterior, soft inside textures and not feeling bloated after having a few slices like I do when I have a cheaper generic NJ pizza. I also prefer it over Neapolitan style pizza, unless it's pizza from Alta Irpinia (which also ain't cheap but so. Damn. Good.). If you're looking for run of the mill, cheap family feedbag pizza, go elsewhere. But if you can appreciate the finer things, Mercato is a good choice for a genuine, authentic Italian variety of pizza that's very hard to find around here, even in Manhattan too.

Went here last minute on a Saturday night, surprisingly, they weren't busy and we opted to sit…read moreoutside. Our waitress Alyssa was really great and had some good recommendations. We went with 2 pasta dishes and two small pizzas. The pasta dishes were the Paccheri and the Spicy Vodka sauce and the pizzas were the Truffle Potato and the Diablo. We have gotten the paccheri before, it's a fan favorite with a good amount of lamb ragu and the spicy vodka sauce was tasty but not too spicy. The truffle potato pie was the star of the dinner--perfect amount of truffle and cream with charred potatoes. The diablo was very tasty as well, I love the smaller pepperoni cups and the sauce was tasty as well. Overall, a very good meal and doesn't break the bank! Definitely one of our go-tos!!

Came here to see what this place was all about. Walked into a nice greeting. The place was well…read morelit. Pricing was visible through out, everhthing was organized. I picked up over $200 worth of products, steaks, chopped meats (beef and chicken), pizza, seafood, lamb chops, desserts and some other items. I even found a seasoned duck breast. All frozen, but that's good, lasts a little bit longer. Over this past week, I cooked many of these items and I must say I was impressed with the ease of cooking, the flavors on the seasoned ground beef and the chicken. This may be my new spot for my BBQ's and dinners. Great job!!!

Never had a bad experience here! The guys has always been helpful and chill. They make great…read moresuggestions and offer help when needed. Clean place with top meats/frozen things. I've came here many times and gotten different types of meats and frozen items from here that's lasted me days worth of meal prep. I do think it can be on the pricey side so it's not a place I recommend coming every week to purchase meats! Overall my experience has always been great and food is great!