The Ringwood Avenue area in Haskell and Ringwood, New Jersey is dotted with a few pizzeria restaurants. For someone unfamiliar with the area, choosing one to dine at might be challenging. Therefore my question to a parishoner of nearby Saint Francis of Assisi Parish as we exited a recent Saturday afternoon Mass. "Can you tell me of a good pizzeria restaurant around here -- one that you can recommend?" "There are a few," he said, and then turned and pointed across the street. "There's Roma over there. They have a separate dining room, and they're pretty good." Always ask a local; they often know best. In this case, the prior sentence proved true. Roma Pizzeria (897 Ringwood Avenue, Haskell, 973-835-3355) has been owned by the Amicaterra family for 34 years, and was quite an affordable, tasty stop. John Amicaterra mans the grill and pizza oven, and his wife Josephine courteously takes orders and serves the fresh food -- in addition to peppering conversation with tales of her and husband's homeland of Salerno, Italy. We began our evening of dining with a fried cheese ravioli appetizer ($5.25). It was the perfect start for three famished churchgoers. It should be noted that John's sauce was perfect for ravioli dipping. From there, a slight challenge: what to order from a menu listed with many traditional favorites? My wife Lucille and I decided to share a 16", well done, light-on-the-sauce cheese pizza ($12.50), while daughter Stefanie stepped outside the comfort zone and ordered a fried chicken sandwich with generous cuts of lettuce , tomato, and coated nicely with mayo and honey mustard atop the chicken cutlet, all waiting to be freed from the confines of a fresh roll ($6.95). One word: Wow! I have had visions of the fried chicken sandwich dancing in my head since I tried a bite or two (or three or more - I forget) that evening. Good stuff.
Yes, the food was excellent, but so was the conversation. This is, after all, a "hospitality" blog, and while imperative it is to describe cuisine, it's more so to talk about friendliness. And John and Josephine Amicaterra are friendly folks. Steve
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AuthorAppetizers, hospitality, small plates - the best in dining! Archives
January 2023
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