My wife and I finally made it out to a restaurant after having our first baby. We made our way to Teaneck and La Cucina Di Nava for some great upscale dairy cuisine straight outta Italy.
As we aren’t yet ready to eat inside, we made reservations for the back patio. This was a great choice. The ambiance is a definite feature that the restaurant should take advantage of. Unlike some of the other restaurants on West Englewood’s “Restaurant Row,” LCDN has outdoor seating with a real private setting. We couldn’t have been happier.
We started off with the Stuffed Portabella Shrooms ($18) and an off-menu Fry Sampler that Shalom Yehudiel was able to make for us. The two big portabella mushroom caps (italian bread crumbs, portabella mushrooms, italian herbs, parmesan) were a great choice. They were delicious, cooked perfectly, and the texture of both the mushroom and the stuffing was flawless. Both of us love mushrooms, so we chose this over many other appetizers we also wanted to try.
The Fry Sampler allowed us to try all three types of fries. My wife and I agreed that the Pizza Fries (House sugo, mozzarella, dried herbs) were great, but our least favorite. Perhaps the sauce (which was thick and delicious) simply overpowered the fries. We couldn’t decide which of the other two took the top spot. My wife favored the Pesto Fries (Pesto cream, fried capers, herbs, Parmesan), while I leaned towards the Vodka Fries (Vodka sauce, parmesan, mozzarella). The creaminess of the Pesto Fries was truly unique and the flavor punch that the Vodka Fries packed was probably the best of the night.
For our main course, we decided to each get a pasta… and also split a pizza. Don’t judge us, we hadn’t been out to a restaurant in a while. My wife ordered the Truffle Mac ($18), I chose the Gnocci Bolognese ($21), and we selected the Grandpa Pie ($20) to split.The Truffle Mac (elbow pasta, house cheese sauce, panko bread crumbs, white truffle oil, dried oregano) was quite good. The richness was certainly there, the texture was creamy with the right crisp on top, and the truffle flavor was present but not overbearing. The portion size was fairly small, we knew that going in, and ordered it anyway.
The Gnocci Bolognese (House potato gnocchi, grated parm, house sugo, vegan sausage, fresh basil) was very interesting. The sauce had great flavor and the vegan sausage was incorporated extremely well to match the texture of a true ragu. The grated Parmesan on top really finished the dish nicely. The gnocci kind of faded into the background here, but that may have been because the sauce and cheese were so great.
The Grandpa Pie (san marzano pomodoro sauce, shredded mozzarella, fresh roasted garlic-basil oil) was a square pizza with amazing thin and crispy crust. The pomodoro sauce on top was a really great touch. Next time we will likely choose a more adventurous route, but I’m certainly glad we chose this over the classic pie.
To finish the night, we couldn’t say no to the Desert Sampler ($14). It featured two square individual chocolate cakes, about 8 or so zeppoles, a handful of dollops of cream, and fruit (strawberry slices and blueberries). The chocolate cake was fine, but nothing special. The zeppoles, however, were fantastic and a hit with both of us as the light texture and sweetness complimented each other perfectly. The combination of fresh fruit and the cream made a great end to an even greater evening.
Needless to say, we will be back to try more of this amazing (and newly expanded!) menu. So great that Teaneck has a place like this!
Nati Burnside 