1251 Route 202/206
Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807
908-658-3000
Fax: 908-658-3945
Review
Star Ledger
| Tropea Ristorante's convivial mural depicting winsome cherubs and a flurry of flora is a fetching backdrop for the eatery's mostly engaging, contemporary Italian fare. Tucked into the vast Bridgewater Manor catering complex, Tropea offers something for just about everybody.
Ambience: Valet your vehicle and access Tropea by way of the manicured landscaping rimming the establishment. A smallish barroom precedes the moderately sized dining area, smartly dressed in puffs of valances and artwork. Staff: Pleasant and helpful. Food: The kitchen favors inventive twists on familiar dishes: Prosciutto di Parma is gussied up with melon, strawberry compote and Roquefort cheese ($6.95); humble fettuccine gets the royal treatment with smoked salmon in a saffron-cream sauce and cap of caviar ($11.95); swordfish is luxuriously bathed in a Sambuca-Romano sauce ($17.95). Two starters were sensational. A sunny serving of "Nonna's" pastina ($4.95) -- an over-sized soup bowl brimming with tiny pasta bits in a buttery broth liberally scented with minty basil and brightened by crimson tomato wedges -- would win kudos from any Italian grandmother. A killer crab cake ($8.95) was a burger-sized beauty loaded with lump crab meat and chopped vegetables, bound by bits of capellini and unabashedly drenched in a lush, chunky mascarpone cheese-tomato sauce. Entrees were more of a mixed bag. On the plus side: a pair of crispy-skinned quails ($16.95) extravagantly stuffed with silky foie gras mingling with ripples of chunky mushroom paté. The nicely burnished birds flanked a scoop of smashing smashed potatoes laced with crackling bits of oven-roasted potato. A vibrant julienne of vegetables added color and crunch. The cholesterol-conscious might prefer a deceptively simple toss of penne and oven-roasted vegetables ($9.95) with fall-apart tender nuggets of eggplant, zucchini and summer squash, which packed a garlicky wallop. Our palate couldn't quite negotiate an over-the-top stuffed veal steak ($16.95). Two thin filets were rolled about a particularly pungent fontina cheese (and prosciutto and asparagus tips, but who noticed?), enveloped in a satiny but salty mushroom Marsala sauce. The bold flavors clashed. We preferred a tamer sauté of monkfish, chunks of the mildly sweet, firm-fleshed fish swathed in a velvety tomato, cognac and cream sauce. These dishes were also accompanied by those yummy smashed potatoes and vegetables. Order dessert at your own risk. Elaborate swirls of chocolate and fruit sauces did little to enhance an unsavory sampling of outside-sourced sweets, chosen from an assortment wheeled out on a cart: a listless tiramisu; an overzealously flavored banana-chocolate cake; and an off-tasting, room temperature Key lime pie. Though dinner at Tropea Ristorante ended on a less than flavorful note, there's much to recommend about the place. Tropea Ristorante Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. |