Fine Dining at Ciao Cucina in Basking Ridge NJ

March 11, 2008
by myrna

Sometimes the best restaurants are found by accident.  On a recent business trip, my husband and I were diverted further south than our original route home due to a snow storm.  We left Hartford Ct late on a Sunday afternoon, and headed south to New York City due to a snow storm moving in from the west.   We encountered the snow anyway as we rolled into New Jersey, and when cars started sliding on Interstate 78, we decided it was time to pull off for the night.  Exit 33 in the Basking Ridge area listed a Marriott Courtyard and we we pulled off.  The crossroad was Martinsville Road.   After securing a room, we decided to look for a place to eat.  The area was quite and certainly deserted considering it was 8:00 on a Sunday night, and there was already 4” of snow on the ground.  About a mile from the hotel was a shopping center. There were a couple of restaurants on the end, however they appeared to be closed.  We drove on down a few miles, and found nothing.  As we headed back to the hotel, we pulled into the shopping center to see if by some chance something was open.  It so happened that one of the restaurants was open, Ciao Cucina.  As we entered, a  wood burning rock fire place greeted us along with a lovely young lady.  We were concerned  they were trying to close due to the weather, but she assured us that we were welcome.  There were very few people dining, and we felt like we had the place to ourselves.   The atmosphere was very intimate, and we were glad to be sitting next to a real fire on such a nasty night.  The service was impeccable, and the food even better.  The one page menu was filled with wonderful offerings of salmon, pork, scallops, beef, ….. and the regular Italian fare of pastas, lasagna, etc.  I found their wine list to be very good.  They offered a good variety of quality wines by the glass.  Check out the full menu at www.ciaorest.com.

I love calamari.  Ciao prepares calamari, lightly battered and fried, with caramelized onions and sweet peppers.   This was my antipasto. I chose the salmon as an entrée, my husband the tilapia.   Both were superb.  Served creatively with fresh vegetables.  After consulting with the chef, our waiter informed us that they were out of the normal pairing of sauted spinach and sun-dried tomatoes for the salmon. I suggested  the chef  just take creative liberty to do something else….I was not disappointed.  My salmon arrived perfectly grilled on ggrilled asparagus, with a tapanade on the side.

The open kitchen of Ciao gives you the feeling of being a part of the meal preparation, even though you can’t see the details.  Watching the orchestration of the wait staff, and kitchen was inspirational.  Everyone was working together to provide an excellent dining experience. 

Ciao’s is one of those restaurants that you leave feeling that you had a wonderful dining experience not only because the food and service was excellent, but that the whole place just felt like good karma was going on there. 

We will always divert South from Hartford on future trips, just to make Ciao Cucina, at 665 Martinsville Rd. in Basking Ridge, Jersey a destination on our way home. 

Tags: dining, food, restaurants