On a snowy, January evening, I had the absolute pleasure of dining at Tommy’s Coal Fired Pizza in the Galleria in Red Bank. Once a uniform button factory, the space has now been transformed into a unique Italian eatery with the warmth of a 1200 degree oven and the smell of charcoal and fresh baked pizza! The high ceilings, 9 seat bar tucked away in a cozy corner with television for sports fans and candle lit tables create a warm and welcoming setting, but its the food that really takes center stage. It only took me one ‘bite’ to know that I would be coming back again, and again…
Owners (husband and wife team) Tommy and Yvette Bonfiglio, greeted us with genuine smiles and eyes gleaming, anxious to tell us everything about their new restaurant which opened on December 28, 2009. We met first with ‘bubbly’ Yvette who is as energetic and dedicated as they come and had so much to tell us. Then Tommy welcomed us with words of pride about his restaurant and his success at seeing everyone so happy eating his ‘pizza done right’. Tommy explained how he traveled for three years tasting pizza around the region before he perfected his “passion-infused” pizza! As we spoke, I saw them both keeping watch over their customers and obviously enjoying the evening dining with family.
While Tommy and Yvette went their separate ways in the restaurant, Colleen (our very pretty waitress for you 20 something males reading this!) suggested I begin with a hazelnut gelato martini…another ‘warm up’ for this cold evening! My husband and son (my assistants for this evening!) started off with a Peroni beer on tap and a soda. Glancing around, I noticed that at 5:00 on this Saturday evening, there was already a line at the door!
Now for the menu! Choices included Salads (We chose the Black & Blue: Caesar Salad with Blackened Chicken, Blue Cheese Crumbles & Herb Seasoned Croutons with Classic Caesar Dressing), coal oven roasted wings (smothered with roasted onions on top of garlic flat bread and Tommy’s suggestion of hot sauce on the side), coal fired pizza (thin crust neopolitan style pizza of which we chose the “Mona Lisa” White Pie (Ricotta Cheese, Fresh Mozzarella, Fresh Basil & Imported Italian Olive Oil, cooked for 3 minutes in the 652 degree stone seasoned oven!) Also on the menu; calzones, family sides (enough for two) Foccacia style sandwiches and gelato (see picture below) My son, Glenn, chose the cookie dough at Tommy’s Café (also in the Galleria) for dessert.
Tommy was so excited to see our expression after taking a bite of the pizza . My son’s first bite was followed with an ‘oh wow’….out of the mouths of babes as they say!
We were very excited to see a beautiful 40 seat outdoor patio just begging for a warm summer night. And, for you musicians or ‘want to be musicians’ like me, Tommy’s holds a “Plug and Play” every Friday from 7:00-10:00 pm and every Sunday from 1:00-4:00 pm. Show up and sign up to perform!’
Tommy, your pizza is definitely a work of art… Your “Mona Lisa” left us smiling…we’ll be back for many, many more bites!
‘Pizza Done Right’
The Galleria
2 Bridge Avenue
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-212-1700
Lunch/Dinner
11:30 am – 12 midnight
Also visit Tommy’s Café in the Galleria for gelato, espresso and yummy pastries!
Beverly A. Beveridge, Monmouth County Regional Editor, jerseybites.com
Bev resides in Eatontown with her husband, Bob, daughters, Melissa and Brittany, son, Glenn, dog, Bailey and cats, Kitty and Slodki (polish for honey/sweet). She enjoys dining out, piano, tennis, travelling, designing her JERSEY GIRL swimsuits and Calendar, music (especially Rock Concerts) and meeting people. Enjoy her ‘fun’ reviews! Passport to Peru – Home of the Jersey Girls Swimsuit models and ‘Calendar’ Girls! ‘Passport Swimsuits – A Swimsuit to fit ‘every body’. www.passporttoperu.net
This weekend is going to be a great one for staying inside and cooking. As weather.com is so gently putting it this morning, we’re supposed to get “walloped” by a pretty big snow storm. So, the grocery stores are going to be packed, but if you want that perfect pot of chili ready for game day, I’m sure I’ll see you there. Here are my picks and some guest picks for some super Superbowl menu choices. I don’t list wings but you can bet we’ll have them at my house. The recipe I use is nothing more than coating the wings lightly with seasoned flour, deep frying them and tossing with the hot sauce recipe right off the bottle of Frank’s Hot Sauce.
Many of you already know that Twitter and I are quite an item. I realize the little blue bird does not appeal to all, but for the 20 + million people using Twitter, it’s a down right addiction. So, when Wine Twits contacted me to tell me that they were throwing a Sip and Twit event at 
hicken Stock Recipe: Throw your chicken carcass, picked fairly clean, into a large pot. Fill the pot up with water until the chicken is 3/4 covered. Add 1 onion roughly chopped, 2 celery stalks washed and roughly chopped, use the greens if you have them and 2 carrots washed and roughly chopped. Add a 2-3 bay leaves, about 10 peppercorns and about a teaspoon of salt. That’s it. Just let it simmer until the stock is a nice deep tan/brown color. I let it go for hours. Strain through a sieve into a large bowl. It makes the house smell great and produces a fantastic stock.
Before a much planned visit to the “Big Apple” I went to the internet to find a French restaurant for dinner on one of my few precious date nights out with my husband! In my ‘internet travels’, I came upon CERCLE ROUGE on West Broadway, a quaint French restaurant that I just have to share with all of you!
My husband (and assistant in this outing) chose the Truite Amandine (almond trout with haricots verts, steamed potatoes, and lemon brown butter). Let me say that fish is not one of my favorite meals, but, after one ‘bite’ we shared the rest of the dish – and he mine!
As if the meal could not get any better, Chef Pierre Landet came out to greet us with my favorite French dessert – Crème Brulee (French for ‘burnt cream’)! This incredible French dessert (brunt cream, crema catalane, or Trinity cream) consists of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel. It is served cold, or with the custard cold and the caramel warm and can have one of many flavors: lemon zest, rosemary, chocolate, a liqueur, fruit, etc. Ours was served with two fresh raspberries on top.
Beverly A. Beveridge, Monmouth County Regional Editor, jerseybites.com
Guest Bite by Melissa Yurasits
Melissa Yurasits: Grew up on the Jersey Shore and returned to the Garden State after four years of living in Boston for college. Works in publicity/promotions by day but at night loves checking out new restaurants or cooking up new recipes with her boyfriend in their Jersey City apartment. Can’t name a favorite food, except for anything and everything cooked by her Dad, who doesn’t believe in recipes (but it turns out amazing everytime!).
extraordinary distillery.
I don’t know what I was thinking or expecting, but I was completely taken off guard by their menu. For some reason, after my brunch at Langosta Lounge during Jersey Shore Restaurant Week, I had the impression it was a Mexican restaurant. I hadn’t taken the time to look at their regular menu, so the “Langostarita” pictured here with fresh lime, triple, and tequila with a splash of ruby red grapefruit (delicious) and the “Breakfast Burrito” had shaped my first impression.
If you are a Cilantro lover, you are going to love this dish. I happen to be a huge fan of Cilantro but I know many people who absolutely hate it, so if that is you, I apologize. I promise to bring you a Cilantro free recipe next time around.
Carefully add meatballs to stew; gently press into liquid to submerge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cilantro over. Cover pot; place in oven. Bake until meatballs are cooked through and carrots are tender, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle spinach over stew. Cover and bake until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes longer. Gently stir to mix in spinach, being careful not to break meatballs. Remove cinnamon sticks. Season tagine with salt and pepper.
I just love the name of this restaurant. The owner shared with us that this restaurant was his “plan B.” His Plan A had been a bed and breakfast, but after talking it over with family, he decided on Plan B and I personally am very happy he did. Peter and I stopped into 
For dinner, Peter ordered the Steak with Blue Cheese and Eggplant Fries. I had to try a bite and wow, one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. I ordered the Fish of the Day which was Monk fish, lightly fried served over a salad with the tiniest baby beets. The fish came wearing this funny sombrero, which I soon realized was a large ravioli filled with a sauce meant to enhance the fish and salad. Like I said, very inventive and delicious.
Congratulations to Mary Rose our winner of the Julie & Julia DVD from Sony Pictures. Julie said in her comment:
In honor of today’s release of the wonderful movie Julie & Julia on DVD and Blue-ray, the folks at Sony are giving us a copy of the Movie to giveaway to one lucky reader of Jersey Bites. (I so wish it could be me, but no such luck.) So, if you love this movie and Meryl Streep as much as I do (What foodie wouldn’t?) just leave a comment with a contact email address to enter. Deadline is Wednesday, December 16th at 11:59pm. The winner will be selected with the help of Random.org and announced on Thursday December 17th. Enjoy the scenes from the movie if you haven’t seen it yet, or if you just need a little pick me up for today. Bon Appetit!!
