A Touch of Northern Italy in Fair Lawn

When Michael Jelcic purchased MezzaNotte (6-11 Saddle River Road) in 2008, little did he know that one late afternoon in 2010 he'd have perhaps the world's biggest bolognese fan dining in his restaurant.

Okay, the color scheme and décor haven't changed since the purchase, but if you deliver delicious cuisine and good service, I'm your loyalist. This BYOB just a minute off of Route 208 has free parking, plenty of smiles, and is comfortable and not pretentious. Business, family and romantic dining are all welcome here.

Here's your scheme in color and setting: blue ceiling, brown mustard walls, photos of northern Italy adorning those walls, and tables with white tablecloths atop burgundy tablecloths, white linens, and velvet seats in burgundy.

And now food. It's easy to either make a big deal about the initial bread offering, or "Eh…," cast it aside. I'll do the former: Warm, warm, warm, and I saved plenty for dipping into my tomato sauce that accompanied a decent sized offering of a crispy fried calamari appetizer.

That, as well as the excellent caesar salad I and my wife shared, could've been our meal. What? And miss my bolgnese, and she her salmon? Nothing doing! For $16.95, my wife enjoyed salmon with farfalle pasta in vodka sauce. There was a hint of salmon – either in piece or taste – in every forkful, but not so much to overpower the vodka sauce.

For me, the tortellini bolognese of Executive Chef Baldo Mancia hit the spot. The sauce has a very nice tang to it, meat in abundance throughout.

Michael Jelcic tells me that, among the entrees served at MezzaNotte, the sea bass and the halibut are most popular among the seafood offerings, and lamb and veal dishes are immensely popular meat offerings. No doubt.

Service is very important here as well. Jelcic visits all the tables of course, knows the menu well, and his staff smile and are attune to the patron's needs. All in all, a nice evening out. 

MezzaNotte can be reached at 201-475-8333.