Tuscany Touch: A New Chef is Creating a Wonderful Experience

A mainstay of the downtown Hasbrouck Heights restaurant scene for eight years, Tuscany Touch Restaurant and Pizzeria has a new owner and chef, Salvatore D’Angelo, who is creating a new menu and keeping traditional dishes going at this popular dining spot. The restaurant was previously owned by Sal’s uncle, Michael D’Angelo, who set a new standard in Italian dining away from the image of just calzones and pasta with meatballs. Sal now wants to add his own touch to the popular restaurant.

Sal D’Angelo is hardly a stranger to Italian restaurants with several uncles owning restaurants all over New Jersey. “My Uncle Michael owned ‘Tuscany Touch’ after running two other restaurants in Northern New Jersey, my Uncle Phil has owned three different restaurants and I have worked with my father, Anthony, who has owned’ Buon Amici’ in Montvale and ‘Italian Touch’ in Livingston Mall in Livingston. I bought the business from my Uncle Michael this year and want to bring our loyal clients back with a fresh take on Italian cooking,” Sal explained.

Sal comes from a long line of Italian chefs, starting with his father, Anthony (who you will see helping in the restaurant), who was born in Sicily and brought his traditional cooking to this country. “I was brought up in the restaurant business and have a passion for food and love to cook,” Sal added. “I want the restaurant to concentrate on fine regional cuisine. Everything that is ordered is cooked for that person. All of our food is of the freshest ingredients. I order all my fish daily and make all my own sauces. A lot of my pastas are made fresh in the restaurant including the ravioli and the gnocchi. Nothing is frozen.”

Tuscany Touch is a family affair with many of Sal’s family members assisting in making the restaurant a warm and welcoming establishment. Both his father, Anthony and his mother, Josephine, help in both the cooking and serving, greeting many customers on a busy night. On certain nights, you might be greeted by Sal’s wife, Natasha, who will welcome you to dinner.

Sal grew up in Garfield, New Jersey and is Alumnus of Garfield High School. He later attended the Culinary Arts Program at Bergen Community College to hone his culinary and business skills in the restaurant business.

“Most of what I have learned though,” Sal explained, “is on the job training.” He currently lives in Lodi with his family.  Sal is the proud father of three daughters, Siena, Ryleigh and Gabriella, all who attend the local Lodi schools. “Our family enjoys good food and we like to share this with our customers. You will meet my mother several nights as she greets and helps guests with their menu choices and my wife likes to come in and work with me on Thursdays. It makes the restaurant a real family business.”

“We are keeping in the tradition of Tuscany Touch and we will have on-going weekly specials,” Sal said. “I like to see what is fresh in the market and then set my menu with what dishes I can create with those ingredients.” Some of the items being offered on the menu during the recent holiday week included Penne Sofia, penne pasta sautéed in a shrimp vodka sauce, Chicken Pompeii, a chicken breast sautéed in balsamic reduction, Pizza with potato and sausage, Mushrooms Diana, extra-large mushroom caps stuffed with a crab dressing and topped with an Hollandaise Sauce and a whole Stripped Bass steamed. The homemade soups have also become a favorite of the customers. “My Pasta e Fagioli soup has become extremely popular with the customers and I go through several batches of soup in a week.”

“There are several improvements we are going to make in the future,” Sal explained. “We will be having new signage on the Division Avenue side of the street so that you can find the restaurant as you drive into both sides of town. When the Street Scape project comes to this part of the Boulevard in the Spring, we will be opening an outdoor café with tables and chairs for dining and new awnings to accent the building. We want to create a special dining experience in the evenings.” Live music has also returned on Thursday and Friday nights during dinner service.

“We have also increased our deliveries and offer free deliver to Hasbrouck Heights, Woodridge, Teteboro and parts of Hackensack,” Sal added. “Our catering has also become very popular especially since the holiday season and we offer half and full trays of our most popular items that can serve between 10 to 24 people.” Some of the items on the catering menu are Chicken and Veal Parmigiana, Marsala, Francaise and Piccata, Baked Ziti and Stuffed Shells, Cavatelli with Chicken and Broccoli and Lasagna. There are also many salad and Party Hero choices.

On the dining in menu these popular choices are available as well as some regional dishes including Cavetelli alla Norma, homemade cavatelli with an eggplant basilica in a marinara sauce topped with ricotta cheese, Gnocchi alla Bolognosa, homemade potato gnocchi in a Bolognese meat sauce and Chicken Calabrese, prepared with sun-dried tomatoes, capers, garlic and white wine.

“I want to impress our customers with the changes made at Tuscany Touch and want to welcome old customers back,” Sal said. “I hope that guests have a pleasant evening of good food, entertaining music and wonderful service in an establishment where the whole family will be greeted by my own.”

Tuscany Touch
167 Boulevard
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
201-288-4000