Business & Tech
Review: Arturo's Offers Pizza, Pasta and a Whole Lot More
Leave your dining experience in the hands of owner Dan Richer
When I first came to Maplewood, an already-here friend emailed me three things the day before my moving van arrived. Directions to Target, the name of a decent bagel place and the phone number of Arturos. If you have these three things, she wrote, you'll survive your move-in.
Equipped with two glowing wood-burning ovens and a loyal, best-pizza-in-New Jersey fan base, this place takes its pies and pastas very seriously. Don't judge it by the low-key, neighborhood ambiance—wobbly wood tables and plenty of high chairs may pack the front of the house, but the action in the kitchen is careful and apt.
Arturo's offers guests a choice of two crusts: classic thin—their signature crust—and a "traditional" slightly thicker, New York style. Although delicious the first five to 10 minutes out of the oven, the traditional crust becomes a little more soggy if it sits.
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The thin crust, on the other hand, is pure pizza artistry, crispy from the oven stone with the finest layer of cushy dough setting the scene for toppings. If you're a crust fan, opt for classic thin pizza in its purest plain cheese form. The specialty pizzas are also quite good. I especially like the Parma, which demonstrates Arturo's skill at ingredient proportion and balance. In less able hands, its strong gorgonzola cheese could turn the pie into a one-note wonder. But Arturo's chefs reign in the blue, allowing it to shine in perfect harmony with the lower profile mozzarella, parmesan and provolone orchestra. A beautiful exercise in restraint.
Arturos' pasta menu is filled with winners, too, and for the most part the portions are generous and filling. One notable star is the wild mushroom ravioli with truffle oil; this seems like a town-wide consensus. On a recent evening, we were debating between selections and the woman at the table next to us whispered "don’t even think about it. Go with the mushroom ravioli."
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What makes it delicious is, again, partly its smart flavor balance. Hearty and rich, every bite of the pasta carries with it a bit of the truffle oil essence—neither overwhelming, nor "isn't this supposed to have truffle oil in it?" disappointing. A sophisticated and surprising entrée for a neighborhood pizza place, which again proves that's exactly what Arturo's is not. Other pastas are also excellent, and while the ziti al telefono didn't live up to its billing—no smooth, melty telephone-wire-like strings of perfect mozzarella dripping from each bite—there were big chunks of delicious house-made mozzarella nestled among the penne. (Had they been added to the hot pasta sooner, they likely would have been able to melt into the dish's namesake.) Pasta cinghiale, a boar and mushroom ragu, makes a perfect choice for a chilly night.
Also, check the chalkboard for nightly specials, and if you're a beet fan, don't miss its namesake salad special. It skips most of the distracting greens and focuses on the main event with plenty of help from a beet's best friends—a shower of goat cheese and syrupy balsamic dressing.
One of the restaurant's best takes may be to leave your dining experience in the hands of its young captain, Dan Richer, who bought the place in January '07.
"I've always got something different cooking in the back," he said. "You just have to ask." Saturday night tasting menus, which consist of seven to nine courses may include things like beef carpacio with hazelnuts, homemade pastas, 4-hour braised leg of chicken or panna cotta. Since Arturo's (and much of Maplewood's dining landscape) is BYOB, call ahead to let Richer know what you'll be bringing and he'll craft a menu that pairs with your wine and its region of origin.
