It's not fine dining but it is just fine when wanting
to grab a decent meal for a reasonable price, cafeteria
style. They really should consider playing up
the cafeteria angle a little more with daily specials
and perhaps a name change to Romanelli's Italian
Cafeteria.
I checked out the Veal Parm over penne. It was
good... not anything out of the ordinary but good and
well worth the money, plus the dining area was pleasant
and very clean. My guest had the chef's salad...
it looked good with a lot of meat, although the giant
bed of iceberg lettuce underneath looked a little
bland. The dish was remarked as very fresh and a
good value.
Romanelli's has been an area solid performer for many
years and all signs point to many more years to come.
The place could be explosive if they went with some
"old school" daily specials which are off
the charts in taste and quality, especially now with
cost-conscious customers and more competition.
For me, when fast food won't do and not up to a fully
serviced sit down meal, I'll head over to Romanelli's
if in the area. - Jersey Shadow -
Romanelli's
42 Lincoln Place
Madison, New Jersey 07940
Phone: 973-377-9515
GK's Red Dog Tavern - Rod's
has been an area mainstay for years with its fine
dining, inviting atmosphere and excellent food.
Rod's has taken one of their
rooms and turned it into the Red Dog Tavern. I eat
at Rod's at least once a year and am never
disappointed, so I was curious about the Red Dog
Tavern.
I arrived one Friday for lunch with a guest and it
became immediately apparent that they are going after the
business lunch crowd and it's working. The dining
room was filled to capacity. The room is a little cramped especially
the booths because the tables don't move, but oddly, the bench
seats do which makes it impossible to squeeze in if the
person on the other side hogs the space. I
tried to squeeze in... the guy on the other side
hogged all the space and wouldn't move, and there you have
it, a booth that was useless.
Okay, so we settled in to a tiny table for two.
Even with this rough start I was optimistic about
the meal. I went with the burger and my guest
the shrimp salad wrap. The burger was delicious,
perfectly cooked and I mean perfectly, and the
sauteed onions delicious. Even the tomato and
raw onion on the side were delicious. The pickle
was also quite good. All ingredients were
clearly very carefully selected for freshness and
quality to meet a high standard. My diet is
changing (more on that in the coming months) so my
guest, who has an impeccable palate, tried the
fries and piece of the bun. Both were remarked
as delicious, and we were both struck by the presentation
of the fries in a miniature wire basket fryer.
My guest had the shrimp salad wrap which was beautifully
presented. The wrap was remarked as being of
exceedingly high quality, delicious, as was the
accompanying fresh salad and cole slaw. My
beverage of choice these days is ice water and my
glass was never empty; my guest chose the nostalgic
cream soda and really enjoyed this blast from the past. The service was
superior and warm and friendly.
The meal was off the charts for sure and I will
definitely return. The issue with the booth
probably can be fixed by securing the bench seats
to the floor (at least during use) so they are equally
spaced between the tables. It's quite a
challenge to bring anything new to life and the Red
Dog Tavern was born of vision and complete understanding
of the area. They fill a niche, and they do it well
and will no doubt be doing so for many years to
come. - Jersey Shadow -
GK's Red Dog Tavern
One Convent Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone 973-585-5700
Credit Cards Accepted - Full Bar