As its name implies, Due Mari specializes in seafood, but also showcases a fat, dynamic rib-eye.
On Day 22, among our best choices in Italian cuisine, we offer ...
DUE MARI
You'll swoon over the handcrafted pasta, but you might appreciate more the textural addition of bread crumbs.
Executive chef Bill Dorrler, who heads the kitchen at Due Mari, one of the restaurants under the direction of Michael White "The crunch reminds me of nothing so much as nuts on a sundae," says Michael White, in the seductive primer he co-authored, "Classico e Moderno."
Which might, if you haven't had White's food, imply a bit of blasphemy. As in, you can take the Wisconsin boy to Italy, but you can't take the Wisconsin out of the boy.
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But White knows not to give you too much of a good thing and the tweaks he makes to classic Italian cooking -- using French techniques, for example, and adding subtle textures -- only serve to improve.
At Due Mari, witness and love the texture on the squid ink pasta and the eggplant Parmesan.
As its name implies, Due Mari specializes in seafood, but also showcases a fat, dynamic rib-eye.
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Garganelli, with spring peas, proscuitto and light truffle butter, at Due Mari in New Brunswick. The eatery is one of White's early restaurants, before he won all those New York awards, which received a makeover and a shot of adrenaline in recent years from the acclaimed (but busy) chef.
It's not as refined as Marea, White's award-winning restaurant on Central Park South, which would be too fussy for New Brunswick anyway.
We also like Osteria Morini, in Bernardsville, White's other Jersey fine dining restaurant. Pastas are outstanding in either location.
• Due Mari | 78 Albany St., New Brunswick | (732) 296-1600 | duemarinj.com
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