New Kid on the Block

Two weeks ago, we went out to dinner with friends of ours in Manalapan.  They live in Northern Jersey but were down visiting her parents during the day.  I had seen on njmonthly.com that a new Italian restaurant had just opened in Manalapan.  I like the idea of trying newly opened restaurants.  There's something about finding a place you like from its beginning.  We had tried to find a non-Italian place, but as anyone who lives in Central Jersey knows, those are few and far between.  Besides, Italian food is usually a safe bet for satisfying multiple palates.  Tuscan Grill Cucina in Manalapan was no exception.  Everyone left that night satisfied.  The other couple started with mussels in a white wine sauce.  My husband and I both started with a Caesar salad (if you haven't noticed from all my blog posts so far, I am a big fan of Caesar salad).  We had this in place of the house salad that accompanied all entrees.  For dinner, I had the shrimp scampi.  The portions for all the entrees were large.  The husband in the other couple that was dining with us dared me that I couldn't eat the other thing.  My husband warned him that daring me to do something was futile.  I always meet a challenge.  The other problem was that he didn't know I had gone on an eight mile run that morning and hadn't eaten much all day.  Needless to say, there was not a scrap left on my plate.  My husband enjoyed his blackened salmon too.  Nobody was left with any room for dessert though.  Next time, I hope to try dessert too (after Lent is over when I can have chocolate again!).  

Next to add to our list is to try the sister restaurant - That's Amore - owned by the same people.  Hopefully, it will have the same great food!