Ristorante lives up to its name
by S.J. Gintzler, the Star-Ledger, Friday, October 29, 2004:

Buon Appetito in Bayonne is a double delight. You can get its well-prepared Italian-American standards either in the siit-down restaurant or takeout at its adjacent deli.

Ambience: Access both the restaurant (to the left) and the deli (to the right), via one entrance. A bar fronts the simple, spacious, brightly lit dining room, which has been a popular neighborhood spot for a dozen years. A family-friendly feel permeates the space.

Food: Reasonably priced, hearty portions of home-style dishes. Meatballs and spaghetti, linguine in clam sauce, shrimp parmigiana and veal parmigiana are typical options along with daily specials. Complete family-style diinners are also available: $19.95 for eight or more, including antipasto, salad, pasta, entree, dessert and beverage. An all-you-can-eat buttet offers a selection of dishes off the regular menu. At the deli, you'll find cold cuts, sandwiches, cheeses, salads, soups and daily hot specials (lasagna, baked ziti, heroes) to go.

Appetizers more than satisfied. Our hands-down favorite was a salad of bocconcini (small balls of mozzarella), roma tomatoes, basil, roasted peppers, cheese tortellini, greens and pickled vegetables, dressed just so. A flavor-packed chicken-pastina soup made us feel like kids again. Stuffed mushrooms were big, juicy and packed with seasoned cubed bread, cheese and chopped 'shrooms in a bread-dunkable garlic-wine sauce.

Entrees were appealing. A simple, sensational rigatoni with broccoli rabe was a garden of perfectly cooked bitter greens tossed with al dente pasta in a savory roasted garlic broth. Eggplant parmigiana had two fork-tender rollatine rolled around and around thin layers of ricatto. It was topped in tomato sauce and molten mozzarella. A terrific veal brasciole coated in marinara was stuffed with a savory-sweet combo of prosciutto, sausage, herbs, pignoli and raisins. Chicken francese was just right - three hearty fillets resting in an A-plus garlic/butter/lemon/wine sauce. Dishes came with choice of pasta with marinara.

For dessert, we opted for the imported reginetta, a frozen confection featuring a chocolate cookie base topped with vanilla ice cream, coconut and a crown of chocolate.

Buon Appetito is a fine spot for well-executed Italian-American fare.