William Koester and Kris Welz enjoy old-school Italian restaurants as much as anyone. But as the duo prepared to open Osteria Del Corso in South Orange, they aimed to venture as far as possible from the checkered tablecloths and spaghetti-and-meatball obsessions of yester-meal.
“We’re not like the typical Italian restaurants you have around here, where you have your eggplant parmesan and lasagna,” Welz, the head chef, told NJ Advance Media this week. “We don’t really do that here.”
Those are bold words, considering no state touts its traditional Italian love affair quite like New Jersey. Lifelong patrons of Chef Vola’s in Atlantic City, Belmont Tavern in Belleville and the now-closed Spirito’s in Elizabeth will defend their exalted eateries until they’re red (sauce) in the face.
Though Koester and Welz are right to believe New Jersey is also a hotbed for the cuisine’s evolution. Revered rustic Italian eatery Corto in Jersey City is beloved for its angry chicken with guanciale and calabrian chili, while Italian and Japanese fusion has made Pasta Ramen in Montclair the hottest new restaurant in the state.
Since its March opening, Osteria Del Corso has angled for a classic-meets-contemporary spin.
“We are trying to pay as much respect to traditional Italian food as possible with a heavy influence in Roman food, but also dishes that are famous and popular throughout Italy,” Welz said. “Representing them with our own little modern twist.”
You won’t find massive platters of baked ziti at this new Essex County restaurant. Italian-American comfort foods like chicken parm and veal marsala aren’t on the menu, either.
Their modern take on authentic Italian food includes a select handful of pasta dishes derived from Italy, individual square pan pizzas, a roster of revamped appetizers and just three entrees.
The restaurant’s sprawling interior is modern, as well: black walls, tables and dark-stained floors cover two floors, plus two outdoor patios, an event space, a bar — and an indoor bocce court.
“That was always an idea from day one. We wanted to have the only indoor bocce court in Jersey,” said Koester, who previously opened New American restaurant The Fox and Falcon down the street. “It’s almost like that was the one idea we had and then started building everything else around that.”
Does New Jersey have room in its heart (and it’s stomach) for Osteria Del Corso? Let’s dig in.
The good
The pasta. The pasta, the pasta, the pasta. Osteria’s noodles are made in-house with egg and semolina flour, which you is obvious from the first bite. They are delicate and tender, cooked to a precise al dente to assure they still maintain proper firmness — no overcooked starchy globs here; a pitfall of some well-meaning fresh pasta dishes.
“When you have that egg and that semolina in there, it has a different chew, it’s got a different bite to it, it’s got a different color to it,” Welz said. “We wanted it to be like if you’re at someone’s nonna’s house eating a bowl of pasta.”
The bucatini all’Amatriciana ($25) was the best dish to arrive at our table all night. The spicy red sauce with guanciale (pork cheek), red onion, San Marzano tomatoes and chili was sweet and spicy, with a nice kick of heat that was enjoyable without commandeering the plate. Pairing the sauce with bucatini, a thick and hollow noodle substantial enough to hold up to the sauce, was a smart choice.
The dish was influenced by a specific restaurant in Rome called Trecca, where Welz dined earlier this year. He enjoyed the pasta there so much he revisited multiple times. He noticed the way they rendered the fat out of the guanciale and toasted the tomato paste in the pan to the point where it almost burnt, injecting a deeper sweetness.
For the malfadine cacio e pepe ($21) — the simple Roman dish teeming with Pecorino Romano and black pepper, which seems to be everywhere right now — the pasta was again well-cooked, and the wide, wavy noodles were coated evenly; a shrewd choice of starch. My plate could have used a touch more pepper to give the plate more bite, but it was effective nonetheless.
Del Corso offers a New York strip steak ($41) and cod al forno ($32) as entrees. But I opted for the pollo fritto, an Italian take on fried chicken exemplifying the restaurant’s creativity. The breading was requisitely crispy and salty, and the flavor novel — aided by the fried capers and lemon — while the meat remained succulent and juicy. While $32 is pricy for fried chicken, it is a sizable serving and I definitely prefer this to the typical southern preparation of the dish.
Though the appetizers were a tad uneven, some sincerely wowed. The in-house baked focaccia bread ($10, no free bread here) was the simplest of the bunch, but was warm, fluffy and herbaceous. Had I not known how much food was coming, I could have grazed on that all night — especially when dipped into the rich and creamy stracciatella ($19). Preparing the fried calamari ($21) with cornmeal in the breading was a deft move to add texture, and the meatballs were well-seasoned, though not as tender they could have been; a touch overcooked.
Koester runs the cocktail program, which features the two drinks every Italian restaurant needs in 2023: a negroni and an espresso martini. The negroni was balanced nicely by Koester’s recipe; Cocchi Vermouth di Torino offered a cocoa-like spice. The espresso martini was incredibly creamy yet still dairy free, made with oat milk.
For dessert, the cereal bowl-sized serving of tiramisu for two ($18), with the restaurant’s logo printed on top, was a fun bit of branding and big enough to feed three. But the lemon sorbet stood out as a refreshing and sharp note to finish the meal, even if my face was puckering at the intense tartness.
The bad
Welz deserves a few points for creativity with his pizza, a square pie that is thicker than typical New York style but thinner than Detroit. Still, it just didn’t work for me. I ordered the pepperoni pie, which was unremarkable. It needed more sauce, and the crust could have been crispier. Of course, with so much outstanding pizza in New Jersey (and the rest of Essex County), this pie was decidedly skippable.
The vibe
Osteria’s interior is dark and spacious, while the furnishing resembles more of a club than a restaurant amid its massive floor plan. The indoor bocce ball court is a clever use of the restaurant space, and a fun and whimsical addition even if you’ve never played the game before. Take a few throws while finishing your negroni, no one’s judging you.
“We wanted you to kind of feel like you were out of the area, we wanted you to feel like you were in a different kind of setting like if you were in like a New York City restaurant,” Welz said. “We didn’t want something that was hyper-traditional in that aspect.”
Considering the regular excellence of New Jersey’s dining scene, it’s unclear why the restaurant would aim to distance itself, especially to appear so posh. Time will tell how local clientele responds.
The bottom line
South Orange isn’t exactly deprived of Italian food. But most of those spots fall into the category Osteria Del Corso is trying to avoid. While Reservoir and Village Trattoria are beloved for their pizza and Italian-American pasta dishes, Del Corso does indeed give the underrated food town something it doesn’t otherwise have.
I still prefer the chicken savoy from Belmont Tavern and the chicken parm from Laico’s in Jersey City. As far as authentic interpretations of Italian, I still give the edge to Corto in the Jersey City Heights.
While Osteria Del Corso might not yet be an elite New Jersey Italian restaurant, it’s approachable and regularly delicious.
At least for one night, it’s worth swapping out spaghetti and meatballs for cacio e pepe and all’ametriciana.
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Jeremy Schneider may be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @J_Schneider and on Instagram at @JeremyIsHungryAgain.
