WANDERINGS by Ken Weingartner: Nick Costagliola enjoys running township restaurant.
By:
MILLSTONE When Nick Costagliola was a youngster growing up in Naples, Italy, he spent numerous hours working in his family’s restaurant, which held some 500 guests.
He started at the age of 9, washing dishes and cleaning. He eventually learned from his father the secrets of the culinary craft.
Vesuvio Pizzeria and Trattoria, operated in Perrineville for the last 13 years by Mr. Costagliola, is much smaller than its counterpart in Naples. But Mr. Costagliola says the food is true to its roots.
"It’s not too much different," Mr. Costagliola said. "The sauce we make in Italy with the tomato, we do the same here. And we cook everything fresh."
Mr. Costagliola said his family’s restaurant featured traditional Italian fare. It was a festive place, often hosting weddings and other celebrations.
"In Italy, there was a bottle of wine on every table," he said with a smile.
At the age of 25, Mr. Costagliola moved to the United States. He met his wife, Mary, while she was visiting family in Italy and when she returned to the U.S., he came with her.
For 14 years he operated a restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach. He then decided to open a place in Millstone Township, where he has lived for 29 years. When he opened in Perrineville, he closed his other restaurant.
"This is my job," Mr. Costagliola said. "It’s the job I want to do. I enjoy it. I enjoy everything. Everything you got to do, I do."
Mr. Costagliola said pizza in the U.S. is not unlike pizza in Italy, except in the way it is cooked. Here, most restaurants use gas ovens. In Italy, wood-fueled brick ovens are most common.
In addition to pizza, Mr. Costagliola said his specialties include chicken with wine sauce, lasagna and various pasta dishes.
"If I like it, I’ll do it," he said.
It is necessary to like one’s job when working in the restaurant business. Mr. Costagliola said it’s not usual to work from 9 a.m. until 1 a.m., six days a week.
"If you decided to sell food, it will be long hours to work," Mr. Costagliola said during an interruption of his 3 p.m. lunch (lasagna). "You have to like this kind of job."
He is quite happy with his place in Perrineville.
"I get a lot of business in Millstone," Mr. Costagliola said. "Millstone’s got beautiful people. My customers are all my friends. Almost all of Millstone knows me."
The restaurant’s name is derived from Mount Vesuvius, a volcano located near Mr. Costagliola’s native Naples. Vesuvius is famous for the catastrophic eruption in 79 A.D. that buried the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii.
Mr. Costagliola has no plans to slow down any time in the near future. He also has no intention of doing much more, such as opening a second restaurant.
"One is enough for me," he said with a laugh.