This Trenton establishment recalls ‘the ‘Burg’ at the top of its form, when its constellation of neighborhood restaurants attracted a regional clientele.
By: Kate and Tom O’Neill
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Sal De Forte’s Ristorante |
The door to Sal De Forte’s Ristorante is a time portal. The diner is instantly transported back a couple of generations, to another era in Chambersburg, "the ‘Burg," Trenton’s long-standing Italian-American community.
One enters a room dominated by a long bar, with a backdrop of bottles, rank on rank. The turn-of-the-last-century bar shares space with six or seven tables, where smoking is still permitted. Once the fabled Johnny Boston’s, Sal De Forte’s preserves the style, menu and attitude of the classic Italian-American eatery. It offers the comfort of a familiar menu, a friendly staff, and a wine list strong, as it should be, in Italian reds.
The non-smoking dining room adjacent to the bar was not busy on the Tuesday night when visited. Wrapped with string lights, silk flowers top the dark wainscoting, and faceted chandeliers further brighten the area. An impressive, mirrored oak sideboard stands sentry at one end of the room.
Our friendly and obliging waitress, Gretchen, took drink orders and, after a suitable interval, described the evening’s specials, which also are displayed on a blackboard, but without the details of her comprehensive descriptions.
Gretchen delivered a basket of bread, definitely below room temperature, but, when we asked, she cheerfully whisked it away. A few minutes in the oven transformed the bread into a tasty accompaniment to our wine aperitifs, a Pinot Grigio ($6.50) and a Chianti ($6.75), from the nine wines available by the glass. The wine list deserves another visit to explore its Italian offerings, including 15 reds ranging in price from $24 to $200 a bottle.
The menu offers a wide choice even without the specials. Antipasti three cold and five hot two soups, five kinds of bread, four salads, nine pastas, at least seven veal and chicken dishes, grilled specialties, including a veal chop, and four seafood choices. A note in the menu invites the diner to request familiar favorite veal or chicken dishes that are not specifically listed.
Our son Tim chose bruschetta pomadora ($6.95). One of many bread choices offered as an appetizer, it was a meal in itself. The bread was piping hot, crunchy and crusty, topped with stewed plum tomatoes, generously layered with melted mozzarella, sprinkled with herbs. The bruschetta also can be ordered with sausage, spinach, garlic and creamy blue cheese. Tim intended to eat only half to save room for his entrée, but ended up polishing it off. The satisfaction of this comfort food was too good to postpone.
Hot seafood antipasto ($7.95) included tender-cooked shrimp, mussels, scallops, clams and a whole jalapeño that lent spicy kick to the simple broth in which the shellfish were steamed and served. Carpaccio ($8.95) was hearty, with the high-quality raw beef sliced a bit thicker than usual, and enlivened with capers and an olive oil dressing that brought out the full flavor of the beef.
A complimentary green salad comes with each entrée, though the ramekin of crumbled blue cheese carries an extra charge ($3). We all commented on what a fine addition thin-sliced celery was to the good, basic salad: a straightforward but important ingredient.
Two of our entrées came from the regular menu. Delicate, moist tilapia ($19.95) was served in an intense lemon butter caper sauce that added flourish to the dish. Given a choice of a side dish of rotini with red sauce versus herbed, roasted potatoes, we unhesitatingly chose the potatoes, an ideal complement for the citrus-y sauce. Green beans, the other vegetable, were overcooked and drab, deriving interest only from a dash of minced garlic.
Farfalle spinaci ($14.95), one of several pasta dishes, was a successful combination of elements that offered a rich array of flavors: spinach, white beans, chunks of gorgonzola, and savory mushrooms.
We chose one special, seafood rustica ($24.95), which reiterated the shellfish served in the hot antipasto, with added scungilli and calamari. It was served in a bread bowl, surrounded by clams and mussels steamed in their shells. The shrimp, scallops and all the other ingredients in the bread bowl were bathed in a thick, white, sweet, buttery sauce. The sauce on the surrounding shellfish soon cooled and became glutinous. But the goodies in the bread bowl stayed hot ’til the end. Sharing this item between two diners would be a prudent course for all but the most ambitious gourmand.
Gretchen brought a tray with a choice of four tempting desserts. In addition to the items on the tray ($6), frozen confections, such as peach Melba, are also available. The light cheesecake was double-layered half traditional, half chocolate a delicious pairing. The bland hazelnut torte was on the dry side and lacked the sweet earthy flavor of hazelnuts. Decaffeinated espresso was not available, but decaf coffee ($1.75), robust and freshly brewed, provided a suitable accompaniment to our desserts.
For those who enjoy traditional Italian-American cooking, Sal De Forte’s is a satisfying destination. Family-owned and managed for 21 years by the De Forte family, the restaurant recalls the ‘Burg at the top of its form, when its constellation of neighborhood restaurants attracted a regional clientele. The good, varied menu, chatty bartender and amiable staff bring the past into the present. They are the essence of Sal De Forte’s.

