One family’s dream has traveled from Italy to Bound Brook, bringing with it authentic food from mushrooms, greens and figs to molten chocolate.
By:Antoinette Buckley
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Girasole |
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What do Bound Brook and Avellino, Italy, have in common? Girasole.
In Italian, girasole means sunflower. Around 1970, Alfonso Russo started a restaurant in Avellino, Italy, and named it Girasole, after the wild sunflower fields commonly found on the Italian landscape.
After 10 years, an earthquake devastated Avellino, a region outside Naples. After the earthquake, the Russo family started anew and relocated to the United States. Son Robert was 12 years old. By 1996, father and son opened a reincarnated Girasole in Bound Brook. Girasole set up shop in a tiny space that was formerly a Cingular Wireless store.
About four-and-a-half years ago, Girasole packed its bags once again and moved to a neighboring location with a bigger, but still intimate, space that Robert’s brother-in-law, an architect, designed. Father and son make quite a team. Alfonso still practices his art in the kitchen as head chef and Robert takes care of most managerial responsibilities, effortlessly it seems.
After nine years in Bound Brook, Girasole is still largely unknown (especially to out-of-towners) even though it is difficult to get a reservation on a weekend unless you call two to three weeks ahead. Girasole attracts satisfied local regulars and out-of-towners who, by some stroke of luck, have found out about it.
Images of sunflowers are worked into the décor of the restaurant sparingly. This visual is very peripheral, however, compared to the smart, intimate décor fashioned in shades of gold and burgundy with brick accents, gilded mirrors and hanging art. On a deeper level, the sunflower, a vibrant and strong flower, is also a source of food such as vegetable oil and sunflower seeds. Like its namesake, the restaurant has exhibited strength in its longevity and loyal family ties. But its truest beauty lies in the food and the long path it took to get to your table.
The menu is mouth-watering and substantial. You will inevitably place your order with a bit of regret for those dishes that will have to go unsampled. Girasole does not attempt to transcend boundaries. Instead, the focus is authentic northern Italian cuisine with telling signs of a southern Italian derivative. The resulting food is energetic and genuine.
Even the bruschetta placed on the table after customers are seated commands attention; when that first bite is taken you fully realize that burst of freshness. Appetizers are like little gifts that whet the appetite before the main event. The buffalo mozzarella appetizer special of the evening ($11.95) was served in standard salad style, with marinated portabella mushrooms, artichokes and roasted red pepper drizzled with basil oil. While such an appetizer will never be a showstopper, this one proved to be a well-constructed conglomeration of good ingredients melded together.
Smoky and sultry, Ravioli Ripieni con Funghi ($7.95 for an appetizer portion, $15.95 entrée portion) is a dish to go wild over. Handmade raviolis filled with porcini mushrooms and ricotta cheese lavish in a velvety sauce flavored with leeks, pancetta, roasted garlic and rosemary.
A slip-up in service resulted in a most fortunate mistake. I ordered the shrimp from the regular menu, which was to be grilled and accompanied by a mozzarella, tomato and arugula salad. Instead, the shrimp special ($9.95) came. One bite was enough to know that all taste sensory dreams would come true with this one dish and there was no way I was sending it back. Three plump shrimp regally touched the surface of the port wine sauce augmented with leeks, prosciutto and toasts that soaked it all up.
Beyond the lush sauces and fresh ingredients, Girasole is becoming known for its broccoli rabe, of all things. The secret is cooking the bite out by boiling first and letting it rest. Then it can be sautéed with a variety of additions. That night, sundried tomatoes, pignoli nuts, garlic and lemon found their way into the green tangle. Broccoli rabe works the menu, getting high exposure as appetizer, à la carte side and meeting the green quota of an entrée.
Entrees from the regular menu consist of pasta, chicken and veal dishes. Pollo ai Carciofi ($17.95) is delightful in its simplicity. Boneless chicken breasts are sautéed with artichokes, sundried tomatoes and asparagus in a white wine herb sauce. A crunchy phyllo dough curl caps a mound of standard mashed potatoes. Veal Isabella ($18.95) resonates an earthy intensity as shiitake mushrooms lay the foundation for the lush brandy cream sauce in which medallions of pistachio-crusted veal find life.
For the most part, you must rely on the specials of the day for red meat and fish. On the evening we dined, the herb-crusted rack of lamb ($29.95) was perfectly cooked and still took a back seat to the sweet and savory scene built around it. A heap of sautéed escarole and mashed potatoes drew interest from the plate’s provocative sundried cherry-port wine reduction that managed to creep into every crevice. Still, the mastermind addition to the dish was figs. A commendable slant, these unexpected sweet nuggets pulled the dish together and brought it to the next level.
Not all specials are so memorable, however. There is the occasional yawner. On that night, it was the tilapia special ($21.95). Compared to the depth and vivacity of everything else, this dish was disappointingly restrained. Ironically, it’s the consistent success of the food that makes paler dishes unable to compete.
Like the main menu, the dessert menu also is enticing and shows a strong devotion to chocolate. However, two of the most inviting chocolate desserts were gone by the time we leisurely reached dessert. The only chocolate choice available was the flourless chocolate cake with molten center ($6.95). This can’t-go-wrong dessert didn’t. However, Sfolia Amalfitana ($6.95) showed a bit more finesse and proved that there was no chocolate necessary. I savored every morsel of this puff pastry topped with vanilla cream, strawberries that had been sautéed in brandy and a dollop of whipped cream as "icing on the cake."
When I think of Girasole, I think of superb greens, homemade raviolis, addictive sauces… and those figs. Even more attractive than the beautiful food is that Girasole is truly a family affair. It is evident in the hospitality, the authenticity of the food, and the devotion to keeping a family’s dream alive.

