By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor After a brief hiatus, Buon Appetito in Westfield is back in business and chef and owner Mino Giliberti is once again in fine form. Although he had considered selling his successful restaurant at 856 North Rd. in the Hampton Ponds section of the city, Giliberti has re-opened with a dinner schedule only from Wednesday through Sunday. We recently visited the restaurant with a cousin from Scotland and she, like everyone else who we have taken there, was dutifully impressed. Giliberti surprised us with two appetizers that were not on the menu: a homemade polenta and fried oysters. All of us had heard of polenta, but none of us had tried it. It's a finely ground and cooked cornmeal dish that is a staple of northern Italy. Giliberti formed it into a rectangle and covered with gorgonzola cheese sauce and it was quite remarkable. Now, I love fried oysters, but seldom have any, as my wife doesn't care for them. Our cousin Laura wasn't a fan, either. Giliberti's dish, though, won them both over. The lightly breaded oysters tasted very fresh and were served with a warm marinara sauce. Oh boy! What a treat! Giliberti explained that the oysters were only on the menu when he could obtain a fresh supply and the polenta when his arm was up for the continual mixing while cooking! My wife had one of her favorites, penne pasta with the vodka sauce, while Laura had one of my favorites, chicken with gorgonzola sauce. Instead of the pasta, she chose the broccoli option for the dish. I had something new. Earlier this year, Giliberti went back to his native Italy for the first time in 16 years and he spent part of his time learning new recipes. One of those is Rigatoni dello chef, a fantastic meat sauce over pasta. How can I describe it? If you've tried Giliberti's hearty Bolognese sauce, then you'll have some idea, as it's a variation of that recipe. It's a hearty meat sauce that is just incredible. The desserts were fantastic as we tried some of the frozen selection Giliberti has shipped over-night from Italy. We tried two bombas ice creams balls covered in chocolate. Giliberti asked if we would sample a new addition, a peanut butter bomba. It was an amazing flavorful peanut butter ice cream in a chocolate shell. We also tried two lemon desserts that were equally flavorful. These frozen desserts have no American equivalent and have to be tried to be believed. Giliberti said that during his trip to Italy he was surprised to see how much of the Italian cuisine he grew up enjoying is now slowly but surely being Americanized. Spaghetti and meatballs an American dish is now on menus in Italy. He intends to stick to his roots and offer truly Italian dishes. Buon Appetito Ristorante is open 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. |