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Ed Hitzel's Current Column
Williamstown's Mamma Mia Sold to Visceglia Family
Mamma Mia Restaurant in Williamstown has been sold to the family which owns Visceglia's Deli and Restaurant, a few miles west on the Black Horse Pike. Michele and Innocenzo Visceglia plan to use some of their recipes along with some of the former owner of Mamma Mia, Frank Caloiero, who founded the restaurant some 25 years ago.
Caloiero said he would support the new owners both emotionally and in reassuring long-time customers that quality will not change. "We are going to take it very slowly," said Michele Visceglia.
The restaurant's name will be changed to Mamma Visceglia, although the familiar green sign will continue to say "Mamma Mia" for some time.
"We will be introducing some of our menu items as specials," said 'Cenzo Visceglia. "We are taking the best of Frank's menu and ours." The new chef will make pasta in the dining room as did Caloiero. The restaurant will continue to feature singers on weekends, including the popular Umberto.
Caloiero said he wanted to keep the transition quiet, so as not to frighten existing customers. Caloiero said he might continue to make guest appearances in the dining room on busy weekends, where he traditionally made pasta including his trademark lagana.
What will Caloiero do? "Nothing," he said, although that is not completely true. His family still owns the now-closed Corbin House in Corbin City. The facility is for sale, although he might reopen it. Caloiero is the featured chef on the front cover of our Fall magazine.
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WOLFGANG GECKELER TAKES JOB IN OKINAWA
Chef Wolfgang Geckeler, former executive chef at the Showboat, has been hired by the U.S. Marine Corp in Okinawa, Japan to be the corporate executive chef for Marine Corps Community Services. He left the area on Aug. 17. He signed a two-year contract.
"There is nothing available around here," he said. "It is very frustrating. No one even gets back to you to tell you that they received your resume."
He had worked in the Atlantic City area for 20 years, for six at Bally's and for 12 at Showboat. He was executive chef at Showboat for 10 years. "I got caught in the downsizing," he said.
His wife Maria and son Jason, 19, will travel with him.
He once traveled to Okinawa before, in 1967, on his way to Vietnam on a tour of duty with the U.S. Army. "It's hot and humid there but not as hazy as here," he said. "I have to relearn how to drive because you drive on the left side."
Geckeler said he will be cooking for various military dining facilities, including officers clubs. He hopes to hear from his friends who may contact him at woldcec@aol.com
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SORRY ABOUT THAT, WATER'S EDGE
Every summer, Craig LeBan and I compare notes. LeBan, restaurant critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, asks my suggestions for where he should visit along the Jersey shore and I try to fill him in on what's new. This year we suggested several places along the coast and towards the city including The Island Stop at the Pleasantville Bus Station. He also asked our suggestion for excellent "tried and true" places that he had not visited and we suggested The Water's Edge in Cape May. We were happy to see his thoughts that the Water's Edge remained "one of the shore's finest kitchens." We were not happy to see that in our August newsletter, our computer inadvertently pushed Water's Edge from our "Hitzel Classics" list. Sorry about that. Damned computer.
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CAPPUCCINO? WHAT'S THAT?
Every human being has a moment like this. At the coffee store in the Hamilton Mall, a gentleman standing in line behind us asked what I ordered. Cappuccino, I told him, with skim milk. The man, who looked middle aged and well-dressed, asked me what a cappuccino tastes like, since he never had one. I wondered if it was possible that someone in modern America neither knew what comprised a cappuccino nor knew what it tasted like. I suggested he try one, then turned to the young woman making the drink. I noticed she had a foreign accent, assuming she was a worker here for the summer. She asked if I wanted cinnamon. I asked if she had any nutmeg. She looked puzzled and repeated the word. She never heard of nutmeg. The man of the life without cappuccino asked her how it was possible to not have heard of nutmeg. I was going to ask him how it was possible for someone who never had a cappuccino to berate someone for not knowing of nutmeg. But I took my drink and left.
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GUMBO
Business as Maloney's in Margate was "out of sight" in the Spring. Summer has been ahead of last summer, said George Naame, the affable owner. "I guess the food is pretty good," he said. "Even with all the new joints in town."…
Norman Cohn, philanthropist and supporter of the culinary industry, held a party at his home in Longport to benefit the Atlantic City Baillage of the Chaine des Rotisseurs Foundation. As always the menu - assembled by chef Tony Clark - was impressive, including spit roasted baby goat with prosciutto, lobster benedict and bread and butter pudding with apricot confit...
One of the images from the Summer of 2002 we will not soon forget is of Maureen Horn, owner of Restaurant Maureen and Martini Bar in Wildwood, in her dumpster. We visited the restaurant recently and found Maureen in her office in clothing that looked less than Maureen-like. She explained that she feared she had tossed her payroll in the dumpster and had been deep in trash looking for the lost booty. I asked if she would get back in the dumpster so I could take a photo. (Never in a million clams casinos did I think she would actually say yes.) She said yes, but she wanted time to put lipstick on, then climbed back in, smiling for the camera. Maureen, who is working as a salesperson for a new magazine in Florida (she says she is retiring from the restaurant business and will work only part time) should open her own marketing business. Yeah sure, Maureen, you are retiring, and I am entering a weight-lifting contest. The photo appears in our Fall magazine…. The Courier Post of Camden has stopped doing restaurant reviews. Chuck Darrow, who wrote reviews along with three other critics, using pseudonyms, said the Courier Post publisher didn't think the critics were qualified...
Monty Dahm, owner of the Tun Tavern, said he has upgraded his beef and suggests everyone come in for a steak….The Zaberer's sign along the entrance to North Wildwood is gone. The restaurant burned down several years ago. A piece of history has faded from the scene.
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PLANS AT BRASSIE'S PLACE, RICHLAND
Brassie's Place has always been known for crabs and spaghetti. The restaurant, near the railroad tracks on route 40 in Richland,.was recently purchased by Keith Nocco, an area chef who once worked at the famous Inn at Little Washington in Virginia. Recent meals at Brassie's Place have found some interesting entrees served in the middle dining room, where Nocco told us of his plans to develop the other spaces in the building into a private supper club.
"I need the crabs so I can keep paying the bills," he said. "The goal is to become a supper club also."
In the meantime the restaurant has started a Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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WASHINGTON INN CHANGES CONCEPT IN BAR
The Washington Inn in Cape May will introduce a new theme in the bar area of the restaurant soon after the Labor Day weekend.
When customers enter the bar, which is located adjacent to the main dining room and seats 20, they will be reminded of the past. According to Connie Fisher, spokesperson for the restaurant, "The bar will have its own personality, it will not only be a place for people to wait for their table, it will be a destination," Fisher said. "It will be a beautiful place to reminisce about the past while having fun in the present."
While the decor is already reminiscent of the 1920's and 1930's, the beverage menu will now feature drinks from that era. Dale DeGroff, the self-proclaimed cocktail king and author of Craft of the Cocktail, was hired to help with this transition. DeGroff will conduct training sessions for employees and teach them how to recreate drinks from the 20's and 30's using period ingredients, fresh squeezed juices, simple syrups, and antique-style mixing tools.
Some of the highlights from the new beverage menu are the french 75, singapore sling, sidecar, flamingo, and valencia. The bar will also offer an extensive champagne list. The Washington Inn is located at 801 Washington Street. The phone number is (609) 884-5697.
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A SECOND PHILADELPHIA FIGS,
OWNER SELLS CHERRY HILL BRANCH TO CHEF ERIC GANZ
Mustapha Rouissiya will open another Figs location on Chestnut Street in the Olde City section of Philadelphia in the near future. This will be his second restaurant in Philadelphia.
Rouissiya said that when one of his friends purchased the building in Olde City, he approached Rouissiya about opening a restaurant there and he immediately knew it would be an ideal location. "I always wanted to go back to Olde City," Roussiya said. "It's a happening place right now."
The concept of the new restaurant will be different than his other restaurants. There will be more Mediterranean seafood items on the menu and the restaurant will feature an open kitchen, raw bar, fresh fish, gourmet food to go, and a bar. Prices will be reasonable.
Rouissiya will sell the Figs in Cherry Hill to Eric Ganz, who has been the executive chef at the property since it opened. Ganz had originally been slated to take over the kitchen at the new Philadelphia restaurant.
Ganz quickly took advantage of the opportunity after discussing it with his wife. "I've already been here since day one," he said. "I'm always in the restaurant and everyone who comes here knows me. It seems right that I am the one to buy it."
The new owner will change the name of the restaurant to Amea, a name he created by putting the first letter of everyone in his family's name together. The menu style and cuisine will stay the same, however. "We are Mediterranean, not just one type of food," he explained. "That's what sets us apart and makes us unique in the area."
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EPICUREAN, SEA ISLE CITY CLOSING PERMANENTLY,
OWNERS TO OPEN RESTAURANT IN FORMER H.I. RIB, MAYS LANDING
The Epicurean, in Sea Isle City for 14 years, will close permanently in mid-October. Owner Nina Corso-Rosu, along with her partner/brother Joseph Corso, plan to open a new restaurant in Mays Landing in December.
Corso-Rosu and her brother, who is the chef at Epicurean, decided that they needed a larger establishment. "This is the next step for us," she said. "Our original restaurant sat 50 people and all catering had to be done off premises." The new establishment, whose name has not been finalized but may be called Epic Grill, will seat 125 to 150 people and will include a banquet room that seats 100 and also a bar. "We now have the ability to do catering in house and we have never had a liquor license before."
The new restaurant will feature a more toned down menu than the one used at Epicurean. "We will be using the popular menu items from the dinner menu but they will now be run as specials. We will do a little bit of a lower priced menu featuring salads, chicken, fish, pasta, and steaks."
The casual family dining-type restaurant will be located two miles west of the Hamilton Mall, in building that formerly housed Chet's, and more recently H.I. Rib, in the Shore Health Park. And, unlike the seasonal Epicurean, the new restaurant will be open year round.
The restaurant will be located at 5402 Harding Highway, Route 40, Mays Landing. There is no phone number for the restaurant as of yet, but (609) 263-0008 will be the number for catering.
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CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS OPEN CRAB ISLAND PUB AND GRILL, WILDWOOD
Richard and Patti Appolonia, along with Tommy and Roseanne Karter will open Crab Island Pub and Grill in Wildwood in mid-October. Richard Appolonia and Tommy Karter are also partners in Panda Construction, the company that will handle building the new property.
When Appolonia became tired of the traveling involved in electrician job, he approached Karter (who also owns Karter's Market and Roxy's Tavern in Wildwood), and he suggested they open a restaurant together.
The dining room will be located on the second floor of the building and will feature a deck overlooking in the Inland Waterway. A bar and packaged goods are will be located downstairs.
A menu with reasonable prices will offer items that reflect the name of the restaurant. "Since it is called Crab Island, we want to make specialty crab cakes and crab soups, as well as having other seafood, steaks, and other items on the menu."
Construction on the property began at the end of February.
Crab Island Pub & Grill will be located at 2600 Park Boulevard. There is no phone number as of yet.
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20 MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT IN LINWOOD INCLUDES UPSCALE RESTAURANT
The Linwood building that formerly served as Prudential Insurance's New Jersey headquarters will no longer lie dormant. Robin Karman, principal of Karman Development Group, L.L.C., has purchased the building and has big plans for its future.
Over the last 20 years, Karman's company has taken both commercial and residential properties that have gone bankrupt or have been unsuccessful and repositioned them into thriving establishments.
The Prudential building, which has been virtually abandoned for seven years, is no different. In what has been dubbed "the 20 million dollar project," Karman plans to turn the building into an executive campus called the Cornerstone Commerce Center. It will offer corporate office space and high-end retail stores, but the main feature will be an upscale restaurant, which will be leased to an operator. Several well known restaurants from the tri-state area are being considered.
The building has a large cafeteria area that once served close to 900 employees on a daily basis. It's anticipated that the restaurant will occupy that space. The developer would like the restaurant to seat 250 to 350 people and also offer banquet facilities, a first in Linwood. A proposal is also being made to obtain a commercial liquor license for the facility, which will be another Linwood first. If it is granted, a refined lounge area will give patrons a place to sit and have a drink while waiting for a table. According to Blair Learn, Karman's publicist, "I want to stress that the bar will absolutely not be a packaged goods store, a nightclub, or a hangout. It is just not possible because it will be so high end."
Renovations are expected to commence in November. The developer would like the building to be fully occupied within three years.
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ED'S HOT LINE
Lisa Provence writes for Ed Hitzel Publications and contributed to this report. Ed Hitzel reviewed restaurants for The Press of Atlantic City for 16 years, and despite that remains reasonably fit.
Find out more about Ed Hitzel's projects at www.edhitzel.com. Email him and his office golden retriever at edhitzel@earthlink.net. Call him at 609-909-9755.
Hitzel has three publications:
- Ed Hitzel's Restaurant Newsletter features honest restaurant reviews and restaurant news and is available by subscription.
- Ed Hitzel's Restaurant Magazine, available free in restaurants throughout southern New Jersey and by subscription, features hundreds of capsule reviews of area restaurants, columnists and features.
- EdHitzel's Favorite Menus is available free in local restaurants.
Ed Hitzel's popular radio show, featuring food and beverage topics and industry guests, "Table For One," airs Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WOND-AM 1400 in Atlantic City and WGYM-AM 1580 in Hammonton, and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. on 92.1 FM in Vineland. The show can be heard on the internet by logging onto www.1400wond.com.
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By Ed Hitzel
I remember meeting Andrew Latz many years ago at a party at my parents house in Longport. The thing I remember about him is that he observed. His eyes moved around, noticing each and every person and the details of my parents house.
He's a listener, which I thought was neat. Some people love to talk about themselves, but listen as an afterthought. He recorded what he saw and heard and stored it away, answering questions politely and not saying much. I met him again a couple times in the Knife and Fork Inn when his dad and uncle, Mack and Jimmy, operated the restaurant. He was managing the Knife and Fork during some of those years. When he became a stockbroker, we talked a few times. Honestly I felt bad for him then because I knew his heart was in the Knife and Fork and not in the Nasdaq. He belonged in the Knife and Fork like a Marine belongs on the battlefield.
I always thought it was tough to be the son of a famous person, especially when the famous person is demanding and detailed. The kids usually take the brunt of the father's demands. But Andrew learned from his dad, who closed the Knife and Fork Inn, which is now operated by Andrew and his wife Adrienne.
So it was neat to see Andrew Latz managing the crowds at his restaurant the other night, on the occasion of the restaurant's 90th birthday. He observed, taking in details, but also issuing firm but gentle orders, taking the place of his dad and uncle who walked that same path years before. I watched Mack, his dad, observing his son as he dealt with the same problems and enjoyed the same successes. Jim Latz, his uncle, also watched - in the second floor dining room - as Andrew dealt with a full house.
The full house included many of Andrew's friends, family, former and present employees and political and media people and just plain folks who came to wish the endeavor well. His employees gave him a surprise birthday cake - it was his birthday also - halfway through the evening. Mindful that the restaurant stocked Ipswich clams, and fiercely proud of Andrew and Adrienne, I stayed for dinner in the Loewy Room, the gorgeous upstairs dining room, which was packed. Across from me sat Dan Klein, the publisher of the South Jersey Insiders Guide and his wife Beth. Monte Dahm, owner of Tun Tavern, possessor of a unique sense of humor, also joined us.
I never saw Dan eat so much so fast. Dan and Monte both gobbled the silky, delicious lobster newburg. I was wondering as Dan ladled newburg into his jaws how he stays so thin, then remembered that Dan is a jogger. I considered momentarily a career in jogging. Beth ordered salmon and stated - halfway through - that she could not finish it all. Women seldom finish entrees. It makes them great dinner companions. I slowly savored fat juicy Ipswich clams, bouillabaisse, and fried zucchini. There was a seafood sampler and pumpkin pie mixed in.
The food was excellence on the plate, and the company stimulating (as always). But the stars of the show were Andrew, his wife, and the restaurant itself, an Atlantic City institution, a landmark in the lives of those who grew up in the area, happy to see something, and someone, who has not changed.
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