Restaurant Review: Patricia’s of Holmdel

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Screen Shot 2016-10-11 at 5.19.14 PMReview: Good

Is there any chance you can actually find a good meal at a large, densely packed, Italian restaurant which sits in a strip mall with a Best Buy and a Sprint Store? Yes, you can, if that mall is the Holmdel Commons on Route 35 and the restaurant is Patricia’s of Holmdel.

Branzino.
Branzino.

Don’t let the location of this 10-month-old newcomer deter you from visiting. The broad menu includes all the typical red sauce suspects, but also offers a number of new and interesting dishes which show creativity and range. OK, the room is vast and short on atmosphere, with sweeping views of the parking lot, but the food alone is worth the trip. And even though the service did lag between courses, it was sincere and friendly.
A starter of Seafood Salad ($17) was bountiful; bite-sized chunks of impeccably fresh chilled shrimp, octopus, and calamari, mixed with parsley, celery, red pepper, lemon, and EVOO. A slightly too heavy hand with the olive oil for my taste, but very good nonetheless. Easily enough for two, this was a one of our favorite dishes of the meal.
The classic Eggplant Napoleon was nicely done at Patricia’s.
The classic Eggplant Napoleon was nicely done at Patricia’s.

Classic Eggplant Napoleon ($13) arrived with thick slices of lightly breaded eggplant, covered with a layer of rich, but light tomato sauce, and nicely browned melted mozzarella blanketing the top. This preparation skillfully avoided that too often seen soggy, oily version of this dish which is its downfall. Nicely done!
The star of the appetizers was the Baby Pulpo ($16); the outside of the octopus roasted to a dark char in a very hot oven, and served with blistered cherry tomatoes, their juice running onto the plate, this was flat out delicious. Octopus can frequently be chewy, but not this one; perhaps the most tender rendition of this dish our table has ever encountered. Definitively a must have!
With a dozen different pizzas to choose from, some traditional and some unusual, a basic Margherita Pie with fresh mozzarella and San Marzano plum tomatoes ($14.95) seemed a good choice to see what Patricia’s 900-degree wood burning oven could produce, without any serious distractions from toppings. The ratio of the excellent sauce to cheese to crust was dead on, but it really needed another 60 seconds in the heat, which would have tweaked the crust to the ideal degree of doneness.
There are extensive choices in the Pasta section, but a Penne Alla Brusco ($19), caught my eye, as I had not seen it before. The properly al dente quills were dressed with cauliflower, chickpeas and bits of pancetta, toasted bread crumbs, oil, and garlic. It was made even more unusual in that it arrived in an aluminum pouch; when asked, our wait person informed us that it had been cooked first and then transferred to the packet for purposes of presentation. My companions and I really enjoyed the texture and flavor of this interesting dish, the table falling quiet as we ate our fill.
A Margherita pie.
A Margherita pie.

The portion sizes of everything are extremely generous, so diners might consider sharing a variety of starters.
A whole Branzino ($33), roasted in that ubiquitous brick oven was butter flied and deboned, dusted with fresh herbs, and nicely charred. The fish cooked quickly, searing the outside, while the flesh inside remained moist and tender. An accompanying bulb of what was said to be braised fennel appeared to have missed the heat entirely and was virtually uncooked, but the fish was so good, it did not matter.
One guest opted for Chicken Piccata ($16) just to see how a classic dish was handled. It was deftly coated with flour, and certainly well-cooked and properly sauced with lemon and capers, but just not terribly exciting, which was mildly disappointing, considering the ingenuity of some of the other dishes being offered.
Happily the BYO policy allowed us to bring an assortment of Italian wines, both red and white. The first bottle of white opened, a 2011 Agricola Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Fonte Canale, was much too acidic. Perhaps still too young, it was deemed a miss and discarded. In its place, we opened a 2007 Sono Montenidoli Carato, a Vernaccia, which was fuller, much better balanced, and far more to our liking.
For red, we popped open a 2006 ArPePe Sassella Stella Retica Riserva, a Valtellina Nebbiolo from an iconic producer. Elegant, rather than overpowering, it was highly per fumed and almost Burgundian in style. Very tasty.
There is no question that Patricia’s of Holmdel outshines its mall setting, as the quality of the food renders it a worthy destination on its own merit. If you skip it because of the location, you will be missing out on some very satisfying dishes.

Dinner with Bob rates Patricia’s of Holmdel: Good

PATRICIA’S OF HOLMDEL

2132 Route 35
Holmdel
732-275-0234
patriciasofholmdel.com

Bob Sacks, wine aficionado, and Bob Sickles, owner and operator of Sickles Market, reviews restaurants in this bimonthly column. Read their reviews here.

This review was originally published in the Sept. 22, 2016 issue of the Two River Times.