Had a GREAT dish tonight at a newish Italian place here I hadn't been to before.

Tuscan House

Very interesting menu! Certainly not your typical fare, but more Italian it seems.

Started with the complimentary bread dish: Hot, thin pizza bread slices to dip into olive oil mixed with balsamic. Amazing.

The Calamari was okay -- I've had better, but also have had much much worse. Not bad, but not "great".

Family-style salad was very basic (lettuce, tomatoes, onions) but just fine, and also free.

I wasn't blown away yet, but also not unhappy.

Then the entrée came out.

Fish of the day was bass, and was recommended by the Italian-accented waitress. It's also designated a "Signature Dish" on the menu, so I had to try it: Prepared plank roasted with fresh roasted fennel, green onions, olive oil, lemon, garlic. I chose Risotto as the side because after watching anything Gordon Ramsay on TV, I've been dying for a real one, and was hoping it was real.

OMG, real or not, it was delicious! Creamy, cheesy, with a hint of mushroom flavor, it was mouth-watering yet thick. The fish was perfect and brilliant. Never had fennel (another "chef" ingredient I wanted to try - that's why I ordered this lol). For once in a long time, I felt like I was eating a "gourmet" entrée. Sooooo good.

Went with my folks. My dad got the same entrée as I did, but with roasted potatoes that were amazing as well. My mom got the Pappardelle Bolognese (Ribbon pasta tossed with reggiano in a rich meat sauce. Served with a scoop of mascarpone). It had mounds of meat and hardly any sauce. Mounds of meat WITH sauce would've been better lol. It was okay. These days, I'm so bored and tired of red-sauce dishes that I almost get a bit turned off by them. Give me a sautéed sauce made on the spot that can soak into the pasta in a pan, and I'll be your slave.

Looking at some of the other items, like the burgers and wood-fired (!) authentic pizzas, and I can't wait to go back!

BTW - This place is co-owned by the same people that own Tiffany's Restaurant here in town (and elsewhere in NJ) that has some of the best BBQ ribs I've every had! Ex-NFL tackle and NJ native and Sopranos-character Tony Siragusa is part of Tiff's, too.