Matt and I stumbled upon Osteria Procaccini's original location in Kingston, NJ last year, and fell instantly and deeply in love. Their pizza is nothing short of amazing.... crispy crust, luscious sauce, high quality toppings. Their salads are giant and full of interesting things.The staff was friendly. It was a true delight. The only problem was the place was tiny. Teeny tiny. Itsy bitsy teenie weeny tiny. We're talking about 8 tables for two, in a single line. This made us hesitant to go as much as we wanted to, since we would often have to wait (in cramped quarters, no less). And then the magical happened. A second location! Triple the size! Equally close to us, in Pennington! YAY!
As soon as we found out, we were on our way. Our friend Meesh joined us for our maiden voyage, which was wonderful... more people= more food= more things for me to try. We kicked the meal off with an apple, walnut, and gorgonzola salad and an appetizer special simply entitled "Mama's Meatballs". The salad was lovely... not over dressed, nice and fresh, every apple bright and crisp, loads of crunchy walnuts, and of course a heap of tangy gorgonzola. They certainly did not cheap out with the ingredients...I hate places that throw ya a slice or two of apple... gee thanks. The salad was enough for all three of us to have a decent size serving.
Dinner was three pizzas, as they only do one size (a 12" personal... large for a personal, I know, but woo pizza!) I opted for the pesto pomodoro pizza... it was basically bruchetta pizza. Delicious. Crispy, thin crust topped with mozzarella, pesto soaked tomatoes, and then drizzled with a thick balsamic reduction. It was beautiful to look at and delightful to eat. I am often wary of balsamic reductions, usually finding them too acidic or too sweet. Osteria Procaccini had perfected the art of the balance, and it was pleasing to everyone. The pesto was very subtle, which allowed for the flavor of the tomato to really shine. Yum.
Matt went tried and true with the Margherita D.O.C. pie. Simple, classic, and perfectly executed. For those that don't know D.O.C. stands for 'Denominazione di Origine Controllata', and is a measure of authentic pizza standards. It requires certain things to be true of your pie to be able to label it as such. 1. It must be cooked in a wood burning oven. 2. It requires the ingredients to be fresh, non processed, and all natural. 3. The dough must be kneaded by hand or low speed mixer. No mechanical dough shaping allowed! All of these things lend for a truly authentic, Napoletana style pizza. This was just that. Picture perfect, classicly executed, as tasty as all git out.
Meesh went with the pizza vongole... clam pizza! They offer it in red or white, and she opted for white. The pie was piled high with clams, garlic, and shaved parmigana cheese. While it was a touch dry, as it's a sauceless pie, there was a ton of flavor. The clams were sweet and plump, the cheese plentiful and slightly salty and nutty, and the dough was chewy and wonderful.
Osteria Procaccini is a serious gem. The menu is somewhat limited in that the only offerings are pizzas, salads, and sandwiches (the meatballs seemed to be a rare treat... we had never seen them offered before at the other location). That being said, you can still find something for everyone. With fresh ingredients, a beautiful new space, and interesting and unique takes on old favorites I think everyone will enjoy this place.
Osteria Procaccini
www.osteriaprocaccini.com
7 Tree Farm Road
Suite 101
Pennington, NJ 08534
or
4428 Route 27 North
Kingston, NJ 08528
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Both DY and Matt went with steaks.... DY with the monster of the menu, the 18oz cowboy steak, Matt with the tamer but still giant 16oz sirloin steak. Both were cooked to absolute perfection with a delicious crust and a tender inside. Matt had been dreaming of steak at Knife and Fork Inn since our first visit, years ago, and knew what he was going to get months in advance. According to him it's one of the best steaks he has ever had, and they didn't dissapoint on this visit, either. DY seemed happy too, as his plate was completely cleaned and meat free by the end of the meal.
My dinner was an absolute treat. Better than I ever remembered from any of my previous visits. I went with the crab cake, and this is the one that I have always used and will continue to use as my golden standard. Huge, giant hunks of jumpo lump crab meat packed into a towering cake, with litte, if any, filling sitting pretty surrounded by spicy Asian slaw and red pepper sauce. It's perfect. You get all crab and no BS bready smoosh nonsense. The slaw gives crunch, should you want it, but I was so focused on the delicious crustacean that it took me a while to remember to dip into the veg. So good. So very very good.
Tula was boasting a prix fixe menu at the time of our visit. It was a pretty good deal, but I see now that they have done away with it (didn't want to get your hopes up, folks!) I'm going to give you the quick run down... Mom and I ordered the tuna tartare, Dad went with the white gazpacho, and Matt went with the (GASP) scallop. Yes.. Matt plus scallop happened. Weird. To be honest its because the only non seafood options for first course were the gazpacho or garden salad, and he didn't want to waste an order on a salad (his words, not mine!) 
Breakdown: The gazpacho was delicious; Fruity, fresh and summery. It was made with green grapes and mint and cucumber and it had a nice crisp bite to it. A little sweet, a little bitey, herbacious and overall just good. Dad was pleased. (Note to reader: this dish remains on the menu to this day, despite the revisions! Get it!) Mom and I adored our tuna tartare. First of all, it was pretty to look at. Second of all, it was tasty. The caviar on top was (infused with, soaked in, mixed with?) wasabi flavored. It really lent a surprising, spicy bite to the sweet, supple tuna. Cucumbers on the bottom were attractive but unnecessary. The portion was large, too.... surprisingly so, especially for a prix fix menu. I enjoyed this. Tuna was fresh, caviar had that pop and sparkle, a bit of citrusy dressing.... all good things. Happy mouth, happy Mom and happy me. The scallops.... womp womp womp. Considering Matt has only JUST recently come around to ANY seafood at all, the scallop choice was already a risk. He likes them (as most people do) perfectly seared on each side, and soft in the middle. These were not that. These were cooked perfectly on one side, but squishy on the bottom and raw in the middle. There's nothing wrong with that in theory, but these were listed as pan seared scallops. It seemed almost like someone took one of those little brulee torches to the top of the scallop and completely neglected the bottom. It tasted good, but texturely, didn't do anything for anyone.
Desserts were all delicious. Dad got some super rich chocolate thing, Mom and I got a fantastic bread pudding with white chocolate, but Matt picked the winner (BONUS! it is still on the menu, too!) It was a banana empenada, and it was downright insane. Crispy flakey outside, warm, sweet, creamy banana inside, topped with dulce de leche ice cream.... such a treat. So incredible. Hot vs cold, smooth vs crunchy, sweet, rich, so good. Yum. Get that.
While the prix fixe menu has been done away with, it doesn't mean that Tula is not worth a visit. It is SO reasonable (actually it is much cheaper now than it was when we went... Now no entree over 20 bucks! Hooray!) It also seems that the 'lighter fare' (sammiches, namely) are served during dinner hours too, where I do not think it was the case before. It has a much more 'bistro' feel to it now, ya dig? Comfy sounding food as opposed to hoity toity. The space is beautiful, the food is good, the service pleasant... what more could you want?
My dish was, hands down, one of the best pastas I have ever had, anywhere, ever. Home made cocoa (yes... like chocolate) agnolotti stuffed with lucious roasted butternut squash puree, topped with a creamy herb sauce. It sounds confusing, I know, but it was out of this world. The pasta didn't have a huge chocolate taste, but the scent was unmistakeable... combining it with the thick, autumny squash made for the perfect combination. I thought that all of this divine sweetness and hominess would be muddled with an herby, slightly salty cream sauce, but it wasn't at all... the contrast was a sheer delight. Salty, sweet, thick and hearty, chewy and creamy, it was all there. My only regret was that I didn't order more to take home. I will continue to go back to Luca's for... oh, I don't know... ever, if for no other reason than to have this. It was simply amazing. 
Luca's Ristorante may be my new 'go to' when taking out friends who are new to the area, a central meeting spot, a special occasion, or just anytime. I think that the atmosphere is cozy and cute, the dining room is inviting, the menu extensive, and food is outstanding. From old standards (think lasagna or chicken parm) to the somewhat adventurous (they have a dish that is squid, raisins, and pine nuts in a garlic sauce?) you'll find what you're looking for here. Call me.. I'll come with... you can have a bite of my agnolotti.