Buona Fortuna Salute: New Restaurant Opens On Glenridge Ave.

Montclair can finally and officially welcome Salute, the stunning new brick oven bistro on Glenridge Avenue. If you frequent this area, you have been watching Salute's slow, but beautiful construction over the past months. Patch had an opportunity to chat with owner Gerry Cerrigone for a Q &A and find out what Salute will bring to Montclair's storied restaurant scene.

Q. How has the opening been going? We have seen the construction going on for a while; it must be nice to have it up and running?

A. The opening has been wonderful! The community has been extremely supportive. Local restaurant owners have been in to show their support and offer their help if needed as they know how hard it is to open a business, let alone a restaurant in this economic climate. It feels great to be back in the dining room and kitchen. I'm very fortunate to have good family and friends that helped throughout.

Q. Could you tell us a little about your journey to opening up Salute?

A. My first job when I was a kid was as a busboy at the original Il Tulipano in Cedar Grove. From day one I always loved the business. For me, it wasn't work-it was an extension of my family, a lifestyle, a way of life. I always wanted to learn how to cook and manage a dining room like the owners I worked for. I respect food and the food service industry. I felt that Montclair was a diverse town that could appreciate my passion for the business and embrace the concept, which is new to the area-let alone Montclair. Montclair isn't a town for beginners, the guests are ... well versed, I like a good challenge.

Q. How would you categorize Salute? What do you want people to know about the cuisine and atmosphere?

A. The concept and vision of Salute is one of simplicity; purchasing fresh and quality ingredients, and putting them together. Simple is better. The feel of Salute is supposed to take you out of Montclair and bring you to a countryside osteria that you accidentally fell upon because you were lost admiring the countryside in Tuscany. Our harvest wall has bushels of fresh vegetables and produce. There is natural clay and brick walls along with 10-foot arched bistro doors for the open-air feel. A limestone bar near our brick oven overlooks the area's first open kitchen. Salute's menu reads partly in Italian to help bring our guests and servers together and share the passion for food that I have. We train to the point where the servers take pronunciation tests before serving our guests. Silly, but I'm a perfectionist.

Q. Do you live in Montclair?

A. I live in Fairfield but when my family first came over from Italy, they lived in Montclair on Valley Road. It's amazing to come full circle to a place where my family started their lives in this country and now to be a restaurant owner just a few blocks away from where my grandmother lived.

Q. Has anything been a breakout star on the menu? What is your favorite dish?

A. A true standout dish is one that has always been on my menu in all of the restaurants that I've owned. It's my grandmothers eggplant caponatina with brick oven focaccia. Words can't say enough—you have to come in to taste.

In addition to the eggplant caponatina, the menu offers choices extensive enough for the whole family and authentic enough for the discerning foodie. There are brick oven specialties like Uovo, a two-minute egg with ciabatta toast and spicy tomato and a selection of brick oven pizzette like the Contadina with mushroom tapenade, breaded eggplant, and caramelized onions. The pastas are promising and anything but run of the mill with dishes like the Lumaconi with Swiss chard, crumbled fennel sausage, and ceci beans. Anyone who has had an Italian nonna worth her salt has had arancino, or rice balls, and you can get them here too with aurora sauce and green peas. There are meat and fish entrees like Gallina Al Mattone a brick oven pressed half-chicken, crushed truffled potatoes, peas, and prosciutto, or the Tonno, a peppercorn seared ahi tuna with roasted tomato coulis and basil mashed potatoes.

And if you have children, do not fret if you think Salute is only a date night option (although the bar area definitely provides a perfect backdrop for just that). Salute is most definitely family friendly, just refined a bit. There is a classic Margherita pizzette for the less adventurous child as well as several smaller dishes you can combine for Stile Famiglia, or family style, like meatballs. Several size options are also available for the Salumi and Formaggi plates. Samples from the Formaggi and Salumi items could easily make a simple dinner with an insalata to round things out.

Dessert choices appear refreshing and unexpected, with a classic like panna cotta or a more classic-with-a-twist Torta Al Cioccolata E'Polenta, a brick oven warmed flourless chocolate and polenta cake served with a glass of milk. There are also selections of gelati and sorbetti as well as several Italian coffees.

Montclair prides itself if not on its taxes, then at least on its wide-ranging cuisine and all manner of independent retail shops. In that vein, it is always a pleasure to welcome a new addition to the neighborhood. Good luck, or buona fortuna, Salute.

Salute is located at 173 Glenridge Avenue, Montclair, 973-746-2380. Salute is currently open for dinner Tuesdays through Thursdays 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m. Beginning next week, Salute will also be open for lunch starting at noon.