Try Triestina Ambiance, Fare at Fair Prices

Triestina Restaurant, located at 515 Centennial Ave. in Cranford, offers upscale Italian fare for average prices.

The atmosphere is cozy, dimly lit, with soft Sinatra piped into the dining room. About a dozen tables keep it from looking too crowded or empty. Another smaller dining room opens for private parties. The wait staff is attentive and quietly polite, dressed in suits and ties (no jackets).

Triestina does not have a liquor license, but allows patrons to bring their own wine.

At the start of the evening, the waiter offers bruschetta and warm, fresh bread with the menus. The menu is expansive, with 45 entries and eight different specials, which the waiter rattles off soon after seating. A restaurant like this seems like it would be expensive, but it isn’t; the most expensive items on the menu, the seafood entrees, are only $20. Even the veal costs less.

My meal began with spiedini (fried mozzarella triangles) with anchovy sauce and portobello mushroom in a balsamic sauce with gorgonzola cheese. Spiedini is not your greasy-spoon mozzarella stick; it’s a true artisan appetizer. The only complaint was that the sauce was just a little thin and watery, making it hard for the spiedini to absorb. I have no complaints about the mushroom in balsamic sauce, though. The sauce was thick and rich, sweet with a tinge of tartness.

The main course was veal triestina: a thin veal cutlet topped with fried eggplant, prosciutto, and fontina cheese smothered in brown sauce. The portion was just right, not a mountain of food but enough to fill me up. The ingredients were fresh and of high quality. Unfortunately, the dish tasted quite salty, which was most likely from the prosciutto. It certainly didn't ruin the meal, but it did detract from an otherwise excellent dining experience.

Each of the seven selections on the dessert tray looked better than the last. I ultimately chose the tiramisu. The care taken in its visual presentation made eating it feel like defacing a work of art, but I closed my eyes, dug in and savored every bite.

The bill for two people came to $60, very reasonable considering the quality of the food and ambiance. Those looking for excellent and affordable Italian cuisine need range no farther than Centennial Avenue and Triestina.