Fish owners plan second restaurant in Asbury
'Cibo e Vino' will offer moderately priced Italian fare
A new Italian restaurant is headed into the old Yoga Basin space on Mattison Avenue in Asbury Park.
“Cibo e Vino,” which translates into “food and wine,” in English, will be the second Asbury-based restaurant owned and operated by Jim and Karen DeGiglio, owners of Fish Urban Dining. The two restaurants will be next door neighbors in the Post Building. An early September opening is planned.
The DeGiglio’s, from Belmar, are practiced hands at running an Italian restaurant. They also own Pinziminio Trattoria on Long Beach Island. It was the first restaurant they opened prior to opening Fish three years ago.
Cibo e Vino will offer moderately priced classic Italian dishes, a selection of Italian wines and “authentic Italian pan pizza,” according to Jim DeGiglio. The crust is “half the thickness of a Sicilian slice, which is predominantly they way it is served in Italy.”
One of the most popular dishes at Pinziminio, the 12-layer eggplant, will make its way onto the Cibo e Vino menu.
Wine will start at $5 a glass and $18 a bottle.
“It will be a place you can eat a couple times a week without having to worry about breaking the bank” DiGiglio said.
When asked how his Italian restaurant will differ from others in the area, DeGiglio said his would also have a twelve foot antipasto bar merchandized with hot and cold plates and platters that will change on a daily basis.
“We also have an expertise and think our food is better,” he said.
The décor of the restaurant will “have a comfortable, old-world feel” complete with a wood plank floor, stone tiling and the use of warm colors like reds, yellows and browns, he said.
The vision for the restaurant’s décor belongs to DeGiglio’s wife, Karen, who means to achieve a “Tuscan farm house feel,” according to DeGiglio.
“It’s casual but classic,” said Marie Altieri, the project’s interior designer, who stopped in to see how construction was going. At the moment, the walls have been framed and the electric and plumbing is set up. Rough inspections are the next item on the agenda.
A preliminary version of the menu is currently available at Fish, “so people can get a sense of what we are doing,” said DeGiglio. On Thursday nights, the high-end seafood restaurant offers two special selections of dishes that will be included on Cibo e Vino’s list of Italian options.
As for the post Labor Day opening in September, DeGiglio says it will allow the new restaurant to get into a routine before business gets busier next summer.
“It gives us a little time to prepare and get our feet under us, to work the kinks out before we enjoy the fruits of the busy season,” he said.
Click here for a related story about improved signage at Fish which appeared on our new sister site, asburyoverheard.com.
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