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date nights

Date Night at Cafe Archetypus

Posted on March 13, 2013
Cafe Archetypus Cave - Antonio Gerenini
You can sit with your love in a cave at Cafe Archetypus in Edgewater. © Photo by Antonio Gerenini

Lately, my husband and I have been making an effort to go out on dates without our son. I decided it was a good idea since this is what I advise readers of the About.com Newlyweds site to do with their spouses and because my husband insisted we have more romance in our life or else. Or else what? I’m not sure. Still, I don’t really want to find out. So, we’re going on dates.

For the first one, we headed out to dinner at Fontana di Trevi in Leonia, a BYOB restaurant that is a big hit with my family. But we were back by 6, so my parents, brother, and sister-in-law, who were all about to sit down to eat with my son, kicked us out of our own house and told us to do something else. Yes, they kicked us out of our house and had dinner there without us.

In any event, my brother suggested we go to Cafe Archetypus in Edgewater. I had not been there since 1996, when it was Cafe Enigma. Back then, there was only one River Road (the address is now Old River Road and the new River Road runs practically parallel to it and features a slew of new condos and strip malls). Newly minted drivers, we’d coast along River Road in our parents’ cars. All clad in flannel, my high school pals and I would sit in a cave, order dessert and coffee (a new-found friend for most high schoolers), and listen to the grunge guitarist of the night whining about the injustices of the world.

This time around I was in cotton and there was no guitarist, not even a poet, lounging around the joint. But the caves were just as I remembered them, replete with women’s body parts jutting out of the wall. Notice the boobies above. My husband had never been to Cafe Archetypus, so he was not transported to his high school years, nor did he know what I was talking about when I started jabbering about Pearl Jam, existentialism, or baggy jeans (they never did make it to his native Europe, which has stuck with far-too skinny jeans for an eternity).

Still, we ordered a strawberry dessert, dug into it with our two spoons, and enjoyed a peaceful moment together sans Baby Boy. Hubby loved the caves, found them incredibly romantic. It doesn’t hurt that candlelight is the only light that enters the place, so you really do feel like you’re in a cave – and your face looks spectacular no matter what it looks like in real life. That alone is enough for me to declare that Cafe Archetypus is cozy and warm and the dessert is pretty tasty, not to mention fun to share with your beloved. Bottom line: It’s one stop on memory lane to which I don’t mind returning.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Tagged: cafe arhcetypus, date nights, desserts, eating, edgewater, food, new jersey, restaurants, romance, travel

Mangia a Manzi

Posted on October 12, 2010
Food looks like art at Il Mosaico in Ischia, Italy. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio
Food looks like art at Il Mosaico in Ischia, Italy. © Photo courtesy of Manzi

Back in September my husband surprised me by taking me to sample the tasting menu at Il Mosaico, the restaurant at the five-star Manzi hotel in Ischia, Italy, the island off the coast of Naples that is the home of my husband and my ancestors. With two Michelin stars, Il Mosaico offers nouvelle cuisine at its best. Chef Nino Di Costanzo is a true artist who makes dishes that are as beautiful to the eye as they are delicious. I loved the food and the experience so much that I’ve gone on a writing frenzy about the chef’s table; I wrote a blog for the About.com Newlyweds site about how couples could splurge on tasting menus for date night or anniversary celebrations and an article that will appear both on the ItaliansRus Web site and in an upcoming issue of the La Voce newspaper, which is dedicated to Italian Americans in Las Vegas. For more Manzi madness, and my own personal photos from the night at Il Mosaico, visit the “Dinner at Manzi” photo album.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Tagged: about.com, chefs, date nights, dinner, food, gourmet, il mosaico, ischia, italiansrus, italy, la voce, manzi, newlyweds, nino di costanzo, nouvelle cuisine

Wings Anyone?

Posted on February 4, 2010
Our friend Francesco Serpentone (l.) and Antonio stand in front of the mall heading toward Dave & Buster's. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio
Our friend Francesco Serpentone (l.) and Antonio stand in front of the mall heading toward Dave & Buster's. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Whenever Antonio and I have a craving for Buffalo wings, mini burgers, and some skee ball, we head to Dave & Buster’s. (For photos of our latest trip to the restaurant/arcade/carnival, visit the “Big Snake at Dave & Buster’s” photo album.) It’s definitely one of our favorite date nights. He always beats me at the video games, and I always beat him at the basketball shots. (I know, I know, he is so tall, he should beat me, but I know how to use the backboard to make my shots land in the net!) We both indulge in the Deal or No Deal game together. When we brought Serpentone to Dave & Buster’s, I actually landed 1,000 tickets on the big fish “Reel It In” game. It’s pure luck, and luck was the lady that night.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Tagged: antonio, arcades, date nights, dave & buster's, ferris wheel, francesco serpentone, italians, new york, tourists, video games

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