Angeline by Michael Symon

They could not have made our anniversary feel any less special if they tried. When we booked, we made sure to note it was our 25th wedding anniversary. We did the same when we got to the restaurant, and the host acted as if he didn't even hear me. Which I thought for a minute that he didn't, because he seated us at a table next to a family with very rambunctious kids. When I asked about the more private looking booths (again, mentioning the desire for a romantic evening) I was told, 'they are all reserved'. I made my reservations over a month earlier, so I'm not sure how far in advance you might need to book to be treated to one of these booths. I may never know ... the likelihood of us going back is slim. The waiter seemed to be distracted all evening. As he was always looking somewhere else, and seemed unable to answer most of our questions, or even seem to hear them. It was as if he couldn’t wait to get us out of there. Keep in mind it was a Tuesday night at 6pm. The place was not overly busy. The only acknowledgment of the occasion came when he literally dropped a small cake on the table with a candle, mumbled something about, ‘happy anniversary’ and ran away ... Might we have liked a picture to capture the moment? Or even a chance to order a coffee to have with the desert (which was not gluten free .. even though my wife’s whole meal was GF). We were specially disappointed because we had been so looking forward to the experience. We had read about Angeline’s in New Jersey magazine and had heard so much about their wonderful service. There was also mention of their special gluten free options. Turns out they have one type of gluten free pasta and none of the deserts, bread or appetizers were GF.

Great food here with a spicey sauce. Loved the gluten free pasta. The chicken parm was the best I have had! Not inexpensive, but would go back!