NUMA  And LUCCI

 

Hello my friends and welcome. It's so nice to be back to talk about my favorite subject, food. Today we are going to take a little trip to the Mediterranean to the newish very fine restaurant Numa ( 508 Broad St, Shrewsbury)  hidden away in plain sight across from the Grove shopping center.

First off, the name, “Numa”, comes from the word “Numen”, not the guy from Seinfeld but rather the  second king of Rome, whose name  became  synonymous with  “Divine Power” . Now I know you couldn’t  live without knowing this little factoid , but I think I am a little rusty in the writing department and am embarrassingly grasping for interesting things to say. Anyway, you are going to find a lot of very varied opinions about Numa ( and you know what they say opinions)  with comments like too weird a menu, small portions bla, bla, but here's mine: Numa in my not so humble opinion has the most  elevated Med Food that I have had  south of the George Washington Bridge. Everything I devoured there was super fresh, expertly crafted and delicious. Now I know that “small plates “ can get pricey fast so I would suggest using a little creative ordering. I went with two cold and two hot small plates ( for two people.) We chowed down on The “Rose Beet Tartar” with whipped goat cheese, nuts and honey which was  refreshing and flavorful as was the very excellent “Fire  Roasted “Mutable” wood charred Eggplant. On the hot side I opted for the Slow cooked Octopus with Chorizo Hash even though I felt somewhat guilty after watching clever  pet octopi on Instagram unscrew jar tops to get to a shrimp inside. More humanly ( I guess) I opted for the slow roasted short rib which arrived tender and glazed sitting on homemade hummus. All in all din came to a little over a C note including a glass of wine. Pretty doable if you ask me which I guess you do , since you are reading this. Also, the digs at Numa are quite nice ,exuding  a warm welcoming modern vibe with a well trained and excellent wait staff. I for one can not wait to go back to try some of the other dishes. So to sum it all up, Numa is the place to go for upscale Med food when you are sick of the same old, same old. Food rating 92, Value rating , “ Worth It”.

 Now I know that this review might not win the Pulitzer Prize for creative writing anytime soon so I decided to opt for quantity instead of quality .So, behold my lovely readers as I reveal my newest secret spot for some divine handcrafted pizzas just within a short drive. Meet me my friends at Pizzeria Lucci (809 Belmar Plaza) .Now I know what you are thinking , “Its just Pizza” how different can it be from the other 3542 Pizza joints in our  illustrious garden state .The answer my friends is MUCHO. It is kinda like saying a Rolls Royce is just another ( which it is but you get my drift). Here owner Mike Galluci and the very talented Head Pizzaiolo Adam Simmons have elevated the once lowly pizza into a whole new realm of “Pizza Perfection”. These guys are like artists, wielding a deck oven instead of a canvas, combining two types of mozz both low moisture and fresh for the perfect ratio of dough to cheese. Talking about the dough it is just unbelievably perfect, there's that word again,  crackly on the edges with just the right amount of char while remaining chewy and toothsome in the center. Ditto the sauce, just bright and vibrant with the perfect  acidity. Wow, I think I am getting all excited and need to calm myself down. So , is this the best pizza in New Jersey? Quite possibly, YES  and if not, then it  certainly needs to be in the conversation for  the top three. So, there you have it  Pizzeria Lucci ;  Food Rating : 98 points , Value Rating: (Way) Worth It .