My mom wanted to take my husband and I out for our birthdays. Our birthdays are 13 days apart and we enjoy celebrating them together. We wanted to go somewhere that we hadn’t been before. We had been hearing really great things about this place in Roselle called 1913 and we thought it would be the perfect time to try it.
I was wondering why “1913”? So, I did some research before we went and the website says it is named for the building that houses the restaurant that was built 105 years ago with the original floors and exposed bricks. How neat, I thought and it really was. It is a beautiful space and the decor is chic and elegant and gives a gorgeous nod to the age of the space as well as to today’s decor. They did a very nice job of honoring the building, yet making it trendy and current. The website also stated that the food was diverse, fresh and seasonal with a large wine list. This also did not disappoint. Check out the website at http://1913roselle.com/.
We made a reservation and we brought the kiddos. They had a table ready for us and they made sure that they had a highchair available for our toddler daughter and they even had a space available for the car seat for our baby daughter. This is always appealing to me because it makes me feel that the kids are welcomed and not giving that vibe of, “Oh… they have little kids… great!” Which all of you parents out there will understand. They also have a great little kids menu that includes homemade items, which I love. It is not just chicken fingers and frozen fries! I love that!
We were greeted promptly by a very lovely server who was warm and welcoming. She was knowledgeable about the menu and she gave us some great info about the dishes and the wine list. She read us the specials and answered our questions with ease. She was sensitive to the fact that we had little ones with us and really kept the meal flowing without us feeling rushed out. She was a great server and really helped give us a wonderful dining experience.
Now to the food, the best part of any meal, well hopefully, right! At 1913, it really was the best part. The food was very delicious. We had a wide variety of items and everything we had we really enjoyed. The one thing I did not love was that they do not offer bread service. This is probably a personal thing, but we,(my husband, mom, daughter and myself) always enjoy the bread prior to the meal. So, this we did miss, but would not keep me from returning, just something I feel all restaurants should have. We started with some cocktails. I had a really great Montipulciano d’abbruzzo red wine, my hubby had his usual Captain and coke and my mom had her usual Kahula and cream. Which coincidentally was also the flavor of their creme brulee that evening.
We then enjoyed an appetizer they call Roasted Mushrooms. It is grilled polenta with roasted wild mushrooms, parmigiano-reggiano cheese and mascarpone. It was a wonderful start. It was rich and luscious, but not too filling that you could not keep eating. All the while my daughter began enjoying her homemade mac and cheese!
We then moved on to the entree portion of the meal and these were one more yummy than the next. We all tried each others and agreed that none of them disappointed. My husband ordered the Rigatoni, which is rare that he ever orders pasta in a restaurant as being from Italy, he is very picky about his pasta. Yet, the Rigatoni caught his eye with the homemade bolognese sauce with veal and beef. My mom enjoyed a twin filet medallions with asparagus and cauliflower gratin and a port wine demi. The steak was extremely tender and flavorful and seasoned very well. I order the Seared Wild Caught Scallops which was accompanied by creamed corn, cherry and confit tomatoes and artichokes. The scallops were seared perfectly and the corn was creamy, but not gloppy. The artichokes and tomatoes gave a really nice, light acidic note to the dish. I felt it could have been seasoned slightly more aggressively, but overall it was a very well composed, delicious dish. We also enjoyed a shared side of brussel sprouts with pancetta.
 
 
If all of that wasn’t enough, we of course had to indulge in dessert. I mean it was our birthday dinner after all! We ordered the cheesecake, which is a goat cheese base and it was creamy and lovely. It usually comes with raspberry sauce and fresh raspberries, but my mom is allergic to berries and they were more than accommodating to put it on the side. Our daughter ate the fresh raspberries in about 2 seconds! We also had to have the Zeppole, because who doesn’t love fried dough. They came out warm and with chocolate and caramel sauces. Wow, they really were on point with those little gems. It was a wonderful end to a fabulous dinner.
   
I highly recommend 1913 to everyone. It was a great restaurant for the whole family and the menu has something for everyone. I love when we find these city worthy restaurants in the burbs. Great food, awesome staff, chic decor and overall incredible dining experience!! Happy birthday to us for sure! Thanks mom and thanks 1913!!
