Hello everyone and welcome to Boone Appétit! As I type I’m eating the last few morsels of Christmas fudge and looking at some decorations that need to come down. Everything seems to be getting back to whatever normal is and the excitement of the holidays has faded away. I find that sort of sad, so I needed to go exploring and find a new place to share with all of you. I had heard of this place a few times from different people and each person had nothing but good stuff to say.
Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace, located at 10 Triangle Plz, Ramsey, NJ 07446 is the place I had heard so much about. Most of their stores are located in Long Island so I was happy to find out there was one in New Jersey not very far from Rockland County. From the outside it looks like every other supermarket, maybe even a little more subdued than others. But once you enter the front door you can tell you’re in for a shopping experience. I was greeted by a facade of a chalet adorned with holiday trimmings and the word “Chocolates” in bold letters across the roof. That was enough to grab my attention and from there I more or less followed my nose. To the right of the Chocolates the conventional supermarket fare was laid out in the usual isle configuration and to the left a huge array of Italian delicacies awaited my exploration.
The smell of baking pizza lured me further as I walked by their in-store pizzeria. I saw patrons buying slices and eating them as they made their way to the Italian Deli and prepared food section. The hot bar was filled with lasagna’s and baked ziti and stuffed eggplant, just to name a few. I grabbed a piece of the spinach and cheese lasagna and placed it in my cart and moved over to the deli section to see what else they had to buy. Rice balls and every type of meatball (including vegetarian meatballs)and roasted vegetables and Caprese salad and stuffed peppers and chicken breast were all on display and begging to be purchased. If you love Italian food and don’t have the time to make it, this is a great place to pick up dinner for yourself or an entire family reunion! I couldn’t believe how many different items were available, and this was just at the deli!
I kept walking and ran into one of their extremely nice employees giving out samples of their homemade ravioli. I asked if it was made in the store and he motioned to the window behind him where there were workers making the ravioli on the premises. Fresh pasta is the way to go in my opinion , and this ravioli hit it out of the park! The nice man then directed me to an enormous wall of every type of sauce you could imagine also made in the kitchens of Uncle Giuseppie’s . I chose the one I had tasted with the cheese ravioli, their famous Champagne sauce which had no preservatives and was made from fresh ingredients. Now I was getting very curious, what else could there possibly be?
Sausage was my next find. It too was house made and in many different configurations. They even sell the meat already ground but not spiced so you can make your own sausage at home. That is something that interests me and may be the subject of a future post. The butcher shop was equally amazing from their dry aged beef to marinaded dishes. Then the fish market took over my interest with everything from whole cooked lobster to fresh octopus. Across the isle from both the butcher and fish market were prepared foods made with wares from each place. The amount of prepared foods was simply overwhelming. I wish I could list them all but this is something that has to be seen in person.
What would a delicious Italian meal be without a loaf of fresh hot Italian bread? You guessed it, the bakery was my next stop. As the holiday’s were winding down there were still many Christmas cookies available along with cakes , pies and cannoli’s. (Secret tip) on your first visit tell the bakery it’s your first time there and you’ll get a free mini cannoli! I love little things like that , it shows a bit of customer appreciation. Their freshly made Italian bread won’t disappoint you either so grab a loaf and enjoy it with your dinner. The produce section was laid out beautifully and everything looked very fresh. The grocery part of the store has the usual fare so you can do your weekly shop and bring home some amazing prepared foods at the same time. I almost forgot, they also make mozzarella in the store as well, and you can’t beat fresh mozzarella. Their cheese selection is also mind numbing and should be explored when you have time.
Just when you think you might get out of the store without spending an entire weeks salary you have to walk by the chocolate section again. Behind the counter was another very friendly employee and she showed my all their different types of truffles and my weakness, gelato. I had to buy a gelato for the road and yes it was also amazing. I did finally manage to get out of Uncle Giuseppe’s, it’s a place I’ll be going back to a few times to try new things each time. I’m sure some of their things will only be “ok” to some but I’m also sure that there’s something there for everyone and that if you go and give it a try you’ll be going back again too.
Uncle Giuseppe’s is a unique take on the conventional supermarket and I’d like to see more places like it pop up in our area. I know they found their niché and other cuisines may not be as popular, but there are Asian markets that do a similar thing. If you have a supermarket you think I should explore please let me know. If you go or have gone to Uncle Giuseppe’s please let us know in the comment section below. As always if you have any questions please place them in the box below and I’ll get right back to you. Until next time Boone Appétit!
Nice post, Charlie! Thanks! I’ve never tried Uncle Guiseppe’s and now, I will!
I’d love to hear your opinion on the new Stew Leonard’s in Paramus Park, where the Sears used to be. How does it stack up to Uncle G’s?
Hi Jenn, I think you’ll like it, please let us know if you give it a try. I’d be interested in seeing the Stew’s in Paramus, I’m just wondering how different it would be from the other Stew’s? Stew Leonard’s is a lot bigger and does more cuisines in their prepared food, where as Uncle Guiseppe’s does Italian for the most part.