By Kevin Dranoff
New Jersey (The Hollywood Times) 3/10/26 – I haven’t been out to eat much since my brother moved out and I came back home from my job at a therapeutic boarding school. I really got into cooking myself by shopping at Shoprite and just winging it with artificial intelligence telling me if I’m in the right mindset or not.
Now I am working at a marijuana dispensary in Little Falls, New Jersey called Mister Jones where I have developed a bit more and am excited for what the world holds for me. However, I was extremely excited when my parents said that we were going out for dinner on a Saturday night. I was so used to trying to save money or do better given what’s going on with the politics and the possibility of a World War 3 going on.
When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, I was brought into the world of dining through experiences in New York City. I had tried so many fancy restaurants where I would meet my grandmother who worked at Bergdorf Goodman’s for many years. She would take me out to Broadway shows or maybe even a museum and then we would go out to eat. So I have high expectations when I pick a restaurant.
Boccone South was on my radar as I’ve definitely heard of them in my town of Livingston, New Jersey as some kind of Italian spot. I knew that it was a potential hotspot for fine dining, but you never really know until you know. Well now I know. I was able to cruise in and meet my parents and my niece, Sofia. I immediately felt like I was in New York City. It was loud and clean. I felt like I was going to have a good experience. I felt important.
The restaurant doesn’t seat a million and one people so you might need a reservation. The layout is gorgeous with tall ceilings and an open kitchen that you can see as you use the rest room. The rest rooms were immaculate which to me is always a sign of someone that is paying attention and micromanaging things which is what I want in the place I’m spending money out to eat.
They brought out fresh bread multiple times with oil which was fine. I don’t always want the bread to be the star of the show anyways, but I appreciate that they continued to keep bringing out the bread. They also did a great job filling waters and giving out fresh cracked pepper if that’s something you like. The Caesar salad which they allowed us to split 2 between 3 people was phenomenal.
The Chicken soup came with the salad, and it was a great pairing for me. I have a fair amount of stomach issues currently so I imagine someone not having those issues would find this place as a diamond in the rough. The chicken soup was amazing. I use chicken stock when I’m home cooking all the time to try to make soupy vegetables or whatever I can to try to make a sauce. This soup reminded me that I have a long way to go until I can go professional.
My father had the Salmon, my niece had the pasta, and my mother and I had the veal. All dishes were gone except for mine because like I said I have some stomach issues, so I took the rest of my entree home. I ate it for lunch the next day and it went off without a hitch. I felt glad that there was a new restaurant in my town of Livingston, New Jersey that I could go to and feel like I could be myself.
For me I always want to feel like the boss when I’m eating. I want to feel like Tony Soprano when he goes to eat at Arty’s restaurant. That is the way I felt when I was at Boccone South. I was taken care of and the waitress, Nicole, did a wonderful job telling us the specials. Nicole also had quite a sense of humor and just a way of charming my whole family.
The room I’m sitting in made me feel like I was in another country which put me in another state of mind. This is exactly what I was looking for in this political climate. I just wanted a break from social media and the news. I got exactly that. Not to mention the bread pudding is absolutely amazing! I will be back soon! Thank you!
www.bocconereistorante.com@stilesfly on Instagram to see my cooking reel
