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Article
For A Truly Home Cooked Meal, Try T’s Trattoria and Martini Bar
By Steve Sears
Sean Fetters has been a chef in New York City for 15 years, most recently at the
Water Club on 23rd Street, where he served as Executive Chef for 6 years. “I
enjoyed working in the city, and the only way I was going to come home was to
own my own place.”
Welcome home, Sean. And not just to New Jersey. His family found him a
Bloomfield Avenue location right in West Caldwell, and the Owner and Executive
Chef of T’s Trattoria is very happy.
“Things have gone quite well,” said Fetters when referring to his eatery opening
so close to the summer. “We get a lot of regulars, have a nice business crowd
for lunch, and we have a very flexible dinner menu.”
Awash with choices, highlights are A Piccolo Apertivi (Appetizer) specialty is
the Calamari Fritti, traditional style or T’s with olive and tomatoes. A very
popular traditional pasta is Nonna’s ragu di Domenica Braciole, Polpette di
Carne (Grandma’s gravy with braciole & meatballs) from the Pasta Per primo
Piatto (First Course: Create Your Owen Pasta) part of the menu. “I’m very
flexible with the menu,” says Fetters, who also serves as his own pastry chef.
“If a customer wants it, I’ll make it. We also feature fish, pasta and appetizer
specials, and we have a nice size 24 oz. Porterhouse for $39.00”
“Everything is absolutely fresh and made from scratch – including my own
mozzarella. There is nothing artificial. When we say ‘fresh,’ we mean fresh. All
of our sauces are made from all natural ingredients and nothing comes from a jar
or can except olive oil and tomatoes.”
Perhaps more important than the food itself is what Fetters is trying to create.
“We shoot for a home cooked meal, as if Grandma is cooking for you. It’s like,
‘Wow…I’m at someone’s house eating great Neapolitan cuisine.”
T’s Trattoria opens for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner seven days a week,
and was designed by Fetters and his step-family, the Pio Costas. Freshly painted
with new lighting and carpeting, the 52 seat dining area is run by Carmen Pio
Costa, Sean’s stepbrother, and a gorgeous Martini bar reigns on the second floor
of the establishment. Live jazz is presented in the 50 seat lounge, and there is
a dance floor. Food is available, as are three plasma TV screens. It is the
perfect spot to retire after dinner, or great for an evening out. “I control
everything” says Sean Fetters as we stand in his kitchen. “I’m in the center of
the kitchen, and all the food comes here. If I’m selling it, it has to be a
fresh, and a great product.” He, and T’s Trattoria, are succeeding in this
endeavor.
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