Eccola, Parsippany, NJ

No Valentine's Day would be complete without a trip to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. Overpay? You bet! But sometimes it's worth it.

Eccola is kind of a weird place, not necessarily for the food or interior decor, but for its location. It sits right on Route 46 in Parsippany on the corner of North Beverwyck Road in a little strip mall. On one end, Eccola, the other, Cluck-U Chicken. Nuff said.

Don't let the location deter you though. Once you step inside, you'll see what I mean. Modern and clean, the front of the house looks great with a wood bar and other wood accents. When it's packed, the acoustics don't do much for a intimate conversation over dinner, but all in all there's no real serious complaint here.

The V-Day Menu had a number of good choices, and I was stoked on the ravioli special filled with crabmeat and shrimp, sauteed with wild mushrooms in a sage brown butter sauce. I was excited to order, until the waitress told me they switched it to ravioli with osso bucco filling in a tomato basil sauce. No thanks. I was really looking forward to it, so I took another couple of minutes and decided on the filet mignon in a red wine sauce. My husband ordered the gnocchi special with sirloin tips, onions, mushrooms, and bleu cheese in a wine sauce. But first, he would have the Shrimp Bisque, and oh my god was it amazing! I first dipped my bread in it and could literally taste the hours that went into making this soup. The flavor was deep and rich but not heavy like some bisques can be. There was a slight sweetness in the undertones, coupled with the burst of shrimp pieces, it was something that after I tasted I couldn't get enough of. Thankfully he pushed his bowl my way and I finished it off for him. Thanks honey!

After a wait (it seemed a lot longer than need be), our entrees came. His gnocchi was over the top amazing. I couldn't believe how the bleu cheese complemented the dish so well, how the onions were cooked but still crunchy, how the pillows of gnocchi offered great contrast in texture, and how every bite made you want to die right there. My filet mignon was good...I ordered it medium rare and it looked a little more medium, but the sauce and potatoes were great. My only suggestion would be to have the meat rest another minute or two before serving. Each time I cut into it, I could see juices flowing out. Fortunately the meat was tender and still juicy, and I could only eat half of the portion.

We were stuffed, but after all, it IS Valentine's Day, so you know you have to have dessert. I haven't had tiramisu in ages, so we decided to share it. It was just as it should be, but could have been a little sweeter to offset the bitterness of the coffee in the ladyfingers. Otherwise, another on point offering from the kitchen. The end to this meal made me very happy, and the bill wasn't even that bad considering that my husband had three glasses of wine (which was about 25% of the entire bill).

Eccola really should be reserved for special occasions. The staff are professional and attentive. I wouldn't dine there regularly but I could see us making this an annual trip.

Service: *****
Ambience: ****
Food: *****
Overall: *****