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Business & Tech

Borough's New Bistro Opens for Business

Frank Czado and John Urso open Fanwood's newest restaurant.

John Urso and Frank Czado have had restaurant-work in their blood since childhood, and a business partnership in their veins for 12 years. 

"We discuss everything," said Urso, who, with Czado, owns Fabio's Bistro, the new restaurant that opened last week on South Avenue. 

"We're always on each other," Czado said. "There's a good mix between the two of us."

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The pair hopes that this winning combination will yield similarly long-term success for Fabio's, a 38-seat, BYOB eatery at the former site of the South Street Cafe – a location that will also include a new, outdoor patio this summer.

Even in the short time the restaurant has been open, “we get a lot of feedback,” Urso said. “And that feedback is that the town needed a quaint Italian restaurant.”

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The menu consists of four pages of Italian abundance: a range of appetizers, salads, hot and cold subs, entrees and thin-crust pizza. Urso shares the cooking duties with Czado and sous-chef Kerry Onesko. 

“We sell a lot of Chicken Sorrento,” a dish with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and eggplant in red sauce, Urso said. Also high on the list are penne a la pollo – sautéed chicken served with sausage in a white wine sauce – and what Urso called "Italian surf ‘n turf:" veal and shrimp in tomato sauce topped with mozzarella. Angus beef cheese steaks have proven popular, too.

Of the pizzas, there are 15 varieties. The Brooklyn Pie – a square, thin-crust pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil and, in Urso’s words, “finished off with a drizzle of olive oil” – has been among the hottest items on the menu.

Fabio's location could hardly be more central to Fanwood. Located adjacent to the Fanwood Train Station, it's also a short walk from the intersection of Martine Avenue and South Avenue, where the borough plans to construct new retail stores and apartments. 

The neighborhood is "up and coming," Czado said. Fabio's, fittingly, is "a neighborhood place for a small snack, a salad, and we’re a close walking distance."

Fabio's Bistro, 217 South Avenue, Fanwood, 908-322-0400. Monday - Thursday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. - 10 a.m.; Sunday, 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.

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