Italy, my family’s favorite vacation destination, is also home to some of the most delicious food in the world. From the ever popular dishes like penne alla vodka and margarita pizza, to the hidden treasures including Pesto Trapaneze from Sicily and Osso Buco from Milan, Italy is home to a variety of kitchen techniques and regional ingredients.

This past weekend I decided to do my own discovery of Italian cuisine, taking a trip to Eno Terra for the first time with my family to celebrate Mother’s Day. Eno Terra is located in Kingston, New Jersey with a menu founded on the principles of regionalism and seasonality, shown through their use of local ingredients from local farmers, fishermen, and meat producers.

My family decided to order a few dishes and enjoy them family style, as we usually do. We tried the mussels and clam en Brodetto, the ricotta gnocchi, as well as the trumpet mushroom. My mom was pleasantly surprised by the trumpet mushroom’s nutty flavor, and my sister Reyna loved the cheesiness of the ricotta gnocchi. The tiramisu we ordered after our dinner was the star of the show for my espresso loving father.

Stepping outside my culinary comfort zone, I chose the mussels and clams brodetto for my main course. It was my very first time trying this Italian fish stew, which was traditionally prepared by fishermen using small or damaged fish and limited onboard condiments.

While I did not eat my brodetto aboard a fisherman’s ship in Italy, the use of locally sourced clams and mussels highlighted the restaurant’s adaptation to its New Jersey locale, highlighting the fusion of Italian tradition with regional ingredients.