True North Osteria is a cute and cozy little café that serves specialty pizzas, bruschettas and small plates. They cook all of their meals with high quality ingredients and use old world techniques that have been “reinvented for the modern American table”. The vegetables are all fresh and sourced locally, the sauce is made from 100% Jersey tomatoes and the bread is baked fresh in house daily.
The sign outside True North Osteria says, “This pizza will change your life”, and I just might have to agree with it. Don’t go to True North expecting the average grab-a-slice-and-go-pizza though. This is artisanal pizza that needs to be savored bite by tasty bite, as the thin, chewy, yet crispy dough is carefully handmade from scratch, covered with farm fresh toppings and grilled – yes grilled – to create the most mouthwateringly flavorful little pie unlike any you’ve tasted before. Just as the taste isn’t ordinary, neither are the flavors, with the spicy Jersey Devil pie, the pesto topped True North and the sandwich inspired Grilled Cheese.
The menu at True North is very vegetarian friendly, with items that are vegan or can be made vegan clearly marked. Co-owner Leah Moon is a life-long vegetarian, so she can answer any questions about ingredients and the veg-friendliness of the various dishes. After a visit from my MeetUp group Montclair Vegans earlier in the year, True North added vegan mozzarella to their list of premium pizza toppings, making it one of the few restaurants in Northern NJ that makes pizza with dairy-free cheese.
True North’s fresh bread is truly incredible, and the best way to taste it is by trying an order of bruschetta. My favorite is the cauliflower and chickpea, which started as a seasonal item but was so good it made it onto the regular menu. It consists of two thick slices of bread slathered in chickpea puree and topped with roasted cauliflower, capers and olives. It can be a meal on it’s own!
On a recent visit to True North, Veggieguy and I split a small plates, including their amazing pan seared brussels sprouts with pistachios and shallots. Brussels sprouts tend to get a bad rap in the vegetables world, but one bite of these babies will change even the most hardened greens-hater’s mind! We also ordered the fall special mushroom steak, which consists of oyster mushrooms grilled to perfection with a citrus soy sauce reduction and scallions. Delicious! And because no trip to True North Osteria would be complete with pizza, we split a Jersey Devil pie with dairy-free cheese.
True North Osteria is located at 345 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair.