Bloomfield Avenue has seen a lot of restaurants come and go. James DeSisto has watched most of them from the same address, turning out the same careful, intent cooking he’s been doing since Laboratorio Kitchen opened in 2014. No gimmicks. No pivots. Bring your own bottle, pull up a chair, and order the linguine with clams. You’ll understand immediately.
I’d describe DeSisto as an “ingredient-driven” chef. Allow me to explain. DeSisto’s strengths lie in the products he receives every single day.
Boxes of heirloom carrots become composed plates of food rather than something that fades into the background. Charred and roasted, the carrots become the star—boasting jagged edges of caramelized flavor and a soft-custardy interior. They lay atop a bed of whipped ricotta, showered with toasted, slivered almonds and a zingy pesto to tie it all in.
It’s DeSisto’s cooking in a vacuum: composed, dialed-in, and dedicated to letting ingredients shine. And never over-complicating them.
A mainstay on the Laboratorio menu is the LK Caesar, which doesn’t so much reinvent the wheel as it does perfect it. Petite romaine—cold and crunchy—dressed with a pungent anchovy vinaigrette. Sliced radishes bring a cooling crunch, while toasty breadcrumbs make their way into every nook and cranny of the piled-high lettuces. A colossal amount of grated Parmigiano Reggiano is the only acceptable way to finish such a salad.
In a world overflowing with Caesar salads—some great, many not—DeSisto looks to keep his version classic.
DeSisto has always done crudo well. I’ve enjoyed many at both Laboratorio Kitchen and his Maplewood restaurant, Osteria LK. Like the carrots before it, he keeps things straightforward: raw fish, oil, citrus, and herbs.
This is seen right now with a tuna crudo, which features slivers of buttery raw tuna, doused in lemon agrumato—an extra-virgin olive oil made by crushing whole lemons along with olives during the milling process. What you are left with is an oil that’s packed with vibrancy and freshness.
DeSisto takes these two superb ingredients—tuna and agrumato—and lets them sing. Segments of cara cara orange bring sweetness. Zest from those same oranges offers aroma. Capers and crushed olives establish a briny element. Chives round it out with a punch of allium flavor.
It’s crudo at its finest. Fresh, light, slightly verdant, and calculated—hitting all of the necessary notes without overpowering the star components.
DeSisto keeps that energy going with pastas.
Pasta pomodoro topped with burrata pulled me out of my reflexive opposition to the trends. The usual rigatoni is swapped for orecchiette. The pasta is perfectly cooked—with a chew—and that “little ear” shape holds onto pools of lightly spiced tomato sauce like a purse.
On top is a ball of burrata, which bursts with fresh cream upon the lightest pierce with a knife. That cooling cheese cascades down the plate, mixing with the sauce into a blush pink. It offers a temperature contrast and a juxtaposed flavor that helps cool some of the spice.
But what I’m really into is Laboratorio’s linguine with clams—when they offer it.
This is yet another instance of a morning shipment turning into the evening special. This time, with beautiful Manila clams from Nantucket. DeSisto does something with his clam sauce that I’m really into: he opts to include both chopped clams dispersed throughout the dish, along with a few left in their shell for some hands-on eating.
The entire dish oozes with fresh clam flavor—garlic and wine subtly sitting behind it. Clams are packed into every corner of the plate. And it gets better as you eat it. A squeeze of lemon brightens things up, and the toasted breadcrumbs that garnish the top make their way into more and more of the dish as you eat your way through it.
Al dente linguine is the only viable pasta choice. Chunks of fresh clam meat dot the strands of pasta as you twirl them with your fork like birds on a telephone wire. Each piece perfectly coated with sauce—and slurping is not just suggested, but required. How else are you going to ensure you enjoy every ounce of clam flavor?
When DeSisto opened his second spot Osteria LK in 2024, a saucy chicken parm became a staple of the menu. I’m happy to report that he’s since brought it over to Laboratorio Kitchen, and it’s just as worthy of the praise.
A massive, thin-and-crispy chicken cutlet comes draped with bright tomato sauce and melty, bubbling mozzarella cheese. On the side is a bowl of rigatoni with spicy vodka sauce. It’s almost laughably large, which can sometimes be indicative of a gimmick, but there’s no loss of quality here. The chicken cutlet is crunchy and juicy. The sauce is flavorful. The cheese is… the cheese—it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.
While I normally prefer my parms built in reverse order—that means cheese melted on the cutlet, and sauce over the top—Laboratorio’s version works. The pounded chicken stays crispy, and the sauce-to-cheese ratio is perfect. There are dozens of worthy chicken parms that can be enjoyed throughout Montclair, and this ranks among the best.
If you take any advice from this writing, make it this: order steak. Laboratorio Kitchen consistently does steak well, and at a fraction of the price of the big steakhouses. It currently comes in two options: steak frites and steak au poivre. The latter comes with mashed potatoes and sautéed baby carrots, the former with fries and salad.
I like to break the rules a bit and order the steak frites with a side of peppery au poivre sauce. The fries are hand-cut and crispy, the perfect vehicle to mop up that excess sauce. But it’s the steak itself that stands out—as it should. A simply grilled New York strip steak boasts visible hatch marks and a rosy center. It comes sliced, making eating easy.
It differs from other steak frites in that it doesn’t spring for a more functional cut like hanger or skirt. Instead, New York strip brings a premium cut into the equation, combining elements from both a steakhouse-quality chop and a plate you’d find at a casual bistro. It’s one of my favorite versions of the classic, and a consistent standout.
For dessert, a simple NY-style cheesecake really caps the evening. Right now, a slice comes covered in cooked blueberries. The berries burst into a syrupy sauce that injects a hit of vibrancy and tartness into the otherwise decadent display.
Like the savory food before it, nothing is being reinvented. There are no tricks or gaudy displays. It’s just a great slice of cheesecake.
Laboratorio Kitchen doesn’t need the spotlight. But it deserves it. While Montclair’s dining scene continues to evolve around it, DeSisto keeps his head down and his food consistent—and after more than a decade on Bloomfield Avenue, it remains one of the best meals the city has to offer.
That’s a rarer quality than it sounds.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
