It saddens me to hear about closing of the Alpine in North Arlington last month. If it had to go, and it can't be La Chaumiere, I hope it is true that it has been bought up by Liberty Tavern, which is also a very good destination. It will be good news to learn that it won't be still one more local bank branch!
The Alpine was a place that's inappropriate for the normal style dining review, because it was not just a restaurant. It was a North Arlington neighborhood institution. The food was actually more than just ok in my opinion though no award winning La Famiglia (Philly) or Spazzo Italian Grill & Wine Bar (Redmond, WA, the Microsoft bedroom community). But, in the day, Alpine had very good Northern Italian cuisine offerings on a quite large menu including Osso Bucco and Spedino (a very nice tenderloin spedino (spit). These did not appear on the menu in recent years, but you could always ask for them and they would happily serve them up for you; and one of my favorite Italian dessert, Spumoni with the traditional vanilla (or whipped cream), chocolate and pistachio ice cream layering cum candied fruit and nuts. August 21 is National Spumoni Day and should be a good time to find it at any self-respecting Italian eatery or deli. It has become somewhat bastardized in some venues in the US, but the Italian way is still the best, and that was the Alpine's way. And there was a fairly large wine menu with reasonable prices including some quite good Chianti Classico Reserva wines from Tuscany using the Sangiovese grape, as required by Italian law, as well as some very good "Super-Tuscans" that are allowed by a special law to blend Sangiovese with grapes of the Bordeaux (usually Cabernet Sauvignon) mainly for the American market.
But for many regulars it was more than an eatery. It was a great place to bring children for a very good and affordable meal (I don't mean in the sense of how the Vienna Inn is a Little League must after games, because the Alpine guests were mostly adults) with something for everyone and welcoming, family-friendly service staff. We started going there not long after it opened. (Thank you, Juventino, for your 29-Feb-08 posting here on the very informative and interesting history of the Alpine.) There were a couple of particularly nice staff members at that time, Adriano a waiter who also worked for Marriott in the World Bank dining room and the maître de, Alfredo, a young blond Cuban man. Alfredo left the Alpine in the 70's (I believe along with one of the chefs) and opened the Marco Polo in Vienna, VA http://www.marcopolocaterers.com, not unlike the Alpine in many ways. I hosted a birthday party for my wife there many years ago and another for our extended family last Easter for their Sunday brunch which we all enjoyed. Alfredo is now in a wheelchair but manages to be all over the place nonetheless checking on this and that to be sure everything is just right.
We have had very enjoyable reunions at the Alpine with dear friends who now live in Arizona whenever they make it back to the East Coast. It will sadden me further to have to inform them of the passing of a shared old friend – the Alpine.