A WOODBRIDGE MIXOLOGIST BRINGS HER ITALIAN HERITAGE TO THE NJ BAR SCENE
BY ERIK SCHONING PHOTOS BY ALEX BARRETO
There is no shortage of Italian bar menus in New Jersey, but a mixologist with firsthand knowledge of Italian drinks and culture? Now that is harder to come by. This cocktail of hospitality and expertise is exactly how Viviana Galia of Angelina’s Kitchen has made her name behind the bar since the Woodbridge location opened earlier this year.
Galia is Sicilian, and the daughter of a chef; she sharpened her craft in Sicilian cafes, slinging cappuccinos in the morning and Campari spritzes in the evening. After meeting her soon-to-be-husband, Vincenzo Galia (now the executive chef at Angelina’s), the two embarked on an intercontinental restaurant tour that included a stop in Sydney, Australia, before landing in New York seven years ago. It was at the original Angelina’s Kitchen in Staten Island where Galia learned the ropes of bartending.
“Learning the American bar was a dream for me,” Galia said. “I picked it up quickly, and I never went back to waiting tables after that. When I walk into the restaurant, I forget all about my personal stuff. I just want to have fun and interact with people.”
The first drink Galia ever learned to make was a martini. (Her pro tip: use high-quality vodka and skip the vermouth.) Since then, she’s spent years putting her own spin on American bar classics, often finding some way to incorporate an Italian twist. When the time came to launch the Woodbridge location of the restaurant, Galia was tasked with helming the bar menu and adding cocktails of her own, which became instant hits with her guests.
Her top seller is the Blueberry Babe, a refreshing blend of vodka, housemade blueberry purée, and lemon juice, topped with Sanpellegrino Italian Limonata. The cocktail is a study in bright, tart, bold flavors. In fact, you’ll find fruit purées all over Galia’s cocktail menu, courtesy of the kitchen staff, made fresh for the bar. The Fragolina pairs vodka with a strawberry purée, fresh jalapeño for a kick, and lime juice for the acidity, while the Smoked Basil Lover brings together mezcal, fresh basil, pineapple, and zesty lime juice.
In all her cocktails, Galia harkens back to the time-honored traditions of Italian food and drink: freshness and a lack of complication. It’s why you’ll find fresh basil and mint plants behind the bar, and why she keeps her ingredient lists short.
“For me, simple is better,” Galia said. “In the kitchen, when you use fresh ingredients, you don’t need a lot. I follow the same philosophy in the bar as well. With only a few fresh ingredients, you can make the perfect drink.”
No cocktail better fits that bill than the Negroni, one of Galia’s all-time favorites. Her Negroni menu (the aptly titled Negroni Selezione) is a tribute to the hallowed Italian cocktail, moving from the classic Negroni (Gin Mare, Campari, and sweet red vermouth) to the Bianco, which subs out Campari for the milder Lillet, and the Negroni Sbagliato, which swaps gin for Prosecco. (Sbagliato means “mistake” in Italian; the story goes that a bartender once reached for Prosecco and coincidentally reinvented a classic.) The most theatrical offering is the Smoked Negroni: Galia fires up the bar’s very own smoker and allows the liquor to steep in the natural woodsmoke for a few minutes, then voilà! The lid is lifted with dramatic flair.
But for Galia, her work’s biggest reward is the people; though she’s only been in the states for seven years, it’s her relationships with customers that make her feel at home.
“My customers become family and friends to me,” Galia said. “When they hear my accent, they’ll ask me where I’m from, and then they’ll tell me their own story. After a while, you feel free to talk about anything. It’s amazing the relationships you can create. It’s really the best part.”
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Galia is herself Italian. Over the years, she has relished the opportunity to share her heritage with guests, a culture that finds equal expression in her drinks as it does her husband’s menus. (The duo even hosts wine tastings together.) There is a seamless synergy at Angelina’s, from the kitchen to the bar, which Galia credits to the couple’s ability to work well together, a skill honed over many years in the craft.
There are 13 seats at the bar at Angelina’s, and it’s rare to find one empty. Every weekend, the buzzy bar comes to life with laughter and banter, as diners sit for hours swapping stories with Galia over one of her signature drinks. She’s come a long way from the Sicilian cafes of her youth, but at Angelina’s, the quintessential Italian experience of food, drink, and merriment is recreated every night.
Angelina’s Kitchen
415 Main Street, Woodbridge Township /
732.855.2220 / angelinaskitchennyc.com