FoodPalaver: Bruno's of Jersey City Lives On in Minty, Chocolatey Dessert

If you're hosting any holiday dinners and would like to include a no-effort dessert, you might want to try what my parents served up one night over Thanksgiving weekend:  a bowl of Edy's peppermint ice cream with chocolate sauce.  It was a revelation, and not just because the peppermint and chocolate made such a great combination.  My parents are known to have a scoop of ice cream at night from time to time, but the chocolate sauce seemed to be a new twist.  It turned out it wasn't so new to them.  They spotted the limited edition candy cane-inspired ice cream at Kroger in Middletown, Ohio, and reminisced about the mint ice cream with chocolate sauce served at Bruno's, an Italian restaurant in Jersey City they went to many decades ago.

I found a photo of Bruno's from back in the day via Google Book Search.  Sadly,  I can't post it, but you can view it here.  It's from one of those "Images of America" books that includes old photos and history of towns and neighborhoods, this one called Jersey City 1940-1960:  The Dan McNulty Collection.  For anyone interested (you know who you are), you can read a fair amount of it and view a lot of photos at the Google Book Search link.  The book says that "Bruno's was one of the most popular and fanciest Italian restaurants in town until it closed in the 1970s."  According to a September 25, 1977 New York Times article, Bruno's was later turned into a restaurant operated by Patrick House, a drug rehabilitation and alcohol treatment program.  The article describes the former Bruno's as "a Jersey City landmark on Summit Avenue that contained a private room where Mayor Frank Hague and his successor and nephew, Mayor Frank Hague Eggers, dined and held conferences."  The Times ran a review of the new Bruno's on October 9, 1977, which included this historical information:

Bruno Valeo began his career by making spaghetti upstairs over a Jersey City tavern called Hillman and Rountree.  The place -- it was on Hudson Boulevard -- became a hit with the political crowd, so much so that Bruno was able to open his own establishment, Bruno's, on Mother's Day in 1946.

In 1972, with most of the old crowd dead or moved away, Bruno's shut its doors, apparently for good, and Mr. Valeo retired.  Then, just last year at this time, Bruno's reopened, stirring up the ghosts of scores of long-forgotten ward healers and trying to bring back the aura of a city that used to be.

The new owners were -- and are -- the Hudson County Drug and Alcohol Program, better known as Patrick House. The restaurant was conceived as a money-making venture, and not as a place for addicts to work.  It is not the old Bruno's, or [sic] course, but it is not bad.

I don't know what, if anything, is at 161 Summit Avenue now, but Bruno's lives on in dessert and memories in Middletown, Ohio.

Comments

[NICK]

Wow what a blast from the past! Born in 1963 at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital,I grew up in JC just a few blocks north of Bruno's at Wayne & Summit. I remember going by there and it was where the "grown ups" went to eat. The place had an aura of a manor about it with a gated entrance, high wrought iron fence and high hedges around the property. And I'll never forget the sign, the name Bruno's in fancy 1960's script with a caricature-like image of "Bruno" with an exaggerated Danny Thomas like schnoz! When the area fell on rough times in the 70's I remember thinking that the building seemed so out of place and seemed to be trying to hang on to its glamorous (by JC standards anyway) past.

[mbpalaver]

Thanks for your comment, Nick. I beat you to Margaret Hague by a year, though my family lived in Bayonne (my father's ancestral homeland), not Jersey City (my mother's), then moved out to Cranford a few years later. My memories of Jersey City (and Bayonne) are few, except through the stories of my parents. I have been meaning to post one day about the Canton, though.

[Jim M.]

Does anyone remember the "Bruno's Steak Sandwich?" I've been trying to replicate it for years with no success. They also used to have it on the menu year's later at one of the incarnation of the Summit House in Jersey City. My mouth waters when I think about it.

[Lpmcdermott1]

I just came across this while looking for other info in Jersey City. I am Bruno's granddaughter and reading your article brought back such fond memories. Although the restaurant closed when I was only 9, I remember it so clearly. My brother, sister and I used to sneak into the kitchen and and get the icecream. Although I know it was known for the steak sandwiches, as a child I prefered the ravioli. My mom still makes those steak sandwiches except she doesn't always use filet mingon like her father did. It is sad to go there now. My uncle still lives in the house next door, but the building has been replaced with houses and the beautiful gates are gone. Thank you for the memories and the knowing that others remember it so fondly.

[JTPratt]

In 1961 on this date, our rehearsal dinner and the next day, our wedding reception was held at Bruno's. Delightful!Thanks for those precious memories! [email protected]

[J O'Mara (U'Sellis)]

My Grandfather, Grandmother along with friends and family traveled almost every Sunday evening from Staten Island for the Steak Sandwich. (I had London Broil last night, that's why I started thinking of Bruno's)
Bruno and my Grandfather were good friends.

[MB]

My comments get so filled with spam ads for sports shoes and get rich quick schemes I sometimes miss these wonderful real posts.

I thought I'd share my mother's memory of Bruno's: "Bruno's steak sandwich - thin slices of toast covered with thin slices of delicious steak. I'm quite sure that there was some butter involved and maybe a touch of garlic. It was accompanied by chow-chow - mustard pickles and probably some kind of potato, although Dad and I can't remember what kind of potato, if indeed there was some. I probable told you this story a hundred times, but here I go again. Dad and I were crossing the street, heading to Bruno's, when my obstetrician drove by and wagged his finger at me. We went anyway. Mom"

@J O'Mara: My father said he remembers there was a Jersey City politician named O'Mara back in the day.

[Wendy Japaz]

Hi. I live across the street from the old Bruno's restaurant and know Bruno Valeo Jr. I was hoping if LPMcdermott saw this, you would contact me about your uncle. [email protected]. Thank you!

[Mike Sciarappa]

My grandmother was talking about Bruno's today and Bruno Jr was the best man in their wedding but they lost touch after my family moved away from jersey city.

[MB]

Thanks for your comments Wendy and Mike -- Bruno's really brings out the nostalgia in people!

[Mike Sciarappa]

My grandmother said that the steak on toast came with onion rings!

[MB]

Thanks Mike Sciarappa -- side dish mystery solved!

[David]

My grandfather worked as a bartender on weekends at Bruno's in the late 40's and early 50's. Mr. Valeo remained friendly with my mom and our family. I remember going there for several parties in the from the mid-sixties right up until it closed. Mr Valeo would always come to our table and greet my mom with a hug and ask about people who they both knew. I don't have any particular memories of what i ate there, but I had a great appetite as a boy and I'm sure that I enjoyed whatever I was served, including the ice cream. And yes, from my memory, in real life Bruno looked just like his caricature image on the famous sign!