Brined Chicken Showed Former Techie The Light — His Restaurant Opens This Week In Fair Lawn

Then, the New York City techie tried it brined.

"It was so flavorful and amazing," the New Vernon resident said. "I didn’t know it could be like that... I wanted the world to taste it."

And so, pursuing the longtime passion of opening a restaurant, Mezzalingua did just that, and brought Brine to Chelsea in 2018. Five years later, Brine is coming to Fair Lawn.

Mezzalingua is holding a grand opening for his restaurant, located in Fair Lawn's Promenade off Route 208, this weekend.

Mezzalingua said he's always wanted to open his own chicken joint and decided to completely start over, becoming an intern at 43 and making connections in the food industry. 

"It was a separate education, internship and career change, that turned into this," Mezzalingua told Daily Voice from inside his brand-new storefront.

Brine has a 36-hour chicken brining process, Executive Chef Joseph LoNigro said. One the chicken is delivered and prepared, it is air-dried for six to eight hours, then seasoned, marinated and brined for 24 hours.

"From the brine, to the fire, to the plate, the 36-hour process to deliver the juiciest chicken consists of a lot of hard work.," LoNigro said. "We take our chicken seriously."

Mezzalingua's restaurant isn't exactly fast-casual. It's more refined, fine casual, he calls it — complete with metal silverware and an upscale inside.

Having switched careers, Mezzalingua said he is enjoying his second act. When asked if he'll go back to the tech field he said, "Never. Hospitality is amazing."

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