Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  I am reporting live from Miami.  Down here with some wine, cheese, family (cheeeseee) and of course our puppies... I just wanted to wish my many loyal (Kent) readers a happy holiday and blessings for a healthy new year.  Speak to you in 2009!

Bin 14

My girlfriend and I tried out Bin 14 this past Saturday night and had a really nice time. This in a nutshell is my kind of place. Great wines, delicious small bites, pizza, not overly expensive, intimate tables and rustic, yet chic décor. This newcomer at 14th and Washington is equal parts cozy wine bar and hip meeting spot. Not only does this nook serve up small dishes and thin crust pizzas from the wood burning oven, but there is a very informed wine sommelier that helped me pick the perfect Spanish Chardonnay. I loved it.

Chelsea and I split two light bites—one lobster salad bruschetta and one pumpkin bruschetta—and both were delicious, but be warned - TINY. Each of us got one bite of each after cutting them in half—so be advised—if you’re going for dinner, you might want to go ahead and order whole menu :)

We sat at the bar, and loved the whole scene. The place was already packed (in a good way) and the restaurant was very gala and abuzz with conversation. I would recommend this place to anybody looking for a nice, low key tasteful date. Actually, if anybody is interested…

Sri Thai

I am searching for the best pad thai in Hoboken. Anybody have any suggestions? I have tried a few places, some verging on inedible and some coming quite close to perfection, yet I am still left wanting. The best to date comes from from Sri Thai (234 Bloomfield Street). The little neighborhood joint serves it up hot and consistently delicious every week without failure. The pad thai noodles are not too firm, the sauce has a nice creamy peanut taste and the serving size is plentiful. I usually order a side of rice and peanut sauce along with my noodles, and unfortunately Sri doesn't have brown rice...or the perfect rich and flavorful peanut sauce for that matter. Oh well, cant win 'em all.

Though I have never been to the restaurant, I have ordered the noodles for delivery a number of times and the service is always prompt.

For those of you that love pad thai as I do, and know the impact a balanced sauce has on the whole dish, I can tell you that Sri is pretty darn close. I have found a spot that meets my thai needs and leaves me happy, but I have not yet found the best. I will move forward with my quest and keep all of my thousands upon thousands of readers waiting anxiously. haha. Ok, I will carry on with my search for the best for some pretty selfish purposes, but until then, I will be a regular Sri Thai customer each Sunday and remain 90% satisfied,

Teak

Being the sushi enthusiast that I am, it was only natural to check out the more "upscale" sushi offerings in Hoboken.  Chelsea and I decided to check out Teak on a Monday night to take advantage of their weekly sushi deals.  We went in under the guise that this would be a bargain of a meal, with all prices 1/2 off, but it just wasn't so...

 

The restaurant is really trendy, with a packed bar, indoor/outdoor seating and modern lighting and decor.  The music was  bit loud, but in general the ambiance was nice was upbeat and lively for some Monday night fun.  This place is ideal for meting up with friends, or maybe a date with a looker that you aren't too interested in talking to...

 

We both started out with miso soup, which was quite a large portion (when comparing to the typical black-bowl most places serve) and delicious!  The soup has mushrooms and is some of the best I've ever had.  Following the soup, we had the tuna tar tar, a green ginger salad and some sashimi.  All of these items were good, but nothing that I would over-zealously rave about.  After these sushi bar appetizers, we had a few of the more innovative and exotic rolls which were delicious, but again, nothing that we haven't experienced before.

 

When the check came, Chelsea and I welcomed the biggest surprise of the night.  The check.  Despite the Monday night 1/2-off special, the check came to around $100 (granted there were a few glasses of wine in there...).  So overall, I would say Teak has solid sushi, but for the price you pay, taking a trip to Tokyo (or a walk down to it's sub-sect Robongi) might be more worth your while.  

City Bistro

Leave it to my father to walk around Hoboken (his first visit ever) and find the greatest restaurant in a matter of minutes.  So we read a couple reviews and found a winner...City Bistro.  I am about to make a BIG statement.  Ready for it?  I think I had the best steak last night...ever.  Seriously!  (ok, maybe top 5, but still...wow!)

My parents came in town, so naturally, I took this opportunity to order a steak (meanwhile they probably think I'm a carnivore, as every time they visit/we vacation, Katharine:Steak is akin to a moth:flame).  I ordered the pecan crusted filet mignon, which came with roasted potatoes, haricort vert and bistro wine au jus and I was blown away.  While I am certainly a pizza connoisseur, and I like to think that I know a thing or two about a good filet, when in the company of Fran and Paul (mom and dad), I am confident that our combined century of experience with beef will not lead us astray.  It was unanimous, the steak was huge, tender, cooked to perfection and with a soft pecan crust it was absolutely mouth watering.  When I finished the thing, despite having far surpassed my elegant sufficiency, I could only think of how much I wanted another.  I'll say it again--wow!

My dad ordered the marinated pork chops that came with mashed potatoes by special request (a Kent tradition...ha I guess that makes us sound like true-blue American fatties...but I assure you, we just have good taste) and my mom ordered a chopped salad.  I am not typically a fan of pork, but these chops were tender and very flavorful.  My dad and I both ordered a glass of Pinot Noir and were very happy with the wine. The chopped salad was prepared very nicely with a light sherry vinaigrette dressing that was a great complement to the finely chopped vegetables and greens. Overall, the food was delicious and left us all satisfied.

City Bistro is sort of a mid-sized restaurant uptown, with a loud dining room and a decent following (for a Saturday night at least).  There is a big bar (a draw on its own) and a handful of tables exclusively for diners.  Our waiter had about as much enthusiasm as a 5th Avenue doorman during the Puerto Rico day parade, but aside from that we really enjoyed our meal.  I would recommend this place for families (not with young children, as I would never encourage the presence of those things in the places I like) and any sort of dining occasion between friends.  I wouldn't say this place has a romantic atmosphere really, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend taking a 1st or 2nd date here, but I guess I can be a tough judge ;) 

SPECIALS-- 

(hey..."its the economy stupid")

*Early Evening Menu* served 5-7pm Mon-Thurs, $17 gets you a 3 course dinner 

*Happy Hour* served 5-8 (pm people) Sun-Fri, all drinks 1/2 price

Empire Coffee & Tea

I walk by this place every morning on my way to the train and it looks so cute--the quintessential corner coffee shop.  I am annoyed by the gentrification of our local neighborhoods,  and the overwhelming presence of Starbucks.  I am even more annoyed by the fact that I give Starbucks business in light of my feelings.  So, I am always happy to support a local business, especially when it is as charming as this little shop.

It's still warm outside, so I try an iced version of their daily special--pumpkin spice coffee.  The people behind the counter are very friendly and blew me away when they added my milk and sweetener for me!  Such a little gesture, but as far as coffee service goes, its rather unusual.  I loved the pumpkin spice iced coffee, it tasted like a fall drink yet had an original flavor combination.  The shop has loads of different flavored beans, all of which are on display and easy for customers to smell and sample.  

In light of the new Starbucks that just opened on Washington (the third one to open within 1 mile?!), I say go out and support Empire Coffee.  Try some of their flavored coffees or teas outside on the patio, revel in their kind staff and service and start your day with a better caffeine kick.  

The Brass Rail

Two of my sisters were recently in town visiting me, and I thought this would be an excellent time to try the American restaurant on Washington St. called The Brass Rail.  I had heard a lot of great things about their brunch, and after reading through their dinner menu, I thought it looked like the perfect place.  The menu features your key American dishes (ie steak, salmon, chicken, etc.), but left me wanting.  Chelsea joined me and my sisters, and so together the four of us embarked on a somewhat underwhelming and unmemorable dining experience.  Good thing I was there with my jokes and the wine flowed like water :P

We arrived and were seated promptly.  The weather was very nice so it would have been preferable to sit outside, but the tables were all taken, so we decided the upstairs dining room would be fine.  The wine selection was about average, with a few red and white offerings from the expected international growing regions.  When the waitress came to take our drink orders, my sister asked which region in France a specific red wine was grown.  The waitress responded, "umm...the wine is from...um...france."  Eek.  Maybe I'm a tough critic because I work in PR, but that was pretty bad.  She should be better briefed, or just stay in the kitchen.  

We all shared two starters--tuna tartar and corn chowder--and were provided with a sense of what was to come.  While both items were prepared according to their typical standard, there was nothing remarkable about these offerings.  I wish I could be more descriptive, but because of my lack of enthusiasm, the words escape me...

When our entrees arrived, we were all really hoping that something would knock our socks off...and low and behold...the most average item on the menu received our highest ranking-the  chicken!  Who would have thought?  Maybe I should preface this by saying that I order poultry next to never.  I think that ordering chicken in a nice restaurant is akin to visiting paris and choosing to sit indoors and watch movies all day.  It is boring and simply shouldn't be done. With that being said, my little sister's major faux pas actually worked out well.  The chicken was very tender, served on the bone with spring vegetables and mashed potatoes and prepared very simply, yet classically.  If I order chicken in a restaurant, this is how I want it to be done.  As for the other dishes, again there is nothing remarkable to say.  I had a strip steak that was bland and over cooked, Christie had the salmon which was prepared with couscous and vegetables, and Chelsea had some white fish (name escapes me now) that was on par with what I imagine my blessed-auntie Helen's cooking would probably taste like if she ever picked up a spatula. (sorry Auntie Helen, no offense intended)

We decided to cut our losses and skip dessert for fear we might be served something really tragic, like room temperature, botched up apple pie without any vanilla ice cream. (the horror!) So we left feeling a bit disappointed, but still had nice conversation and a "gala" time (according to Coleen, ha ha).  On our walk home, we passed this new little bakery called Sweet  and were happily surprised when the owner decided to allow us to come in despite having been closed for 30 minutes.  We sampled the mini cupcakes and I must say, the red velvet was heaven.  This was the best thing that I ate all night, and it was small enough, that I felt I had only minorly offended my "diet" (ha).  Sweet is really charming and the woman working there was a pleasure to talk with.  I would definitely recommend stopping by Sweet for some of their cupcakes.

So, in context of everything, I would say that The Brass Rail cooks and serves pretty mainstream, average food, and is generally skipable.  Granted my expectations were set pretty high, I still think that this place is way over-hyped.  I would not recommend having dinner here unless you want food that you are likely capable of cooking (and in many cases surpassing).  Sweet on the other hand is worth visiting.

Robongi

So I have been to a few sushi places in town and I think that so far Robongi is by far the best. Let me start by saying that I love sushi, and I eat it about three to four times on a given week. At Robongi (not sure exactly on the renunciation, but I was assuming the name was a play off Tokyo's young Ropongi district) the fish is fresh, the outdoor seating is lovely and the BYOB policy is fantastic. It was a cool summer evening, so we decided to sit outside, and it really made our dining experience very pleasant. We got there around 6:30 and there were plenty of tables, but by 7:00 everything was taken. The atmosphere is very nice for friends or just a casual date (though I wouldn't recommend this for a first date really) and the service is excellent; very attentive.

I started out with a green salad which was shamefully on the wanting side of basic, but was happily surprised when the fish came out. I ordered the night's specialty roll which included shrimp, lobster, tuna and salmon. This was absolutely delicious--though would constitute a meal on its own. I get lots of ridicule from my friends on this one, but I happen to love tamago (also called 'egg' some places) when dipped in some eel sauce. Actually I douse all of my sushi in eel sauce (and have successfully converted most of my friends to this practice). At Robongi the tamago has such a nice smooth texture and isn't too "eggy" and the eel sauce is nice and thick with a sweet, rich flavor. If you haven't tried either of these items, I highly suggest that you do.

My sister got the chicken teriyaki bento box--but be warned--this could easily provide enough food for a small country in Africa (no, but really, it could feed 2 -3 people with ease). This came with miso soup, a green salad, a tuna roll (which she got wrapped in cucumber instead of rice), 4-6 pieces of sushi, white rice, shrimp shumai AND chicken teriyaki. A lot of food, right? I told you. I can happily report that all of the side items were delicious, the chicken was very tender and the teriyaki sauce was in perfect balance.

For all of the diet conscious people out there reading my blog (ha, Chel) I can happily report that Robongi is able to wrap any sushi rolls in brown rice or cucumber. I personally am a huge fan of wrapping rolls in cucumber because it gives the roll a nice crunch.

So all in all, Robongi is a neighborhood winner. Bring your best friend and a chilled bottle of white wine (or have your friend bring the wine and really luck out) and enjoy a nice evening dining al fresco.

Hello

So I was poking around online, looking for a great guide to Hoboken restaurants, stores and night life and I found nothing.  I love trying new places, spending my days poking around little boutiques, experimenting with new restaurants and finding great places to go with friends at night, so I decided that I would start writing reviews of the places that I try.  Hopefully over the next few months/years I can share some of my favorite spots (and those to avoid) so that others can take advantage and experience the best of Hoboken.  

Because I am new in town (moved here in May) I am just getting started, but definitely have begun to get the basics.  If you have any suggestions for me, please share them.  I am always excited about a good recommendation.  

I am headed to the Hamptons this weekend but hopefully next week I can begin writing some reviews and getting this project underway.  Until then, Happy 4th of July!!