jon777

Had dinner at Papatzul on Friday night (thanks to the recommendations here). Really enjoyed it, wonderful authentic cuisine, nice, casual, fun atmosphere, and very friendly and efficient service. While we waited for the full party to arrive, had some chips and guacamole and margheritas. Guac was presented in the traditional bowls (not made tableside) -- creamy, well seasoned and very good, although personally would have prefered a little more agressive seasoning. Margaritas, were $9-12 depending on the variety, and a couple of interesting flavoring including Tamarind (which was yummy) and Hibiscus (didn't try). For appetizers, had the Octopus with Chipotle -- extremely tender, not chewy/tough at all, and great combination of flavors. Ceviche was excellent, well seasoned and not overmarinated (which to my experience, is the most common problem with Ceviche). Fresh, clean flavors, "cooked" though, but with the texture of the seafood well intact. A masa "boat" with Goat Chese and Chorizio was a wonderful combination of texture and flavor. For entrees, we had the above Duck Almond Mole. Good although I was not blown away by the Mole -- thought the flavors were too blended -- and too heavy for the duck which you could taste as much as I'd like. A sea bass "en papiliotte" was a huge winner, wonderfully seasoned and beautifully cooked. Big, big thumbs up. Rack of lamb (4 bones) seasoned with Ancho was very nice, if slightly unremarkable (but a bargain for a Rack of Lamb entree at $22). I did not sample the spinach and mushroom enchiladas, but others at the table did enjoy. Desserts were a mexican rice pudding (I'm not a huge rice pudding fan, so I can't comment) and a Spicy Chocolate Mousse which had just the right kick with the dark chocolate, although the consistency was a little denser than I like in a mousse. Regardless, the chocolate / spice combination there was perfect. I did mention to the host that I read some positive reviews on egullet (he wanted to check it out) and he had the chef come by to say "Hi" after the meal (nothing comped, so no chance of bias in my report :-) Chef Amezcua was kind and humble and seemed very happy to hear the feedback and loves having his own place -- he said the challenges are very different, however, in not only worrying about the food, but EVERYTHING with the restaurant. Seemed like a very genuine, nice person who I'm very happy to give my business to. FYI, picture of the restuarant and a (slighly outdated) menu can be found on there (work in progress) web site: http://www.papatzul.com/ In terms of prices, apps were $8-12, entrees $17-22, margaritas $9-12... Very reasonable for the quality, style, service, I thought.

No need to eat your hat... I've never heard anyone refer to it as "The Boulevard". Looking at the time stamp on the message, I can't even use the "I didn't have my morning coffee yet" excuse. Just a case of typing w/o thinking (or more importantly, proofreading), apparently...

BTW, On a nice day (can spring finally be here???), since you are doing a Saturday lunch, Elysian is a nice 15 minute walk from the PATH strolling up Washington Blvd... You can even wakl the 1st several blocks along the waterfront for views of the City. As a lunch spot, think Elysian would be an excellent choice.

Apologize for taking us off topic, but what's the Tuesday night wine deal? Big fan of bar dining (we ate at the bar at Cucharamama this past Tuesday -- Tommy, if you haven't done that, I recommend it highly. Works great with there menu -- we did a bunch of apps as Tapas and shared a main... YUM!)

Dissapointing to hear that. Remember reading recently that they had heard changed chefs and revamped the menu -- and reports had been good... Would be nice to have one of the places with a view that had strong food.

As Tommy suggests, Amandas is a good choice. Adult, refined, solid food, very nice service. I believe they have a private room downstairs and it's a fairly sizable restaurant that could easily accomodate you. Anthony David's might be another could alternative. With 18-20, you might be able to fill the entire back room. Food is great, and as it's BYOB, could save you some $$ on the party. If you're crowd is more culinarily adventurous, would definitely recommend trying Cucharamama, although they are less set up for a large group. Food is outstanding upscale South American, cool, fun atmosphere. Only hitch would be how they would accomodate a big group (maybe give you the front of the restaurant by the bar...)

Damn... Thunder stolen! In fact, going there tonight. A real treat in Hoboken!!! I wouldn't describe it as Haute cuisine, more like traditional South American, taken to new heights and done extremely well. BTW, think you have an extra syllable in there http://www.cucharamama.com/ NY Times Review: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...75AC0A9629C8B63

As far as I could find, Fresh Direct only has Chicken Stock

Great review, Tommy... As a Hobokenite, seems to reason for me to go there, when I can get to Wolfgang's (or one of the other clones) just as easy, if not easier...

So when are you going Tommy? Look forward to your review! Am particularly interested in hearing how it compares to Luger's and Wolfgang's...

Definitely a step up from Reb Lobster. Not quite in the same league as Legal Seafood. Your not going to have great food there, but you'll get a decent piece of fish.

No reference that I could find (on their website or in reviews) that the ribs (or other meats) are smoked. Ususally, if they slow smoke the food, it's prominantly mentioned.

Went to Kefi on Saturday night to see what all the fuss was about. And fuss there was -- a packed bar area and people waiting outside (30-60 minute wait at 6:30!). Amazing what good publicity will do! We were a party of six and the host told us they have one round top for 6 that was seated at 6, so they should be done between 7:15 and 7:30. Seemed to be a little amibitious to get a 6-top in and out in under 90 minutes, but we weren't worried -- we had arrived early expecting to wait. Went next door to Blondies for a beer (took all the will power I had not to order some wings!) and went back a little after 7 to wait for our table as we were told if we were not in the restaurant when our name was called, would be taken off the list. Surely enough, at 7:30 our table was ready and we were seated. Had the 6 top in the back right hand corner of the room which was great -- round table, and the fact that it was tucked into a corner made it much quieter (it's a packed room) and very comfortable. The wine list was filled with Greek wines, which we knew nothing about -- good descriptions on the wine menu and our server recommended one that was very food friendly with some nice character to it -- at $29. Lot's of very reasonable wine selections starting at $18 -- can't vouch for how good they are, but the one we had was very reasonable and very nice. Appetizers were the star of the show -- we had a variety. The much discussed spreads lived up to the billing -- wonderful, bold flavors. Meatballs were very nice, a spinach pie was not your typical fast food version -- almost Cream Spinach in Phyllo -- bordering on decadent -- a highlight. A grilled octopus was tender and welll spiced. Sweetbreads were lightly crunchy on the outisde and creamy on the inside -- only wish the outer crust had held up a little better -- but can't argue too much with a $7.95 good order of Sweetbreads! Entrees were solid, although didn't blow us away. A lamb chop special that we had seen come out while we were walking to the table, was already gone by the time we were ordering (7:45 or so). Our waiter said they had 25 orders and almost every table had ordered them. Oh, well -- they looked good). Our table had 3 lamb shanks -- which were a nice rendition, although nothing special. The rabbit pasta was better, rich and not overly gamey. And the grilled Branzino was very good -- nice grilled flavor, very fresh, perfectly cooked and lightly seasoned. Greek desserts are not my favorite -- but the table seemed to enjoy them. Service was very efficient -- too efficient in fact -- appetizers were out less than 10 minutes after we ordered and entrees came out before we had finished the appetizers. It was too chaotic too ask them to take them back and hold them for 5 minutes while we finished. Dessert and coffee were equally efficient. Actually remarkable considering how swamped the place was -- clearly they are still getting used to the crush, but would have expected them to error on the slow side! I know they want to get people in and out, I think they'll get the timing down better as they adjust to their new-found popularity. At these prices, it will be crowded for awhile. All in all a very nice neighborhood Greek restaurant, and a great bargain ($42 a person -- amazing for what we ate!). Not a destination place and the food isn't transcendant. But very, very solid food at extremely reasonable prices. UWSers should be very happy to have this wonderful neighborhood Greek -- and probably a lot happier when the hype dies down and things get more back to normal. For now, I'd avoid it on peak time on weekends -- until after Memorial Day anyway...

Planning on going to Kefi on Saturday night with some friends. Given the recent press, I'm sure we'll be in for a wait anytime near prime time. Is there a bar (or bar area) to wait in comfortably and have a drink? I'm gathering that it's a pretty small space...

Did take out from Biscuit (they don't deliver apparently) a month or so ago while visiting friends in Park Slope. Overall, pretty dissapointing. Nothing was "bad", but nothing was outstanding either.

Best fries I've had lately in NJ are at Amazing Hot Dog in Verona. Hand cut from fresh potatoes and twice fried. Yummm!

Am in agreement with much of Curlz review. While there were some mis-steps (which I credit to being new + busy with a full house for restaurant week) there were also a lot of things to like here. I think part of the challenge is that Mercy has yet to really find it's indentity. It's part hip, trendy bar (great space, lots of exposed brick, cool modern design), part pub (HDTVs not only in the bar area but in the dining area), part trendy dining, part comfort food. There is nothing to prevent Mercy from evolving from a good place, with some hit and miss items to a place that is worth frequenting. The space is very nice and the chef has obvious talent. And on a Wednesday night (albeit during restaurant week), they had pretty much a full house. BTW, Tommy, the downstairs space currently was empty, but they have plenty of tables down there. I would assume they will use it for additional dining space as they grow. Music was blaring down there (no one seated downstairs), but unclear how they will manage it going forward -- it certainly could be a very nice place to eat (more private, away from the bar, lots of exposed bricks, and beautifully refinished floors). As for the food, the shining stars were definitely several of the appetizers and the fish entrees. The tangy citrus wings were a great combination of textures -- wonderfully crunchy on the outside and meaty and juicy on the inside. The sauce could have had more zing for my taste, but very good. They also do a traditional buffalo wing. As a raging carnivore, veggie burgers are something I would never consider ordering, but were very tasty, and were nothing like a garden-burger -- they weren't really burger like at all, but they were good. Shrimp rolls had big chunks of shrimp, crispy on top. the bottom of the won-ton wrapper was a little gummy for me, but overall tasty. Flatbread pizza was crunchy with lots of smokey bacon goodness. For the entrees, it was all about the fish. Curlz summed up the pork chop -- overbrined and gummy. The skirt steak was average at best -- a little tough and the bacon spaetzle side (which I was VERY excited for) was dry and not flavorful. Chicken pot pie was tasty, although not special enough (even with the truffle essence) that I would order again. The fishes were another story altogether. The cod "chowder" was a lovely piece of roasted cod in a bed of fresh clams and a chowder like sauce with a touch of coconut milk -- yummy. The scottish salmon was crispy outside, and medium rare (as requested) inside. A very nice piece of fish, well prepared. The molten chocolate thingy in the middle of the chocolate plate was my dessert highlight. Overall, Mercy has a lot of potential, talent in the kitchen, some very good dishes, and a great space. As they figure out who they want to be, clear up some service/atmosphere issues, and fix some of the meat entrees, it has the potential to be a nice place. As a local, I will return and am curious to see how they evolve.

This is very exciting news. I've enjoyed GT very much when I've gone and the Tavern is my favorite "bang for the $" in the mid-priced category. Look forward to visits to both the main dining room and the tavern room in the near future. Thanks for the update! Was looking forward to the first reviews for Chef Anthony -- sounds like everything is very positive for GT!

Had a very nice meal here in early December for our anniversary. Tasting menu is only slightly more than the regular 3 course menu (something like $87 vs. $76). And they were very accomodating in including a couple of items from the regular menu that were not listed on the tasting menu for us. Service was very pleasant, and our waitress even brought an extra dessert that she wanted us to try. Everything was very good (Elk was a paricular standout) -- was not super inventive cuisine, but everything was fresh and well executed. If I remember correctly, the chef/owner is there pretty much every night, so you'd probably be working directly for him, which would possibly be a plus -- also, the restaurant in on the smaller side, so probably get to experience more of the kitchen, than you would at some of the larger places. Usually has strong ratings -- not a Top 10 NY restauarant, but certainly a solid, well respected establishment. Good luck!

Tasting of Ice Wines on WineLibray TV: http://tv.winelibrary.com/2006/09/14/canad...ada-episode-90/ (This is the video wine blog of the Director of Operations for the Wine Library in Springfield). Great store, and the v-blog is fun and informative...

Do you mean Nick and Stef's? I didn't see Del Frisco's participating. ← yes - sorry. my mistake. ← Although Del Frisco's has a 3 course pre-theatre menu (which includes a petite filet) for around the RW price point that's definitely a good bargain.

Haven't been yet, but here is their web site, which has menus: http://mercygrill.com/ BTW, for anyone interested, the old Jefferson spot has re-opened as the Uptown Sushi Lounge -- same owners as the one down by the PATH.

Went in again last weekend. Bought a bunch of produce -- mostly salad stuff -- and some fruit. Quality is much higher than supermarket and I thought priced fairly. Inspected the fish counter again -- significantly bigger selection this time (this was Saturday afternoon). Everything looked fresh and there was no fishy smell coming from the cabinet (always a good sign). A couple of the whole fish looked like they might be slightly past their prime, given the glassy eyes, but I'm admittedly not an expert. A very respectable tiramasu and some cookies from the bakery were good as well. Checkout was fast an efficient. Very happy to have in town and will continue to shop there for produce, fish and specialty items. Interested in hearing some reviews of the meat counter...

Loved Chimayo http://www.chimayorestaurant.com/ Everything was excellent -- the Elk, particularly so...

The Hoboken Shop Rite has a pretty good D'Artagnan selection. Always get the Andouille whenever I'm making Jumbalaya. Got the individually packaged Duck Breast ($11.99 / lb) the other day -- turned out to be tough -- very dissapointing. (At this point, I'm still believing it was the meat and not the chef -- scored it, seared it to render the fat for 5 mins and into the oven for 7 -- was med rare, but tough). Wonder if it had been frozen and thawed...