Valentine's Day in NJ/Romantic Restaurants

[Rosie]

Let us know about La Tartuseria. I haven't been there yet. Go Blue!

[Nockerl]

We're going to try

LA Tartuseria Restaurant

1405 Grand Street

Hoboken, NJ  07030

201-792-2300

I've heard mixed reviews, although they all seem to agree it's PRICEY!!

We're using a gift certificate someone gave us for our wedding.

It's La Tartuferia. They own a truffle/Italian specialty foods Importing company. The restaurant was started a few years after the import company. The food is quite good, although some dishes are very expensive and some are very reasonable. The best part is parking in that section of Hoboken is a breeze.

I've eaten there several times and have had very good experiences. Try the signature "ricotta gnocchi with truffles" if it's on the menu. The dumplings are very light and barely hold together (much less dense than potato gnocchi). They are served in a "pool" of truffle butter and then topped with an extremely generous shaving of white truffle.

Also make sure you get the truffled panna cotta with crystallized garlic. Very unique and very good.

[Rosie]

Thanks for the spelling lesson! See what happens when you copy and paste.

[thereuare]

I'd like to blame it on the copy/paste, but i was the original poster at the last thread that mispelled it:)

GO BLUE!

[Nockerl]

I'd like to blame it on the copy/paste, but i was the original poster at the last thread that mispelled it:)

GO BLUE!

All that matters is that the food tastes good!

Thanks for being honest.

[thereuare]

Try the signature "ricotta gnocchi with truffles" if it's on the menu. The dumplings are very light and barely hold together (much less dense than potato gnocchi). They are served in a "pool" of truffle butter and then topped with an extremely generous shaving of white truffle.

Also make sure you get the truffled panna cotta with crystallized garlic. Very unique and very good.

Thanks for the dish recommendations, but to show my food innocence.... what are truffles actually like (i'm the pizza guy of the board).

I think i have understanding of the first dish you described, but what's the second dish?

Thanks.

[Nockerl]

Thanks for the dish recommendations, but to show my food innocence.... what are truffles actually like (i'm the pizza guy of the board).

I think i have understanding of the first dish you described, but what's the second dish?

Thanks.

Truffles smell and taste like really great sex is how a chef I worked for once described them to me. And since then that is how I think of them.

Truffles (white and black) (There are few others "summer" etc). Are fungi, like mushrooms, that grow 3-12 inches near the roots of trees. Black truffles come from several areas, most notably Perigord and Umbria. White truffles, the prized ones, come from Piedmont.

The black have a more pungent, intense earthy flavor than the white. Black truffles are almost always cooked while the white are usually, but not exclusively served raw(thinly sliced). So basically they are like the best mushroom you've ever had but 100 times better than that. They add depth, character and a lot of flavor to a dish. They are used to enhance and not overwhelm and when they are in season they are worth trying.

Panna Cotta, is an Italian dessert whose name translates to mean "cooked cream". It is an eggless custard that is set with gelatin and is traditionally flavored with vanilla (sometimes caramel) and is sweetened with sugar or honey and classically vanilla. At Tarfuferia they take t over hte top with the crystalized garlic and truffle honey.

[Nockerl]

Thereuare,

Please let us know how you're meal at Tartuferia turns out.

[thereuare]

I certainly will... actually looking forward to it after your descriptions!

[Rosie]

Happy Valentine's Day. Going out this weekend to celebrate? Be sure to give us a report.

[thereuare]

La Tartuferia

We had an enjoyable meal. We sat in the upstairs area and you have to walk up some very narrow stairs to get there. The atmosphere was great.... very "open" feeling and laid back atmosphere.

For an appetizer, we split an entree size portion of the gnocchi that you recommended as it was on the specials list... but it was made w/ black truffles, not white, don't know if this is how it is normally served. It was good, pretty rich tasting, but nothing i would go wild over for $38 (maybe i'm just not a truffles guy) . Eating this whole plate as an entree would be too rich for me, so splitting it as an appetizer was perfect.

I had lobster and asparagus risotto as an entree, while my wife had salmon stuffed with shrimp. We both thought our meals were very good. I try to eat somewhat healthy most of the time, and i think my body was on overload half way thru the meal as the food is just so rich. As a result, we didn't have room to try dessert.

Overall i would say it was a nice experience as i really enjoyed the space, and probably a must try if you're into truffles. However, the menu is somewhat limited (if you ever see me order lobster you'll know i couldn't find anything else on the menu) and the food served is not necessarily my 'style', but i'd go back again if i was going out with some people that like that type of food.

Two comments to note: upon entering there was a little "tiff" going on between 2 staff members (bartender/hostess and owner/matre d'... not really sure who was who).... it was nothing major but you could tell they were each frustrated with each other, something about a soda sitting there and who was going to do what with it, not something i as a customer needed to see. The other thing was the upstairs room i believe is usually 2 or 3 larger tables, but being Valentine's Day they broke the tables up into 6 or 7 tables of 2. The result was none of the staff knowing what table was to receive what food/drinks. I witnessed at least 6 times food/drink/dessert being brought to the wrong table, those customers saying that they didn't order that, then the server looking puzzled, going to the next table, and repeating the process until the food/drink found its appropriate owner.

[tommy]

nice write-up, thereuare.

black truffles are normally served. i think that they are an aquired taste. not for everyone. sometimes, to me, they can come across as soapy.

i didn't realize this place had an upstairs! i wish i could find my notes on the one time that i went there. i remember thinking it was OK, but not worth the price. (if the place was BYOB it would have probably gotten more attention from me)

[RockADS21]

Had dinner at Pierre's in Morristown last night. Proof that a well run/well-staffed restaurant can handle a busier than normal evening such as Valentine's Day. Our meal was very good from the start. We shared appetizers of duck foire gois and a crabmeat canape - both were exceptional. For entrees my wife had a lobster dish which had a wonderful cream sauce and I had a rack of lamb. The meat was cooked perfectly and finished with a great reduction...however the cut seemed to be rather fatty - to our chefs here - is this common with a good cut of lamb? I am curious because the meat was very tender - melt in your mouth type- and I was wondering whether it is cooked without trimming the fat for extra flavor or did I just happen to get a fatty piece? Desserts were also very good - I had a pouched pear in a red wine sauce which was a perfect finish...service was fine - especially considering the evening. One side note - I noticed when I first looked at the menu that they were adding an 18% service charge to all tabs. When they bought my credit card receipt the 18% had already been added on the tip line...it also did not have a line for an additional tip...I havent seen this before for a party of only 2 - has anyone else encountered such on a special occasion day? In a way it could be a disservice to the waitstaff as I generally tip 20% for good service...in any event the entire meal with one glass of wine and a dessert wine with tip included was $133.

Edited February 15, 2003 by RockADS21 (log)

[Rail Paul]

One side note - I noticed when I first looked at the menu that they were adding an 18% service charge to all tabs. When they bought my credit card receipt the 18% had already been added on the tip line...it also did not have a line for an additional tip...I havent seen this before for a party of only 2 - has anyone else encountered such on a special occasion day? In a way it could be a disservice to the waitstaff as I generally tip 20% for good service...in any event the entire meal with one glass of wine and a dessert wine with tip included was $133.

This may be new, or special for the Valentine's Day event.

I don't recall the tip already added when I visited there last Fall. That would have stood out.

If I had ordered a bottle or two of wine, I would probably have adjusted the tip. I don't normally tip 18% on bottles of wine, if I do the selecting and the waiter takes my order.

[Lreda]

Rack of Lamb shouldn't be fatty at all if well trimed. Before it's cut between the bones the fat between should be removed, also along the top side there is usually a thin sinuey (sic) line of fat that also should be removed.

Question for all that dined last night. How long did everyone wait with reservations? I was booked last night from 5-10pm but the longest anyone waited was 15 minutes and that was a party of 6, otherwise I only had 2 parties of 4 wait 5 minutes. In the back of my mind last night when I got home I thought to myself I could have slightly overbooked and made a little more cash but was happy that I had no one screaming at me that they had to wait.

Lou

[RockADS21]

Lou - thanks for the info...this was along the top and was a bit more than what I would consider thin...oh well...that is what my knife and fork are for right...again the meat was very good - that was the only detraction...We had an 8:00 reservation and waited around 10 minutes for our table...

[thereuare]

nice write-up, thereuare.

i didn't realize this place had an upstairs!  i wish i could find my notes on the one time that i went there.  i remember thinking it was OK, but not worth the price.  (if the place was BYOB it would have probably gotten more attention from me)

Thanks, i'll try to be more active around here again, but i've been busy putting together a board of my own for people that use Priceline and Hotwire for hotels (it's a database so that users can figure out the hotels they are likely to get before buying). I guess i owe a thank you to the Perlow's as i am using an Invision Board which i learned about here. I mostly started it to see if i could learn how to do it, but in just 2 weeks it's done well, and it's been taking up a lot of my time/energy.

Anyway, i digress....

We went there about 1 month after opening and couldn't get a table as the place only had 4 tables for 4 at that time. They have since expanded and taken over the building next door, which is kind of neat, as you can still "see" how it used to be an old brownstone-type apartment (ie- case in point, the narrow stairway). I'd guess they now have about 15 tables (2/4 tops downstairs) and the area upstairs.

We had 2 glasses of wine each, and they were quite generous servings! Knowing the 'atmosphere' there i suspected they would be about $10-$12/each, but i was pleasantly surprised when the 4 glasses were $28. Our total bill for the 3 entrees (one split as appetizer), drinks, no dessert, including tip was $145.

We had a 9:00 reservation, arrived at 8:55, and were seated by 9:05.

NOTE:

Can't believe i forgot to mention this earlier! We drove to the restaurant last nite and on the way we passed Lady Jane's, and appears that it has now closed!! Not that i have been there in a few years, but it was a place i enjoyed and had recommended to others. Even worse though... it doesn't look just "closed", there is a mesh fence around it now, and looks as if (i'm guessing) the building is going to be built higher and turned into condos :(

Rosie, have you heard anything?

Edited February 15, 2003 by thereuare (log)

[tommy]

NOTE:

Can't believe i forgot to mention this earlier!  We drove to the restaurant last nite and on the way we passed Lady Jane's, and  appears that it has now closed!!  Not that i have been there in a few years, but it was a place i enjoyed and had recommended to others.  Even worse though... it doesn't look just "closed", there is a mesh fence around it now, and looks as if (i'm guessing) the building is going to be built higher and turned into condos :(

Rosie, have you heard anything?

that is *very* bad news. lady jane's has been one of my favorite spots in hoboken since i was 19 years old. it was one of the last holdouts of the hoboken of the 80's. wow. that sucks.

hopefully, the owner, tom, got a bundle of money somehow someway. but i'm guessing he didn't own the building and might have just ended up closing the doors.

[Rosie]

Haven't heard anything about Lady Jane's. Will ask around.

[Helena Robinson]

Had dinner at Pierre's in Morristown last night. Proof that a well run/well-staffed restaurant can handle a busier than normal evening such as Valentine's Day.

One side note - I noticed when I first looked at the menu that they were adding an 18% service charge to all tabs. When they bought my credit card receipt the 18% had already been added on the tip line...it also did not have a line for an additional tip...I havent seen this before for a party of only 2 - has anyone else encountered such on a special occasion day? In a way it could be a disservice to the waitstaff as I generally tip 20% for good service...in any event the entire meal with one glass of wine and a dessert wine with tip included was $133.

We dined at Pierre's for New Year's Eve 1999-2000 and they automatically added the 18 percent. If you want to give something more to a particular server, you could consider giving the "extra" in cash (as we may have done on one holiday some years ago).

Alas, our service was barely worth the standard 15 (and we'll also tip 20 percent for good service). We had a later reservation (by the time we got around to deciding where to go, this was the best we could get, so we couldn't complain) and service just lagged and lagged; which was unusual for this place. Upon talking with Maryann at the end of the meal, we learned that some "extra help" had been brought in for the night. This was no doubt wise, but not good for us.

To make matters worse, we didn't get out until just after 11 p.m. and it took longer than usual due to the fog on 287. Wouldn't you know it, there was a cop at the last traffic light a mile from our house - and we got stuck waiting for the red light to change. (Had he hadn't been sitting there, we would've gone thru the lite on the deserted road.) We missed seeing the ball drop on TV by about 5 minutes - and they didn't replay it!

Glad you had a nice dinner! We're hoping not to be snowed out from ours at Stage Left tomorrow! (Kim, we'll be comparing notes...)

Edited February 15, 2003 by Helena Robinson (log)