La Batalla, Bergenfield

[Jason Perlow]

We happened upon this 5-month old Mexico-city style diner in Bergenfield only yesterday -- and after my second visit, this is now my favorite Mexican restaurant in Bergen County.

Located on N. Washington Ave in Bergenfield across the street from the Pudgies chicken and only about a block from CustardThing (a newly renovated icecream place that used to be called Maggies, well worth going to), Cinco de Mayo is an old greasy spoon diner thats been re-purposed into a Mexican restaurant. It has a full sized counter area and about 5 tables, and its not a pretty looking place -- its old, beat up, and quite frankly a bit grungy looking. The kitchen is completely open, with an old Vulcan commercial stove running at full blast at all times. On early Sunday afternoon, this place was packed with Mexican soccer players.

The restaurant is run by a guy named Santiago -- who used to be one of the managers at the very respectable El Bandito in Spring Valley, NY. All of the cooks are from Puebla. They make a mean mole sauce -- appropriately smokey and on the savory side, not sweet. I'd recommend getting the mole with chicken, because when they tried it the first time with chuletas (thin pork chops on the bone) it got way overcooked. Their tacos, if you order "tacos mexicanos" are the real deal - a layer of two griddled corn tortillas with the meat topping of your choice (steak, chicken, spicy pork, chorizo) with a pile of chopped up cilantro and onion -- NO CHEESE. Chipotle hot sauce is served on the side in a squeeze bottle. The default menu is for Americanos -- if you order regular tacos you'll get the stiff shell kind. Skip this and go to the specials, or order the Tacos Mexicanos. Or let Santiago steer you to the good stuff.

They also have flautas and taquitos and all the other important stuff -- on Saturday night, we had their "botana" platter which had nachos, flautas, taquitos, and chalupas and homemade guacamole on it. All the real deal. By far we liked the flautas and taquitos the best. Also, be sure not to miss their chicken soup -- this is filled with shredded chicken, is appropriately spicy and hearty, in a thin tomato/chicken broth with rice. They also have many specials on the board, including fish and shrimp dishes, as well as steak done in several kinds of sauces. If you manage not to be filled after your meal, make sure to order the sweet chalupas -- these are rolled up flour tortillas with banana on the inside, fried, with syrup, whipped cream and powdered sugar on the top. Outstanding.

Also of note is their sodas -- they have practically every type of Mexican soda here, in glass bottles, that you can possibly want -- in addition to the standard Jarritos stuff, they've got Squirt, and mexican Coke and Pepsi, and Senorial, and that apple soda stuff, and the whole line of "Boing" bottled juices. Plus a few other kinds I don't recall offhand.

We liked this place so much we came back the next day for breakfast on Sunday morning -- I ordered their huevos rancheros, and rachel had the chilequiles. The rancheros are among the best I have ever had -- this is served BUBBLING HOT with green chile sauce on the top with a pile of ground fresh chorizo sausage, accompanied with rice and refried beans. Rachel's chilequiles were the real deal -- tortilla chips in a casserole baked in an oven with green chile sauce, shredded chicken and melted cheese.

If you want real Mexican food, this place is the REAL DEAL. Go. Now. It looks a little scary on the inside, but dont let this dissuade you.

La Batalla (formerly Cinco de Mayo)

201-385-0303 (they deliver locally)

83 N. Washington Ave

Bergenfield, NJ

[Peter B Wolf]

Oye hombre, como tu sabes esto es el autentico Mexicano. Talvez el sabor de todas las comidas es muy sabroso y tambien delicado, pero quien puede decir es como es debe ser?

[Jason Perlow]

Well, when I spent a summer in Mexico in '85, this is pretty damn close to the food I ate.

[Peter B Wolf]

I was just kidding you Jason.

And trying to impress you with my 'Castellano"

[Rachel Perlow]

Jason forgot to say the guacamole was excellent. I had the fish special on Saturday night. It was good, with lots of fresh veggies. We've got to find out if they offer black beans, but the refried pintos were better than average. I loved my chilequiles, finally satisfied that craving I've been having for about five years, ever since the Mexican place in Chatham stopped doing breakfast. If you intend on ordering it, I do recommend you refrain from filling up on the tortillas & salsa before it arrives.

The Tacos Mexicanos include Cecina (Aged Beef), Chorizo, Bistec, Carne Enchilada, Pollo, Lengua (tongue) and Cabeza de Res (Beef Head), $2.00 each.

Cinco De Mayo

201-385-0303 (they deliver locally)

83 N. Washington Ave

Bergenfield, NJ

[Jaymes]

Wow. Oye your own self.

This place sounds so good I'm almost jealous.

Almost.

[pnapoli]

oh boy.........i am so there.

[pnapoli]

great flautas, great guac, great chips. my only complaint with my chicken tacos mexicanos was that they used cubes of chicken breast instead of a combo of shredded dark and white meat (which was used in the flautas). but they were still quite tasty. my favorite 'authentic' mexican remains taco taco in NYC, but this was good. i'll be back to try the mole soon!

[Rachel Perlow]

Good to know, we hadn't yet had the chicken taco there. Perhaps if you ask for the shredded chicken they'll give it to you. Who knows, they may respect you more too.

[shugga]

While riding down Broadway in Hillsdale today, I noticed a small luncheonette with a paper sign in the window that said "Cinco De Mayo". Wonder if it is owned by the same people.

[jhlurie]

While riding down Broadway in Hillsdale today, I noticed a small luncheonette with a paper sign in the window that said "Cinco De Mayo".  Wonder if it is owned by the same people.

I'll bet a lot of Mexican places have the name "Cinco De Mayo". I'm pretty sure there's a place in Fort Lee called that. Citysearch says Brooklyn, NY and Seaside Heights, NJ have them too.

Of course that paper sign could have just been an "ad" left up from around the time of May 5th.

[Jason Perlow]

Actually, Santiago told me they have another restaurant, but I am not sure if it is in Hillsdale or not.

[stolio]

the menbu sounds identical to the one in Hillsdale, most def the same owners. They also own a small grocery store in Hillsdale a block up the street. This used to be the taqueria, but they grew out of it. It's funny that the place the moved in to in Hillsdale is also a converted "diner" with only counter seating. Food is very good if you are a big fan of cilantro. The aged beef seemed a bit to salty for me. Rumor is that Cafe Capri pwill also become a Mexican resaurant as well. I don't know if this will be the same owners, but it is supposed to be a bit more upscale. Blue Moon is prob not very happy, but I think their food is pretty generic anyway, although they do use quality ingredients. Drinks are very good at Blue Moon, though. As I mentioned on here before, a hole in the wall in Garfield serves delicious tacos and Burrito. His a different from Cinco in that he grills onions with the meat for his tacos and douces it with his "special sauce" (won't release recipe.) The sauces is def a little salty but I can't really tell what it is. He serves them with salsa(a fresh chopped pico de gallo, big chunks) marinated onions(lime juice, oil, cilantro, and more secrets) and a home made hot sauce with a thick consistency. It's pink, I couldn't tell you what's in it. He also serves a Papa Carne, I think that's what he calls it. He says its a tradtional Mexican dish. Baked Potato, cilantro, sour cream, and carne asada. It's a shame because the guy who runs this really knows food but he is stuck in a bad location and I'm not sure it will survive. Please support if you are in the area, because I want this place to be there for a long time. I'm really hooked on his food. Marley's Munchies, Lanza Ave. Sorry I don't have the address, but it is on the north side toards Midland ave.

[Rail Paul]

The aged beef seemed a bit to salty for me.

THAT sounds interesting, Can you provide more back gound? Are we talking aged and concentrated beefy texture?

Mexicans tend not to age beef, so this could be a big-time find.

Hey, Stolio, welcome aboard, where else do you like to eat?

[Rachel Perlow]

Jason had some tacos with the aged beef yesterday. I tasted a bit of the meat and also found it salty, but also quite beefy. Jason enjoyed it. We'll see if we can get some more details on our next visit.

Parking Tip: If you're there after banking hours there is a bank right next door to the restaurant with a big parking lot.

Edited June 28, 2003 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[stolio]

I'm really a grease pit guy but I like nice restaurants as well. Some favorites are Bruschetta in Fairfield and Radicchio in Ridgewood (although they seem to have fallen off) I love Hanami in Westwood for Chinese, not a huge fan of Golden Dynasty. Chengdu 46 is good but not worth the price. For Mexican, Mexicali Rose in Montclair, although they charge for chips and salsa. Baja and El Bandido also. Oh, and Fiesta CAncun on 303. I love it there. You can sit outside. I also like the Sidewalk Cafe in Piermont for Tex-Mex for the same reason. And, the mango margueritas. Pasta Cucina in Rockland is good for relatively inexpensive Italian with a fair wine list. Sutter's Mill across the street has good burgers, but Arthur's is still the best. Iron horse makes a decent burger too. God, when you're writing about this, one thing leads to another. Today, I went to the beach. PPB first. Martell's for steamed shrimp with old bay in a bucket. Very good. I usually get the cajun shrimp there which I adore, but the bucket of steamed shrimp were new to the menu and just as delicious. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the corn on the cob as well. Chippy's Fries, across the way. Then we were down to Seaside for 2 Midway cheesesteaks. There is a special place in my heart for those suckers. Then to Kohr's for Rasberry Vanilla swirl. By the way, has anyone seen the Sawmill lately. They are in the middle of a complete renovation. Looks great so far. Well, that's it for now. Now you know a little bit about me.

[stolio]

I forgot to mention Rudy's in Closter. I love the food there.

[jsibley]

I believe that the way you make Cecina is that you cut beef thinly, salt it, and put it out in the sun for a while, making it salty and a bit funky, by design. That's the way I remember it.

[Jason Perlow]

Here's some pics of our meal at Cinco de Mayo this evening:

Exterior Sign

Interior of Cinco de Mayo

Taco de Carne Enchilada (Spicy Pork)

Torta de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Sandwich)

Festival de Camarones (Shrimp, in a multitude of sauces)

Chalupas de Pollo on the grill

Lengua de Toro (Beef Tongue) being prepared for Tacos

The Cinco de Mayo Crew

Jukebox

A selection of Mexican "refrescos"

Bunuelo, a whole wheat tortilla dessert with syrup and whipped cream

[tommy]

i can see how this might give the place in Teaneck a run for its money. and for God's sake jason, get a flash. that pretty lady is all blurry.

[Jason Perlow]

i can see how this might give the place in Teaneck a run for its money.  and for God's sake jason, get a flash.  that pretty lady is all blurry. 

Yeah, that pic wasnt taken in flash. The others I did shots of flash with and without and posted the ones that looked the best.

By the way, her name is Gaby, and she's cute, yeah.

[KatieLoeb]

i can see how this might give the place in Teaneck a run for its money.  and for God's sake jason, get a flash.  that pretty lady is all blurry. 

First of all - which place in Teaneck?

Second of all - where were all these great places to eat while I was spending my first 18 years in Teaneck? Damn!

[Jason Perlow]

i can see how this might give the place in Teaneck a run for its money.  and for God's sake jason, get a flash.  that pretty lady is all blurry. 

First of all - which place in Teaneck?

Second of all - where were all these great places to eat while I was spending my first 18 years in Teaneck? Damn!

He's referring to El Gran Mexicano (web page), which is on Main Street in Bogota, not Teaneck.

Edited July 8, 2003 by Jason Perlow (log)

[tommy]

He's referring to El Gran Mexicano, which is on Main Street in Bogota, not Teaneck.

yeah whatever.

thanks for that though. i always get those two confused. one has the pickle place, the other doesn't. it's just all baffling.

[KatieLoeb]

He's referring to El Gran Mexicano (web page), which is on Main Street in Bogota, not Teaneck.

I'm stilled bummed that none of this stuff was around when I lived there! No Pickleicious, no Fink's, no good real Mexican, etc. It's become so cosmopolitan! It was just a sleepy suburb when I grew up there