Ethnic Groceries & Restaurants in Jersey City??

[tommy]

11) Italian - Hoboken

is hoboken really very italian anymore? i never considered it a destination spot for italian food. aside from 4 or 5 delis, a cheesesteak place, leo's, and my old landlord, i can't think of much italian in hoboken. obviously that wasn't the case 50 years ago.

[scott123]

This is why I was a bit curious about the halal butcher. Actually, I generally find them superior places for chicken and lamb too - if you're not bothered about buying organic. Nowadays (we have kids) I only go for the things I listed earlier, but you should try buying chicken or lamb at a halal store sometime - they trim it wonderfully and exactly to your liking. And that spiced chicken mince I mentioned earlier - kebabs in two minutes - cannot be beat.

I have to admit that the first time you mentioned the minced spiced chicken, my mouth started watering. I don't get to that area very often, but the next time I do, some kebab meat will be involved. And the chicken/lamb is a great lead as well. Do they have good ground lamb? My favorite Indian restaurant makes an unbelievable lamb kofta that I'm hoping to replicate. At the moment I'm hell bent on replicating my favorite Chicken Tikka Masala :)

Secondly, I have just started cooking food from the general region quite regularly thanks to a really great cookbook.

Thanks also for the lead on that cookbook. Your offer to share your experiences is exceedingly kind. As I have a long list of cuisines to tackle, it could be some time before I begin my Middle Eastern journey. Would you be willing to share you experiences with me/this forum before I obtain the book? It sounds like you have something wonderful to share - I would hate for you to delay it on my account.

And speaking of Iranian food... does anyone have a lead on Iranian cumin in this area? After reading Jeffrey Steingarten's article on the availability of black market camembert, I was hoping that Iranian cumin might be available somewhere.

Finally, the tip for Las Palmas is excellent! A bit of snooping has revealed that it's a prized center of Cuban community affairs. It's an odd thing, this area has more Cubans than any other part of the USA save the Miami area, but with the exception of the old locality in Elizabeth I really don't know any neighborhood that could be called Cuban. I know that El Bambi, the shockingly well-supplied baby-gear store on Bergenline is also owned by Cubans so I'm wondering if West New York is one place to explore. Enquiries will be made!

I agree with your assessment that although there seems to be a large Cuban population, it doesn't seem to be concentrated in one single area. My best guess as to the root of this could be the historic timeline involved. Since the bulk of Cuban immigration occured when Castro came into power, enough time has passed to alter concentrations of Cuban Americans. But, like I said, that's just a guess.

And lastly, if you do go to Las Palmas, stay away from the desserts - nothing special. The suckling pig might be good, but since it's kept on display all day long, I'd get there early in the day :)

[bhelpuri]

s hoboken really very italian anymore? i never considered it a destination spot for italian food. aside from 4 or 5 delis, a cheesesteak place, leo's, and my old landlord, i can't think of much italian in hoboken. obviously that wasn't the case 50 years ago.

It is true that Hoboken does not feature stores selling 'Kiss me, I'm Italian' bumper stickers and '100% Goomba' t-shirts, or at least I haven't discovered them.

And, honestly, I wouldn't particularly recommend an Italian restaurant there.

However, it does have a couple of really good - at good as anything across the river - salumerias/Italian delis. There is Piccininni, for one, and Vito's has outstanding fresh 'mooz'. Even better, there are at least two very solid Italian butchers, Trulio's and the very popular Joe's Prime Meats. There is also a good fishmonger - Apicella - which beats everything in the vicinity, short of Newark's Ironbound. So, in terms of finding Italian ingredients, it's quite primo.

And then there are the many Italian restaurants, most of which I have not tried. We cook that kind of food at home 2-3 times a week at home, and nothing in that town has jumped out at me, so if we actually eat out in Hoboken it's generally at the (decent) Malaysian restaurant on Washington or at the (good) nuevo Latino Zafra.

[tommy]

There is Piccininni, for one,

is Piccininni new? i've never heard of it. what type of stuff do they carry? might be worth a stop.

[bhelpuri]

Scott,

I don't get to that area very often, but the next time I do, some kebab meat will be involved. And the chicken/lamb is a great lead as well. Do they have good ground lamb?

Well, I went to the Indian strip on Newark this afternoon, and amused myself by scouting it out for someone who speaks no Hindi, and just wants to take advantage of the packed little area's groceries, restaurants, and butchers. And hairstylists, you don't by any chance want a $8 haircut at the loving hands of a transplanted Nepali aspiring film actress do you? If so, I know just the person.

Anyway, here are some photos of a little of what's new/fresh/really good in the groceries this weekend -

and my favorite -

and here's some of what I ate (incredibly cheaply) for lunch -

and here's the new menu/list at the halal place, I made enquiries for you and Mohammed Wasim is ready to gently guide neophytes !

---

Hope that whets your appetite. When I manage to make some time - perhaps late this evening - I'll post considerably more on the attractions of this Jersey City locality.

[bhelpuri]

is Piccininni new? i've never heard of it. what type of stuff do they carry? might be worth a stop.

I don't know if it's new, it's been there as long as I've been going into Hoboken regularly - about four years.

Sells your whole range of imported goods, fresh bread, all the sausages and other cured meats, and then the fresh and smoked mozzarella. For some reason, don't ask me why because I don't know, Hoboken's two-three good Italian grocery stores really pride themselves on the fresh 'mooz' and the quality is uniformly very high, certainly not beatable across the river.

[scott123]

I think that's the best looking okra I've ever seen. Which reminds me, it's time to make some gumbo.

I have to admit that I know little about unripe mangos. Besides chutneys what are they used for? What does one look for when choosing an unripe mango?

[bhelpuri]

I have to admit that I know little about unripe mangos.

Scott,

These unripe mangoes are sold specifically for making into pickles (achars). There are many many different versions and recipes. They don't ripen, particularly.

I think that's the best looking okra I've ever seen

Here is something you should know about Indian grocery stores in general, and J. City in particular.

Certain vegetables, those which are prized in indian cooking, are always better at the decent Indian groceries. If a store has a fair amount of business and regular turn-over, they will buy their groceries from specific distributors which serve the rapidly growing (and very particular) Indian community in the tri-state area.

Thus, as a rule, you will always get the best okra, eggplant, green beans, coriander/cilantro and ginger at Indian stores. In general, the prices for these will also be better than at your "regular" supermarket or grocery.

My okra, by the way, becomes what is pictured below - one of my all-time favorite vegetable preparations. Yum. yum.

[scott123]

Thus, as a rule, you will always get the best okra, eggplant, green beans, coriander/cilantro and ginger at Indian stores. In general, the prices for these will also be better than at your "regular" supermarket or grocery.

It's funny, although I've always shopped for spices/paneer at my Indian grocer, I've never bought much produce there. In the last couple of weeks this has changed dramatically. I don't own a digital camera (yet) but the cauliflower I bought was a work of art and a third of the price I pay at my supermarket. The onions they carry are a little bit small, but the garlic and ginger are excellent, and, like the cauliflower a fraction of the cost. Lemons and limes are also a huge bargain.

Would you post your okra recipe?

[glenn]

Nixienox, someone mentioned -- actually raved about -- La Gloria de Mexico on Palisade by Congress. Have you heard of it? Supposed to be authentic Mexican.

[nixienox]

Nixienox, someone mentioned -- actually raved about -- La Gloria de Mexico on Palisade by Congress. Have you heard of it? Supposed to be authentic Mexican.

Cinco de Mayo gets most of our business when we want Mexican. They have a larger menu, with more interesting choices and good specials. Gloria does a good tamale, if you can get it fresh. They have pretty good enchiladas too, and the service is very sweet (even complete with a grandmother eager to hold babies.) There are some qualifiers to the Gloria experience, one being an enormous screen on karaoke default tunes, played at extreme volume. And a certain inconsistency (like being out of those tamales) and a dish being fine one visit, and not so the next. But I hope they succeed there, and put some money back into the restaurant. And it's great to have a place to walk to on summer evenings. And late last summer is probably when I was last there.

[markk]

You mention these 'special orders'. What do I need to do to take advantage of them, and what else do they have besides the crabs? Also, I assume they're extra (the buffet is inarguably cheap), how much?

They buy everything to order (which is why the crabs and such are so good), so you really have to arrange with them in advance and the best way is to stop in. They need a week's notice (since I don't think they go to Chinatown every day). That may not work for you, but for me knowing that on a particular day I'm going to have crabs and a vegetable is perfect for me. They may even want you to pay in advance if they haven't known you for years - I don't know about this, but I would think that was reasonable too. So I would suggest stopping in one day and seeing if you can arrange this. I've been doing this for a long time and am very comfortable with it. It saves me a trip to Chinatown for these foods, and the quality is some of the best as well.