Cuban in Hoboken

[jwjojo]

Today's NYTimes did an article about Zafra and her other restaurant Cucharamama. What a rave!! Forget about Fri. and Sat. nights there now.

[thereuare]

La Conguita ... service seemed spotty.

This may be one of the biggest understatements on this board.

Gave it a try tonite and was quite pleased. Every town has a place like this and it's just a matter of trying enough of the 'hole in the walls' until you find the gem.. and this is it.

Although service was lackluster to say the least, i will return here (often) as i thoroughly enjoyed my chicken sandwich and it was a great bang for the buck ($1 for those empanadas... i'll make a meal of them next time!). La Isla's food has a bit more flavor to it, but La Conguita doesn't have the salt content leaving me thirsty for the rest of the nite.

I look forward to enjoy a more complete meal here next time.

[glenn]

La Conguita ... service seemed spotty.

This may be one of the biggest understatements on this board.

I've been there 3 times since the above post hoping to prove this statement wrong. Unfortunately, with each visit, it just got worse. The food is good and cheap, but not again for me except when the place is empty.

First off, what a waste of a liquor license! Last time (Thursday) was the first time I ordered wine. There is no wine list or no mention they serve wine on the menu. Probably with good reason. So I asked about the selection and received, "red and white." Me - "okay, red." A solid 5 minutes later, it was served ice cold and was awful! When I say ice cold, I'm not exaggerating.

Then they forgot one of the appetizers and served the wrong one for the 2nd one. Anabelle's entree was served about 5 minutes before mine. I was starved and ended up sharing her steak, which was excellent. The final straw was my entree of pork was served sans rice and beans that I ordered. I was told it'll just be a minute. The waiter forgot about it and I never got it. And I was too lazy to go looking for him. Again.

It was a joke and frankly, I couldn't get angry because it was so absurd. I collared the waiter one last time to get a check. I think he is part of the family of owners. I asked him what gives. He kind of apologetically said that they needed more help. While that might be true, they need someone there who knows how to manage the place. You can add 10 more staff and I don't think it would make a difference. They're used to being a hole in the wall lunch place and still have that mentality.

I'm really rooting for them. They have the potential to be a real winner and just need a compass to show them the way.