La Posada - closed

[Jason Perlow]

It can usually be said that great Spanish and Mexican food can not usually be found in the same place at the same time, but it seems I've found an exception.

La Posada, on 368 Cedar Lane in Teaneck (201)287-0412, is co-owned by a Spanish man from Galicia and a Mexican gentleman from Mexico City, and the food is prepared by their wives. The restaurant is small but nicely decorated in earth tones, with both mexican and spanish artwork adorning the walls.

We went with the intention of having Spanish food that evening. I've generally been disappointed with Spanish food served outside of Newark, but this place had 3 stars from the Bergen Record, so my interest was piqued. The menu has two sides to it, a Spanish side and a Mexican side, and there are appetizers and main courses on both sides. All of the dishes we ordered last night were on the spanish side -- for starters, we had the sauteed chorizo sausage, which was of really good quality meat, very tasty, and a fine example, but not necessarily as spicy to my liking -- I asked the owner where he gets it, and he explained to me it was from an authentic spanish butcher in Jersey City, and being Galician, he prefers the less spicy type typical of the region -- apprently in Ironbound, most butchers prepare it in the Portuguese fashion, which has more spices in it.

For main dishes, we all went on a garlic binge -- I ordered the garlic shrimp, rachel had the garlic chicken, and jhlurie had the pork chops with garlic sauce. All of the dishes came with vegetables and rice, but we ordered a plate of papa fritas for the table, which were freshly made, cut in french fry style and fried in vegetable oil -- these were excellent.

All of our dishes were very, very good -- however unlike most places you would find in Newark, all the dishes were plated and presented with the vegetables and rice and dish itself -- there were no clunky cast iron pans on the table, which was an elegant touch. The vegetables (carrots, potatoes and broccoli and cauliflower) were blanched and cooked just right, and were not overdone at all, which a lot of spanish places tend to do. Each plate also had a nice mound of yellow rice on it, which was quite tasty and I belieive had real saffron in it.

My plate was filled with plenty of small shrimp sauteed in olive oil with a ton of garlic and a little bit of chili pepper, simple but excellent. Rachel's chicken ajillo was all breast meat, cut into peices and sauteed in a savory garlic gravy, perfectly cooked and tender. Jhlurie got two nice size pork chops, which was in a similar sauce to rachels -- also tender and perfectly cooked.

At some point toward the end of the meal, we struck up a conversation with both of the owners, and I inquired about the mole poblano sauce on the menu -- which any self-respecting Mexican restaurant who goes through the trouble to make should be proud of, as its a very time intensive and very difficult sauce to make, and there are no less than thousands of combinations. The national dish of Mexico, its a combination of several kinds of dried chiles (usually Ancho, Mulato, Guajillo and Pasilla), and has other complex flavor elements in it including cocoa, anise and cinnamon  -- to some it may taste kind of strange, and its definitely an acquired taste. Its normally served over chicken or pork or in tacos.  In any case, we were treated to a tasting of their various sauces on their crusty bread -- their mole sauce is nothing short of one of the best examples I have ever tasted -- spicy, very savory, sweet, and yet bitter at the same time, I'm definitely looking forward to ordering this the next time I am there. We also tried their Guajillo and Adobado sauces -- the guajillo sauce, orange in color, was a little sweet but also somewhat on the spicy side -- the adobado on the other hand, which was of a similar preparation but a little thicker was VERY spicy, and any self-respecting chile-head would approve of.  After trying these 3 sauces I feel confident in saying that their Mexican food is probably very good indeed, as a lot of care is going into their sauce preparation.  

We went on a friday night at about 9PM, and the place was mostly empty -- run, do not hesitate to go to this place if you are looking for top notch Spanish and Mexican food in Bergen County.

[jhlurie]

In the spirit of a balanced review, I'll point out that the Salsa with which we started the meal was not very impressive.  It was fresh--with all the right ingredients--but the proportions were off.  It seemed a bit flat, and I am NOT saying that because it wasn't a spicy variety.  It was just totally uninteresting, especially compared to some of the Mexican sauces we were fed later as samples.

Since the Chorizo appetizer was not as spicy as either Jason or I favored it (although Rachel was extremely happy with the less spicy recipe), we had lowered expectations by the time the entrees arrived.

But they were superb.  I think the Pork Chops were the winner, but then again I don't like Shrimp.  I tried Rachel's Pollo Ajillo, and have to admit that it was one of the better versions I've had (and didn't suffer at all from being served off the bone...).   The Papas Fritas were the best I've had outside of Newark, and while I normally dislike blanched vegetables, they counteracted the generously Garliced main courses quite well.

Jason briefly mentioned the plating, and while I'm about the last person on the face of the earth to think about effective plating, it was done so well that even an ignoramus like me could see it.   The portions were EXACTLY the right size.  The distribution of meat (or shrimp) to the vegetables was correct, and the presentation was very attractive.  The main courses were not stuck in those big ugly tureens, which not only hog all of your tablespace, but also cause the remainder of the entree to continue to get overcooked.

Jay's hit this one with a bullseye.  Despite my inherent scepticism at seeing a good three year old Bergen Record review in the window, this place is indeed worth it.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jay & I returned to La Posada again last night. This time we tried some of the mexican food. As an appetizer we shared the Queso Flameado, which is a mixture of melted cheese, mushrooms, shrimp and jalapeno. It was very good as a dip for the tortilla chips, but was very filling, so it is better shared between 3 or 4 people rather than 2. We each had enchiladas. I had the chicken with green sauce, Jason had a mixture of chicken & chorizo with mole sauce. Both were excellent versions. So far the only dissapointment in this place has been the complimentary salsa (the pico de gallo served with the main course was very good though), every dish we have ordered has been excellent.

The staff/owners are so friendly too. Jason was even given a tour of the kitchen after his conversation about preparing mole sauce with one of them.

I really urge anyone in interested to try this place. It never seems to have many patrons and it deserves your business.

[Rachel Perlow]

Has anyone else gotten to this place yet?

[201]

It's on my "To Eat" list for this week!  That's more substantial than my "To Do" list, because those things don't always get done.  My impressions will probably go under the North Jersey Mexican topic later this week.

[kelly]

We go every few months, whenever we find ourselves with a babysitter.

All this talk of food - lets' talk Sangria- It's wonderful .

On the weekends, usually Saturday - there is a singer.

In Teaneck, most resturaunts are slow on Friday Night- It's the Sabbath for many in Teaneck.

[201]

Well I finally got to this place last night and I must say I will certainly be visiting again. I agree with the Perlows about the salsa being lackluster, but everything else was very tasty. I ordered the chile poblano relleno as an appetizer and found it to have a nice level of heat, though the pepper was a bit softer than I generally prefer. For entreés, I had the pollo adobado and my friend had the paella valenciana. The paella was a large serving (as it should be!) and contained a 1/2 lobster, numerous clams, and other items that disappeared into my friend's mouth before I could catalog them. I didn't find the adobado sauce to be very spicy, but I did enjoy its flavor very much... sort of a second cousin to mole sauce, which makes me very excited to try La Posada's rendition of the latter. The rice and beans that accompanied my chicken were excellent. Service was very attentive and helpful with suggestions. I had a delicious mango sorbet for dessert after the waitress suggested it as being much more flavorful than the apple sorbet.

The atmosphere was very relaxed, primarily because it was an surprisingly slow Saturday night (about four other tables, though it was late: 9:30 pm). After dinner, my friend asked if he was allowed to smoke and the waitress checked with the other table in our section who were more than happy to accomodate by asking if they could smoke as well. We were told that the restaurant has live music on Friday nights, not Saturdays. In any event, I'll be back again soon, but it's going to be for the food rather than the music.

[Jason Perlow]

BTW, the last time we went to La Posada, they started to use a different supplier of Chorizo -- this time, it was the spicy, crumbly Mexican kind. Very good, and more to Jhlurie's liking.

[201]

BTW, the last time we went to La Posada, they started to use a different supplier of Chorizo -- this time, it was the spicy, crumbly Mexican kind. Very good, and more to Jhlurie's liking.

I'm soooooo there! Thanks for the tip!

[finker99]

I haven't been to La Posada in a couple of years, but remember every one in my family enjoying everything, being disapointed in the salsa and liking everything else, my dad had the mole chicken and loved it. Side note: I don't know if this is still accurate but I believe at one point the mexican half of the partnership is related to the owners of gran mexicano in bogota, again, this was a couple of years ago and things may have changed since

Fink

[kelly]

La Posada is still closed.. I am hoping that they will reopen.

[kelly]

It's Closed- gone. It will not reopen.

[201]

It's Closed- gone. It will not reopen.

What the F?!?!

I thought they were just closed for vacation. Now I see what you mean about the non-Kosher restaurants in Teaneck closing. Well, I guess I don't have any reason to go to Teaneck anymore.

This is depressing.

[Jason Perlow]

It's Closed- gone. It will not reopen.

What the F?!?!

I thought they were just closed for vacation. Now I see what you mean about the non-Kosher restaurants in Teaneck closing. Well, I guess I don't have any reason to go to Teaneck anymore.

This is depressing.

fuck! I really liked that place.

[kelly]

It's Closed- gone. It will not reopen.

What the F?!?!

I thought they were just closed for vacation. Now I see what you mean about the non-Kosher restaurants in Teaneck closing. Well, I guess I don't have any reason to go to Teaneck anymore.

This is depressing.

Hey, I live in Teaneck .I'm so sad , we just took my 7yr old daughter to La Posada for special treat about a week before they closed.

[jhlurie]

A final epilogue to the story of La Posada.

Passed by the other day and there's finally a new restaurant there. A place called "Christians"--labeled as "Continental Cuisine".

Gee, just what the area needs. Well, then again, in the IMMEDIATE area (Teaneck) maybe that is unique. Just not in the rest of Northern NJ.

Anyone ever actually speak with the former owners of La Posada? Maybe they've moved elsewhere or something.

[Jason Perlow]

Blah. Now theres no reason to go into Teaneck at all, save for the occassional desire to go to Taipei Noodle House.

[Rosie]

Was Christian's open?

[jhlurie]

Was Christian's open?

Dunno. Looked complete though. All the paint looked dry and stuff.