Tina Louise, Carlstadt

[tommy]

NJ Monthly this month has a rather flattering review of this place. anyone been?

Edited December 22, 2002 by tommy (log)

[Rosie]

Haven't been but have heard some wonderful things about this restaurant. Everytime I go to Cafe Matisse the manager askes me if I have gotten there yet.

[Hank]

Rosie, speaking of Cafe Matisse, how come no one listed this rest. as one of their favorites. I left it out for reasons I would rather write about another time but this is a very good restaurant and it's BYOB.

[tommy]

Rosie, speaking of Cafe Matisse, how come no one listed this rest. as one of their favorites. I left it out for reasons I would rather write about another time but this is a very good restaurant and it's BYOB.

yeah rosie! how come!?!?

[Rosie]

Rosie, speaking of Cafe Matisse, how come no one listed this rest. as one of their favorites. I left it out for reasons I would rather write about another time but this is a very good restaurant and it's BYOB.

Yes it is a very good restaurant and it is BYO but it didn't come to mind when I was making my list. I think the last visit there thought that there were too many tastes on the plate. But I would certainly return here.

What was your reason Hank?

[Rail Paul]

Tina Louise?

Wasn't she Ginger on Gilligan's Island? Any connection to the restaurant?

[Hank]

Right on Rosie. Just too many things happening on your plate. First heard about Matisse from eGullet a couple of years ago and went there at least 3/4 times and liked it very much. Then suddenly the chef/owner got the idea that more is better and he lost us. Also, almost all his appetizers and entrees began having a sweet touch to them. Raisins, figs, mango, cranberry, etc.etc. and we don't very much care for that style of cooking and it definitely kills your wine. Too bad because this man has talent.

[jhlurie]

Tina Louise?

Wasn't she Ginger on Gilligan's Island?  Any connection to the restaurant?

I hate you Paul. I was going to post the same reaction yesterday but had to run out.

[menton1]

This restaruant was recently highly touted in NJ Monthly in January. The description of the Asian fusion dishes sounded wonderful, and the prices seem more than reasonable. Has anybody been to this place, any comments are appreciated!

[Rosie]

Have not been but have also heard from other people that this place is very good and worth the trip. It's on my "go to" list.

[Rachel Perlow]

Had dinner at Saigon Republic tonight and chatted with a neighboring table. They also recommend Tina Louise, calling it "pan-asian." We'll have to go check it out. They said it's called Tina Louise for the two sisters who own it.

Tina Louise

403 Hackensack St, Carlstadt, NJ 07072

Phone: (201) 933-7133

[tommy]

my goal is to be the first person in NJ to go here. oh, wait, perhaps others outside of egullet are actually enjoying dinner at this place. sorry, i was suddenly overcome with self-centeredness and absurdity, for there is a good chance there's more than 1 "tommy."

[Rosie]

We are counting on you Tommy. Please go and report back.

[Rachel Perlow]

We made it there before tommy. It is officially called Tina Louise, A Taste of Asia. However the menu is mainly Hong Kong style Cantonese with some Szechuan thrown in, rather than "pan-Asian" as was described to us. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Indeed the food is very good at this cute little Chinese cafe. It is more of a date restaurant specializing in Chinese, than a typical Chinese restaurant. The decor is Soho shabby-chic with exposed brick walls and a copper color metal ceiling. With candle light and white table cloths almost any cuisine could be expected to arrive from the kitchen door.

The main dishes are individually plated rather than being served family style and the portions are smaller than your usual Chinese joint, but it is quality over quantity. Appetizers sampled by our table included soups and two kinds of dumpling. The Wonton in Spicy Sauce ($3.50) were similar to the peanut sauce coated versions found on many menus, only the dumplings seemed more delicate and the mildly spicy sauce less cloying. We augmented with chili paste brought out by our server when Jason indicated he wanted his dish extra-spicy. The mysteriously named Peking Ravioli ($4.95) are available pan-fried or steamed, and are superior versions of thin skinned pork dumplings.

I'm pretty sure they don't get a lot of people experienced with non-Americanized Chinese food, as the waitress tried to warn us off ordering the Sai Wu Minced Beef soup ($4.25), but we would have none of that and were rewarded with a deliciously viscous broth with bits of meat, tofu and lots of cilantro. For those who prefer a clear broth soup, the Mustard Greens and Chicken soup ($4.25) packed a punch of ginger and strongly flavored veggies.

Main dishes sampled included the Salt & Hot Pepper Pork Chops ($11.95) and Stir Fry Shredded Pork & Minced Jalapeno Pepper with Dry To Fu ($10.95), but I'll let the people who ordered them describe them as I only had a bite of Jason's extra-hot shredded pork. I opted for the fish special of Crispy Sea Bass ($17.95). The perfectly cooked whole fish was beautifully plated up-right in a pool of better than expected sweet/hot/sour sauce studded with diced zucchini, onions and other veggies. In addition, we had a couple side dishes. First, the Vegetable of the Day ($7.95), which was perfectly cooked spinach (with stem) and garlic which was not the least bit browned but fully cooked and mellow, and second, the misnamed Sticky Rice Buns ($4.95), which was a small bowl of quite good fried sticky rice. Desserts are available, but not made in house (typical sorbet in fruit shells & ice creams).

So, as I was saying in the beginning of this post, the food is very good, and the atmosphere is very nice, but I don't think it is worth a long drive out of your way. Our trip was about a half-hour, which is about as far as I'd travel for this cute cafe. The exception would be if you are going on a date to the Meadowlands, then Tina Louise would be an excellent alternative to the myriad of Italian restaurants in the vicinity.

Edited April 11, 2003 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[Rosie]

Are reservations needed? Were they busy? Thanks for the delicious report.

[Rachel Perlow]

I called to make one, but they weren't even half-full while we were there. The dining rooms seats around 30. The people who told us to go there (see above) said to call ahead, but maybe it's only necessary on weekends?

One of the tables had a couple kids at it, but otherwise it was all adults. With the white table cloths & candles, I think the kids should be left home if visiting on a weekend, another thing which sets it apart from most Chinese restaurants.

Edited April 11, 2003 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[menton1]

This place got a tremendous recommendation from an associate of mine. Any more recent reviews?

[jwjojo]

I have eaten here on several occasions. They do get very busy on the weekends due to the space being so small. I found the food better before they became popular, as is the way with so many things. I like this restaurant, but I do not love it. The food is consistently okay. Not great. Oftentimes a bit too greasy for my taste. I agree I would not go out of my way. I live very close, and still do not go often. I would travel to China 46, even though the food is by definition different, if in the mood for Chinese or 'Asian fusion', CHina 46 is much much better.

[Curlz]

Since I remember dining there with a certain man who I no longer live with, I can tell you that it was 5+ years ago that I ate there, Gilligans Island references and all. It had only recently opened or been reviewed, and when we went I was pleasantly surprised. Haven't been back since (for no particular reason) but I can tell you that the place is tiny, the decor was nice, it was a bit pricy for what it was, but the food was good. Parking can be tough to come by over there, and I do recall driving past it a couple of times before we realized which storefront it was. It's not too far past the Candlewyck Diner if you're coming in from Rutherford--and it's on the right side if you're heading north on Hackensack.

[richl2214]

I love the place. I wouldn't hesitate to bring a date there. It has a very comfortable, intimate feeling to it. The food most of the time has been very good.

[Lemons]

My wife and I had dinner at Tina Louise, 403 Hackensack Street in Carlstadt. It is a small BYOB store front type restaurant and we thought that the food was quite good.

We both had Shanghai Dumplings and my wife had Pan Fried Egg Noodles with vegetables. She was very pleased with the dish. I had Golden Sesame chicken. The chicken was tender and the sauce was delicious.

There was only one woman greeting and serving (Tina?) and a bus boy, but everything came out promptly and the hostess was quite pleasant. Total bill was $27.00 before the tip which was quite reasonable considering the quality of the food.

They are part of the Village Restaurant Group http://www.villagerestaurantgroup.com/

I understand that they recently had a very favorable review in New Jersey Monthly.

[Rosie]

I have been wanting to go to this restaurant for years. Thanks for reminding me about it. I have always heard very good reports.

[Curlz]

There's an old thread on TL here...

Rosie, maybe you can merge these?

[Rachel Perlow]

Done.

We visited Tina Louise back in 2003...

the food is very good, and the atmosphere is very nice, but I don't think it is worth a long drive out of your way. Our trip was about a half-hour, which is about as far as I'd travel for this cute cafe. The exception would be if you are going on a date to the Meadowlands, then Tina Louise would be an excellent alternative to the myriad of Italian restaurants in the vicinity.

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