Restaurant News

This week Rosie tells us about La Isla in Hoboken, Pasquale’s in Edison, A Toute Heure in Cranford, Zita Keeley’s Wine School, and much more news about NJ restaurants.

COMFORTING CUBAN
We can’t wait to return to this cramped 38-seat BYO restaurant, which doesn’t take reservations. Where were we? La Isla, 104 Washington Street, Hoboken, (201-659-8197). Full disclosure: This is the restaurant that was featured on Throwdown With Bobby Flay in March, when chef/owner Omar Giner won for his stuffed French toast. I was a judge, along with Steve Picker, chef/owner of Good Restaurant in New York City. The morning of the shoot, I was told the name of the restaurant that would be competing with Bobby Flay. “La Isla,” I said. “I’ve been to so many restaurants in NJ over scores of years and have never eaten there.” After judging Chef Giner’s French toast as being the winner in the throwdown, I returned to La Isla, along with Lowell, with great enthusiasm.

Chef Giner serves Cuban and Nuevo Latino dishes and won the New Jersey Monthly 2009 Readers’ and Critics’ Restaurant Poll for Best Caribbean. Generous servings, low prices, and energizing Cuban music, as well as Spanish-speaking servers, add to the fun-loving atmosphere.

We started with a shrimp ceviche with plantain chips, beautifully served in a martini glass; a special of piquillo peppers stuffed with lobster salad; and an “I don’t want to share” papa rellena consisting of mashed potatoes stuffed with ground meat and fried till crispy. Entrées were a special of oven-roasted salmon with citrus vinaigrette, served with sweet and scrumptious grilled plantains and roasted vegetables; chicken breast in garlic sauce served with sautéed spinach; pan-seared flank steak with rice and beans; and el bistek empanizado, a sirloin pounded thin, breaded, and topped with chopped raw onion. We recommend that you order the comforting yellow rice and black bean sides if they don’t come with your entrée. Some of the traditional dishes on the menu are empanadas filled with chicken or beef; marinated grilled skirt steak topped with chopped raw onion and served with an Argentinean-style steak sauce; boliche, a Cuban-style pot roast stuffed with chorizo; and pressed Cuban sandwiches such as one made with roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles and topped with garlic mojo.

Chef Giner offers his stuffed French toast as a dessert as well as an option on his breakfast and brunch menu, and it is as good as—no, better than—it looked on TV. Stuffed with strawberry and guava cream cheese, dipped in cinnamon batter, and coated with corn flakes and almonds, this dish is a crowd-pleaser, and we loved it.

To keep you in the Cuban mood, finish your meal with a Cuban latte, batidos (Cuban milk shake), or morir soñando (frappe made with fresh orange juice, evaporated milk, and sugar). La Isla is open Mondays through Saturdays from 7 AM to 10 PM and Sundays from 10 AM to 3 PM for brunch and 5 to 9 PM for dinner. Parking can be a problem in Hoboken, but La Isla will validate your parking ticket for two hours at the municipal parking garage located at Second and Hudson.



La Isla stuffed French toast.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein.

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PASQUALE’S, EDISON
We felt like long-lost relatives at Pasquale’s, 1655–200 Oak Tree Road, Edison, from the gracious greeting by the host to the thoughtfulness of the front-of-house manager, Chris Chang, who wrapped up our leftovers and told us he’d put extra sauce in our take-out container. “After all,” he said, “sometimes when you reheat food it gets dry.”

Pasquale’s is named for executive chef Pasquale Presa, a CIA graduate who makes almost everything at the restaurant, from the roasted-garlic-infused herbed olive oil presented in a warm bowl to Nonna’s ricotta cheesecake. If Chef Pasquale doesn’t make it, he sources it from an artisanal producer in the area or from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The hot, crusty bread is from DiPaolo’s in Newark; the cookies and biscotti are from Arthur Avenue.

Chef Pasquale is a native of Puglia, Italy, which is known for its homemade pasta, and pasta receives reverence at this restaurant. We tried the whole-wheat black pepper fettuccine with pomodoro sauce and the spinach and cheese ravioli with basil cream sauce. What’s fun is that diners can mix and match seven pastas with nine sauces, and four types of ravioli (crabmeat, roasted eggplant and cheese, porcini, and spinach and cheese) with four sauces, allowing for lots of combinations and taste experiences.

Signature dishes include a hearty pasta e fagioli, which was so thick it could be an entrée. Arancini (rice balls stuffed with beef, peas, and cheese) in a rich, chunky tomato sauce is also offered in a vegetarian version. A unique stuffed eggplant parmigiana, a recipe borrowed from the chef’s mom, consists of half an eggplant with the insides scooped out, cooked with bread crumbs, and then stuffed back into the shell. Layered with mozzarella cheese and surrounded by tomato sauce, this was a delightful change from the same old eggplant parm seen elsewhere. Some other options are chicken or veal parmigiana, shrimp scampi over linguini, and chicken (on the bone) with potatoes, cherry peppers, and mushrooms.

The wine list is value friendly, with twenty selections for $20 as well as a Captain’s list of five wines at $40 and a reserve list with bottles priced from $35 to $65. Specialty cocktails include Napolitano Lemonade, made with Absolut vodka, limoncello, and Patron Citronge liqueur, and Sangria Roma, made with white sangria, pomegranate and Peachtree liqueurs, and fresh fruit.

For more casual dining, Pasquale’s Cafe offers flatbread pizza, panini, and heroes, or you can sit at one of the small tables or at the wood and marble bar and have a cannoli and a cappuccino.

Pasquale’s seats 150, has a private party room for 60, and is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. For reservations call 732-947-3010.




Pasquale’s stuffed eggplant.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein.

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A TOUTE HEURE, CRANFORD
We’re thrilled when we find a restaurant that’s a little different. It’s great to find one that has a varied menu that changes daily, with blackboards listing the farms and purveyors that the locally sourced and seasonal ingredients come from. This is what we found at A Toute Heure, 232 Centennial Avenue, Cranford.

Our interest level also goes up a notch when we read a menu and can say, “We’ve never tried that before!” Ramps, a ground duck burger, and a sunny-side-up pheasant egg were new to us and worth trying. The ramps were offered in various dishes, and we had two appetizers that showcased this vegetable, which is also known as a wild leek: flatbread with pickled ramps, lardons, and shaved Parmesan; and creamy polenta topped with the sunny-side-up pheasant egg and grilled ramps, with a chili-garlic and rosemary vinaigrette. Our other apps were a salad of butterhead lettuce with chopped farm egg and focaccia croutons in a creamy horseradish vinaigrette; and mussels tossed with spicy chorizo sausage in a scrumptious saffron cream sauce. One entrée, the ATH duck burger, was described on the menu as “tender ground Hudson Valley duck seasoned and topped with marinated mushrooms and a cilantro mustard spread on a brioche bun, with a side of frizzled onions and a half sour pickle.” I would describe it simply as inspirational. The burger was juicy and full of flavor, the onion rings addictive, and the mushrooms a perfect balancing factor for this dish. Other worthwhile main courses were the roasted pork loin rolled around house-made pork sausage and served with creamy Parmesan risotto, and pan-seared local sea scallops sitting atop a turnip mash with a radicchio, endive, and cilantro salad. We eyed the chocolate sponge cake with cranberry preserves, milk chocolate mousse, and dark chocolate glaze as it was being served to another table, but we voted for the honeycomb tart with sweet caramel and candied nuts, topped with burnt caramel ice cream. It reminded me of a pecan pie—but better—and it’s now on my “best dishes” list for 2010. Handmade chocolate and maple walnut ice cream was devoured as well.

A Toute Heure also goes beyond the usual by offering two butters, honey and herbed, and a bowl of rosemary nuts with the walnut raisin bread and French bread. SerendipiTea loose teas and Small World coffees are brewed and served in a French-press pot. Boylan’s sodas and seltzers are available, and peanut brittle comes with the bill. These little extras, along with the creative, well-executed menu and attentive service, make this restaurant a standout. For reservations call 908-276-6600; BYO.



A Toute Heure scallops.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein.

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WINE DINNER AT CASA DANTE, JERSEY CITY
On May 25, Chef Gregg Freda will present a four-course seasonal wine dinner at Casa Dante, 737 Newark Avenue, Jersey City. Live music will be provided by the Don Carter Trio Jazz Band. The following menu will be served: pre-sip of Altas Cumbres Cava, Argentina 2007; crespelle with lobster and spinach in mascarpone sauce (2008 Twomey Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, CA); wild salmon with tart cherry glaze (2005 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR); veal osso buco alla Milanese (2007 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, CA); and fig tart served warm with vanilla gelato (Quinta Do Bom Retiro, Ramos Pinto, 20-Year Tawny Port, Portugal). 6:30 PM; $100 plus tax and gratuity. For reservations call 201-795-2750.

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ZITA KEELEY'S WINE SCHOOL
On consecutive Monday nights beginning June 7, a six-week wine appreciation program will be offered by Zita Keeley’s Wine School at the Melting Pot, 100 Sinatra Drive, Hoboken; 7 to 9 PM; $390. Topics to be discussed by Keeley, a certified specialist of wine, are how to taste wine; the winemaking process; old-world verses new-world wines; how to buy, store, and serve wine; how to read restaurant wine lists and make glass comparisons; and how to pair food and wine. For more information log on to www.allidoiswine.com or call 201-963-4986.

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LOOKING AHEAD
On June 28, Chef’s Night at the Palace at Somerset Park, 333 Davidson Avenue, Somerset, will be held, to benefit Elijah’s Promise Culinary School. More than twenty-five chefs will be preparing and serving food, including Blue Rooster Bakery and Cafe, the Brothers Moon, Brandl, Christopher’s at the Heldrich, Due Mari, the Frog and the Peach, Harvest Moon Brewery & Cafe, the Palace at Somerset Park, Skylark Diner, Sophie’s Bistro, Steakhouse 85, TPC Jasna Polana, Tula, and more. 6 to 9 PM; $130. For tickets log on to www.elijahspromise.org or call 732-545-9002 ext 126.

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DINING DEALS

David Burke Fromagerie, 26 Ridge Road, Rumson, is offering a $20.10 three-course prix-fixe Sunday supper, available every Sunday except holidays from 5 to 10 PM. For reservations call 732-842-8088.

Vidalia, 21 Phillips Avenue, Lawrenceville, is offering a three-course prix-fixe menu on Tuesday through Thursday nights for $70 a couple. For reservations call 609-896-4444; BYO.

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Please send press releases and restaurant news, including information on staff changes, wine tastings, and cooking classes, to rosie@njmonthly.com.