Burgerfi – Seacacus, NJ

After my boyfriend and I hangerly made our way through the PetSmart in Secaucus. Located in that same shopping plaza is Burgerfi, a burger joint. Reminiscent of Shake Shack but priding itself on using fresh natural ingredients with an emphasis on quality. To be completely honest, I am growing very tired of this kind of aesthetic, open and warehouse looking doesn’t do it. It just comes off as lack of effort, or trying to ride on some other branding’s coattails.especially when Shake Shack has pulled it off so well.

These are the salt and vinegar fries. They were okay. They could have used more seasoning. I was impressed by the quantity of fries in an order. Though do beware that this establishment uses peanut oil, something that I only noticed after I ordered. They have one small sign posted behind the registers stating this. I, being allergic to peanuts, had to be very conscious of how much ingesting. This by far put a damper on my experience. At least I am fortunate enough that I was able to tolerate eating some of the fries but others may not be so lucky.

This is the burgerfi cheese burger in a single: natural American Angus burger, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and burgerfi sauce served on potato bread. At first I felt the burger to be overly oily, turns out it’s was just the burgerfi sauce. I don’t think the sauce did anything for flavor, if anything I overwhelmed the burger for me. I did enjoy that they used potato bread. It was the best part of the sandwich.

This place gets a 3 out of 5. It wasn’t terrible but it didn’t stand out. I’d maybe eat a burger from here again without the sauce.

-themoodiecutie

Cinco de Drinko de Gringo de Mayo – Gringos Tacos – Jersey, NJ

For Cinco de Mayo, a friend decided we should go to Gringo’s Tacos, in Jersey City, NJ. Branding itself as a modern taqueria offering spins on Mexican dishes.

This was the 32oz margarita. It sure packed a punch! It was loaded with tequila, to be honest that was the only thing I tasted, which for the purpose of Cinco de Mayo, I guess was good.

These were the chips and guacamole. It was okay, lacking in salt and flavor. For the most part I hate eating guac anywhere. No one ever seems to do it just right.

These are the Kim Jong Un Tacos, Korean Style short rib, served with spicy red cabagge, and scallions. I am not entirely sure what the yellow and white stuff are since they’re were not listed. This left much to be desired. The tortilla favor completely over powered everything else. Every aspect was lacking in flavor.

This was the cocktail flight

• Rubi Rosa: mezcal, guava, pineapple, ruby red grape fruit and cinnamon –
• El Chapo: Serrano infused blanco tequila, blood orange, and lime
• Nacho Mamas Sangria – Red Pomegranate

It was okay. Nothing out of this world.

This place gets a 2.75 out of 5. My experience wasn’t all that great, and the service kinda sucked. I did appreciate the effort they put into the theme of the restaurant. You get exaclty what you’d expect from a place called Gringo’s Tacos. I did not particularly enjoy the crowd there that day (I got punched in the Boob – thank goodness I decided to wear a bra) but hey, what else can you expect from Cinco de Mayo. Also we ordered the Gringo Tacos and those never arrived.

-themoodiecutie

La Isla – Hoboken, NJ

Isla good? Isla bad?

La Isla Uptown is a Cuban Restaurant located at 25 12th St, Hoboken, NJ 07030, serving up traditional dishes in an upscale location. To find the parking for this restaurant was a nightmare. Its located right next door but for some reason on that day I could not navigate that tiny corner. They also validate parking for up to three hours which is $7.00 but with the validation is goes down to $5.00, so more like a coupon. Like many restaurants in Hoboken, its ambiance caters to the young hip crowd. Its modern yet shows its heritage just enough to make it trendy.

This is the CUBAN APPLE PIE containing: Licor 43, Rumchata, Leopold NY apple liquor, dash of lime juice, graham cracker rim. This drink tasted just like an apple pie and it packed quite a punch! The grahman cracker rim was nice touch, but the grahamn cracker became soggy from the water on the outside of the glass. I think adding some brown sugar to the mix would help bring the whole drink together.

These are the beef tacos with caramelized onions, pico de gallo, avocado and beef served in a corn tortilla. The tacos were interesting. I don’t necessarily thing the caramelized onions fit well in the dish. It didn’t add anything to flavor, but rather tasted bland in comparison to the pico de gallo and the texture of the onions along with the cheese sauce, clashed with the crispness of the lettuce. The avocado became the star of the dish.

This is the Bistek de Palomilla, it is, Sirloin steak pounded thin, seared and topped with caramelized onions, served with fries. Overall the meat was nice and tender, but for me the overwhelming amount of onions was off putting. The fries were crispy though.

This is the Lechon Asado served with white rice and sweet plantains (what a cleaver presentation btw). The pork was seasoned perfectly and nice and tender, so easy to pull apart. The rice was nicely cooked and the plantain added the perfect level of sweetness to complete this delectable meal. It was a little off putting that the Lechon Asado is only available on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, it is a special. I just feel Lechón is a staple in Cuban cuisine. Good thing I coincidentally decided to go on that day or I would have been utterly disappointed. I was not a fan of how the left overs were packed to go. They put everything into one container which caused the rice and leftover port to become a paste from the juices.

Here’s this cute little GIF. Also pictured on the side is the Paella de Pollo, it was very good, everything you’d expect from a paella! It was perfectly well balanced in all its flavors. I will definitely be back to eat that!

Over all I would give this place a 3.5 out 5. It is beautifully put together and definitely reaches the vibe it is trying to achieve. But it’s original location is better in taste, and the parking situation at this location is harder than it needs to be. The service was just okay, actually it was slow.

Rumba Cubana – West New York, NJ Review

Havana, eww, Nah, Nah…

Okay so this place had been recommended to me by many of my co-workers and I’d like to preface this review saying that, perhaps, I ordered the wrong dish but my thinking is, if it’s on your menu, it should be good. So let’s dive in…

Rumba Cubana is a Cuban restaurant located at 6909 J F Kennedy Blvd E, West New York, NJ 07093. Its layout is very nice and spacious, overlooking the NYC skyline. It is styled very family friendly, there is music playing in the background, but not too loud to the point where your shouting across the table. The parking is a tad difficult, they have valet parking for $5.00, it’s a very small lot or street parking which is metered. If you’re looking to go on the weekend I would suggest Ubering.

I ordered this drink. It was good, not too strong, but I can’t remember what it’s called but it had pineapple and some kind of Cuban themed pun. The NYC Skyline was in the background. It is nice.

For appetizers, we got Tostones Montaditos con Churrasco. The Tostones were really good, nicely soft yet dense and had a nice crisp crust! The Churrasco, on the other hand, was a bit dry and overdone. On top of that, I didn’t particularly enjoy the seasoning of the meat. As far as the sauce, it was too over powering. I think a good sauce accents the great qualities of the meat, in this case, it just masked it.

For of the main course I order grilled fish. Nothing ground breaking but if done correctly can be amazing. Sadly, that was not my experience, the fish was under seasoned and very oily. The center of the fish was not underdone but was too wet. Over all, it was not be the best experience. It all so came with black beans and rice, which were good.

I think the most disappointing part of my meal was this, the Tres Leches. Not to say that it was bad. It was just all right. The cake was not soaked all the way through which mad the top part of the cake dry. The plating was nice though.

I would give this place a 3 out of 5. The ambiance and service were great! I’ll have to go back and try a different dish and see if it changes my mind.

–themoodiecutie

Asian Fusion

That is the name of the restaurant and type of cuisine they serve.  It is located at 7827 Bergenline Ave, North Bergen, NJ.  Upon entering I was really taken back with the ambiance of the restaurant, with some neon lighting and water features, giving you a  modern feel.  The restaurant was busy, so the service was a little slow, as to be expected on a Friday night.  I was seated at a table near the door which was concerning to me, I get cold very easily, but to my surprise, I did not feel a breeze at all.

I started the night with a drink,  a mango Mahi Thai .  The drink was very strong, but that’s not a bad thing at all.  I was feeling good.  I had been sick all week and really just wanted to relax.  But since I still wasn’t 100% better I had a light dinner.  I ordered a New York Roll, which consisted of tuna, salmon, avocado, and cucumbers, I added mango and eel sauce to the roll.  At first sight, when the roll arrived at my table, it just looked incredibly big.  As I tried to eat it, my impression proved correct.  The roll would have benefited from being 1/3 narrower but longer in length to make up this.  The biggest problem I had with the roll is the way the components were cut.  They were cubed rather than sliced which made the roll harder to keep together.  The mango atop the roll was too overwhelming. I would have suggested using about 1/3 of what they actually put on my roll. With that being said.  The fish was seasoned perfectly. It made eating the components individually, very good.  The Eel sauce was just enough to really bring out all the flavors of the components.

For dessert, I ordered the chocolate tempura ice cream.  The tempura was amazing.  It had a very nice crust.  My issue with the dish was the same as the roll.  The size was too big.  I would have benefited from being broken down from one giant ball to two or three small balls.

Overall I give the restaurant 4 out of 5 stars. Please do check it out!