Hoboken's Happiest Hour: The Cuban Restaurant & Bar

There’s just no competing with the fantastic food and inventive mouth-watering drinks sold at reasonable prices during happy hour. Other happy hours in town might save you a buck, but no location offers deals more delicious AND affordable than The Cuban Restaurant & Bar on Washington Street. Plus, the atmosphere is also not to be missed. Especially the bar area seems to ooze sexiness with warm lighting and dark wood. 

For a happy hour, first come the drinks. Sure, it's great to grab a cheap class of wine, well drink, or pint of beer when you have the chance, but at The Cuban, you get to sample delectable drinks that actually feel special at a very special price. Most run in the neighborhood of $5 each. I have to admit, I've sampled almost all of them, at one time or another, and the only ones I don't like are the spicy variety. However, there are plenty of sweet ones, so I'll never get bored.

The Caipirinha de Arandano is a fresh blueberryish cocktail with a hint of citrus - delicious! My only critique is that the straight glass and the sugar rim make for a messy time and sticky fingers. I always find myself trudging up the stairs to wash my hands in the restroom after I order this one. Hint: ask for it without the sugar rim.

Caipirinha de Arandano

The Mojitos are also excellent and come in "original" with the Mojito Cubano, along with another couple varieties of the classic beverage - El Jefe Mojito features bitters and brugal anejo, while the Mojito de Ginebra is made with gin, cucumber, basil, and jasmine simple syrup. All are fresh and the second two have their own added twist. Same thing with the three Caipirinha drinks - all three similar, but each slightly unique. I'm also a fan of the Parcha Agave, which is sweet and reminds me of the beach, as well as the Antiqua Havana, which is similar to a Cubanized Manhattan. And remmber, all of these drinks are $5 on the happy hour menu!

The only drink I've had here that I absolutely didn't like was the "El Macho." It was ordered by accident when I was trying to be adventurous and told the waiter to bring me something that he liked - whooooops! The El Macho has a bunch of delicious ingredients, but it is topped of with a jalapeno - yuck! Not my drink, folks. However, I'm sure someone out there enjoys it thoroughly.

Then, during happy hour you're bound to work up an appetite, so on to the food! The Cuban Happy Hour features a bar menu where most of the food items are about $5 and all are scrumptious - definitely a step up from other eats on happy hour menus elsewhere, where everything seems to have come out of the freezer and been seeped into a deep frier. Instead, options at The Cuban are hand crafted bar deliciousness.

My favorites on the bar menu include a fresh El Cubano sandwich with slow roasted pork, ham, cantimpalo, swiss cheese, pickles, and garlic mojo - grilled on a sandwich press and served with a teeny tiny friend potato garnish. All that for just $5. Hello, affordable dinner!

El Cubano

Another menu favorites include the Empanaditas, a set of three, you choice of chicken fricassee with chard tomatillo, Ropa Vieja (braised skirt steak) with black bean puree, or crab/shrimp with salsa rosa and avacado purree.

Empanaditas

 And last, but not least, the fantastic Papas Fritas, or French fries, which are served with manchego cheese sprinkled on top and a garlic lemon aioli for dipping. Holy cow, they are delicious! Not your average happy hour deep fried potato, for sure!

 Papa Fritas

The Cuban offers their top of the line happy hour daily. Not only can you saddle up to the bar Monday-Friday from 5:00-7:00pm, but you can also make a weekend appearance on Saturday or Sunday from 3:00pm-6:00pm. It doesn’t get better than that! Make sure to hit it up before the bar is full!

Rockin' Night at Maxwell's

Yesterday night, without much to do, I went searching my favorite local hot spots on Facebook in my usual quest for deals and unique experiences around town. It was about 6:40pm when I stumbled upon a show at Maxwell’s and decided to dig deeper.

The John Corbett Band was playing at 7:00pm. The name was familiar, so I checked them out on YouTube and found a couple grainy videos with upbeat tunes I wouldn’t mind listening to and then I found a video where I could actually see the band members clearly and realized, I know why I know the name JohnCorbett! He’s an actor and most ladies loved him on Sex and the City as Aiden, or on My Big Fat Greek Wedding as Ian, or on United States of Tara as Tara’s tragically handsome and understanding husband Max, or most recently as a recurring character on Parenthood as Seth. Yup, that dashingly handsome, dedicated, lusty dude with a sexy voice and a sweet southern accent is also a musician and was rocking out mere blocks from my apartment for only $15. There was no other choice, I had to go.

In just twenty minutes I was able to whip off my p.j.'s, piece together an outfit, throw on some makeup, recruit a friend to come with, and dash out the door. I made it just in time. I arrived at 7:05 and the show started at 7:20.

The show was excellent! I didn’t know any of their music, of course, but it was a blast just the same! They played lively tunes, many with a country twist and John was that super charismatic joyful guy that you would hope he would be. Unfortunately, he seemed to be a bit under the weather and somehow decided whiskey would fix that and, I know from personal experience, nothing hurts your voice more than a shot of whiskey! But the guys played through it and John’s long time music partner and friend, Tara Novick, played a couple songs where he was featured to give John a break, but the change up also added to the diversity and overall energy of the show. 

 

The John Corbett Band @ Maxwell's 2/23/2013

As the show ended, John was quick to offer photos with fans and to hang out after the show. This, unfortunately, proved a bit difficult because there was another band supposed to play at 9pm and the audience had to clear the room. Since my friend and I are notorious rule followers, we left the room before John came back, but ran into him in the hallway! She was quick to ask for a photo and we grabbed ours quick. He was super gracious and just as handsome up close. 

 The Hobokenista, John Corbett, & The Vegan in Training

Since both my friend and I had skipped dinner, we decided to stick around Maxwell’s to grab a bite. As we waited for a table to open up we actually met Tara Novick, too! He was a social butterfly making the rounds, greeting fans, etc. As we were chatting with him, I apparently was standing next to a painting that looked a lot like me and he insisted on taking my photo, so he did and sent it to me, check it out! (Note, he made me open my eyes wide, like the girl in the picture.)

Me with a painting from Little Punk People

I later learned that the paintings around the bar are part of the latest installation by Little Punk People - check out their website here.The picture I'm with is entitled, "Ghost in the Graveyard" and is priced at $65. The artwork reminds me of Tim Burton creations and I think it's kind of funny that the most innocent looking Punk Person is the one that Tara thought looked like me, but I'll take it! (Shout out to the helpful hostess who located the information for me about the paintings! She definitely went above and beyond to make sure I had the information I wanted about this particular installation.)

When we eventually grabbed a table, we were already ready to order since we’d been checking out the menu earlier. I was in the mood for mac and cheese, while my friend is still trying to just eat raw stuff.

Our waiter was friendly and our food came lightening fast! We barely waited 10 minutes after ordering for our food to appear on the table. The reports are that the salad was great, but it was really just veggies, avocado, Parmesan cheese, and walnuts, so hopefully it would be what she expected. However, my mac and cheese was sort of blah. It wasn’t cheesy or very creamy at all. It was like someone made a roux (mixture of flour and butter, used as a thickening agent) and forgot to add any cheese. It was edible, but not much more than that.My dish came with a side of greens, which was lucky because if I'd just had bland mac and cheese I would have been epically disappointed.

 

Pear & Walnut Salad with Avacado 

 Mac & Cheese

Maxwell's is always a great time for music, and last night was no different! However, it'd be great if the food was stepped up a notch. In the future, I'll probably just go for something that can't be screwed up, like a salad.

Vegan Adventure in Jersey City

When you’re friends with a wandering vegan who enjoys "juicing" (not the steroid kind, but the healthy all-fruits-veggies-liquified kind) among other eating habits foreign to this Hobokenista, you inevitably will be challenged to try things you might not necessarily go for on an average day. Hanging with my healthier alter ego, I was convinced to go to a vegan eatery in Jersey City called Subia’sOrganic Café and Market.

Inside Subia's

I’m cautious of vegan restaurants. There is just this stigma about vegan food and, for those who have tried it before, chances are you’ve been disappointed at least once. I’ve had spaghetti that was served cold and room temperature water because the restaurant “didn’t subscribe to extreme temperatures.” I've tried veggie burgers that have attempted to look, taste, and act like beef, yet fell completely flat in that arena. My honest feelings are if you're attempting to be filled with veggies, beans, and other vegan items, just own the items instead of over processing and trying to be something else entirely. However, despite my poor experiences, I have had a couple decent vegan experiences which helped to inform my choice of meal at this particular juncture.  

My limited experiences with vegan food has led me to believe that the best vegan options for non-vegans are those from south of the border. In the past, I’ve really liked vegan nachos. I’m not one to ask many questions at vegan restaurants, but I have learned that the cheese is usually made with plant based products and nuts like cashews and almonds, even utilizing tapioca flour and natural cultures/proteins. For more on vegan cheese, which actually isn’t bad at all, check out the link here What the Heck is Vegan Cheese Made Of, Anyhow? However, despite the odd bad experience, I am ever the optimist who wants to encourage my friend and her superb eating habits, I gave it another go.

We arrived on an off time on a weekend, but the place was pretty full. From the outside, I wouldn't think there was a cafe here since it looks like a grocery store, but low and behold, there are a few cafe tables and a counter to your right as you walk inside. We saddled up to the counter and I began looking at the menu in dismay. One issue I have at places like this, I don't like it when they try to pass off non-meat items as meat items. For example, there is no way that a vegan joint should have something called a meatball Parmesan sandwich on their menu. It's just not right.

After staring and debating, I located my meal of choice - the nachos grande. However, they didn't have it! So, I went for the Subia's burger instead. They didn't have that either! ::crushed:: At that point I just sort of gave up and asked for whatever "burger" they did have. To the credit of the woman working, she suggested I go for the quesadilla. Unfortunately the wait was extremely long! We waited over half an hour for my friends soup/salad and my quesadilla. Frankly, that was a bit ridonkulous.

Vegan Quesadillas (they tasted better than they looked)


 My friend's gigantic salad with avocado

Despite the slow service, the food was actually delicious! The quesadilla was a great choice for my non-vegan self and my friend really liked her salad. I was so impressed with the food quality and so tempted by the cakes on the presentation plates that I even decided to go for a slice of the chocolate layer cake and it was no different than a non-vegan cake! It was moist, the frosting was thick and fudgy. Absolutely worth eating!

 

Vegan chocolate cake (actually moist and delicious!)

I guess I could sum up my experience here by saying, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. It was actually quite delectable, but the service could stand to be much quicker.

Brunchy Goodness at Charrito's Downtown

Without a doubt, this Hobokenista is a girl who loves a good brunch. However, since most of my friends live on the other side of the Hudson, I always tend to make brunch plans in NYC. To my pleasant surprise, two friends decided they wanted to venture into Hoboken for brunch over the three day weekend. I wanted to find a place near the train station where we could also have a few breakfast beverages. With tequila in the fridge there was only one option, downtown Charrito's!

Charrito’s opens at 11:30am and we were there right at 12:30. Table-side guacamole and margaritas were first on the docket. Of course, I knew the scrumptiousness that was in store, but my friends ranted and raved about the fresh delicious flavors.

The brunch menu at Charrito’s waivers slightly from the standard dinner fare. On the dinner menu you can’t really find standard tacos, instead I always end up going for the Tacote Norteno – four tortilla stuffed with chicken and mixed vegetables, with rice, beans, and guacamole. However, Tacote Norteno was not an option at brunch, so I went with the sautéed steak tacos. They were fresh, authentic, and absolutely hit the spot! My dish came with two lime wedges and a green cilantro sauce.

However, our meal did not stop there. Since I’m awesome at choosing brunch dates, I was able to do a brunch swap – one of my tacos for one of my friend’s quesadillas.  The quesadillas were, in essence, similar to the Tacote Norteno – a mix of fresh sautéed vegetables and cheese grilled in three separate mini folded-over tortillas, so one of those for one of my tacos was the perfect swap. The cheese was a cheese I’d never had before, this isn’t your standard cheddar. It was a white cheese that looked ooey gooey, but actually had more structural stability than I would have originally expected. Lovely.

Our service throughout was great. The waiter was understanding and didn’t rush us through our breakfast decisions. He also answered all of our questions fully and completely, even if we didn’t quite recognize the name of the cheese in the quesadillas, which I think might have been Oaxaca, but don't quote me on it. 

Charrito’s is undeniably popular for dinner in Hoboken, but don’t forget to go for brunch every once in a while. The prices are more reasonable, the menu offerings are slightly different, yet the experience is still excellent. 

 Homemade Guacamole & Margaritas

 Chicken Burrito with Black Beans & Rice

 Vegetable Quesadillas

 Sauteed Steak Tacos