How to Make Your Hoboken Kitchen "Zagats
Worthy"
Chris Vollmer  I am by no means, anti-restaurant. Hoboken has a ton of great ones.
But something has to be said for the sheer beauty of having your own
space to create a culinary classic from scratch, build the perfect atmosphere instead of
inheriting a more commercial version, eat without another couple squished next to you one
foot from your table, and leave the provocatively romantic dinner music choices to just
you and your date.
To illustrate my point, I bring you back to a lazy winter Sunday
earlier this year. I am starting to clean my kitchen by nibbling away at the leftovers
from the previous night's date. Oh baby! Still succulent! Pots and pans abound everywhere,
beckoning a trip to a nearby dishwasher. Two barely sipped glasses of the second (or was
it third?) bottle of Chilean Merlot remain on the coffee table. I spot a spare roasted
marshmallow (after-dinner desert) next to the Michael Buble CD case, an accompanying jar
of Rasberry Jam on the floor, and upon picking it up, smell that unmistakable scent of
previously burnt wood in the fireplace. I'm considering turning the extra mashed potatoes
into mid-day home fries for two.
Just then, in walks my cousin through the front door. She was
returning from a date of her own in the City and at that moment, a poster child for
frostbite. Always socially competitive, she quickly sets out to gain a "date
story" edge.
Cousin: "Oh my god, I'm freezing!"…"What's that
smell in here?"…"Did you have someone over for dinner last
night?"…"Look at this mess!"
Me: "Want some leftovers? I'm about to fire up some home fries
too…let me make another plate."
Cousin: "Don't you think she would rather you take her out for
dinner?"
Me: "Oh, we'll definitely do that too…but, hey, it's 20
degrees out and my butcher had a special that I could not refuse."
Cousin: "Well…I need to be taken out for a fancy dinner in
the City, and in fact, I dined at the Pierre Hotel just last night!"
Me: "That's great…whad'ya have?"
Cousin (beaming): "I had the Fillet Mignon!"
Me: "How about that! So did we…how was it?"
My Cousin's shoulder's sink: "They burnt the living daylights
out of it. Hockey puck central. And you needed a microscope to see the vegetables."
The defense rests.
With The Hunt just days away, I am happy to report that the annual
anxiety over impending winter hibernation in solitude has been greatly over-embellished.
Instead, just when the days of colder temps wash over Hoboken is the perfect time to
enhance your culinary repertoire and ultimately, your winter love life.
Hoboken is fortunate to have five "must-shop"
establishments that will turn your next romantic meal at home or a dinner party with
friends into a delight that will make Emerill, Wolfgang, and the whole group at the Food
Network greener with envy than the mouthwatering homemade veggie dish your guests are
loving you for.
Bread - The Antique Bakery
112 Willow Street
201-714-9323
When Dan Marino was with the Dolphins, The Antique Bakery was his
annual stop for Jets week and let's face it, he didn't get into the Hall of Fame for being
stupid.
This wholesale bakery still uses the large, old-fashioned coal-fired
ovens to bake their golden, crusty Italian and French-style loaves that get delivered to
area restaurants and deli's throughout New Jersey and Manhattan.
The Antique has numerous flavors of taralli (hard rings) and
biscuits ("biscotti"). The shelves are filled with the ever-popular baguettes,
or "sticks" as they are known in Hoboken. The shop, located between 1st
and 2nd and Willow, may be of somewhat limited size, but the fresh scent of
baked bread is a draw few can refuse. Inside, there are panellas (large, round loaves),
baguettes, rolls, sausage and pepperoni breads, focaccia and more. My personal favorite is
the 30 cent roll, dipped in melted butter, fresh garlic, and oven-cooked (250 degrees)
with teriyaki-marinated mushrooms and cheddar cheese.
Wine and Cheese - Sparrows
126 Washington Street
1224 Shipyard Lane
800-304-6811
In the world of buying the perfect dinner wine, there is Sparrows
and everyone else. But what often goes unnoticed among the plethora of vineyard selections
and expert wine advice is the incredible cheese section that guards the hard liquor area.
At least once a week, Sparrows has wine and cheese samples available, and about a month
ago, Lisa, who works there in the evening, turned me onto Maple Smoked Cheddar Cheese from
Vermont - unbelievable stuff and the perfect date-opening tray while your meal finishes
and the wine starts flowing.
Seafood - Joseph Apicella and Sons
307 First Street
201-659-1665
Take a walk down First Street and you can't avoid the allure of
Apicella's big window filled with the freshest catches of the day (mostly delivered around
6am). The salmon is out of this world, the sea scallops are huge and after a quick saute
on your stove, explode with flavor. My personal recommendation to wow any date is the
Chilean Sea Bass. And finally, if you have about 7-8 hours to kill in your kitchen on a
lousy weather day, grab 4-5 bushels of fresh clams for a pot-full of New England Clam
Chowder. My exact recipe is too complicated to explain here, but all you really need is
some bacon, red peppers, shallots, two loaves of bread, half and half, Thyme seasoning,
Black Peppercorn and some smashed red potatoes…and you've got a great "day
date" idea and enough soup for several quick meals. Sadly, however, Apicella's is
about to become yet another Hoboken institution soon to be replaced by most likely,
something trendy. Ugh! The building has been sold and they are closing in about month. So
hurry now and get your fish!
Meat - Joe's Prime Meats
918 Washington Street
201-656-8085
A Hoboken institution located just doors down from Amanda's, Joe the
Butcher will give you an inch thick cut of Prime Rib, Pork, Fillet, and the freshest
Chicken you will ever taste. Joe is also the only guy I know in the area that has the
ability to properly dry age his steaks. Name your cut and he'll do it. Need a good recipe?
The family has a ton - and for sampling purposes, they also serve freshly cooked meals
using those recipes each day they are open for your after-work convenience. Need
temperature cooking advice? Joe practically has ESP into your kitchen - name an oven type,
and he'll know the perfect setting.
Veggies - New Hoboken Farm
300 Washington Street
201-216-0229
We all have either personally experienced or heard of through a
friend the joy of eating a meal at the household of an old-time Italian family. And didn't
the vegetables you would never eat otherwise always seem to explode with flavor there? In
Hoboken, the Italian grandmothers who you worshipped at the dinner table all shop at New
Hoboken Farm. Take, for example, the shallots. Supermarkets usually carry the mini-sized
variety. Specialty stores charge a fortune for them. But at this place, they are huge,
fresh, and about 17 cents apiece. And to be seasonal, we just got a pumpkin this week for
Halloween - giant sizes. Seeds galore. Just five bucks. Life is good.
You say you can't cook? Go find a neighbor who has lived in town for
longer then you have been alive. They know the deal. They were making fantastic meals long
before Sushi was available on virtually every block. They love passing on culinary secrets
and by using them yourself in the kitchen, you are carrying on a time-honored tradition in
the Mile Square. You are keeping the town uniquely Hoboken.
"Shopping for the groceries" was once Bill Parcells'
dream. It can easily be your reality in a Super Bowl contending love life.
To be sure, there are a number of honorable mentions
for this article. Starting with Fiore's. The aforementioned Maries' Bakery. John's Meats
on 1st Street. And the fresh ginger at Shop Rite is to die for. But right now,
all this talk about food is making me hungry, so if you want one of my own recipes for
your winter cooking pleasure, feel free to email me at docksiderboy@yahoo.com. Now fully thawed, by cousin says she'll be happy to bring the
wine!
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