For unique cuisine in a small escape from New York City, Hoboken,NJ is a great little city within a city. Only 10 minutes on the Path train (subway) across the Hudson River to New Jersey, the city of Hoboken is home to old blue eyed Frank Sinatra, cobblestone streets and La Isla Restaurant.
Located on Washington Street, the main avenue in this small city, La Isla is a small Cuban cuisine Restaurant that brings you down the streets in Havana without the flight restrictions. (if you are American of course) Make sure you don’t pass it by, it is very small! You might have a long wait before getting in; many locals are frequent visitors every weekend, especially for Sunday brunch. Their website even says it might be worth missing Sunday mass to enjoy their brunch.
Once you get inside, the restaurant itself is very small. It is a railroad styled venue, going straight forward with a kitchen bar on the left and tables on the right. At the end of the hallway is a restroom and a bigger kitchen. The florescent walls of neon yellow, blue and orange bring you right into the tropics of Old Havana. You can almost hear the tropical animals and the swaying leaves of the palm tree. Suddenly, you remember you are in Hoboken and hear the shouting and loudness of people chit chatting and waiters yelling out food orders. There is also the sounds of Celia Cruz and the Buena Vista Social Club serenely in the background.
Now getting to the actual food itself! One is bound to come back here multiple tim
es since their menu is plentiful of delicious Cuban cusine.A classic dish for Cuban Food 101 would be “Arroz con Pollo”, a casserole of Spanish yellow rice with juicy sliced boneless chicken. Pollo Asado, which means roasted chicken is a simple herbed oven roasted chicken boastful in flavor. If you really want to sample Cuban cuisine, go ahead and order a “Cubano”, a Cuban which is the staple sandwich made of roasted pork, ham, melted Swiss cheese and a pickle on garlic roasted bread. Anyone’s mouth would be salivating at this point as well! For beverages, you might be staring at the menu for a while as well. they feature Goya nectars- thick beverages with flavors such as Papaya, Coconut and Mango, or freshly made batidas, which is like a smoothie, made of similar tropical flavors. Don’t forget to have a bountiful cup of cafe con leche (coffee with milk) made from savory roasted Cuban beans and served with warm milk in a traditional Cuban manner.
For a great little Havana experience, prices at La Isla are very moderate with most dinner plates ranging from 10.00 and up. Most of the time, you will be taking a doggie bag home because dishes are generous in portions. La Isla Restaurant has received rave reviews from New Jersey Monthly Magazine, Readers Choice and Zagat Restaurants. We love to say that La Isla brings the traditional Cuban food at a great price, without having to do the dirty dishes.
Located on 104 Washington Street Hoboken, NJ, 07030 (201) 659-8197
Hours are Monday thru Saturday 7am-10pm, Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm, Dinner 5pm-9pm
La Isla also does delivery and catering to local areas.
No reservations are needed and it is BYOB.
Full Menu: http://www.laislarestaurant.com/pdf/full.pdf
Teresa is the Co-Founder of ArtofBackpacking; Ms. Art of Backpacking. She is currently studying to be a Journalist at St. John’s University. Upon completion of her University studies, she will travel and see more of this beautiful world. If she is not online reading all the latest travel blogs, you can find her writing and taking pictures around NYC, her hometown.
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