Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: THE COSTANERA EXPERIENCE 2014 PT II!!!
Location: Montclair, NJ
Last visit to this establishment had me completely impressed and excited to eat. This time around was no exception and we managed to bring several more friends along to experience what dining is like at Costanera.
After toasting with wine and tequila we ordered our respective dishes for the night.
Anticucho (Beef Heart), Quinoa crusted Chicharon de Pescado (Fried Catfish)
The Seafood Ceviche
Maduros (Fried Plaintain)
Lamb Shank
Bronzed Whole Fish
Steak & Eggs, Maduros, & Rice & Peas
Tres Leches soaked cake
The IceCream
Once again Costanera took care of us and as last time the place was packed. Our food was expertly prepared and almost nothing that we ordered remained on their respective plates except for some of the Bronzed Whole Fish which one of our friends took home in a doggy bag. 😛
5 out 5 Dinner Plates yet again goes to Costanera Peruana Restaurant. It’s official Costanera is one of our favorite Restaurants to visit when dining out. Definitely worth every dollar spent. Pay Costanera a visit, believe us you won’t regret it! Till next food experience. This has been Costanera Peruana Restaurant Experience 2014!!! Pt.II by THEJNSREPORT.
Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Stopping By A Trailer Park
As a prelude to St.Patrick’s Day and in need of a quick libation I stopped at Trailer Park.
This isn’t quite what comes to mind when one envisions what a trailer park looks like but it was a cool little stop I made last week having walked by this place numerous times never venturing inside till now. I snapped a few shots of this uniquely designed bar/restaurant.
That mannequin in the background creeped me out just a little. Just had flashbacks to horror flicks. LOL
Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: In Honor of Patrons of The Pit
While one half of us here at THEJNSREPORT is Vegan, the other half is an Omnivore. That being said here’s some steaks that were grilled to perfection the other night with a lil salt n pepper before being thoroughly enjoyed with bountiful enthusiasm. In a word Yessum!!!
Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: COSTANERA COCINA PERUANA RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE 2014!!!
Located in downtown Montclair, NJ.
I was invited to attend a dining experience of upscale Peruvian cuisine in this uniquely decorated Peruvian restaurant along with my significant other, my significant other’s sister and a friend. What a treat! We ended up eating something I never ate before. However, before I get to that allow me to introduce you to Costanera Cocina Peruana Restaurant.
When we arrived inside the entire restaurant was packed except for our reserved table.
We began our dining experience with our gracious hosts /owners Tatianna & Andre dining alongside us. We started off with a bottle of red wine, some toasted corn kernels and wasabi sauce. The menu at Costanera is extensive and we left our sampling choices up to our hosts.
What you see above is a shot of leche de tigre or “Tiger Milk” which tastes outstanding! We all took our shots of leche de tigre and toasted before tossing em back. Next we had two different ceviches( not pictured here) along with a plate of mussels & calamari in sauce. That was followed up by salmon on crustini, and chicharron de pescado which was insanely goood!!! Try Costanera’s chicharron de pescado against any cornmeal crusted catfish you’ve ever had and see if Costanera doesn’t come out the clear winner.
Over the course of the next several hours plus we enjoyed glasses of wine and shots of Hornitos Silver 100% Agave Tequila which we brought for our meal since in this area of Montclair most of the businesses don’t have liquor licenses. The staff of the restaurant was on point always ready to fill a glass that was low as our conversation about the decor & ambiance of Costanera turned our attention to the walls and bar of the establishment before our next course was presented.
Our gracious hosts told us that the previous owners of this space told them no matter what they did to the interior, they had to keep the bar. True to their word Costanera’s proprietors kept the bar intact while renovating the rest of the interior which was completely bare white walls. All the design and color scheme were completely those of the owners. And in case you’re wondering, yes that is real wood on the walls as well as the carved pieces across the room from where we sat.
Up next was what I alluded to earlier as having never eaten before. Anticucho (Beef Heart). The heart was cooked well and skewered on kebabs. Big kernels of corn and sauce adorned this dish and surprisingly it didn’t taste gamey or minerally at all. The consistency of the beef heart was close to that of hanger steak and yes I finished all of my Anticucho. 😉
Speaking of Hanger steak that’s what you see above. Again perfectly cooked steak served with fries, onions and red peppers garnished with a little cilantro if I’m not mistaken. Delish!!!
At the top of the pic above you see Causas (Classic mashed potato cakes with avocado, and lump crab meat) topped with drops of Huancaina sauce. Below the Causas are more Korn Kernels and roasted potatoes medley with crispy yucca also drizzled with Huancaina sauce. Uh Yassum!!! We liked our starches. The Huancaina sauce really brought everything together nicely.
Fried Sweet and Green Plantains followed. I’m a fan of both but the fried sweet plantain won out.
Another round of tequila shots with lime wedges helped cleanse our palletes before we perused the desert menu.
Naturally we chose the first three deserts on menu to share between us.
That there above is Costanera’s Mousse de Chocolate with a scoop of chocolate icecream accompanied by bananas, blueberries, and raspberries. Mmmm mmm Son!!! 😀
Next we had the Crema Volteada (Flan) that looked like a heavenly sliced piece of cheesecake topped in a rich caramel sauce. The Tres leches is obscurred by the chocolate mousse regrettably, but it too tasted out of this world amazing!!!
In all honesty everything we sampled was beyond reproach. I could find absolutely nothing that I didn’t like. The ceviche’s were incredible, all the meats, and sides more than satisfied. This truly was an experience to be had. Costanera gets 5 out of 5 dinner plates in every category, taste, presentation, price, service and food quality. OOOOO
This is a must try restaurant experience!!! Thank you again to Tatianna & Andre our gracious hosts of Costanera. Till next time this has been the Costanera Cocina Peruana Experience 2014 by THEJNSREPORT.
Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Socarrat Paella Bar Experience 2014!!!
Located in Chelsea around the corner of 8th Ave & 19th St.
Socarrat Paella Bar’s interior layout reminds me of a “RailRoad” apartment. I ventured into this place on a Saturday night with a couple of friends who raved that the Paella here was a must try for Paella lovers. Having eaten Paella in Spain once upon a time. I figured now was as good a time as any to see if NYC could and would measure up to that experience.
Socarrat offers a nice atmosphere and complimentary coat check which just makes sense considering the limited seating space inside. Not having to worry about where to place one’s jacket or bag while trying to dine in is an important part of any dining out experience.
We decided to start our dining experience off with some appetizers while looking over which Paellas we were going to try. After some thought we settled on having white anchovies, in olive oil with black & green olives, sliced plum tomatoes and bacon wrapped dates.
The White anchovies actually tasted better than anticipated and were quickly laid waste to along with everything else on the plate. That being said, ladies and gentlemen…Behold the power of Bacon son!!!
Whoever came up with this creation to quote Epic Meal time is “F’N Smart!!!” Salty sweet cravings get satisfied and then some when having one of the above bad boys let me tell ya. Once again, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Yassum!!!
After toasting with cocktails of Milagros Tequila with lime…. out came our Paellas.
We chose one Paella with Black Rice colored with Squid Ink. The second Paella had no ink in it. Both were equally well cooked and very delicious.
Portions more than satisfied and caused us to have to request a doggy bag.
The next day I was able to enjoy some left over Paella that tasted even better the second day especially when coupled with scrambled eggs. Yes Ma’am!!! It was gooood!!! Socarrat in terms of presentation and taste gets 4 1/2 dinner plates out of 5. OOOO [. We had a great time dining here and ultimately ended up closing the place down.
While Socarrat is definitely a cool little spot to dine be warned this is not a cheap place to eat. Our tab for 3 people came in at a bit over $200 with tip. Drinks definitely contributed to the bill perhaps more than the Paella and appetizers.
Even so, I’ll definitely be back to sample more Paella from Socarrat in the near future. Till next time this has been the Socarrat Experience 2014 by THEJNSREPORT.
Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant Experience 2014!!!
Located at the corner of 116th St. & 2nd Ave.
On a night I decided to go to dinner with a friend we ended up at El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant. I was told to expect really good Spanish food. My taste buds perked up at the thought of what was to come.
Apparently there are quite a few former Pro Baseball Players who have eaten at this establishment. All of whom have been enshrined in the El Nuevo Caridad Restaurants “Hall of Fame” including MLB’s perennial “Hall of Fame” snub Barry Bonds.
Personally I feel Barry Bonds deserves to be in the Hall of Fame regardless of the rhetoric and bias politics the sports media have made as it pertains to his worthiness of entry into the Hall.
Anyway that’s for another discussion. Once inside we thought it fine to sit at the bar and eat. The bar is very small but the atmosphere was cool and down to earth. All of the staff were pretty friendly.
Both my friend and I ordered the Chicharron de Pollo with Rice and Beans but I opted for sin hueso (without bones), while my friend opted for con hueso (with bones). Chicharron de Pollo for those of you who dont’ speak Spanish means Fried Chicken chunks.
The food here is very good. I thoroughly enjoyed my Chicharron de Pollo sin Hueso with Arroz Amarilla y Habichuelas. 😉 The food portions are very adequate and more than satisfy as you can see.
Here’s a look at some of the rest of their interior.
My overall impression of El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant, which is huge in terms of square footage, (as it looks to be the size of two establishments in one) is that for the price and money this is a must eat at destination for lovers of Latin cuisine. I score it 5 dinner plates out of 5. OOOOO
If you’re ever in Spanish Harlem give them a try and let us know what you think. Till next time this has been EL Nuevo Caridad Restaurant Experience 2014 by THEJNSREPORT.
Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: City Cakes Episode 2: More Cookies!!
In episode one I introduced several of the half pound monster cookies that City Cakes makes. This time around I bring the aforementioned Signature Sugar Doodle Cookie, and a big ole Chocolate Chip.
Looks like CupCake Wars has a potential new contestant.
The City Cakes Signature Sugar Doodle Cookie.
City Cakes take on The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Not from City Cakes but a friend who gave me a sample of this amazing treat!
That’s baklava a friend gave me over the weekend. Absolutely delicious! I mean it boggles the mind how someone came up with this creative brilliance of a desert. Admittedly, I don’t know what’s in baklava but I’ll soon find out. One thing I know is this was simple looking but outstanding!!
As for City Cakes it is my new favorite bakery. The Signature Sugar Doodle Cookie words can’t begin to explain how good it tastes. The Chocolate Chip cookie is equally as brilliant and both are must tries. At some point I’m gonna have to test their skills when I need another custom cake made. Then we’ll see how they do vs say Make my Cake.
THEJNSREPORT
THEJNSREPORT 