From Food Truck to Creperie, Kraverie Satiates All Kravings

Kraverie

http://www.kraveriejc.com

24 Mercer Street

Jersey City, NJ 07302

201-737-5877

We are big fans of Korean BBQ and have tried the new fusion idea of Korean BBQ and Mexican food at a NYC food truck. It is fantastic! Although we have never tried the Krave food trucks in NJ, we read about the Kraverie and knew it was worth a trip to Jersey City. We ordered a lot of food to share and asked our waiter for it to all come as it was ready.

 The Korean Tacos are served with a kimchi puree, onion-cilantro relish, and sour cream sauce. They come in orders of three so we picked one Galbi Short Rib, one Spicy Pork, and one Bulgogi Ribeye. The toppings were extremely fresh and tasty, but did not overpower the meat. All of the meats were tender and seasoned perfectly. We could have made a meal of just these tacos and left extremely happy. 

The Burrito is filled with choice of meat, we got spicy pork, sticky rice, shredded romaine, monterrey jack cheese, caramelized kimchi, and sour cream sauce. It also comes with a house salad on the side. The caramelized kimchi and sticky rice made the burrito, it added a flavor profile to the burrito that was superb. Although the burrito was exceptional, the tacos were probably a better option for someone who wanted to taste all of the meat options that Kraverie offers. 

Bibimbap is a Korean rice bowl served with sauteed vegetables, such as zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, spinach, shredded romaine, covered in a Korean sweet chili sauce, and a fried egg. We added sesame chicken because it was the one meat we hadn't tried. We have had hot stone bibimbap many times at different restaurants, and this was not exactly what we were expecting. The hot stone allows the egg to cook and the rice to get crispy. This was a very fresh twist on that. The sesame chicken was our least favorite of the meats, but if you won't eat pork or beef it is still good.

Last, but most certainly not least, the Korean Wings coated in a sweet and spicy gochujang sauce. The hot pepper glaze was absolutely mouth-wateringly good. The fried chicken wing is cooked to perfection. The meat is juicy, the skin extra crispy, and the sauce the perfect consistency and amount not to overwhelm the wing. We will be dreaming about these wings for all the days to come.

Our bill was very reasonable in our opinion, especially considering how much food we ordered, and the fact that we had leftovers for later (which were not as good as first served, but still delicious none the less). Try this place and be adventurous! Everything we tried was great and we are sure anything you order here will not disappoint.

Crowded Local Italian Joint: Great Pizza, Lackluster Entrees

Trattoria La Sorrentina

http://www.sorrentinanb.com

7831 Bergenline Avenue

North Bergen, NJ 07047

(201) 869-8100

If you have ever driven down Bergenline Avenue in North Bergen on a Friday or Saturday night, you will see people waiting outside of Trattoria La Sorrentina. We had ordered pizza as take out from here before and it was very good! Thin crust and great toppings. Seeing the line outside, how could we resist?

We gave our names and were told about a 20 minute wait. We noticed returning customers seemed to get special treatment, which we think is a very nice way to treat returning customers, however we could see other patrons becoming irritated. When we were eventually seated we were quickly given menus, bread, and water. A waiter soon came over to ask what we would like to drink.

To start, we ordered the La Caprese salad, which consisted of homemade mozzarella with tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and a little basil. The mozzarella was extremely creamy. The tomatoes and basil were fresh and sweet. Simple and divine.

For another appetizer we ordered Agiolata E Gamberi, a white bean salad with grilled shrimp and olive oil. This appetizer was very oily, but the flavor in the shrimp was good and together the white bean and shrimp were a great pairing. 

For our main courses we ordered Penne Belvedere, penne with proscuitto and onion in a vodka sauce. The pasta was cooked well, but the sauce was a bit too much on the tomato side and not enough creamy vodka goodness. 

For our other main course we ordered Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina, a homemade gnocchi with fresh tomato and mozzarella. The gnocchi were big and fluffy and the sauce was well seasoned, but there was a little too much of it.The gnocchi was much better then the sauce that came with it. 

We will definitely order pizza from here again, however we will not wait for a table again here. The appetizers and entree's were not on the same level as the pizza and there are simply too many other extraordinary Italian restaurants in northern New Jersey to revisit here again.