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Orale Mexican Kitchen

Orale Mexican Kitchen was a lucky find. My friends and I stumbled into this place because we weren’t craving our original plan – Korean, didn’t want to eat far, (New York City) and didn’t want to eat close (Hoboken) either. We sat in silence for awhile, shooting down each other’s suggestions until someone brought up Park and Sixth on Grove Street. “Wait,” I said. “I already wrote about that place.” “Well yeah,” said my other friend. “But there are a lot places around Park and Sixth.”

So off we went, and after a fifteen minute ride on the Path, we settled on Orale because, honestly, it had the flashiest exterior. From the outside, it looks like a tiny, yet vibrant tapas bar. Inside, it’s huge. The place has a bar, a wall of Mexican soft drinks, and a huge dining area. The entire restaurant is dimmed, with some music playing in the background soft enough to enjoy a comfortable dinner by yourself or a conversation with friends.

As for the food, I applaud Orale’s decision to incorporate pork belly into every dish option. The restaurant offers a number of different tapas, appetizers, guacamoles, tacos, and dinner options. There’s a pork-belly-fied option for all these different dishes – which we obviously opted for. We ordered two El Naco dishes (Guacamole – $9 each), the Carnitas (Tacos – $16), the Chicken Quesadilla ($13 – unfortunately, pork belly free), and three different flavors of the Mexican Coke ($3 each). Overall, it came out to twenty dollars a person, which is excellent for a filling dinner in Jersey City.

Personally, I loved the El Naco Guacamole and the Carnitas. The guacamole isn’t extraordinary but the pork belly and assorted sauces they give you to compliment the guacamole make the dish. As for the Carnitas, the sour onions, cilantro, and pork belly complimented each other well. They could’ve done more with the dish, but the excessive helpings of pork belly make up for the lack of creativity.

Overall, I think anyone from Stevens would enjoy Orale. It’s a short walk from the Grove Street path station, affordable, has a good atmosphere, features delicious food, and has an impressive bar menu.

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