For Stevens students, the focus of Mikie Squared Bar & Grill is the bar and not so much the grill. While their popularity among students for their drink specials is definitely warranted (for those of age, of course), they are far from a one-trick pony. Once you get past the bar, it becomes widely apparent that Mikie’s has a variety of lunch and dinner options that only improve its standing in the Hoboken community.
As I’m sure many of my readers know of Mikie’s, the environment is pretty typical for a Hoboken bar/grill: indoor and outdoor seating, televisions everywhere projecting the current sporting event, and a pretty casual dining atmosphere. Normally, eating outside is preferred, but with the surprisingly chilly weather, we retreated inside towards the indoor dining/bar area. Something neat about the indoor seating is that the “half-booths” along the wall have one continuous couch, which I imagine works great for large groups and the inevitable cramming of tables on a busy weekend night.
This week, I thought better of running up quite the bill with three people and instead met an old friend for dinner. Their menu has a decent variety of starters, salads, sandwiches, and entrees. While a pure restaurant would likely have more variety and number of options, there were plenty for a casual night out. Since the entrees are a bit on the pricey side (typically $20+), we opted for an appetizer to share and a couple of sandwiches.
The Montana de Nachos seemed like a healthy enough portion to share, and we clearly weren’t wrong. They were a little bit different from typical nachos in that they used Monterey Jack cheese and pico de gallo, but the biggest difference was that they included the salsa, guacamole, and sour cream, not in cups on the side, but integrated into the dish; I was initially skeptical, but it all worked out very well and the dish was absolutely delicious!
Before we had polished off our appetizer, out came the sandwiches. As an aside, I’ve always been impressed by the speed of service at Mikie’s, whether eating there or ordering delivery (yes, they’re on delivery.com, and it’s great). My dinner partner, Alex, had the Alyssa’s Everyday Chicken Wrap, which features grilled chicken, avocado, and Monterey cheddar, with sweet potato fries. When it came out, the presentation was stellar and the dish’s taste was equally impressing. I ordered my favorite sandwich, the AJ’s Sweet and Spicy Chicken Sandwich. While I too had a penchant for spice, I went in a slightly different direction with cajun chicken, bacon (because of course it has bacon), mushrooms, and a homemade honey mustard sauce. As always, the sandwich never disappoints: tasty, with all the proportions dead on. I also had a side of sweet potato fries, and while they were pretty good, if I could suggest one improvement, I wish they had come with the same honey mustard sauce as the sandwich.
All in all, Mikie Squared has a pretty solid food menu. While the price might keep it from being a regular dinner stop for the average college student (we ran up a bill of about $50 between the two of us for just a starter and sandwiches), once you have a little jangle in your pocket, they have a nice variety of lunch and dinner options with pretty quick service, friendly staff, and awesome food. Like I mentioned earlier, Mikie’s might be known mostly for its martinis and Sangria, but there’s definitely more beyond the bar for everyone to enjoy!
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