For this week’s Cuisine Corner, I was inspired by a couple of friends who were looking for something different. The original lunch plan was to get sandwiches at a local sandwich shop (review to come), when the idea popped into my head to stop by one of my favorite breakfast places, La Isla. Neither of them had tried Cuban food before, so my mind was quickly made up.
La Isla, located down by City Hall along Washington Street, is an old-school Cuban establishment which, while primarily a restaurant, doubles as Cafe No!, a lunch counter cafe with all kinds of coffees, quick snacks, and fruity beverages. We opted for a table, which given the relatively small size of La Isla, was no small feat. The atmosphere is as busy as the restaurant, with typical Latin cafe music and the sound of commotion along the lunch counter, with a couple going over a retirement plan with their adviser in the background several tables over.
For beverages, La Isla’s Cafe No! has quite the selection of both hot and cold beverages. The Cubaccino, a cappuccino kind of drink accented with evaporated milk, cinnamon, and whipped cream, was very tasty and hard for me to pry away from the orderer for a taste. I ordered a papaya batido, a kind of smoothie, but even smoother. I hadn’t had papaya in a while and I kind of forgot what they tasted like, but I was definitely not disappointed. Finally, they have a lemonade kind of drink with a flair of sugar and evaporated milk; while exceptional, the sweetness factor was turned up to 10, making it somewhat difficult to finish until a decent while after the meal. All of these drinks are available from the lunch counter to go, so if you’re passing by, it’s definitely worth a quick stop.
For a small restaurant, they have a decent selection of everything ranging from sandwiches and finger foods to full entrees, lunch specials, and desserts. I, ever in the pursuit of lunch specials, opted for one of Wednesday’s specials, the picadillo. Picadillo is a ground beef dish prepared with an assortment of vegetables; kind of like chili, but without the heat. For sides I went with black beans, which went into the picadillo, and yuca, a gourd similar to cassava root (upon a quick search of the Internet) dressed with a sweet glaze. Honestly, while the dish was decent, I think I was somewhat spoiled by my roommate’s picadillo, which had been prepared a couple of days earlier. The yuca was absolutely delicious, though. I was expecting a starch like it would crumble or taste kind of thin, but it was actually quite filling. As for the other lunch special we ordered, the arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), the presentation was absolutely beautiful. The chicken was reported as kind of dry, but when complemented with the rice, was really quite good. The dish also came with a side of fried plantains (like bananas but different), which while a little on the heavy side, were really tasty. Finally, and one of the highlights of our meal, one of their pressed sandwiches: El Cubano, or a Cuban sandwich for those unaffiliated with this classic sandwich. Cuban sandwiches are loaded with ham, pork (there’s a difference), swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard, all pressed on a flatbread until crispy. While it doesn’t come with sides like the lunch specials, their Cuban is absolutely phenomenal, and there’s something to be said about doing the basics well.
La Isla is one of Hoboken’s classic restaurants, offering all kinds of Cuban flair. With a dining room and cafe giving off a feel of downtown Havana, seemingly authentic Cuban dishes (some of which have been featured on Food Network), and decent prices, La Isla is always a solid option if you’re feeling something a little different from the standard Hoboken fare.
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