Recently, some friends and I made plans to go out to dinner
and decided on Razza, a not-quite new restaurant in Jersey City that focuses on
a simple menu with fresh, local ingredients. We walked in shortly before 8pm on
a Friday and were greeted by a very friendly hostess who
estimated a 25 minute wait. Not short, but not bad for a Friday evening. They
had some space inside to wait, as well as plenty of room on the sidewalk where
they had placed a trolley with chopped wood, lanterns, and a few menus for
passerby to peruse which is a nice introduction to the atmosphere of
the restaurant.
The restaurant itself is dark with lots of wood, simply
decorated with the wood-burning oven dominating the back of the space. It’s
spacious without being large and is wonderfully atmospheric, both intimate and relaxed.
I didn’t feel out of place when I laughed loudly and was just as comfortable
having a quiet conversation. Our server
was very friendly, knowledgeable, and checked in regularly without being
overbearing. She gave recommendations easily and answered questions when we had
them. When giving the list of specials
for the evening (all of which sounded amazing), she gave the price for each
which was much appreciated. I don’t know why more restaurants don’t do this –
no one wants to deal with sticker shock at the end of the night.
That night's drink special was a strawberry infused tequila with lemon juice and it was wonderful – fruity without being sweet, slightly tart and complex,it had the nice burn of alcohol but easily drinkable. One of the best cocktails I’ve had in a long time. We also tried the tequilana – a tequila citrus drink with orange bitters - it was balanced and refreshing, also an excellent drink.
We started with a few appetizers – the ricotta crostini, the
salumi misti, and the polpette al forno (meatballs). They all came out shortly
after we ordered. In addition, they served us some grilled bread and olive oil,
both very good. The olive oil was mellow, grassy and a bit sweet. The crostini
was delicious, drizzled with olive oil and herbs that added to but didn’t
overwhelm the creamy ricotta. The clear
winner was the meatballs which were perfectly cooked and incredibly flavorful
without being overly herby. I’ve never considered meatballs to be particularly
delicate or tender but these were both. The tomato sauce they were in was
sweet, slightly acidic, with just a pure tomato taste and we were all grateful
we had extra bread. There were 6 meatballs in our little pan which was I thought
was very generous for the $9 price. The salumi misti was the only slight misstep. It
had three meats: finocchio, speck, and mortadella. The finocchio was the best
of the three while the mortadella was a bit of an odd choice that none of us
really enjoyed, but again, the meatballs more than made up for it.
Next, we enjoyed the Mai Pie, a white pie with mushrooms,
and the Cinghiale which was topped with wild boar sausage and kale. The Mai Pie
uses two kinds of mushrooms creating a savory, earthy, and rich pizza that I
would absolutely recommoned but the Cinghiale was my favorite. The ingredients
were well balanced and the slightly salty gaminess of the sausage and mild
bitterness of the kale tempered by the rich taste of olive oil all worked
wonderfully together to create an intensely flavorful pizza. The crust on both
was chewy and crusty, a bit tangier than I typically taste, and very enjoyable.
The Razza menu states they use a wild yeast culture that I assume accounts for
this difference, but whatever it is, it was delicious and well-cooked with the
effect of the wood fire being obvious.
All in All
Razza, located at 275 Grove Street, was delicious, exciting, reasonably priced and an
overall great experience that my friends and I immediately started talking
about repeating. It’s the kind of place that I can’t wait to have visitors so
that I can bring them there and I’d love to see more places like it open in Jersey
City. Well-worth visiting.
I am very much looking forward to trying this place. Does it every have a wait on weeknights or just Fri / Sat?
ReplyDeleteNot that I've seen although my guess would be that during the summer, it's going to be a bit busier. I think if you got there 6:30-7ish or after 9, you probably wont face the same kind of wait. If you do...totally worth it!
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