Delivery from Taqueria

Taqueria Downtown recently opened another outpost on Grove Street that will focus on catering, take-out, and delivery orders. Taqueria is one of the most popular spots in Jersey City, but after so long of being eat-in/take-out only, I was curious to see how they'd hold up for delivery.

Short answer: Not Well.

Grove Square Bistro

Last week, I met up with a couple friends to try the much talked about Grove Square Bistro. I’d been watching this place be built out for months and was genuinely curious and excited to see what it would turn into. Even when I started seeing some mixed reactions online, I held out hope that the Bistro would be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. The first week it was open, it seemed packed even with the limited menu and what I’m sure was slightly disorganized service as the restaurant got its bearings. I'd hoped by waiting a bit until the opening kinks were worked out and the full menu was being served, I’d have a better chance of getting a feel for the place.

My friends arrived before me and when I joined them, I ended up waiting at least 10 minutes before someone came by to take my drink order which is a pretty long time considering the restaurant was fairly empty. I know it’s still early days and I understand it can take a while for a staff to find its rhythm so while it wasn’t that big a deal, I was also frustrated by the fact that the glass of water the server told me he’d bring without me even asking didn’t show up until the end of our meal. Other than the timing being off, the server we had was very nice, checked in with us a few times, and did seem anxious to make sure we had everything we needed.

Drinks wise, we all had something different off their cocktails menu. There was red sangria, a margarita, and I chose a mojito. None of these were terribly successful although the red sangria was decent. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it but nor would I turn it down. My mojito tasted like…well, like nothing. I got a bit of sugar and occasional taste of mint…but that was it. The margarita was weird.  All of us agreed that was the best description as we weren't able to put our finger on exactly what was off, just that something was. I will say it didn’t taste like it was made from a mix, so that’s a plus. I couldn’t discern much alcohol in either one which is a disappointment at $8-$10 a cocktail.