Deliciously Authentic

There aren’t too many restaurants where, as soon as I’m leaving, I’m already plotting my return trip. Sabor Peru, just two months old, is one of those places. While not everything we ate was tongue-spanking amazing, the things that were good makes this place a stand-above-the-rest favorite. And I expect even better as time goes on.

One of the things that defines a great Peruvian restaurant to me is their ceviche. There are more than 2,000 cevicherias in Lima, Peru, pretty much making the dish a national icon. So not only should a good Peruvian restaurant offer one, they’d better do it well. For me, it’s pretty much the test dish to see if a place’s ingredients are up to standard. It’s a seafood dish that has to taste not just fresh but refreshing, and has to really wake up your tastebuds.

The ceviche we ordered was shrimp, but they have several to choose from, including one that mixes fish, mussels, clams, shrimp, octopus and calamari. For roughly $15, they don’t skimp on the amount of shrimp. Most places will give you about 12 medium to large-sized shrimp, but here the plate was filled with small shrimp. That meant you could definitely share the plate and get more than a smidgen of a taste. I love spicy food but my husband doesn’t, so we asked for the spice to be somewhere in the middle, which it was. The lime, cilantro, celery, and other spices really accented the flavor of the shrimp. Of all the ceviche I have eaten in the tri-state area, this place gets top prize, no doubt. Plus, there was an ingredient - maybe cream, but I can’t be sure - that gave the lime juice-based sauce a cloudy color and not only personalized the dish, but added a sweetness that I enjoyed.

Our entrees were also delicious. Although I was tempted to try their various soups, I went with the especial saltado, which is a stir fry of beef tenderloin, chicken, and seafood. Again, it’s not like there was a bunch of chicken and very little seafood or beef. There were significant amounts of calamari, shrimp and octopus. My husband got the Peruvian-style stir-fried rice (chaufas) with seafood, chicken and beef. When the plates arrived, we realized we probably could’ve shared one plate — the servings were easily enough for two people. The green hot sauce on the table was really spicy - a wonderful addition to my plate, not that it needed help with the flavor. I just like an extra kick to my food.

The restaurant is new, so you can expect a really friendly and eager wait staff, which includes the very accommodating owner, Dave. There are 14 tables and I could see it feeling tight if the place was packed, but the energy is upbeat, so I think it would just add to the festive decor. While we were there, a table of six was celebrating a 21st birthday party and the owner bought them a bottle of wine (it’s BYOB, so they can’t sell it, but it was still a really nice thing they didn’t have to do). And even though there was another party of four, a table of three and another table of two, the waiters never seemed harried. They even offered to explain menu items if there was anything we were unfamiliar with.

If you have never had Peruvian food, this is definitely a good place for a first time. The owner told me his father owned a place in Passaic but had closed up shop. Lucky for us he came out of retirement for Sabor Peru. Go any day during the week except Monday when they’re closed. The owner recommends making reservations on weekends as they can get busy, but we went around 7:30 Sunday and had no problem getting a table.

Sabor Peru
8 Highland Cross (off Park Ave)
Rutherford
(201) 935-PERU (7378)
www.saborperunj.com

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If you’re like me, you use your phone for more than making phone calls. In fact, I text and email more often than I dial anyone’s number! That’s why you can now get GoOutJersey’s reviews sent straight to your phone!

Just click the “Get Mobile Version” button on the left or go here.

Or right in your phone’s browser, go to: fdm8.com/gooutjersey

Yup, it’s that easy!

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I received this, um, colorful email advertisement (from a location that shall remain anonymous), and it made me ponder: Can you really call yourself trendy and classy and be taken seriously with an email designed and written like this? The background color of the email was a garish green, unable to be duplicated here. They never claim to be tasteful, so, why not, right?

This Thursday, August 23rd

The TRENDIEST & CLASSIEST Thursday Latin Party in NJ

Blackout Party

What color are you going to wear?

Red-Taken! Keep it Moving!

Yellow- Confused but we can be “friends”

Green- Single & ready to go.

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Honest Answers from Our Favorite Server

1. Does it mean anything when I order my fries well done?

It definitely means I’m going to roll my eyes at you. I currently work at a place that serves shoestring fries that are very similar to Burger King’s. It most likely means that you’re going to get your fries either the same as everyone else’s or so overcooked there’s no actual potato left – just a hollow, crispy coating of near-char. If that’s how you like it, then good for you. But have you ever considered that if that’s how you like your french fries then maybe you don’t actually like french fries? Maybe you should look into a new side dish.

2. If you’re having a bad day, what are some things I can do to keep you from hating me as your customer, and how do I make requests (like “more pickles please!”) without you spitting on them?

I have no problem with fulfilling requests as long as you’re respectful about making them. It’s my job. Servers don’t just go around spitting into people’s dinners all willy-nilly. The only time I get irritated is if you:
a) Make a new request each time I come back to the table to fulfill the last one. For instance, if you ask for a side of pickles and I ask, “Does anyone else need anything?” everyone should sit for minute and think, “what do I need?” and not send me back to the kitchen 8-10 times.
b) Act like a total bitch for sport. For example, one woman sent me away from her table when I asked if she’d like dessert, only to complain to the manager seconds later that she wanted dessert and I was nowhere to be found. Then, as I went back to her table to get the order, she shredded napkins onto the table and requested that I clean up the mess. She received a very special beverage that night.
c) Regularly come in and ask for everything you can get for nothing or next to nothing and then tip less than 15%.

3. I feel required to tip 20%, so if I want to show the waitress I disapproved of her service, what’s the best way? Tipping less may just indicate I’m a bad customer, if she’s clueless.

First you should try to sort out if the service was bad because of the server, or because of circumstances out of her control. Did the drinks take too long? The bartender could have been chatting with customers and ignoring her while she waited for your rum and coke. Was the food cooked improperly? If you saw her write down your order, it’s most likely that it was the fault of the kitchen. Give your server the benefit of the doubt and gauge how well/poorly she dealt with remedying the problems (keeping in mind that, if you don’t like the food, a) she didn’t cook it, and b) if you eat half of it or more, there’s nothing she can do to help you. Complain right away.)

If you determine that she is indeed an incompetent server, don’t feel compelled to tip 20%. She didn’t earn it. But don’t stiff her, either. I generally leave 15% for poor service (I suppose if you generally tip 15% then you could leave 10%) and then either fill out a restaurant-supplied comment card, or casually mention the problems with my dining experience to a manager or hostess as I leave. Just keep in mind that if you start demanding free things as compensation for your poor experience, no one is going to take you seriously.

4. I know non-hygienic practices such as unwashed hands, old food, and roaches are probably an issue in every restaurant. What can I do to get the least-gross dining experience possible?

Bugs and Vermin: If you see any signs, leave immediately.

Manhandling: Your side salad was probably taken out of a bin by your busy sever’s hand and tossed onto a plate. Don’t order that. If you send back your food because it has an ingredient on it that you didn’t want, I’m just going to pick it off, wait around for a few minutes, and bring it back to you. Just pick it off yourself.

Freshness: If you walk into a restaurant and smell fish, the fish is starting to get old. Don’t order that. If you’re going to order some kind of sliced deli-meat sandwich at a place that doesn’t look particularly busy, it was probably sliced a day or so prior. Also, a slow restaurant’s soup of the day, in reality, is probably the soup of the week. Keep in mind that the server should be trying to push all items that are near expiration, so asking me what to get probably isn’t your best bet.

5. Why must you always ask me how the food is when my mouth is full?
That’s not actually my intention. Ever stop to think that if you weren’t shoveling food into your face at the pace of a hungry prisoner, I might actually have an opening to ask you while your mouth wasn’t full?

6. The day’s specials: a fancy ploy to get rid of stuff in the kitchen, or actually worth ordering?

That’s a tricky question. It’s both. Sometimes we have somewhat regular specials which the chef is really proud of and is considering adding to the menu. Sometimes it’s a way to get rid of a surplus. The food can be delicious either way. Use your judgment and if you have an honest server, they’ll tell you what’s what.

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If you grew up in North Arlington, you know about Fatso Fogarty’s. Fights, public urination - it has developed a certain reputation over the last two decades. And until I ventured inside last Friday, I always thought it was dirty and dim, and filled with drunken old men and guidos.

Well, surprisingly, the guido-to-human ratio was actually quite small Friday night.

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You may have heard lately that there has been an increase in beach closings in the tri-state area due to pollution. But did you know (ok, maybe you assumed), that the #1 worst beach is right here in New Jersey?

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If going to a restaurant whose cuisine is unfamiliar to you, an assortment-style dish is definitely the way to go. You get a sense of what flavors and dishes the restaurant feels pair well together and you have a better sense for when you return, should you find something you like.

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