Now Hoboken knows how to do Italian! When I first went to Hoboken I was blown away by all of the Italian restaurant options. Repeatedly, I was drawn to Tutta Pasta because I loved the name and the menu had a wide variety of non tomato options. While the restaurant lived up to the name and my expectations, each time we went there, Chris would reflect on his favorite Italian restaurant in Hoboken - Cafe Michelina - the best chicken parmesan he ever had!! He finally persuaded me to try this Italian establishment over the holiday vacation.
The minute you walk into the restaurant, you can tell it is a gem and run by a lovely Italian family. The staff is very nice and bent over backwards to make sure five of us could get a table on a night where it was already packed with reservations (including a table with what must have been more than 20 people). The menu is full of Italian favorites such as baked ziti, chicken francese, penne vodka and more.
On this particular night, I was feeling overloaded by all of the food we had consumed over the vacation, so I opted for a "lighter" dish and chose the shrimp scampi. Oddly, I liked and disliked the dish for the same reason. What I liked about Cafe Michelina's version of shrimp scampi was that it was very light and not overloaded with garlic. Instead, it was prepared in a lemon wine sauce and served over spaghetti and I didn't leave feeling too full, which often happens with Italian. That said, I did think the dish slightly lacked an element of flavor, which might prevent me from ordering it in the future unless I am again craving something light.
But what truly knocked my socks off was Chris' chicken parmesan. He was right! I could only try a little bit because of the tomato, but it was beyond delicious. I would highly recommend it so much so that I am eager to get back to Hoboken soon so I can try the establishment's chicken francese. (I saw this come out of the kitchen and it looked amazing.)
Most of all, I would choose Cafe Michelina if you are catching up with good friends. We had a great time and the fact that the restaurant is your BYOB added to the charm.
Cafe Michelina you get 4.5 dumplings out of 5. Good pick, Chris!
http://www.cafemichelina.com/
