Cha Cha Cha Cuban Café

CUBA 🇨🇺

[COVID-19 UPDATE: As seen in the photo above, there are a few seats in front if you would like to enjoy your food, but Cha Cha Cha is doing primarily pickup and delivery service at the moment.]

Having never been here before restrictions were put into place for dine-in services, the joy and hospitality this room is most certainly full of cannot be independently confirmed. But even in these days opening the door is much more like stepping into the kitchen of a friend rather than a restaurant.

The staff is busy cooking and sorting lunch orders coming in on the phone and various apps, but never stops being friendly and accommodating, even apologizing that the indoor tables are unavailable when a takeout order is ready.

The cute interior can hopefully be enjoyed soon.

When the dining room is back open, it will be with great pleasure that a return visit will need to take place. Besides these good moods, the restaurant is full of cute reminders of Cuba (including bar stools made from real drums), great music, and artwork with scenes of home.

On this particular visit, food was being picked up for a trip down to the beach, but a few appetizers were necessary to take care of growling stomachs. This was a good opportunity to sit at a table in the front.

The plate above includes an empanada de pollo ($2.50, left) and an order of croquetas de hamon ($1.50, right, their spelling), along with two different types of mayo-based dipping sauces. The croquetas are fried to order and tasty, bites are rich with ham and pepper, and maybe a dash of nutmeg?

The empanadas are also fried in their Cuba renditions, but retain their moist meaty filling. You can also select them with picadillo, but this was full of shredded chicken. To be honest, neither of the snacks requires the sauces, each one full of its own spices that outshine the condiments.

After Florida, New Jersey saw the most migration from Cubans over the years and is no stranger to some of the best Cuban food around, including some very impressive cubanos. The cubano ($9.95, above, lunch price) at Cha Cha Cha checks all the right boxes: toasted right with the cheese oozing out, while the savory, sweet, and sourness of the ingredients all play off of each other perfectly.

When the pickle is allowed to dance and showcase itself like it is in this sandwich, happiness is usually quick to follow.

Amongst other dishes that are also available for lunch specials (Monday through Friday, 11:00-14:30) is the lovely ropa vieja ($10.95, above). This shredded and spiced flank steak is cooked in a savory creole sauce and also takes hints of sour from its olives.

For those that are fascinated by Latin American rices and how each country can create its own taste within them, you will not be disappointed by the ample portion here. Scoops of it with the black beans (both come with the ropa vieja) are enough to conjure up memories of sitting down at a restaurant right on the malecón. For now, the Jersey shore or some proximity to it, will have to suffice.

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KENILWORTH New Jersey
292 South Michigan Avenue

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Rei Da Manivela Churrasqueira Bar

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

The more time you spend underneath flights taking off and landing at Newark International Airport, the better you eat. The areas directly surrounding the runways are full of interesting foods from around the world. North of the airport is the well-known Ironbound neighborhood, hosting many Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants and businesses. Just to the west are some communities with many West African establishments catering to a fast-growing population. Even to the east at Port Newark there are good lunch trucks including a dynamite Chilean vendor.

Just south of EWR is Elizabeth, New Jersey's fourth largest city and home to so many Latin American communities. In addition, like the Ironbound, the area is also home to quite a few Portuguese and Portuguese-Americans, and all the barbecue that typically goes with them in New Jersey. Just south of the sprawling cemetery in the far reaches of Weequahic Park is one of the best, on the first floor of a long building. Besides the sign in front, the business is given away by a tall smoke stack connected to the side of what otherwise just seems like an apartment building.

The smells of cooking meat are of course noticeable, but that stack is doing great work because for a place that cooks over charcoal indoors, the smoke and smell is well under control. Taking a sneak peek in the back is recommended to check out the automated rotating traps that spin quickly over the fire as not to burn anything.

Orders come in fast and furious once the Elizabeth lunch rush starts from tables of course but also from walk-in customers taking big bags for takeout, and from a phone that seemed to be ringing nonstop. The skilled chefs in the back were constantly removing and returning the traps to fill orders, never missing a beat and always knowing the proper times everything needs.

While our neighbors at other tables were clearing plates on their own, ours decided to share a $21 order of beef ribs and chicken (above). With so much happening over the fire, it is a testament that all of the meat is cooked so well.

Served without fuss on metal plates, but somehow with great care, the feast also procured a side of beans and rice for $3, red beans that almost came out as soup but go very nicely with the ridiculous amount of rice. To give variety to the meat-heavy meal, return for bites of these frequently.

The marinades are simple yet tasty, the cuts and cooking is really where the beef ribs shine. The skin of the chicken is brightened by its rub, the intensity of each bite quite a bit sharper. The first touch on the tongue gives a slight reminder of the tangy vinegar of Buffalo wings. Underneath, even the thick white meats are miraculously juicy and full of flavor.

They truly know what they are doing here when they cook an animal.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey
1452 Lower Road

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Roc's Café

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

It would be easy to drive past this little Portuguese bakery without noticing the delicious goods they have inside. The building looks like many others in the neighborhood, with one small change to the ground floor to make room for commercial space. This building has actually been home to a small shop with groceries and coffee and sandwiches for many years, but a 2017 renovation expanded the footprint of the ground floor and even added a small third floor.

The new space is home to Roc's Café, a small bakery offering the famous sweets of Portugal and a dozen sandwiches.

The pastéis de nata ($1.25 each, above) are great here, a little more charred than usual on the day we came but I actually prefer them this way. The flaky, buttery dough "cup" is heaven, holding within it the egg custard with plenty of cinnamon.

Also worth a try are these pastéis de tentugal ($1.50 each, below), wrapped dough so thin its browned edges almost appear to be paper. Inside again is a spiced custard, and as you can imagine by looking at it, this might be best eaten outside or with plenty of napkins at least.

I would love to come back here for lunch to try some of their creations like the feiras novas dog, a hot dog wrapped in ham and cheese and topped with a fried egg and potato sticks, or the most famous of Portuguese sandwiches called the bifana.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey

1020 North Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Taqueria Nealtican

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

If North Jersey and New York City each submitted their 32 best to make a field of 64 for an Al Pastor March Madness, I am fairly certain that the Final Four would be all jersey trompos. If it were a World Cup, NYC trompos would not even get past the group stage. Walk up and down Bergenline Avenue eating them and you'll know what I mean.

For this reason, I slammed on the breaks when we saw the rotating beauty below at a small shop named after the small town in Puebla its owners are from. Trompos like this are hard to refuse.

While the food here might not end up in the World Cup final, it was still a worthy opponent that probably had a surprise draw in the group stage to surprise a heavyweight. Most of their taquitos, like the al pastor below, come in groups of 4 for $8. A few meats are a bit more at $10.

On "Taco Tuesday," an invention that usually inspires my hatred, they have chicken and al pastor taquitos for $1 apiece, but folks with big appetites should know that the limit is 16 per person. 16!

The other popular item here with many different versions is the alambre, a mixed dish of grilled meats, vegetables, and cheese. These come served on a plate with a side of tortillas. I will have to enjoy this dish from the Pueblan owners next time.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey
1179 Elizabeth Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

La Nueva R.O.U. Bakery

URUGUAY 🇺🇾

On a big matchday it is not hard to tell the affiliation of this establishment, the flags of Uruguay are everywhere and fans crowd the indoor and outdoor areas cheering on La Celeste as they did this past summer and every important match before that. On other days though the place is much more quiet and it may be hard to tell, unless that is you can decipher the acronym R.O.U. in the name.

This stands for the official full name of the country: Repüblica Oriental del Uruguay. The bakery is more than just that, it has sandwiches and empanadas, and even advertises pizza although I am not entirely convinced of that yet. You can also come here to stock your pantry with yerba mate, the nation's #1 beverage.

Even on the Friday we checked the place out, football was still an important part of the soul here (as it is with most of Uruguay) as the flags of many teams playing in La Liga Profesional de Primera División are hung right above the counter. The bakery does not take a stand of its own and all are welcome.

A typical morning in Uruguay will include not only mate, but an assortment of bizcochos. In New York City, this word is associated with Dominican cakes 99 out of 100 times you see it, but over here in Elizabeth the ratios are far more favorable to Uruguay. These small pastries are made in many different ways; either sweet or savory, plain or filled.

The plain version, at the bottom of the basket below, is full of surprise. The pastry is super light and has a very durable exterior, leading you to believe it is crunchy and dry, but the inside is full of butter and still very moist. Of any, I think this was my favorite.

From left to right, the others above were filled with ham, guava, and what was described as "vanilla," although this was more of an egg custard. Having a little assortment is a fun way to enjoy the Uruguayan news on the televisions and sip on your mate, although this strong, caffeine-rich tea is only in a tea bag here. I doubt anyone would oppose you bringing your own mate and bombilla.

If you happened to miss the display of empanadas in the front as you walked in, go back and take a look and don't pass up the chance on eating some here or taking them home. Four varieties are available, beef, chicken, ham + cheese, and spinach. We grabbed one each of the beef and chicken and were not disappointed. Uruguayan empanadas (above and below) are always baked rather than fried, and are small but well-stuffed with ingredients.

Last but not least, also available is the very Uruguayan mashup food pascualina (below). For more on this egg and spinach Italian-Uruguayan pastry, check out our recent report from nearby Pizzeria Montevideo.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey
482 Rahway Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

O Teimoso

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

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PORTUGAL 🇵🇹 Dispatch from Elizabeth, New Jersey: This corner bar and restaurant is just the sort of establishment to piss off whiney Yelp users, hence its current 1.5 star rating on that website. But if you go to a place that translates as "stubborn" it's on you when you're displeased with service enough not to enjoy your food. Sitting at the bar area is a delight, right in the center of the neighborhood's Portuguese community. Beer and wine flows steadily, and all the food is delicious. ° O Teimoso, 854 2nd Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey. Instagram exclusive post, added to full map on website. ° (1) Grilled sardines at the bar (2) 2nd Avenue facade. ° ° #EattheWorldNYC #eattheworld #worldfood #worldfoods #instayum #instafood #instaeat #foodlovers #foodlover #forkyeah #nyc #nyceats #nycfood #nycdining #newforkcity #eatingnyc #eatingnewyork #nj #njeats #njfood #newforkjersey #eatingnj #elizabeth #elizabethnj #portugal #portuguese #portuguesefood #sardines #grilledsardines #oteimoso

A post shared by Eat the World NYC (@eattheworldnyc) on Apr 28, 2018 at 5:57pm PDT

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ELIZABETH New Jersey

854 2nd Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Pizzeria Montevideo

URUGUAY 🇺🇾

Continuing our new series about the South American pizzerias of New Jersey, this time we skip across the Río de la Plata and into Uruguay, which along with Argentina is a country with a lot of Italian in its blood. Taking the first exit after the Goethals Bridge from Staten Island will land you practically at the door of Pizzeria Montevideo in the south part of Elizabeth, New Jersey.

This working class pizzeria named after the capital of Uruguay, in a wonderful working class neighborhood, adheres more to the Italian side of things with pizza and pastas. But just as you can locate the sky blue football scarf of Uruguay hanging on the wall here, look for the Uruguayan pages of the menu for more unique foods.

One of these is the pascualina ($3, below), a type of torta cooked with egg, spinach, onions, pepper, and cheese.

Immensely popular in Uruguay but also with roots far back in Italy, this flaky pastry is common at all times but especially during Easter as the name suggests. The pascualina is meatless making it perfect for lent, and the ingredients all reference religious symbolism and the resurrection. It is still tasty even if Jesus is not your thing.

Ham and cheese croquetas ($3, below) made in the Uruguayan style are also available with either rice or potato puree inside. These two were chosen with rice, which allows the other tastes to shine through a bit better.

The egg and cheese that holds all the ingredients together becomes melty when cooked and the croquetas have a really nice texture. The fun story of these tasty snacks is that they are sort of leftovers food, a family will cook them when there is a good portion of rice that goes uneaten after a meal. Like fried rice far to the east, croquetas are said to be more delicious when the rice is a day old.

The chivitos in Jackson Heights, Queens can sometimes be intimidating, massive beautiful structures of bread, meat, and cheese. Here in Elizabeth, the sandwich seems to match the neighborhood and be much more approachable. It would never be known for its looks, but this chivito al pan ($10, below) will do its job seamlessly, satisfying even the largest of appetites.

Along with grilled meat, ham, and mozzarella, the sandwich stacks in bacon, olives, peppers, lettuce, tomato, and a hard-boiled egg. The bread is always important in Uruguayan sandwiches, and does not let you down here.

It seemed necessary to try the pizza despite expanding waistlines at the end of a long day eating in New Jersey. A slice of pepperoni (below) will only set you back $2.50, and is cut up into four small sections. Along with plates of grilled meat that are typical of a Uruguayan dinner, there were no other tables here this night that did not include pizza.

That information can be used however you wish, but maybe bring at least four people so that you can try all sides of the menu and leave very satisfied.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey

531 Bayway

El Lechon de Negron

PUERTO RICO 🇵🇷

The Negron family has owned, operated, and drove a truck around New Jersey since 2012 offering the finest in porky Puerto Rican cuisine. If that has proved too hard to catch, a small strip mall in Union is now home to a fixed location and already seems like a hit.

There are only four tables, but the shop is doing a brisk business of mostly takeout orders, some of which are massive. It appears that every office in the area is sending their intern to pick up a bunch of food.

If you are eating in, walk to the back and place your order, take a seat, and fill up some small containers with your desired sauces. Most everyone around is speaking the very New York and New Jersey version of Puerto Rican Spanish, the best sign of the meal to come. Even though the place is constantly busy, everyone is very nice, and the music is excellent. The small restaurant is designed well, with clean modern lines and colors. The menu is small and focused, they do what they have very well.

The pernil ($9.25, below) is the signature here. The pork is all shoulder, pulled, and with a buttery taste. It is full of moisture and fat, and delicious. The two self-service hot sauces both partner well with the pork, but leave the BBQ and other sauces alone.

If you come here for pork, go all the way and come here for pork. Before some of the other options, why not order a plate of lechon disco fries ($8, below), a huge bowl of fries topped with the same pork, mozzarella, and pork gravy. There might be too much cheese on here, if that is possible, but the fries as you can imagine are quite enjoyable.

For a break from lechon, the empanadas are also a good option. At $3 each, grab one for an appetizer and one for a dessert. The chorizo y queso (below, left) had a bit of melty cheese mixed into the sausage, but was almost undetectable. Regardless, it was great. The guava y queso (right) made a wonderful sweet finish to the meal.

On the next visit, we would love to try the house mofongo, and caught a glimpse of a patacón sandwich (below) that resembles the the one famous in Venezuela.

After visiting the restaurant, finding the original truck at one of New Jersey's many food truck events seems even more appealing.

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UNION New Jersey

1331 Magie Avenue

Olga's Place

COSTA RICA 🇨🇷

Still stung by a recent 4-0 thumping of the United States national team by Costa Rica in 2018 World Cup qualifying, this write-up comes painfully. I traveled down to San José, Costa Rica with the American Outlaws, still dejected from the election but wanting a reason to like this country. Our football (not of the American variety) team is made up of dual nationals and sons of immigrants from Colombia, Mexico, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Haiti, and Japan, amongst others. The current leading scorer of the team is from deep in the heart of Texas. The captain is from Princeton, New Jersey. But after beating Costa Rica 4-0 over the summer in Copa America, the Central Americans returned the favor with the same score in their home. Their fans were relentless to our relatively small group of vocal supporters. The hate between the two teams goes back quite a ways, and this was their turn to be jerks.

A young Tica at Olga's in 2014

I could not think of a better way of getting over it than by eating, and Olga's Place is ground zero of Tico football support in New Jersey, if not the east coast. My first meal and experience here came during the World Cup in 2014 when the country shocked the world and won their group ahead of England, Italy, and Uruguay.

The place was packed, loud, and full of energy. The return trip at the end of 2016 was on a lazy weekday lunch, a time better for enjoying the food. Olga's is on a sleepy street south of the interstate, cut off from the main streets of Elizabeth. It is located in a former private residence and is set up in two parts, a long bar along one side of the restaurant, and dining tables on the other.

Knowing the casado plates are enormous, we decided on a couple appetizers and one main, first trying the platano con queso ($5, above), a plantain sliced open and covered with salty cheese. We also had our eyes on the ceviche de pescado ($12, below), which comes with a few tortilla chips. We squeezed in some extra lime as well.

From my first visit here during the World Cup, the casado de chuleta ($15, below), is a thin pork chop seasoned very well. A casado translates to "married man" and is used to signify a full meal including beans, rice, and plantains.

Casado in 2014

On the return visit, the casado seemed to grow with a potato and beet salad as well as another spicy potato side. Our casado con bistec encebollado ($15, below) even came with an egg on top of the steak. Once again the meat is well marinated, and the rice and beans are on point.

Casado in 2016

The meal and two appetizers strategy worked well, both of our bellies were maxed out for this lunch.

Back on gameday 2014, the chile relleno de carne ($13, below) was the perfect match snack. The stuffed chili pepper is covered in savory sauce and is served with rice and salad.

Opening up the pepper shows a stuffing of seasoned ground beef and nothing else. I distinctly remember this plate being vacuumed of every morsel it was so good.

While mildly cathartic, the trip to Olga's did not do all I wanted to tame the anger I was feeling towards Tico football supporters, but being surrounded by the lovely people here was a good reminder that these parts of life have to be separated. 2017 brings two chances for us to exact our revenge on home soil, and I will be there to rub it in at the stadium when it happens, and buy those poor Ticos some beers.

The next set of qualifiers for the Ticos are in late March, so make plans to come to Olga's in Elizabeth and catch the great atmosphere.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey

214 LT Glenn Zamorski Drive

I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!