Cucharamama

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Author Message   SOSully Citizen Username: Sullymw Post Number: 1171 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Monday, March 6, 2006 - 9:26 am:        Took the plunge and left our local vicinity for a little variety. First of all, the parking situation in Hoboken is horrendous. I thought it was bad when I lived there in '94-'96. They have done a good thing for the residents (one side of the street is restricted to resident use only), but it only makes it harder for non-residents. I guess we should consider the train in the future, but that will just make us go elsewhere. We called Cucharamama to get a suggestion about parking and they told us that there was a LOT on 4th and Clinton. Well, that was true, but it was FULL as were all of the other lots we found. Since we had a reservation and we were now late, we made a decision to be a little dishonest and park in the pay lot for St. Mary's. The lot was half-empty and only 2 blocks from Cucharamama. You have to show a validation card from the hospital when you leave, but we just said we didn't get one and they charged us the max rate $20. which we were happy to pay. As for the restaurant, it is a cozy place except near the door. They don't have a vestibule, so when the door opens all of the cold air comes in. They drape curtains to try to reduce the drafts. Service was a little spotty and not overly friendly, but it was ok. The menu is very diverse. 2 pages of 'appetizers'. We decided to forgo the normal Appetizer/Entree order and do a more tapas style mix of 6 appetizers. 4 of 6 of the appetizers were great. 1 was good and 1 we didn't finish. First we had a crispy calamari (excellent), a shrimp kabob (excellent) and mussels (good). We had 2 different tamales (bacon and duck) that were to die for. The only one we didn't like was a baked dumpling with onion confit and blue cheese. The blue cheese was WAY too strong and overpowered the dish....in our opinion. South American desserts never really inspire us, so we skipped them and had another drink. All in all, the food and ambiance were great. There were dishes that you cannot find anywhere else locally that I am aware of, so that is a big plus. Service could be a little better. And parking....ugh!