Turtle Club

Last Saturday was a Hoboken night.  Steph and I needed some time to catch up, so while Gav surrounded himself with March Madness, we hit up The Turtle Club for dinner and drinks.  The restaurant is new(ish) to Hoboken, but the mosaic floors have an old school flair that remind you an actual Turtle Club (America's first social club) existed here way back when and includes alums like Alexander Hamilton.

I was impressed by the cocktail list right off the bat because it included fun ingredients (ginger beer, muddled cherries) but wasn't overrun by super sweet drinks.  After two rounds of the Sybil's Sip (Ketel One, St. Germaine, lemon juice, grapefruit, and basil), we were ready to discuss all of the stressful things in our lives.  We continued to discuss our frustrations and celebrations over three shared dishes.  The first was a salad of arugula, dried cherries, walnuts, and shrimp.  It was good, but I found it slightly overdressed and was disappointed that it only included four shrimp, which is not enough for the $7 fee we paid to add them.  We got our choice of three bruschetta for $8, which I thought was a good deal, and I always love when you get a variety of choices for this type of thing.  We picked the asparagus with truffle oil, gorgonzola with garlic, and [my fave] bacon with caramelized onions and boursin.  The third - and in my opinion, best - dish of the night was the portabello napolean.  It was like a warm caprese salad all jacked up.  The mushroom caps were topped with sauteed spinach, roasted red pepper, mozzarella, and a balsamic reduction.

As the night wears on, the restaurant turns into a vibrant bar with a popular music selection.  It has a way of feeling slightly upscale without trying, which only means I'll be trying to return next time I'm in the 'boken.