Perquín Is Jersey City’s Most Exciting New Restaurant | Eater NY

"A recently opened Honduran-leaning restaurant at 85 Morris Street in Paulus Hook (opened in November) leans into messy, hands-on dining: pork tostadas and shrimp tacos arrive with utensils but will likely go untouched, finger-licking sauces from herby aji verde to creamy salsa blanca invite diners to dive in, and just above the bathroom sink a fuzzy spray-painted script jests: “Aren’t you glad that you ate with your hands?” Owner Bryan Girón, 29, an alum of Barbuto, Bread & Salt, Tao Hospitality, and Shukette (where he was most recently chef de cuisine), notes that “[In New York] you have to wait months, sometimes, to eat somewhere,” and that he wanted it to be “approachable, accessible, and not so stuffy.” Honduran food is the primary draw, with influences from Ecuador, Mexico, and greater Central America; the handwritten blackboard menu changes frequently and features snacks, traditional street food playfully called chucos or “messy,” masa-centric entrees, a rotating dessert, a daily special, and an optional pre-fixed menu. The kitchen has introduced a chef’s table in view of the kitchen (the only table that requires reservations) so Girón can approximate the price of a check while experimenting. Crowd favorites include pollo chuco (fried chicken smothered in tomato salsa and salsa blanca atop lightly fried green bananas; gluten-free), salchipapa (fries with chorizo, nduja, and American wagyu hot dogs with a generous drizzle of aji verde), and a surprising hit: the baleada—“Neither taco nor quesadilla,” their version comes with refried beans, plantains, sumac, and onions stuffed into a pillowy flour tortilla; “We have two guys who are incredible at making the baleada. No one can stretch the dough like that,” he says. Girón applies techniques from Italian and Middle Eastern cooking, making many components in-house—spice blends, aiolis, french fries, pickles, vinaigrettes, crema, cheese, homemade syrups for the bar—and even turns chicken skins from chullos into chicharrón specials: “I’m applying everything that I’ve learned to what I know about Latin food and creating my own style,” he says. His family roots (moving to Bayonne at eight and summers in Tegucigalpa learning market skills from his grandmother) inform dishes like potaje, a yellow lentil soup flavored with pork and red sofrito that’s on the menu. Girón handled much of the buildout himself—gutting red booths from a French bistro and commissioning vibrant murals hand-brushed by his childhood friend Mr. Emagin—and navigated a costly liquor-license process (about $400,000); J.P. Torres oversees a lime-inflected drink list that includes pisco sours, margaritas, unconventional options, and $5 homemade coquito shots. Neighbors praise the spot: “This place is so different from anything else in the area and feels refreshing and new,” says Rory Carrillo, while food blogger Madhurima Chakraborty observed, “The service was very intimate and [took] extra care to elaborate and suggest dishes.” Bayonne resident Denzyl Amankwah adds, “It’s a very bold move to change a menu daily, but I think that kind of ambitious culinary experience is going to pay off tremendously in Jersey City.” Also note the 15-minute commute to the World Trade Center for NYC residents." - Jess Eng