Don't expect much when dining at Fire Pit Barbecue in Hackensack

Limited parking and haphazard service are only two of the problems we faced when we tried to have dinner late Saturday afternoon at Fire Pit Barbecue in Hackensack after enjoying three deliveries of its Portuguese specialties to our home.

The bare-bones decor includes wooden tables, stained ceiling tiles and a leak in the small dining room. Fire Pit Barbecue will remind you more of a pizzeria than a restaurant.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If you decide to have dinner at Fire Pit Barbecue in Hackensack, the problems begin before you sit down.

How did city officials approve an L-shaped parking lot with only eight spaces (two for handicapped drivers) to serve four storefronts, including two restaurants, Fire Pit and Bocconi?

I doubt a large SUV or even a minivan could negotiate the tight right-angle turn in the narrow lot. A third restaurant near Bocconi has no off-street parking. 

On my first pass late Saturday afternoon, there were no vacant spaces, and I dropped off my two passengers near the front door of the Portuguese barbecue restaurant.

Then, I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw three people climbing into a car. I drove around the corner to once again enter the lot and take the vacant space.

Chilly dining room

Inside, I took off my coat and sat down at a table in the small dining room, facing a counter and an open kitchen, where two workers and two cooks were filling take-out and delivery orders.

One of them came over, gave us menus and took our order for bottled water and juice, and canned soda, which were served with straws, not cups ($1.50 each).

There were only a few other customers eating at tables, but others were standing around, waiting for takeout, and eventually, we saw delivery men with large padded cases to keep food warm coming and going.

At least on Saturday afternoon after 4, the employees worked frantically to keep up with takeout and delivery orders, and to fill the large grill with natural wood charcoal.

We placed our order for a large Fire Pit Salad ($10), Chicken Soup ($3); Grilled Codfish with Potatoes, Peppers and Onions ($19), an entree I enjoyed three times as delivery; Pork Cubes with Shrimp ($16), a dish that was new to us; and a side order of Yellow rice and Black Beans ($4).

The Fire Pit Salad includes tomato slices with little color and no flavor, and the Balsamic Dijon dressing we ordered on the side had no hint of mustard. The "large" salad is on the small side, and isn't worth $10. Nor was the Chicken Soup my mother-in-law ordered anything special.

Bags of natural wood charcoal in the dining room.

We decide to take rest home

After trying the disappointing salad and soup, we decided to ask for the rest of the food to go, adding a side of Sweet Potato Fries ($3). 

Still, we had to wait 20 minutes or more before our order was ready. 

At home, I plated the Grilled Codfish with the steamed broccoli and carrots that come on the side. The flaky, salted cod was as delicious as I remember from three deliveries, but the cook burned the skin, making it inedible.

Picadinho con Camarao or Pork Cubes with Shrimp is a tasty entree, but my wife and mother-in-law said the dish was too salty.

A side order of rice and beans was leaking badly when we got it home.

I tried a few of the delicious Sweet Potato Fries, which were grease-less.

The edges of the aluminum cover (not shown) for the grilled cod's takeout tray, above, are so sharp I cut my fingers in three places, drawing blood.

Fire Pit Barbecue, 357 Essex St., Hackensack; 1-201-489-3473. Open 7 days starting at 11 a.m. Free delivery. Web site:

firepitbbq.net

Our first and last visit to Smashburger at the mall in Hackensack

Image by Average Jane via Flickr

The interior of a Smashburger.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I won't let my wife take our teenage son to Burger King or McDonald's, and I pride myself on never having eaten one of their low-quality hamburgers.

So, on Friday night, I offered to take them to a new Smashburger outlet in Hackensack's former Riverside Square mall.

Is the quality of the beef at Smashburger any better than at the low-rent places? It's hard to tell, because the word "beef" doesn't appear anywhere on the wall menu, just the lower-case smashburger repeated numerous times. 

But on the soft-drink cups, you'll read:

"Smash means we literally smash 100% Angus beef at a high temperature to sear in all the juicy burger goodness, and our seasoning blend and fresh toppings take our burgers over the top."

Is Smashburger saying it uses Certified Angus Beef, a brand from cattle that are raised conventionally on grain, antibiotics and growth hormones? That's the same beef used by Chef Bobby Flay at his so-called Burger Palace in Paramus.

Both my wife and son ordered a one-third pound "Classic Smashburger," with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and "smash sauce," on an egg bun, and they loved it ($4.99). 

My 13-year-old son said it was the best burger he's ever had. Fries and drinks were extra.

A friend's child had a Kids Smash Dog, a Best's beef hot dog ($3.99). 

If you don't eat meat

I don't eat meat, so I could have ordered a Caesar Salad, the only one on the menu without chicken or bacon. But I decided to try the Veggie Frites ($2.99) and Sweet Potato Fries ($1.99), which supposedly are seasoned with rosemary, garlic and olive oil.

I got some fried asparagus and carrot sticks, but none of the green beans listed on the menu, and the portion seemed small for the price. 

The paper they were served on was slicked with frying oil. The sweet potato fries were delicious, but the rosemary and garlic eluded me.

(I got two comments on this post, saying the potatoes and veggies are fried with beef tallow. Here is one: "All their fried veggies and fries are fried in beef tallow. They really should say on menu. So, in fact, you'll be eating beef like it or not.")

You have to wait in a corral to give your order to a cashier -- called a host -- and after you pay, you place a numbered sign on your table, so a waiter can bring you your food. It isn't a long wait.

You don't get plastic utensils unless you ask for them. When I went to get my no-charge seltzer from the drink machine, I could see into the kitchen, but no one was smashing anything against the grill.

When you are waiting in line, there is a lot on the menu to digest. I don't know if my wife and son saw that they could add many items to their burgers, including a fried egg or chili or potato, pepper and onion.

I paid with a credit card, and was surprised to see a tip line on my receipt. There was also a tip receptacle with dollar bills on the counter near the register where Anthony took my order. The entire meal cost about $25. I didn't leave a tip. 

And there is no place for your coat or hat, so I sat in a booth with mine on while I ate.

Fuddruckers

I once loved going to Fuddruckers in Paramus for a naturally raised ostrich burger or a fish sandwich, both offered in place of conventional beef burgers. 

I loved the sliced jalapenos I could pile on my sandwich, and the wine and beer I could order. They even once offered baked potatoes in place of fries. To me, that is a great cook-to-order hamburger place.

Next time my wife and son want a hamburger, we'll try Five Guys in Hackensack, unless they insist on going back to Smashburger.

Smashburger, Store No. 1101, 390 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, in The Shops at Riverside; 201-343-1488.