At Emma in Englewood, you'll find art on the plate as well as on walls

An artful appetizer of Piquillo Peppers -- stuffed with shrimp and draped in a red-pepper, bechamel and squid-ink sauce -- was a special on Saturday evening at Emma Restaurant in Englewood. 

Emma, which opened about three months ago, serves virgin cocktails that you can have made with liquor from home. I brought a bottle of Havana Club Rum for the mojito I enjoyed at dinner.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We always avoid trying a new restaurant right after a favorable newspaper review, but figured the Memorial Day weekend would thin the crowd.

And we were right, especially because we showed up famished on Saturday, 45 minutes before our 5:30 dinner reservations at Emma, surprising an employee who was working on place settings.

We shared two appetizers and ordered three entrees, and loved the Englewood restaurant's bold, pan-Latin flavors and beautifully composed plates.

Seated at the front of the empty dining room, we started with a complimentary plate of flat bread and three spreads, including hummus, and then shared Crostini Tastings on baked country bread (three for $9, six for $14).

I chose Jamon Serrano and Argentine Chorizo for my wife and mother-in-law, who eat meat, and Chipotle Shrimp for me.

They were as good to eat as they were to look at.

Then, we were wowed by an appetizer special, Pequillo Peppers stuffed with Shrimp and decorated with a red-pepper, bechamel and squid-ink sauce ($14).

An entree of Skirt Steak with Grilled Asparagus, Mashed Potatoes, Coffee Jus and Chimuichurri Emulsion.

A nook in the restaurant. Other tables were bare during our visit.

Cod Asado swimming in a Stew of Seasonal Vegetables and Potatoes in a Tomato Shellfish Broth.

Shrimp Burger, hold the bun, with pickled red onion, frisee and so-so plum tomato slices. French fries were served with it, below.

Steak, cod and shrimp burger

My wife ordered her Skirt Steak entree well-done ($26), and my mother-in-law enjoyed her Cod Asado, served in a shellfish broth ($23).

Only my entree lacked eye appeal. 

I ordered the Shrimp Burger ($16) without the toasted brioche bun, having broken my diet by eating flat bread and a crostini, and it looked naked on the platter.

The chipotle-flavored chopped shrimp and onion burger tasted terrific, though, and I indulged in too many of the french fries that came with it.

One of three piquillo peppers in the appetizer special.

Crostini Tastings are meant to share: From top, Jamon Serrano, Figs & Melted Queso Cremoso; Argentine Chorizo & Chimichurri; and Chipotle Shrimp, Avocado, Cilantro & Lime.

A mojito with fresh mint, lime and 7-year-old BYO rum from Cuba ($6). Restaurant-made Ginger Pear Iced Tea is brewed hot, then poured over ice ($3). In both case, less ice would be better.

Emma Restaurant is next door to It's Greek to Me on Palisade Avenue in Englewood. A number of other restaurants preceded Emma in the same storefront, including Sol & Sol, a kosher deli that closed in 2010.

Details

Emma Restaurant, 34 E. Palisade Ave., Englewood; 201-227-6103. Open for brunch, lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. BYO.

Open today, Memorial Day. Metered street parking. Web site: Art on the plate 

Our dinner for three cost $125, including tax and an 18% tip.

Revisiting an old Colombian favorite in Hackensack

Image by *L*u*z*A* via Flickr

The photographer says: "Colombia. The only risk is wanting to stay."

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I haven't visited Villa de Colombia in Hackensack for many year, and I'm not sure why. 

The food is tasty, portions are generous and prices for almost everything are reasonable.

Its Web site says the restaurant opened in 1992 with seating for 20 and expanded in 1997 to two rooms with 90 seats. It also boasts of having the best Hispanic cuisine and seafood kitchen in Bergen County.

That certainly seemed true with the whole fried tilapia we ordered as one of our two entrees ($17). 

The fish was delicious -- crispy outside and moist inside. It was served with sliced avocado over salad, and smashed and fried green plantains called tostones.

Tostones are one of my 13-year-old son's favorite foods, so we also ordered them as a side dish ($3). 

We started with small bowls of tasty fish soup with potato and root vegetables ($2.75 each). 

My wife and son drank batidos or shakes of mango and gunabana ($2.83 each).

Bacon-wrapped shrimp

My wife and I shared the fish, and my son ordered an entree listed as Villacol -- skirt steak paired with six bacon-wrapped shrimp and served with mashed potatoes ($17). 

My son asked for rice and beans instead of the potatoes, but they were brought in addition to the potatoes.

He's been ordering a lot of food when we eat out, and not finishing it. 

As he looked at the Villa de Colombia menu, he said we should return to try every single item, but he didn't like how the fish soup smelled and he hardly made a dent in the steak or mashed potatoes with his entree. 

When I got the itemized bill, I saw we were charged $4 for rice and beans, and nothing for the side of tostones. 

Beer in paper cup

I had asked for Colombian beer, thinking it was served in bottles, but got draft beer in a paper cup for $4, which I think is high. 

Service is good, though we got our soups first, then had to wait a few minutes for place settings, including a soup spoon and an arepa or small corn cake.

We will return to try other dishes. Villa de Colombia outshines most of the other Colombian places in North Jersey. 

The dining rooms are pleasantly decorated with framed posters from the Museo del Oro in Bogota, Colombia. Tablecloths are covered by glass. 

The restaurant is on quite Mercer Street, on the same block as Miyoshi Japanese Restaurant, another long-time presence downtown.

Villa de Colombia, 12 W. Mercer St., Hackensack; 201-343-3399.  

Restaurant adds 15% gratuity to checks of $30 or more, before tax.

See: Welcome to Villa de Colombia on the Web