EATERY

Chef Ricardo Cardona

Olivia's

By Tara Ryazansky

Photos by Max Ryazansky

Chef Ricardo Cardona gives his staff at Olivia’s a motivational talk before dinner. He’s enthusiastic and funny, but he also challenges his team to do better. Maybe he picked up these coaching skills from his time as chef at Yankee Stadium where he fed the New York Yankees and their opposing teams.

He says coaching is just as necessary in the kitchen as it is on the fi eld.

“You always have to take those fi ve minutes for a meeting where you discuss what happened the day before, and you discuss the specials or additions to the menu,” Cardona says. He runs a tight ship. “There has to be some discipline from the kitchen in a restaurant. There’s only one name on the menu; it’s mine.”

The menu is Mediterranean-Latin fusion. The owner is Mike Gallucci. “He’s also the owner of Grand Vin, the Italian restaurant,” says mixologist Roger Gonzalez. “He wanted to do something diff erent. There are so many Italian restaurants in Hoboken. He wanted to do a Mediterranean restaurant with a Latin fl air.”

A Li E@ ers

The restaurant is in a bright, newly renovated space on Garden Street that was formerly Sasso’s Liquor and Delicatessen. The restaurant halted plans to open last year because of the pandemic. It began to welcome guests in April.

Gallucci brought Cardona on as Executive Chef. “Ricardo Cardona is well-known in the Latin community,” Gonzalez says. “He cooked for the Yankees, plus he’s the personal chef for Marc Anthony, the list is super long.”

Despite cooking for Jennifer Lopez and The Yankees, Cardona maintains that he didn’t connect J-Lo and A-Rod. “I didn’t get them together,” he laughs.

Cardona does off er menu items at Olivia’s that are approved by his A-list clientele. “Marc loves skirt steak. Jennifer liked fi let of red snapper. Marc Anthony always loved the octopus. After a concert, I would always bring the octopus for him.”

More Hoboken an Ho yw d

“I’m not new to the neighborhood,” Cardona says. “I ran Lua restaurant in the shipyard for seven years. I also used to run City Bistro, and I consult with La Isla. I’ve been feeding Hoboken for a long time.”

Tonight he serves up items from the For the Table section of the menu. Three-Beans Hummus and Olivia’s Guacamole.

Cardona infuses Latin fl avor into his hummus with aromatic sofrito. It’s served with lentil salad and a green salad. A breadbasket includes everything from fl atbread and breadsticks to multi-colored tortilla chips. Latin and Mediterranean pairs perfectly.

“Mediterranean covers Spain, Italy, Greece,” Cardona says. “We have very similar ingredients. In fact, we were taught in Latin America to eat and use the ingredients from Spain and Portugal. Food is universal.

“Guacamole is from Mexico, but my idea for the guacamole was to make it almost like an avocado toast. Instead of making it Mexican, I made it Mediterranean with Greek olives, mint, dill, basil, cilantro, onions, lemon juice, and I top it with goat cheese and pomegranate seeds.”

Salud!

Gonzalez, who designed the drink menu, mixes up his favorite: Hoboken Life. “We’re in Hoboken,” he says. “It can’t get better than this. Families, friends, they all gather here, and you have the proximity to the city. That’s how we came up with the name.” The cocktail is made with Bulleit bourbon, house-made blackberry syrup, lime juice, and bitters.

Down for the BOM was invented by bartender Noel Blanco. “BOM stands for Blood Orange Margarita,” Gonzalez says. “On one side we do a salt rim and on the other side, we do Tajin. People ask me if I can make it spicy, so sometimes we add

more jalapeno. We take Serrano jalapeno, for seven days we let it soak in water until it becomes a squid ink color, and we just add a splash of that.”

Olivia’s also has a menu of mocktails. The wine list was made by Sommelier Ramon Delmonte.

“I spent a couple of weeks just to make the menu,” Gonzalez says. “Then when I met the bartenders, I gave them the chance to make one drink.” He named the cocktails for their creators. “I always try to make sure that they get the credit that they deserve. Not many places do that. Now that I have my team, any collaboration is recognized.”

The VO is a gin cocktail with a lemonlime herbal flavor. “It’s quite good and very refreshing,” Gonzalez says. “I think it will be a big hit in the summer,” which will includes expanded outdoor seating and brunch.

Tonight, as the staff sets up for dinner, a line forms outside, despite the rain and early hour. Gonzalez says that it’s not unusual to see this kind of turnout.

Says Gonzalez, “Everybody is eager to enjoy dining again.”—07030

Olivia’s Restaurant

1038 Garden St. 201-383-9728