HOBOKEN MUTZFEST A Celebration of Mozzarella

By Tara Ryazansky

Underthe 14th Street Viaduct, Frank Sinatra plays over big speakers while vendors set up their tents. Mozzarella is sliced and plated. Even though the event has yet to begin, a line is already forming. Hoboken is ready for the 10th annual Mutzfest.

“The art of making mutz like that is a real passion for the deli owners,” says Theresa Howard, the Director of Children with Special Needs at Hoboken Family Alliance. “It’s one of those lost arts. It’s part of the Hoboken heritage.”

Mutzfest is also organized by Hoboken Family Alliance president Michele Hulsman, director of finance Meredith Hayes, and director of new initiative Francoise Vielot.

The event helps fund the work that the Hoboken Family Alliance does in the community. “One of the initiatives that Mutzfest helps fund is called the Hoboken

Bike Camp. It’s a camp that teaches children with disabilities how to ride a twowheel bike in just one week,” Howards says that the camp, which teaches children with cognitive disabilities like Down syndrome and Autism spectrum disorder, is in its eleventh year. “The first year that I ran it was a little overwhelming. There’s a lot that goes into it. I needed to have more money to cover the cost.”

Howard wanted to come up with a unique idea for a fundraiser.

“I was running one morning, and I was trying to think of what I could do that would be a good event that doesn’t necessarily rely on the charitable component. I wanted to have something that would stand on its own regardless of any affiliated charity,” Howard explains. “There are so many charities out there, and everybody is asking for money. I wanted to create something that was just a great standalone Hoboken event. Then I thought, everybody always says that they have the best mutz. Who really does? I thought maybe we could have everybody face off about who really has the best mozzarella.”

She enlisted some Hoboken deli owners who were up for the challenge. “Vito’s and Biancamano’s have done it every year since the beginning,” Howard says, adding that they usually have approximately 5-7 delis that participate.

Over at the vendor area, Peter Biancamano of M&P Biancamano on Washington Street helps his parents layer fresh mozzarella with roasted red peppers on Italian bread. This sandwich was named New Jersey’s best sandwich by Food & Wine magazine. “Theresa Howard of the Hoboken Family Alliance is doing an absolutely phenomenal job,” Biancamano says.

Vito Buzzerio of Vito’s Deli agrees. “Theresa Howard is such a wonderful person, and we love to support the Hoboken Family Alliance. This is our 10th anniversary here. We’re one of the founding fathers. It’s growing every year, and we always look forward to it. It’s a lot of fun.”

For the first few years, Mutzfest was a contest. “I wanted to find a way to, instead of dividing people, to unite everybody for one great celebration of mozzarella, so we just dropped the voting after a few years. Nobody seemed to miss a beat as far as attending. Everybody still loved it anyway,”

Howard says. “Before, it was a competition of who had the best mutz, and now it’s a celebration of the city’s best mutz.”

Other vendors this year included Hoboken’s Dolce & Salato, Tony Boloney’s, and newcomer Jersey City’s Veloce.

“We just opened this year. It’s our first time at Mutzfest and we’re happy to be here,” says Veloce owner James Aliotta. “I’m the third generation deli business in my family. In Italian Veloce means fast, and we’re a fast specialty sandwich shop.” He quickly portions mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes on plates.

The line starts filing in. Bottles are being popped in the beer and wine garden. Volunteers from Hoboken Family Alliance give attendees punch cards so they can keep track of which mutz they’ve tried. It’s a happy day, but rumors are swirling that this might be the last year for Mutzfest.

“We’ll have to see about next year. It’s been ten years. These guys have put up so much time, effort, and labor. It’s their blood, sweat, and tears,” Howard says, but she won’t confirm or deny the future status of Mutzfest.

Meanwhile the stage is being set up for a Frank Sinatra sing-a-long. The Best Is Yet To Come starts playing. I’ll take that as a good omen. — 07030

By Tara Ryazansky

Touch The Heart offers a feast for the senses. A giant floral mural by tattoo artist Christian Masot adorns one wall. Real plants and flowers decorate the space as well. The restaurant concept initially included an in-house flower shop, and while the focus is on food now, the evidence remains.

“A lot of times, people choose us because of our aesthetic and our ambiance,” says Nick Andelora, who co-owns the restaurant with others, including Dan Grey and chef Anthony Leonido. He adds that the decor is one detail that makes Touch The Heart an excellent choice for events. There’s no need to worry about bringing your own decorations.

The space is definitely beautiful, but it’s the dim sum for me.

Touch The Heart’s menu is unique. “When you’re dealing with fusion, you want to bring in different flavors and different ideas from other cuisines,” Andelora explains. “The cheeseburger dumpling is always the one example that I give. We’re doing things that are different from the typical pork dumplings that you find and Chinese places. We took an American favorite and put an Asian twist on it.”

Andelora and Grey came up with the idea for Touch The Heart together.

“We thought that Hoboken as a city was missing Chinese food the way that we do it. Chinese food lends itself to being a very takeout and delivery-focused cuisine. We didn’t think there was anyplace else like this.

Most of the Chinese spots that you find have very minimal dine-in or none at all. There was no nice, elevated, sit-down Chinese. Sushi? Yes, as in Saku,” Andelora says, adding that Grey is the owner of Saku and Leonido used to be the head kitchen chef there before the creation of Touch The Heart.

The first item I tried was Fried Chicken Bao. A perfect bite of fried chicken topped with pickles and spicy mayo on a slightly sweet bun made for a great starter. The flavor combination reminded me a bit of chicken and waffles.

Next up was the Edamame Dumplings. They were fresh and delicious. It was nice to see that the menu included some vegetarian options, especially since traditional dim sum restaurants can sometimes be lacking in that department when it comes to dumplings.

“We wanted to make sure that we had a lot of options that were not meat and that were not fried,” Andelora says.

The final plate that I tried was Miso Crab Noodles. They were the standout item. The dish was rich and creamy with a slightly spicy kick. The umami flavor and fresh crab made this an easy choice as my favorite.

So many other menu items at Touch The Heart looked tempting. I think I will have to visit again to try the General Tso Chicken Dumplings and the Birria Dumplings.

Also on the menu are mocktails by the pitcher or the glass. Touch The Heart is a BYOB establishment.

“At the majority of BYOB spots, people are just bringing a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine,” Andelora says. “We wanted to set ourselves apart from the traditional BYOB, so we created mocktails; cocktails without the liquor. We put on the menu what alcohol they pair best with. It’s one of our main selling points, especially for events, because you can bring a bottle of alcohol to create your drinks here. It can bring the price tag down a little bit for people who are concerned with that. They’re colorful and beautiful, and we rotate them seasonally.”

Touch The Heart also has a brunch menu that features tea service and creative dumplings and baos alongside typical brunch items like Eggs Benedict and Avocado Toast. Brunch is available on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Touch The Heart recently started a new special.

“On Monday, we do dollar dumplings. It’s really taken off,” Andelora says. “We figured since a lot of places are closed on Mondays, it would be fun.”

I asked Andelora how they came up with the restaurant name. “Dim sum basically translates to “touch the heart” in Chinese,” he says, explaining that dumplings are meant to touch the heart rather than fill the stomach. However, I have to say that the five dumpling portions seemed generous to me.

Andelora lets me know that Hoboken touched his heart. The business opened early into the pandemic in July 2020. “Hoboken is wonderful,” he says. “The people were tremendous throughout COVID. Hoboken as a community stepped up and supported businesses when they needed it.” — 07030