Stamna
1045 Broad Street
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
The UFC Headquarters has officially moved back to Passaic County! We have been very busy with moving out and settling into our new digs. To celebrate, we headed to Stamna in Bloomfield.
Stamna has caught our eye before; it always looks busy and from what NY Times says, it's pretty dang good. Even on a Tuesday night, it was hoppin' in there!
The bar for Greek food for us is Cyclades Restaurant in Astoria, which is the best seafood joint we have ever tried. Seriously, Stamna is up there, too!
We ordered the following:
DJKung's poppa: spaghetti with meat sauce. (I dunno, he was on a pasta kick the past few days. DJKung liked it, said the meat was on the gamy side.
Superfatty: Tzatziki. Yogurt and cucumber dip. Always good; I could eat gallons of this stuff. The bread was also pretty good. Karpathian pasta. Like gnocci. This is a local type of pasta, and one that I never tried before. It was simple boiled buds of pasta, with chalky-type of cheese (goat?) and caramelized onions sprinkled on top. Overall very simple dish. It was a nice side for the seafood that DJKung got. The portion was huge, and the next day tasted reaally good.
DJKung: Chicken soup. This tasted generic to me, but DJKung finished it. Seafood platter. This was no joke. It was phenomenal. The octopus legs and calamari were sweet and super-tender. The prawns were sliced on the bias, and also super fresh. The kitchen obviously mastered how to treat good seafood---- everything had a nice char taste, you could taste the sea and the succulent flesh, and nothing was over- or under-cooked. Deeelish. DJKung got a side of horta (dandelion greens), which went well with the dish. For the price, this platter is a bargain.
We were all very full afterwards. DJKung got the Greek coffee, which tasted a lot like turkish coffee to me (but not good for fortune-telling, however). We also got the fried dough with honey and sesame seeds. They were light and airy.
Stamna felt like a family-owned joint. The service was warm, and the vibe was very festive. You can tell that the locals love this spot. Also, BYOB, and it looks like reservations are recommended. From what the owner/manager tells us, the chef is from Astoria, that's why the kitchen is awesome!
