Tosti Focuses on Fundamentals

Hoboken is all about reinvention; lose a Charritos, gain a Tosti. When the omnipresent Mexican spot closed its uptown location a few months ago, it was only a matter of time before a new eatery popped up, and since this is Hoboken there was a really good chance it would be an eatery following some mainline food trend. Restaurants tend to open in this town in bunches, as if every entrepreneur went to the same franchise convention and read the same report.And so it is with Tosti, the new place in the old Charritos location at 1024 Washington. The trend in this case being brunch and toast-centric meals. But hey, when it’s done well, no one’s going to complain, and Tosti does it pretty well.

The Reno

You won’t really recognize the place if you remember it from the Charritos days; bright and clean, the new space is surprisingly huge for Hoboken and makes it feel spacious and comfortable. There’s a big foyer area in the front with some window counter space for those who just grab a cuppa and a pastry, along with a stocked case with cookies, croissants, and other quickie brunch-y staples for a grab-and-go meal or snack.

When we walked in around noon on a dreary Saturday, there weren’t many folks there, which was surprising. But by the time we left it was pretty packed, so the lesson here is don’t sleep in if Tosti is on your agenda. We were extra super hungry, so we ordered three things off their menu: The Farmer’s Plate (over easy eggs [which we switched to sunny-side up], biscuits and gravy with homemade jam), the Country Breakfast (eggs any style [we did scrambled], sausage or bacon, home fries and multi grain toast), and the Smoked Salmon Toast (sourdough bread, Norwegian salmon, caper with creme fraiche).

Everything was delicious. The scrambled eggs could have used a bit of seasoning, but everything was hot, fresh, and otherwise wonderful.A few notes:

• The caper that comes with the Salmon Toast is HUGE. Do not mistake it for something other than a caper, do definitely cut it up and portion it out with your bites.
• This is the only place we know of in town for a true biscuits and gravy scenario—if you know of others, please tell us. The biscuits were flaky and the gravy pretty good!
• Since the menus are nowhere to be found online, we’ve posted them at the end of this article for reference.

All in all, a really satisfying meal.

Service with a Smile

Also notable is the atmosphere at Tosti, which was exceptionally friendly. You really got the sense that everyone there took ownership of your experience and really wanted you to have what you wanted. The food came out fast, and we were checked on frequently.We didn’t try the coffee, but we did purchase some cookies on the way out, and they were also winners. All in all, Tosti is a great place for a simple brunch or breakfast. Not the cheapest spot in town, but it’s not always about cheap—sometimes you want a friendly spot that serves capers the size of your thumb. In those moments, Tosti is the spot.What do you think? Who’s better—Tosti or Bluestone?