Never before has anyone been able to eat like this in Hoboken. It’s odd that the locale for a new upscale, unquestionably unique Italian restaurant – where they dote on you and scrape $40-per-pound truffles onto your plate – should be right next to the underbelly of the 14th Street Viaduct, but that’s one more unusual thing about “La Tartuferia” (the Truffle House).
A friend and I visited the small Tartuferia on a Monday. There were 10 tables inside and a small group of staffers making sure that everyone was having a good time. Amidst the subtle Bob Marley music in the background, a waiter poured olive oil onto a plate for us and then added pepper. We were presented with a basket of mouth-sized slices of Italian bread, and the fun began.
Owner Massimo Puggelli talked to us in Italian and English, discussing the wine list and the specials. Since we were there for truffles, and didn’t have much of an idea of what exactly a truffle was, we ordered the Verdure alla Griglia, which is grilled vegetables with truffles and smoked cheese, for $9.50.
Other appetizers included smoked swordfish in lemon dressing with baby artichokes, fresh squid and octopus salad with broccoli rapa and avocado, sliced beef with porcini and grana, and Insalata Verde with goat cheese and pumpkin oil dressing. Prices range from $7 to $11.
Digging in
The truffle is a type of mushroom that grows underground. There are three truffle seasons and three kinds of truffles, Puggelli told us. They cost $40, $450 or $1,500 per pound and are hunted mostly by trained truffle pigs (and the occasional truffle cocker spaniel), often in France.
Our hopes of being presented with a giant, fat truffle were dashed – they’re in the sauce. (Hey, no one could afford a $500-a-plate dinner anyway). The veggies – cauliflower, onion, squash, eggplant, tomato, and zucchini – were delicious, and so was the sauce, which tasted garlicky, cheesy and a bit sweet. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly which part of it was the truffle, but it was great.
The restaurateurs were very attentive and professional. Upbeat Puggelli sometimes stopped at a table full of patrons to sing exuberantly in Italian.
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