There’s a new café in town, and it has become a mile-square city hotspot with its quality coffees and cozy ambiance.
Walking down Washington Street can sometimes be an endless trail of trendy bars, but there is one place that definitely stands out in this oasis of food and drink. Frozen Monkey Café is a superb modern eatery with a spacious vintage décor that offers something for everyone.
Frozen Monkey is the epitome of a family place. The owners, Louie Zhelesnik, his fiancée, Stacy Collerette, and his cousin, Joe Pisano, opened it in March of this year. They thought of the concept themselves sometime last summer, found a fantastic location in midtown Hoboken, and got to work.
The décor would best be described as art deco, and it is definitely inspired by the by-gone decades of the ’60s and ’70s.
"We thought that time period was very unique," Zhelesnik said. "We loved the cars, the furniture, everything. We used it as an inspiration for the décor."
Frozen Monkey was built and designed from scratch. "We pulled my uncle out of retirement to tile the bar," Zhelesnik said. "In the beginning, we had no money so we did everything ourselves."
When you look around the place, you’ll have to agree they did a fantastic job. There are vintage couches with tall backs and chairs that could have been swiped from the Bradys’ living room. The unique lamps scattered throughout give it a homey feeling. The tableware is eclectic.
"We got everything from wherever we could," Zhelesnik said. "We found stuff on eBay, at garage sales and flea markets, and from friends."
There is a counter where eclectic merchandise is for sale like T-shirts, glasses, and mugs.
Frozen Monkey also features a different artist every couple of weeks. Bob Piersanti is featured until the end of the month. His art is also pop retro. Piersanti was an illustrator for several magazines in the ’90s, but then decided to concentrate on painting. The pop culture influences that affected him as a boy in New Jersey define his paintings. He has appeared in shows in SoHo and at Maxwell’s as well.
The food
If the décor tugs your interest and pulls you in off the streets, the food will definitely make you stick around. Frozen Monkey is hard to describe because they have everything you need in one location.
The back counter is devoted to Tasti D-Lite ice cream, available in cups or cones. This was quite popular on the night I was there. Tasti-D makes over one hundred flavors – go to the Frozen Monkey’s website to check out the flavors of the week. There are also pints to take home, and shakes ($4.50) are available, too.
The coffee selection is terrific, as are the desserts, which include a lot of homemade recipes passed down for generations. The biscotti and gingersnaps, both homemade, are worth the trip alone. Frozen Monkey also serves Little Pie Company pies ($3.50 per slice). The company is based in New York and has definitely carved out a niche for itself in the Big Apple. I suggest you start with the Sour Cream Apple pie, a la mode if you prefer, and work you way through the other pies and cakes from there.
The other food cannot be left behind, though. Pisano is in charge of the kitchen. I tried the butternut squash soup with goat cheese croutons ($5.50), which was fantastic. The soup is perfect for anytime of the year.
I also tried a Panini with prosciutto, mozzarella, roasted pepper and pesto spread ($6.50). They have a good selection of Panini sandwiches, which range in price. I also had a crab cake salad, but you can have a crab cake sandwich instead. The crab cake was the best. It was meaty and filled with other great stuff like corn and red peppers. It was filling and the spicy chipotle dressing was a perfect compliment.
Besides the regular fare, they really strive to think of the customers, too. "My Way" wireless has set up an Internet connection so you can log on at Frozen Monkey while having a cup of joe. Frozen Monkey also offers "Dinner and a Movie." You can order food from Frozen Monkey and a movie from Take 3 on Washington Street, and Frozen Monkey will deliver both to your doorstep in town.
There’s a music scene brewing at the venue too. I was able to catch FMB, who are friends of Zhelesnik. The members are Pete Johnson, Gary Simpson and Mike Rosenberg. "They are sort of like the house band," Zhelesnik said. "They play almost once a month." They were fun and great musicians. I’ll be stopping by to hear them again.
Frozen Monkey at 526 Washington St. in Hoboken is open Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. For more information call (201) 222-1311 or visit www.frozenmonkeycafe.com. q