Jack Austin’s in Weehawken closed its doors several months ago and has been replaced by Beneci’s, an Italian restaurant that we decided to check out. Most of the decor from the previous restaurant was gone, except these funny dog lamps that I guess they could not resist keeping. But I admit that the restaurant feels like a hotel restaurant and it is not just because of the fact that it is adjacent to the Sheraton.

Dinner is better for me than brunch and I just wish they posted their menu online. They serve brick oven pizza, but I thought that their Margherita pizza was just off, the tomato sauce tasting like something dumped on the crust straight from the can. But two must have are:

the arancini, that were made with a mushroom risotto. They were creamy, with lots of cheese, simply delicious, served with a marinara sauce.
the lobster pappardelle, with a good portion of lobster, and a sauce to die for made with butter, cream and white wine. Not the lighter dish on the menu, but so good!

I enjoyed the meal with a Spritz, and we could not resist trying their tiramisu that was a bit dense, but good.

We went back for brunch, but I though it was a bit disappointing. We shared few dishes and were really looking forward to getting their Belgian Waffle that was in the “From the griddle” section, thinking that they would make it, but we ended up with the kind that you can buy at Whole Foods! Good, but then do not give the impression that you are making it! Dense, it has pearl sugar and they topped it with a bunch of berries. I liked it but was a bit disappointed. I also got the eggs Benedict San Gennaro, that were served on Tuscan bread with sweet Italian sausage, pancetta, mushroom and a Hollandaise sauce. The eggs were perfectly poached but this was again disappointing: there was barely any sausage and just a couple of bits of pancetta and mushrooms. They could have also toasted the bread to give a bit of structure to the dish, but no, the bread did not taste that fresh, and put more Hollandaise sauce…Jodi on her side got lucky with her eggs that were fine.

So, overall, the dinner and brunch at Beneci’s were hit or miss. I loved some of it (that lobster dish is amazing), but the majority of it was just ok. I’ll give them few months before trying again. For Italian food or brunch, there are much better options for a short walk to Hoboken, like Anthony David’s that has great pasta.

Enjoy (some of it)

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Beneci’s - 500 Harbor Blvd, Weehawken, NJ 07086

Beneci's in Weehawken, NJ

I Just Want To Eat!