While I've come to generally prefer Cafe Manila just up the street (more interesting selection), Fiesta still does a great fried tilapia--very juicy and tasty. As mentioned in the review, the lapaz bachoy is also an excellent cold weather soup/meal.

The Webmaster should figure out how to duplicate this thread and insert it into the jury duty thread, because Fiesta Grill is one of the great reasons to look forward to doing jury duty in Hudson County.

Nice review, but the actual "best bet" is to go with a friend or two, and order a combination meal each (rice or pancit along with two side dishes -- I almost always get sinigang (tamarind soup) and inihaw (grilled pork)) and get a short order of crispy pata (deep fried pig's knuckles, $5.95) or sisig (saut?ed pork belly served with a dash of lemon juice on a sizzling platter, $6.95) to share.

I'm totally unqualified to evaluate Filipino food, but I ate there a bunch while I was doing jury duty, and I thought it was great.

March 18, 2007
New Jersey
Filipino Fast Food to Linger Over
By KELLY FEENEY

Fiesta Grill in Jersey City may be a turo-turo (Filipino fast-food) restaurant, yet its home-cooked meals are good enough to be savored slowly.

Turo-turo comes from the Tagalog verb that means ?to point,? and that?s exactly what you do when ordering at the cafeteria-style counter: point to the dishes you want to try. Most of the food on the extensive menu is familiar Filipino fare, which has Chinese, Spanish and Malay influences.

The lumpia sariwa, a vegetable spring roll served with a peanut butter and garlic sauce, is a good starter. For a light lunch, try the pancit bihon, translucent rice noodles mixed with scallions, carrots and cabbage. The ginataang sitaw at kalabasa, or saut?ed string beans and squash in coconut milk, is a tangy accompaniment. The batchoy, a classic soup with pork and noodles, is a meal in itself.

But the best bet is to order a combination meal, which consists of rice or pancit along with two side dishes (options change daily but include meat, seafood and vegetable choices). The chicken apritada with potatoes, peppers and carrots is a straightforward choice, whereas the lechon kawali, crispy deep-fried pork belly served with a liver sauce, is for the more adventurous eater. The sweet-and-sour tilapia puts a fresh spin on a common sauce. Prices are inexpensive; the combination meal, for example, costs $3.95.

Ponciano Aguirre and Fely Empestan opened the first Fiesta Grill in 1998 on Newark Avenue, with 18 tables. A second and much larger Fiesta Grill opened in 2005 on West Side Avenue, across town; there is a banquet hall for 200 with a dance floor. Prices there are slightly higher, but free parking is available.

Fiesta Grill, 655 Newark Avenue, Jersey City; (201) 656-7060. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 819 West Side Avenue, Jersey City; (201) 433-9600. Open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight, Sunday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Closed Monday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/nyr ... onspecial2/18NJQbite.html