Mikie Squared
08
January
1/8/2008:
Spent much of the afternoon walking around town (almost six miles!) Maybe I’m on to something by wearing shorts all winter?
Here’s something you might want to try out (if you didn’t choose to ban booze in your New Year’s Resolution), it’s the weekly Trivia Night at Mikie Squared.
See some older reviews of the restaurant/bar (and updates way back when it was making the transformation from Dipper’s) after the break.
10/21/06 Brunch Review:
Sean, from another Hoboken blog philly2hoboken.com had recently wrote a nice comprehensive review about the brunch selections at Mikie Squared. He admittedly indicated it might be a little biased, since he works there as well.
But he covered the dishes well, and you can be the judge of that! I may have to sample a few of their choices soon.
One of my favorite meals is brunch. My last report was about Court Street’s brunch. My next report is about Mikie Squared, owned by Michael and Cindy Fasciano, who also own Margarita’s on 8th and Washington.
Of course you can take this review with a grain of salt, I do work at this restaurant, but I don’t work during brunch. I have been working Saturday nights there for the last few months and eating at the restaurant at least once or twice a week for dinner or brunch. The brunch at Mikie’s is every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 3pm. They regularly get a sizeable crowd, depending on what college or NFL game is on television.
The brunch menu has quite a few interesting and eclectic choices. You should know that nearly everything they serve is made from scratch. Unlike many restaurants in Hoboken, Mikie Squared takes the raw ingredients of every dish and prepares it on the premises. What they don’t make in the restaurant, they only serve the highest quality ingredients and their attention to detail is what will win you over.
Continue reading the rest here: http://www.philly2hoboken.com/blog/archives/2006/10/brunch_mikie_sq.html
Description - Bar & Restaurant
Address - 616 Washington St, Hoboken, New Jersey ( NJ ) 07030
Plenty more to read about Mikie Squared below. See what the place looks like on a typical weekend!
Updated September 9, 2006
Mikie Squared Trivia Night: Tuesdays at 8:30p. The first trivia contest will be this Tuesday Sept 12th.
Trivia Prizes are the following:
1st place = $50 gift certificate
2nd place = $30 gift certificate
3rd place = $20 gift certificate
There will also be drawings throughout trivia night for other small prizes.
Drawing at the end of every trivia = $30 gift certificate
There will be LOTS of drink specials:
1/2 price Well Drinks ALL night.
$1 off all Domestic and Imported Draft beer
$5 glasses of House Wine
Come and enjoy the Music and the fun of Trivia!!!
Here are some updated pictures of what a typical weekend night looks like at Mikie Squared.
We also made some predictions as to the outcome of the NFC East:
The bar staff:
Others:
May 2006 Update: (during Arts & Music Fest)
Being a semi-frequent patron at the old Dipper's, it's been interesting to watch the transformation.
Much to my surprise, I find the updated location to be much more comfortable.
The lighting is warm, as well as the colors. Much of the mirror behind the bar is now replaced with wine racks. They also have a few frozen beverage machines (which I have yet to try).
Brian, the well respected and long-time manager at Brass Rail for the past 6 years (as well as one of the previous owners of Liberty), is on-board as the current manager at Mikies. I'm sure his experience and know-how will get them running smoothly soon enough.
During the festival we chose to sample a few items off the preliminary and limited appetizer menu. There is no way we could judge this establishment on their first "soft" day. Here's what we tried.
Chicken Quesadilla:
Looks kinda simple, but the chicken was tasty.. the salsa was flavorful. I liked it a lot.
Shrimp Cake:
I didn't taste this, but the others at the table said it was OK. Again, this was their first crack at it.
And also the Shrimp Skewers:
I didn't eat this either, so I cannot comment personally. But I heard comments such as "bland". Regardless, I'm sure they'll be very receptive to suggestions and customer feedback in order to make their menu desirable. Not bad for whipping this menu up in such limited time.
Overall, I love the new look and feel of Mikie Squared. This could become a new regular stomping ground for many folks.
You can also read more about Mikie2 (squared for the lamen) over at Furey's blog (he's a bartender there, and you get to hear about what happens behind the scenes).
OLDER ENTRIES THROUGH THE "TRANSFORMATION PROCESS":
Mikie 2 FKA Dippers Wow, with that new color.. I'm sure this place will be SLAMMING!
Previous paint job:
New paint job:












21. homeworld | January 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Good when Chris ran it. I don’t think he still does, though.
22. Stpaddygirl | January 9th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Interesting last time I went to M2 on a Friday night a tumbleweed blew by……..teh bartender some guy Jason maybe was nice and pretty hot but other than that a snooze fest. Oh and I had the worst sandwich there ever that the waitress recommended don’t know where she normally eats but
23. nyrangersfan19 | January 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
I had a simiar experience at StPaddy. The place was dead and I STILL couldn’t get a refill on my beer because the 3 bartenders were too interested in Monday Night football. I also agree that the food was terrible. Not in a hurry to go back.
24. frank10 | January 9th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I have had Mikie Squared’s food several times. My favorite things to eat from there are: burgers, blt wrap, nachos, chicken fingers, beer battered shrimp. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone if you like that kind of ‘casual’ food and like eating in a bar like setting.
25. jcasteli | April 17th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I have to ask, maybe Furey can answer… why does this place have widescreen HD capable TVs without broadcasting HD? This is a huge pet peeve of mine. There are these bars that purchase all these wonderful HD TVs, yet don’t broadcast HD. The picture looks terrible because the screen is now stretched to widescreen when it isn’t even a widescreen broadcast. This bar needs to fix this. Buskers and Texas Arizona have some of the best TV setups and all in HD.
26. matt_72 | April 17th, 2008 at 10:15 am
jcasteli wrote:
But the food at Buskers has gone waaaaaaay downhill. They need to bring back the old menu. If they want to charge premium prices, they can’t have subpar food. And Tx Az needs to clear out the roaches. I like grabbing a beer there, but I am afraid to eat there. I have seen a few too many things crawling around on the bar there over the last few years.
27. HomeTeam | April 17th, 2008 at 10:16 am
jcasteli wrote:
Gaslight has the same thing…giant tv in the center of the bar, with an analog signal that looks as if it has be split 18 x on the way to the tv.
28. jcasteli | April 17th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I agree with the Buskers comment. Overpriced sub-par food. I did enjoy the food at Mikie’s though. The shrimp Quesadillas (can’t spell it) were excellent. The menu was excellent. They just need HD!
29. Furey | April 17th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
If I am not mistaken, the central TV (the largest) was the one that Tom (old owner of Dipper’s) bought, but it was an EDTV (Enhanced Definition) - Tom didn’t listen to me about getting HD and he just wanted a flat screen.
When Mike and Cindy took over they inherited that screen, and added two more non-HD (again, no idea why). It wasn’t until last year that they added an additional two (now having 5 above the bar) that are HD.
In a perfect world, they would get 3 more HDTVs that are the same match as the two “newer” ones. But i’m sure like any small bar business owner it is difficult to $5,000-$6,000 to dump on 3 new 42″ HDTVs.
I have to agree, Texas Arizona has a stellar HD setup. Someone told me that the owner of Texas Arizona (or a friend of theirs) was involved in HDTV (like they have a shop or are a contractor or something) that sells HDTV and that’s why their set up is so superb.
30. matt_72 | April 17th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
jcasteli wrote:
It is sad, they used to be near the top of my list but it has been all downhill for a good year. I may not go back. My cooking is much better…….and much cheaper!
31. Katie_Scarlett | April 17th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I have to say, now that Furey isn’t at Mikie’s anymore (for now), I’m not going to be visiting. I’ve never really liked it. These are the main issues I have with it:
It’s too loud 99% of the time (yes, I know, the crowds stay so it must be me - except it’s rarely the same crowd in there, so clearly people don’t want to shout all night all the time).
The food is inconsistent (as in, I have a few good meals and then a dud).
Their price points suck (too high).
The bar capacity is too low, and they jam too many people in there between the bar and the tables and the people standing.
Most of the bartenders are slow.
No jukebox, darts etc.
The bar is small, there’s no real draw to coming in (like playing darts or your own music on a jukebox), and they charge pretty high prices for most of their drinks (excluding specials, which are pretty damn good). The question is who really likes it in there and is visiting often enough that the owner’s haven’t realized any of this?
32. Katie_Scarlett | April 17th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
As a disclaimer- I’m not that particular about bars. I hung out at Dippers for years and thought Morans, Dippers and Farside were great places to hang out - so you know I’m not a bar snob.
33. matt_72 | April 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I never was a regular of Dippers, but I must say I did like it a lot more than Mikie’s. Dippers was just a nice place to hang out, have a few beers and maybe a plate of wings. I would say it was a “nice” dive bar. Those can be hard to find.
34. sullyx | April 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
matt_72 wrote:
Dippers a dive bar? don’t venture out much do ya
35. strand tramp | April 17th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
additional disclaimer- KS is a barfly and will pretty much hang out anyplace where guys will admire her ample cleavage and buy her shots all night, though she does tend to avoid those establishments with the temerity to have steps guarding their entrance.
36. Katie_Scarlett | April 17th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
strand tramp wrote:
Steps are dangerous.
37. devilgirl | April 17th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I hate when I have to go down stairs for a bathroom. Honestly, they should put in a ramp. Stairs in bars are bad. OK. (Think South Park!)
38. British Hairways | April 21st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I had the pancakes a couple times for weekend brunch and they were very good. Huevois rancheros on a more recent trip were a bit disappointing, as I found the dish to be a bit gooey and just so-so. The place loses points because unless you get a table outside or right near the front window, it’s pretty dark and you feel like you’re still out the night before.
39. Hoboken123 | June 12th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
absolutely fantastic food.. best bar in hoboken.. thats my opinion.. i had great service every time i have gone in there
40. SanFran852003 | June 12th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
homeworld wrote:
here is how you make Mikies special Sangria:
ice pitcher, 4 count Peach Snapps, 4 count Triple Sec, 4 count Brandy, 3/4 pitcher Carlo Rossi Burgandy, chopped fruit, 2 tablespoons of sugar, splash of sprite and orange juice. Enjoy.