Piggyback Bar

Piggyback Bar opened in the late summer last year, just after I gave birth. Its proximity to our apartment made it the obvious choice for our early jaunts out with a small infant with whom we didn’t know what to do – she slept an awful lot, but when she was awake all she did was nurse! Our early visits to Piggyback weren’t the greatest, but they came into their stride and we became fans.

Put it this way: it’s been open about 8 or 9 months, and I’ve visited easily 20-30x. 4x last week alone. You could say we’re regulars.

The menu is creative without being too crazy, and it hits the mark for the most part. The dishes boast a slight Asian influence – I believe Chef Leah Cohen (who is also behind Pig & Khao) is half-Asian and spent time in Asia, though I could be mistaken – and tend to be heavy on the spice. Many of the dishes are spicy, though I realize now that I tend to not order those for myself, and some have coconut (to which I’m allergic) so I avoid those as well.

Add to proximity and dishes that are both unique and delicious a great cocktail menu that they update seasonally, and you have a winning combination for a place that appeals to both my husband and I.

Now sit back, because here come the pictures of nearly everything we’ve eaten there.

Drinks:

As mentioned – they’ve been open for less than a year but have updated the cocktail menu in that time, which makes Hubba Hubby pretty happy. I don’t seem to have a pic of it, but my former favorite cocktail was the Polar Bear’s Dilemma (I think that was the name), a mild riff on a French 75 (sparkling wine, gin, simple syrup, lemon juice). Hubba Hubby’s made his way through the entire cocktail menu (both iterations) and enjoys the current one’s abundance of chartreuse drinks.
My current favorite drink, as it’s summer! is the frozé – frozen rosé! It’s fun, fruity, bright and during happy hour it’s $5 ($8 normally). It’s a little too easy to drink, though, I’ll admit I’ve downed 2-3 without realizing it… Yes, it’s sweet, but that’s what summer is for. Frozen sugary drinks and sitting by the water (did I forget to mention the amazing views of the NYC skyline?).
A good segue into the next section: his Bloody Mary one morning (which he liked) and my favorite brunch drink (we’re here for brunch quite often) – the peach rosé mimosa, which has peach nectar and rosé. Another sweet drink but fun for brunch — this pic is from early into its iteration as it’s now served in coupes, not flutes.

Brunch:

We recently tried their ‘pastry basket’ for the first time at brunch – 2 mini croissants, 2 mini pain au chocolat, 2 mini muffins, a coconut cornbread and palm sugar butter, I thought it was a great add to the table when I wanted something quick to feed the baby (I blew off most of the powdered sugar and would definitely ask for them to not cover everything in that again). If you have a big group for brunch or if you have a small child who can’t sit still without food for long (an issue at lots of restaurants for small kids!), this is a great snack.The steak and eggs is hands down my favorite brunch dish – I find it so hard to stray from ordering this dish at brunch here because it’s that good. Grilled hanger steak with crispy fingerling potatoes, two fried eggs nice and runny yolks for me to swipe my steak through, and it comes with this tangy spicy chimichurri that I love drizzling on everything.

The longanisa bowl easily comes in as my second favorite brunch dish. Garlic fried rice topped with crispy longanisa (a Filipino sausage), a fried egg, Persian cucumbers tossed in a vinegary dressing, fresh cilantro… it all comes together in this perfect blend of textures and tastes that makes mouths happy. I even riffed on this at home somewhat successfully but will still order this occasionally for a hearty brunch.

The smoked chicken mami was Hubba Hubby’s favorite for a while – spicy, creamy, rich – it bore all the markings of a very good fusion ramen. I found it a bit too spicy for me after ordering it a few times, but he loves spicy food so it worked well for him to finish my dish.

Croque madame wasn’t memorable enough for repeat orders by us, though the pineapple chutney on it is interesting – it just isn’t quite what I want from my croque (you can have it monsieur or madame, your choice).
The lobster benedict is luxurious and rich with an incredible sous vide egg (or two), but again not really what I seek in brunch. It’s a nice option but I don’t order it often at all.Last but not least, the creme brulee French toast – definitely something Hubba Hubby ordered as I tend to not prefer sweet breakfast. Extremely rich and heady, I thought it hit all the right notes for such a dish — though it’s highly unlikely I’d ever order it for myself, I would feel comfortable suggesting it for those who do like sweet breakfast.

Appetizers/Salads:

The kale salad boasted yuzu miso dressing, so I thought I’d love it but thought it was only OK. The dressing was a touch too bracing, and I felt the whole dish didn’t come together quite as much as I’d like. Of course, it’s a salad and I only ordered a salad that day because I wasn’t very hungry (or maybe I wanted more veg; some days find me craving my greens)– a friend had ordered it and liked it enough to attempt making it at home, so I wonder if hers had been better executed. Salt & pepper fried shrimp came large and fried expertly – a touch spicy for me as they bore lots of little chilies scattered on top. However, I thought it was a fun dish and definitely great for a group of us to share over drinks – a very nice nibble indeed.The lumpia (Filipino spring rolls) are crisp and a fun bar snack as well. Great to munch on while drinking – I say this because Hubba Hubby and I visit frequently enough for meals that ordering apps isn’t a big part of how we dine there. Sriracha buffalo wings are tangy and spicy, fried nicely, and have a good kick to them, but…the Korean honey butter wings are definitely the winner here. Sticky, meaty, and overall just delicious, these are the wings I’ll continually order when I visit for snacks to share. Heck maybe one time this’ll even be my meal, though I know I’ll have to share…The grilled seafood plate – which I ordered on my very first visit here – had clams and oysters with a yuzu miso butter. I liked it well enough, but put it this way: I haven’t ordered it again. Very good, but not something I return to constantly.

Sandwiches:

On one of our more recent visits, Hubba Hubby finally tried the pork belly banh mi (which I’m now noticing is only on the brunch menu for some reason). He enjoyed it, but admitted that it wasn’t his favorite sandwich at Piggyback (more on that in a minute). I didn’t try it.The Piggyback burger hits the spot for a burger, though I notice that HH doesn’t order it very frequently. I rarely order burgers unless we’re at a burger place so I can say that I haven’t tried it, but it sure looks tasty… and you can get it with an egg on it.As for the sandwich that is apparently the hands-down winner, well, here it is: the fried chicken sandwich. Fried chicken is something of a weakness of mine as many of you may know, but I’ve never even taken one bite of this sandwich despite being there multiple times when multiple people have ordered it. Why? Because — sob — it has a lot of coconut in it, in the curry. According to Hubba Hubby, my brother, and friends, it is one of the most amazing sandwiches on the menu there and one of the best fried chicken sandwiches EVER, is unique and amazing and I’m always sad when someone orders it because it looks incredible. But I like to stay out of the hospital so I just look away and eat my steak instead.

Dinner:

Another of Hubba Hubby’s favorite dishes – this time for dinner – is the smoked chicken. Espresso rub and a chili lime butter that he wants to drown everything in, I admittedly ignore the slightly spicy chicken on his plate in favor of those crispy potatoes. I love potatoes, what can I say? But he will order this dish every.single.time we’re here for dinner. The smoke is definitely very present in the flavor profile.As for me — well, I’m a creature of habit and for dinner here, I love the hanger steak. The miso mashed potatoes hit all the right notes for me (I clean the plate!), and the maitake mushrooms are also great. I really enjoy so much of how they prepare steak here, I guess!

As you can see, we’re fans of Piggyback Bar for lots of reasons. I enjoy most of their dishes and appreciate it being my local spot. Super happy to have them in the area and that their stuff is, by and large, extremely enjoyable!

I should probably grab a photo of the view for y’all… it directly faces the WTC and is on the water, so…

OH! Before I forget: the fries! I frequently order fries here and they’re delicious. Togarashi-dusted (a Japanese spice blend), with kewpie mayo to dip! though I sometimes request no/light on the togarashi so I can share with the babies. They’re fried crispy but not overcrispy, and the perfect size/shape for this McDonald’s-fry-loving-gal (I don’t like steak fries).

{as promised the new section of family-friendly ratings!}

Stroller-friendly? They have a back section that requires no steps to reach, and has plenty of space if you want to keep the baby in the stroller. I’ve never been given a problem when I wanted to keep the baby in her rather large stroller (usually because she’s asleep). The front bar area also is large enough to keep the stroller next to you — we used to do this while we had brunch (because she would sleep through it), and they never gave us any issues. The only downside to this is that the front area can get quite loud at times (especially happy hour/the after-work crowd), so I’ve taken to going to the back when I’m there now.

High chairs? They do have high chairs for when you sit at a regular table, but do not have the high chairs that reach bar tables (not a lot of places have these though).

Changing tables? Unfortunately, the bathrooms are rather long and narrow – though they are unisex, they do not have changing tables. HOWEVER, Harborside Atrium (in which Piggyback resides) has their own bathrooms down on one end past the food court, and those do have changing tables (I’m told both the men’s and women’s rooms have them, I haven’t personally checked the men’s room). It’s a bit farther of a walk, but they are there to be used!

Overall family friendly rating? Very. The staff is super friendly and accommodating. You can also sit outside – the strollers will fit next to the table and they will bring you a high chair if you need/want one, plus you’ll have an amazing view. I’ve never had a bad server here — some are new, some are seasoned, but all are kind and nice, and sometimes if you want something particular or special – just ask politely. You’ll be surprised sometimes how people want to help make your experience a good one!

Piggyback Bar
200 Hudson Street (Harborside Atrium)
Jersey City, NJ 07302