62 Secret Kitchen 中餐厅·私房菜

Paulus Hook - 62 Morris St.

If you love wine like I do, you probably also love the letters BYOB. We have a handful of BYOB spots in Jersey City and I checked out the newest one: 62 Secret Kitchen.

62 Secret Kitchen opened late last year in Paulus Hook, which continues to evolve as a culinary hotspot neighborhood. The poster on the window reads “Soft Opening.” I think it’s time to take that poster down. Or at least cross it out. The soft part is over. And because 62 Secret Kitchen gets so many things right, that’s a good thing.

I have to be honest, Chinese cuisine is a blind spot for me. Growing up, the Chinese food that was offered to me was the cliché stuff; inexpensive and, let’s say, untrustworthy. 62 Secret Kitchen is an opportunity for me to become acquainted with China’s culinary offerings and regionality in the best way. My party and I tried menu items we had never seen nor heard of.

I asked our server what the “secret” was. He replied that we can taste things there that we can’t taste anywhere else. I like that answer. We have lots of restaurants to choose from but deciding to dine at 62 Secret Kitchen is deciding to go on an adventure. And who doesn’t need a little adventure?

At our table, we had dim-sum, chicken dishes, tofu, vegetables, all at various spice levels. Our server was careful to discuss spice levels with us, as he didn’t want us to eat something that blows our faces off. For us, the spice levels were perfect. If we’re feeling more adventurous on our next visit, we might bump it up a little and challenge our faces. Every dish we had was delicious.

Though I maintain the opening is finished being “soft,” there were a couple wrinkles that could be ironed out. The timing of the courses was slightly erratic, with the appetizers taking a little too long, followed by ordering entrees and having them hit the table almost immediately. The server also brought our check, actually a big mobile device (one of those things we just have to deal with now, right, fellow Gen Xers?), and announced the total cost of the dinner. Since the customs of dining out have changed rapidly since the pandemic, we’re still figuring out the best way to do things. But it strikes me that there’s a more discreet way to present the check, even with the mini-computers.

These are quibbles. I asked the lovely couple sitting next to us how they were enjoying their meal, which featured lobster, duck, and their own curated adventure. They were fully satisfied and even working to establish their regular status.

My recommendation: go on an adventure, grab a bottle of wine, and experience 62 Secret Kitchen for yourself, before the secret gets out.

A note about wine pairing:

A lot of BYOB spots feature East and South Asian cuisine. Most people with a working knowledge of wine pairing have in their back pockets things like: pasta and Chianti, steak and Cabernet Sauvignon. But how do we pair wines with Chinese food, for example? I went with a light-bodied red, a wine from the Jura region of France from Jean-Francois Ganevat.

Versatility is important here, as your table will be filled with a variety of spices and flavors. A light red that has enough fruit to balance out the spice, but structure to stand up to beef and pork dishes, is a good choice. White wines will also pair nicely; a Riesling with some sweetness or a versatile Chenin Blanc is a good start.