Countdown To Restaurant Week: BOHEMIA

Bloomfield’s Restaurant Week will take place March 4-10, with  twenty-four participating restaurants offering special prix-fixe menus so patrons from all over Essex County can sample their very best cuisine.

Previewing the event, Bloomfield Patch will be publishing profiles of participating restaurants. 

César Loo Mejía, co-owner of Bohemia, sat down recently and spoke with Patch about his plans for Restaurant Week.

BOHEMIA:  418 Broad Street

About the Owners:  César Loo Mejía, his sister Olga Loo-Díaz her husband, Ruben Díaz, have owned the stylish North Center restaurant for five years.  Loo Mejía is the chef and Loo-Díaz is the manager.

“I went to Los Andes Culinary School in Peru,” he says. “I always knew I wanted to do this.”

What will be on the menu for Restaurant Week:  Bohemia offers a $25.00 prix fixe 2-course dinner (appetizer and entree), as well as any selections from the regular menu for the standard price.  Bohemia does not serve lunch. 

The Restaurant Week selections include appetizers like Papa a la Huancaina (potatoes topped with fresh cheese, Peruvian yellow pepper and milk sauce), Chupe de Camarones (Peruvian cream of shrimp soup) and Causa Rellena de Pollo (potato pie filled with chicken salad and avocado.)   A signature dish is céviche de pescado/mixto: lime marinated fish, shrimp, octopus, calamari, clams and mussels served with red onions, cilantro and sweet potato.

Entrees include Churroasco a lo Pobre (marinated skirt steak with sweet plantains, homestyle fries, fried egg and white rice), Pollo Saltado (stir-fried chicken with tomatoes, red onions, homestyle fries and rice) and Frijoles con Seco de Carne (marinated beef cooked in cilantro sauce, served with white beans and rice.)

Best thing about Bohemia:  The signature drink from Peru is a Pisco Sour: Peruvian brandy with lime, sugar, egg whites and ice.  It’s strong, cold and tangy -- a perfect accompaniment with flavorful céviche.  "If you don’t try the Pisco sour and céviche, you haven’t tried Peru.”

What you may not know about Bohemia:  “We tell people, this is not just Peruvian food, it’s Latin food, it’s Caribbean food.”

Bohemia was glowingly reviewed by the New York Times, among other publications. 

Something else to know:  "Every week we have a lot of special drinks.  On Sangria Fridays it’s buy one pitcher and the next one is free.  There are special cocktails on Saturdays and special chef offerings on the weekends.”  Some of the more exotic drink selections include the Pomegranate Piscotini and the Skky Passion Tini.  There is a wide selection of Latin wines like “Elporillo” Sauvignon blanc (delicious with fish dishes.)

People come back for:  The Maduros (sweet plantains), skirt steak and seafood dishes.

Why go to Bohemia for Restaurant Week?  Bohemia offers fresh, authentic food in a warm and sophisticated atmosphere.  

BOHEMIA

 418 Broad Street (in the North Center business district) 

 (973) 743-4355

Closed Monday. Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 to 11; Saturday, 5 to 11; Sunday, 1 to 9. Reservations recommended.  “We don’t want to turn anyone away.”

Check out the Bloomfield Restaurant Week Website!