If you're looking for Latin/Dominican cuisine Lula's is your spot in NJ.
After experiencing some of the best Latin cuisine in NYC for the better part of 20+ years, I was afraid I wasn't going to find a restaurant that would fulfill those Latin cravings, but THANK GOODNESS that Lula's exist in Lodi. I found Lodi's through some random research on Yelp and Google and they are as freaking delicious as advertised.
I've been to Lula's a few times for takeout/pickup and the folks here are very cordial and friendly. The restaurant is very small and only has a few barstools at a counter looking out onto Essex Street. If you're driving here, which just about everyone does, the parking lot only consist of a few spots directly in front of it, but the spots typically open up quick since 99.99999% of customers are here to grab and go.
As for the menu, I've only come here for the daily lunch specials because they are an awesome, awesome deal. On Monday to Saturday (closed on Sundays) from 11AM-3PM they serve rice and beans or moro rice with a protein from the daily specials menu. AND, mostly importantly, the specials range from $8.50-$14.95 (the Ox Tail Stew being the main outlier at $14.95), with the average around $10, which is a steal!
Proteins that you can choose include Chicken Stew, Roasted Pork (aka Pernil), Baked Chicken, Ox Tail Stew, Rib Stew, Pork Chop Stew, Beef Stew, Goat Stew, BBQ Ribs and many, many more. Depending on the day, the specials will be different, so do check the menu online (https://lulaslodi.com/daily-specials/). In addition, if you're just strolling in off of the street and haven't looked at the menu, don't expect a menu to be hanging above the ordering counter because there is none! (Although they do have their paper menus sitting by the cashier) But do your homework before hand or be ready to ask "what is that?" when looking through the glass windows where the food is kept warm. Since I have the utmost faith in them scooping the food for my entree, I typically just call in my food now and it's ready to go.
So you're thinking, OK, that's a pretty good deal for these lunch specials, but what about portioning? Did I not just say it's an awesome, awesome deal???? It wouldn't be an AWESOME, AWESOME deal without a huge portion! The portions are ridiculous! I consider myself someone who has a big appetite and can eat a lot and I even have to split the lunch special into 2 meals because it's A LOT of food. For someone with a massive appetite, this will probably hit the spot. For someone with an small, average or decent appetite, this is undoubtedly a 2 meal entree because they jam the round tin foil tray to the top.
And it goes without saying that the food is delicious. I've tried the Chicken Stew, Beef Stew, Baked Chicken and Roasted Pork and, so far, it all is exceptional. The rice is perfectly cooked and the meats are tasty. The only slight I have is I did wish they included a littttle bit more meat for some of the dishes because there is a heck of a lot of rice, but most of the time they give the right amount of protein.
I think you pretty much know where I stand about Lula's. I'm super grateful that they aren't too far away and I know where I will ABSOLUTELY be going when in need of good takeout Latin food. read more