Home Food + Drink Angry Archie’s: Serving Mouth-Watering Sandwiches in Hoboken + Jersey City

Angry Archie’s: Serving Mouth-Watering Sandwiches in Hoboken + Jersey City

by Megan Joseph
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In Hudson County, many will find a slew of food trucks that craft delicious eats from pizza to burgers to seafood. One of the most well-known is Angry Archie’s, a family-owned business best known for its “angry” lobster roll and crab cake sandwich.

Established in 2015, Archie’s now has four trucks and multiple tent outlets to serve its many customers in the area and beyond. Summer is its peak season from about the second week of May until the end of October.

This under-the-sea-themed food truck {with a sarcastic lobster in a chef’s uniform painted on its side} is quite the popular truck in the area. Owner and founder Chris Curado gives Hoboken Girl the exclusive on Angry Archie’s, its beginnings, and what he’s planning for the future. Read on to learn more about Angry Archie’s, a food truck selling mouth-watering sandwiches Hoboken + Jersey City. 

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The Menu

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying an Angry Archie’s melt-in-your-mouth sandwich, you know it’s an unparalleled experience. Chris Curado describes his food as a gourmet, fine-dining taste in a casual, hand-held style.

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The two most popular menu items include the Angry Lobster Roll {$16} and the Crab Cake Sandwich {$12}—Chris says these are his favorite too. The Angry Lobster Roll is stuffed with Maine lobster meat in a spicy corn mayonnaise on a toasted potato bun. The Crab Cake Sandwich includes jumbo lump crab meat and crispy potatoes in a spicy aioli and citrus crema sauce on a toasted potato bun.

Angry Archie’s Crab Poutine {$12} is a great snack and perfect for those Instagrammable moments on Pier 13. FYI — the dish consists of crispy french fries topped with lump crab meat in a creamy sauce and sriracha aioli. Chris says they really wanted to add a cheaper meat option to the menu, so they do offer a boneless chicken sandwich {$8} with arugula and crispy potatoes in a spicy aioli and citrus crema sauce on a toasted potato bun, as well.

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See More: The Rollin’ Oat: Hudson County’s 1st Mobile Oatmeal Bar

About the Owner

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{Photo Credit: Angry Archie’s}

Chef Chris Curado and his cousin Michael Ponte are the co-founders of Angry Archie’s, both with a ton of hospitality experience. Chris’s mother Carmella Sebastiano, another big part of the operation, handles all event coordination and baking needs.

Chris is a true culinary artist and well-versed in the restaurant industry. His family owned Ponte’s, a well-known Italian restaurant in Tribeca, until 2013. After high school, Chris entered the business world, but then realized his passion might be in the kitchen. He started at the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown under head chef Thomas Ciszak for almost seven years. Here Chris learned how to prepare the gourmet lump crab cake that is on Angry Archie’s menu today.

“Chef Ciszak was very savvy with his crab cakes and his fish dishes,” Chris said. “He taught me quite a bit about how to handle fish, the inventory with fish, and he had a great crab cake recipe.”

In 2012, he studied abroad at IFSE Culinary Institute in Piedmont, Italy which is known as the official school of Italian cuisine and pastry. When he returned to the States, Chris worked as an executive chef at Esty Street in Park Ridge and then as a general manager and chef at Hoboken’s own City Bistro. He wanted to get a more “front-of-the-house” experience, but after another year, Chris decided to go solo.

“Working for other people was a great experience, but I could tell with my personality and going through all the experiences in the hospitality industry, this would be the better fit for me,” he said.

While at City Bistro, Chris noticed the uptown food trucks at Pier 13 and thought that might be the best option for him. He was torn between opening a pizza shop or a food truck, but decided Ponte’s famed “angry” lobster would be the feature dish for an on-the-move joint. As a result,  Angry Archie’s was born.

Day to Day Operations

angry archies food menu

Chris says every day is different in the food truck business. He heavily relies on his staff, the weather, and his own ever-changing schedule to get through the week. Chris’s family has helped out so much over the years and continues to today, too.

Archie’s has regulars all over the tri-state area from Newark to Easton, PA. Chris recalls four ladies in Woodbridge, NJ who stop by every time the food truck is in the area.

“They’re sisters in their 80s and 90s,” he said. “That’s the only time I ever see them during the past five years. They come up and buy a ton of food.”

On a typical day, Angry Archie’s receives its parking assignments around 7:00AM, meets the commissary crew to load up with supplies, and heads out to start setting up around 10:00AM. Chris says he checks the weather about five times a day every day because it really does affect operations. 

One of the business’s biggest issues was finding locations during the week. He says street vending is labor-intensive and permits in Jersey City and Hoboken are often a hassle. So Chris and his mother Carmella started Food Trucks on the Move, a business which contacts residences and apartment complexes about hosting a food truck on its premises. Then, they set up a schedule for each building {usually two and a half hours long} and promote it to residents with flyers and on social media.

Over the next year, Chris plans to explore other food halls in New York and outside of Hudson County. He explains these locations help with production and it’s much easier to staff and cook there.

“Everything we do is from scratch, so it’s difficult to have that all coming from a truck without having a base,” he said.

Read More: Hybrid Coffee: A Jersey City Cafe on Wheels

Locations + Hours

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The Angry Archie’s food truck is located at Harborside {the Jersey City waterfront district} in a ground-level food hall of the Mack-Cali building Monday through Friday at 11:00AM. It is at Pier 13 on Sundays at 11:00AM until close. Other frequent spots include the alleyway on Park Avenue and Garden Street, the Soho Lofts, and the Steel Works Apartments in Harrison, NJ.

Tuesday through Saturday is also full of private events, festivals, and corporate lunches all within the Hudson County and NYC area. If you want to book Angry Archie’s for your event, fill out a catering form here.

Angry Archie’s is planning a seafood boil this year {a buffet style of dining at a pop-up restaurant} and may add a grilled cheese truck to its repertoire. Right now, it’s serving chicken grilled cheese gruyère arugula pesto and sambal aioli at the Harborside location. Keep an eye out for this item on the Pier 13 menu too. Be sure to follow @angry_archies on Instagram and @AngryArchies on Twitter for updates. 

Have you tried an Angry Archie’s sandwich yet? Let us know in the comments! 

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