Restaurant Roundup: Skinner's Loft

Last weekend, Shaun and I ditched our plans of heading into Manhattan and instead opted for some exploring in Jersey City. Since we rarely venture into the JC outside of our small neighborhood, it was really a treat. The place? Skinner's Loft, a small two story bar and restaurant featuring exposed brick and stained glass. With eclectic dishware and pillows, it kind of felt like dining in an Anthropologie catalog-esque bar. The menu featured an array of American-style dishes with a special Small Plates menu. Well, they must've known I was coming. After all, small plates are the perfect solution for a sampler (read: one who isn't content with one big meal, but must have small bites of lots of different things), such as myself. And oh did we sample.

Dinner started out with some brioche bread and olive oil for dipping. Served on super sweet Alice in Wonderland toile bread plates, it was impossible not to enjoy.

Post bread, we ordered a handful of mouth-watering eats, albeit extremely unhealthy. Filet Mignon sliders with the most delectable shoestring fries I've ever laid eyes on...

Creamy macaroni and cheese, the single-handed culprit who made me fall asleep earlier than planned (causing an unfortunate snoozefest during a viewing of Inglorious Basterds) that night...

House cured olives...the only thing missing were the marcona almonds...See those white things? Yeah, that's whole cloves of roasted garlic, not almonds as I had hoped...

And the surprise star, cheese dip with potatoes and apples...

The small plates made Skinner's just my kind of place. A table full of eats to sample? Okay by me...But what I really want to know is, how do you like to eat? Do you like a huge plate full of the goods? Do you like to sample? Are you an appetizer-only eater?