Lua   

1300 Sinatra Dr
Hoboken, NJ 07030
201-876-1900
www.luarestaurant.com/

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Hoboken homeboy John Avoletta Jr., who also owns rowdy-roofed City Bistro a few blocks away in, has struck gold with LUA, a daring waterfront eatery/lounge/bar with a front seat on Manhattan and the cross-Hudson ferry terminal. This is the first Ho-town joint to truly, finally channel the Manhattan club-and-restaurant scene without a hitch. The NBBJ-designed dining space splits in half, one section focused on a stunning orange-and-amber ovoid bar, around which equally stunning barmaids and hostesses rotate while Wall Street types and club kids stir passionfruit mojitos with chunks of shaved sugar cane or choose from 22 kinds of tequila. A curtained-off side room serves as a private, cuddly, doorman-barred club at night. To the left, blond, curvaceous chairs -- they're Scandinavian, of course -- crowd around stark white tables; there's even a long, skinny communal table a la Asia de Cuba for those who popped in on a whim. Salvadoran head honcho Ricardo Cardona -- late of The Odeon, Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, Republi'K, and other trendy bites -- goes over the top here with fusion wonders. The ceviches and small plates shine most brightly: raw lobster and sea scallops perfumed in a vanilla and blood-orange marinade; short-rib taquitos with farmer's cheese; duck arepas. Warning: You'll be so taken in by the colliding tastes, architectural lines, and city views -- there's not a bad seat in the house -- that you might even miss the mellow groove being laid down by the live DJ in the background.