TLDR Version: 449 E Bay Ave. Great authentic Mexican food with modern twists, made in house, huge portions

English Version: Starting off, the ambience here is solo very Mexican, it's like being transported south of the border. It has papel-picado hanging all over the ceiling, it has Mexican flags, it even has a live musician playing guitar & singing Spanish songs. Plus the AC was out of order the night when we visited, so I had sweat dripping down my forehead within 15 minutes, just like in Mexico. ;-)

Right after we sat down, our server brought over a basket of chips & two kinds of dip, a black bean dip & another one that was dark yellow with red flecks that I thought would be cheesey, but turned out not to be, still tasty though.

As an appetizer, we ordere nachos with steak, which ended up being a plate of amazing nachos smothered in cheese, a pile of guacamole, a generous amount of steak strips, a few hot pepper strips, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, & onions (I know, those are not authentic Mexican cuisine, but they've definitely been very successfully integrated into their food culture). The picture shows how huge the plate was, and it could have been a meal for me, or two smaller people. (See picture).

To drink, we opted to split a(n) horchata (huge, see photo) in addition to water with lemon. I liked that our server did not simply plop down straws, but asked first, which gave us the option to decline.

As our main courses, my wife ordered the empanadas, and I ordered the tacos dorados. They both arrived with generous sides of rice & black bean sauce, a little bit of lettuce, a few strips of avocado, and surprisingly, a Mexican-seasoned Schnitzel (chicken-fried cutlet of pork?).

Version español (cortada): El ambiente es muy mexicano con muchas banderas de México, papel picado, fotografías, y música en vivo. No puedo explicarlo exactamente, pero hay tambien platas aquí que son un poquito diferentes y nuevas. Puedo prometerte que vas a gozarlo, perro es un poco caro, pero se vale el precio. No es tan caro como los restaurantes en LBI.

Todas las comidas que pedimos fueron muy frescas, delciosas y autenticas. Ven y probarlas por tu mismo.

We normally frequent a local Mexican restaurant that has been in the area for awhile. We decided to try this restaurant as we have never been and have heard good reviews from friends. Not much ambiance but La J is authentic Mexican. The place was full. The evening that we visited was hot ( it appeared that they could have had issues with the ac with the prior thunder storms and loss of power). The food was very clean and tasty and not greasy like other restaurants we have tried. The portions were plentiful and the menu offered a variety of selections. In addition, the prices were reasonable. Please note this is a BYOB! We expect to return.

Our most recent visit (having been there a few times since it opened) was disappointing. While our meal selections were delicious and well prepared with good service, the alleged dinner entertainment ruined an otherwise pleasant evening. First, as a trained vocalist and instrumentalist, the sound system here is too overpowering for the size of the restaurant. Secondly, the karaoke vocalist was absolutely tone deaf.
Her off-key renditions actually made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I was tempted to actually discuss her performance with her, but polite society frowns on this. Oh well, let's hope the owners aren't her relatives?

We loved our lunch here. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. BYOB Super nice and attentive service.

Finally deviated from my normal places around town and gave la jarachita a go. Ehhh. We had a reservation for a Thursday night since Manahawkin has slim pickings. Place was crowded at 6:30. Upon entering, right away I thought oh man this place is loud. There was a one man singer with sound system that way above dinner music for the size of the place. I wish we walked out right then and there. It went South fast. First, stale chips with black beans and a nice red pepper sauce.?? That was tasty. Appetizer was calamari. It was served with a very bland marinara. The calamari was salty and over cooked.