Tag Archives: DIning out in Jersey City

Dining, Restaurant Views, Sally Deering

STEPPIN’ OUT Kitchen Step Jersey City offers Cool Menu and Friendly Vibes  

Kitchen Step in Downtown Van Vorst  Section of Jersey City  Kitchen Step Jersey City

The Friendly Crew at Kitchen Step

By Sally Deering

 

Kitchen Step Jersey City
Kitchen Step in Downtown Van Vorst section of Jersey CIty

In the heart of the Downtown Van Vorst section of Jersey City, the Kitchen Step bistro offers Progressive American cuisine in an open and airy space that’s down to earth with natural wood tables, eco green banquettes and paintings of leaves and tree branches hanging from the dining room ceiling.

 

 

 

kitchen step jersey City General Manager Kenneth Rosado and the staff at Kitchen Step go the distance when it comes to customer service, which is evident when the 60-seat eatery fills up during weekend brunch with customers clamoring for dishes like the Nutella Swirl Pancakes and Truffle Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.

 

“We are a neighborhood restaurant,” Rosado says, as the crew prepares for a busy Friday night. “We had big shows to fill when we opened a year ago last February. This was where Thirty Acres used to be.” Continue reading STEPPIN’ OUT Kitchen Step Jersey City offers Cool Menu and Friendly Vibes   →

Dining, Sally Deering

Mom’s Family Recipes with a Dash of Heart- Roman Nose brings Flavors of Southern Italy to Downtown JC

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By Sally Deering

 Roman nose downtown Jersey City Back in the day, Frank Fiore’s family emigrated from Southern Italy to the Bronx and after years of big family dinners made from Grandma Fiore’s recipes, Frank, his brother Raymond, his father, Ruggero and his mother Maria, extended their family table to Newark Avenue in Downtown Jersey City and opened Roman Nose–Authentic Italian Kitchen.

 

Outside Roman Nose Restaurant Located next to The Word Bookstore right off Grove Street, Roman Nose landed one of the best locations in town: the Pedestrian Mall that extends west from Grove, Roman Nose offers guests a  hearty taste of Southern Italy and a casual dining experience with white wainscoting on the walls and vintage-style tin ceilings.  It has two areas for seating and a small bar with a big wine and cocktails list.  Intimate and friendly with black & white family photos on the walls, Roman Nose’s atmosphere is like one big family reunion with guests drinking, dining and enjoying the themselves.  Continue reading Mom’s Family Recipes with a Dash of Heart- Roman Nose brings Flavors of Southern Italy to Downtown JC →

Dining, Sally Deering

RECESS FOR GROWN-UPS At HopsScotch Bar & Restaurant, It’s all about Food, Drink & Games

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By Sally Deering

HopsScoth in downtown Jersey City

Luke Gomez, who owns HopsScotch bar and restaurant in Jersey City with his wife Sarah, compares running a restaurant to coaching a sports team. Every member of his staff participates – no benchwarmers – and when the place fills up with hungry patrons, it’s a huge win for the team.

Bar at HopsScotch JC Burger at HopsScotch

 

 

 

 

You have to have your staff work well together, like a basketball team,” Gomez says. “The Line Cook is the Center. The Bartender is Point Guard. Servers are Guards. My management is my Assistant Coaches. And we don’t say we have guests. We have fans. Before the shift starts, I tell my staff we have a big game tonight and it’s not what’s on TV.”

Continue reading RECESS FOR GROWN-UPS At HopsScotch Bar & Restaurant, It’s all about Food, Drink & Games →

Dining, Sally Deering

Rita and Joe’s Traditional Italian Cuisine with Contemporary Flair

Rita & Joe’s New Chef adds Hip to the Menu

Seasonings are Key to Great Flavors

By Sally Deering

Nestled in Jersey City’s Marion Section, west of Journal Square, Rita & Joe’s Italian Restaurant has been serving customers since 1985 when owners Rita and Joe Pane turned a “beer and shots” bar into a popular neighborhood eatery

Rita Pane and her daughter -in law Isabelle
Isabelle Pane and
Rita Pane
New Chef McCall at Rita and Joe's Jersey City restaurant
Chef Stephen McCall of Rita and Joe’s

Fast forward to 2015. Rita & Joe’s celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, but instead of relying on the old standbys, Isabel “Izzy” Pane (Rita’s daughter-in-law) has made some changes to keep up with the changing times. She brought on Chef Stephen McCall, a 1999 graduate of the New York Restaurant School who, along with Izzy, has revamped Rita & Joe’s menu with a contemporary take on tradition. Rita’s signature dishes like Eggplant and Chicken Parmigiana are still offered, but Chef Stephen has created some new dishes flavored with carefully chosen seasonings and using all fresh ingredients. You won’t find store-bought pastas at this restaurant; everything is made fresh and to order. Continue reading Rita and Joe’s Traditional Italian Cuisine with Contemporary Flair →

Dining

Step Back in Time for Old World Italian Cuisine at the Barge Inn Restaurant in Jersey City

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Barge Inn Restaurant corner of 3rd and Monmouth in Downtown, Jersey City
Barge Inn Restaurant corner of 3rd and Monmouth in Downtown, Jersey City

WHAT JERSEY CITY RESTAURANTS USED TO BE

By Sally Deering

Inside the barge inn restaurant Jersey City  Few Jersey City restaurants look like they did back in the day; and very few were around in the 1960s like The Barge Inn restaurant a little jewel in Jersey City’s crown. The Barge Inn serves Italian cuisine made from recipes handed down through generations. That’s why the food is so delicious – it’s authentic.

Bitsy and Linda owners of Barge Inn Jersey City pose with Chef Joey Marti
Owners “Bitsy and Linda Paldino with Chef Joey Marti

Owners Linda and Peter “Bitsy” Paldino run the restaurant which Linda’s dad John Marto opened in 1969. Linda remembers when Anne Polaro, sister to former Jersey City Mayor Anthony Cucci painted the murals depicting Italian scenes on the restaurant’s walls.

“Mayor Cucci was a friend of my dad’s,” Linda says. “I watched her do them; it took her two weeks.”

Continue reading Step Back in Time for Old World Italian Cuisine at the Barge Inn Restaurant in Jersey City →

Dining

The Culinary Bad Boy Ten Ingredients with Chef Chris Nirschel of Taphaus biergarten in Jersey City  

By Sally Deering

 Downtown Jersey City can now boast a new jewel in its crown, a Chef Chris Nirschel of Taphaus biergarten in Jersey Citygem of a restaurant glistening on the waterfront like a pearled onion garnishing a NY Strip.

Taphaus Biergarten  Taphaus biergarten opened just a couple months ago at the eastern end of 2nd Street in Jersey City; you can’t get any closer than this to one of the most beautiful views of the New York Skyline and particularly the Freedom Tower. No dark corners in this eatery; instead, its family style tables in a large dining area and bar, and a menu of classic comfort food reconstructed by Chef Chris Nirschel. Continue reading The Culinary Bad Boy Ten Ingredients with Chef Chris Nirschel of Taphaus biergarten in Jersey City   →

Dining, General

Ten Ingredients: At Casa Dante, Chef Freda Creates Italian Dishes a Traditional Grandmother Would Love

River View Observer: “Your Source for Fine and Casual Dining in Hudson County 

By Sally Deering

 chef freda croppedDuring the summer months, River View Observer likes to slip into the kitchen of some of Hudson’s best restaurants and shine a spotlight on the chefs who create the delicious dishes on their menus. This week, RO visited Casa Dante restaurant a few blocks north of Journal Square on Newark Avenue. Casa Dante opened 40 years ago and changed hands about 8 years ago just around the time Chef Gregg Freda came on board as Executive Chef.

Newark Ave. could use a little fixing-up, that’s for sure, and it appears the street outside Casa Dante will be going through some demo to put in new street lights, but that shouldn’t deter a visit to Casa Dante. Once you step inside the restaurant’s foyer, you are immediately transported to an extremely tranquil setting where a visitor can easily relax and enjoy the traditional Italian cuisine. Another good reason: Casa Dante has its own parking lot, a rarity in Jersey City.

Inside Casa Dante Restaurant in Jersey City Casa Dante’s menu includes Antipasto dishes like Mozzarella in Carrozza, mozzarella, parmigiano encrusted bread, lightly fried; served with a size of the house marinara sauce; Clams Oregnata, Little Neck clams baked with oregano-seasoned bread crumbs; and Fried Calamari, tender fresh calamari lightly fried and served with lemon and a choice of sweet or hot marinara.  Salads feature the Insalada di Avocado, avocado, hearts of palm, fresh mozzarella and diced tomatoes with lemon and olive oil dressing; and Crabmeat Salad, tangy arugula, colossal crabmeat and asparagus in garlic and lemon dressing. And the House Specialty, Seafood Salad ala Dante, chilled shrimp, scungilli, calamari, diced tomato, lemon, garlic and olive oil. There are Pasta, Chicken, Veal, Seafood and Steak entrees, all traditional Italian cuisine.  Chef Freda also creates daily specials, some with a flavorful twist.

Let’s meet Chef Freda!

RVO: Chef Freda, what is your background and how did you get interested in cooking?

CF:  I was born in Newark and raised in Verona. I’m the middle-child. My mother’s side of the family has always been into food. My grandfather Frank Panico was a butcher and had his own shop in Newark. My first job was in King Supermarket where I worked as a cashier while I was still in high school. I was always around food. Then my uncle Frank opened Panico’s restaurant and I started out as a cook, worked my way to sous chef and chef. That was in the 90s. Continue reading Ten Ingredients: At Casa Dante, Chef Freda Creates Italian Dishes a Traditional Grandmother Would Love →

Dining

15 Fox Place in Jersey City Puts the Home in Home Cooking

Pictured (r) Kathryn Budinich and her friend and Co-worker Mary Lou Roche
Pictured (r) Kathryn Budinich and her friend and Co-worker Mary Lou Roche

Kathryn Budinich Transforms her Jersey City One-Family into Supper Club

By Sally Deering

 15 fox place inside dining roomLike many other houses in the Marion Section of Jersey City (west of Journal Square) Kathryn Budinich’s humble little home has a screen door, cozy rooms and a backyard – and that’s about all it has in common with the other houses on the block.

 In 1999, Budinich, her husband Richie and son Mark transformed the family’s modest one-family into an exclusive dining club where Budinich and her staff, including her long-time friend Mary Lou Roche serve guests in two floors of rooms decorated in Victoriana frills, figurines and frou-frou and formal table-settings in crystal and porcelain. The lighting is low, intimate and perfect for the six-course dinner Budinich serves over the course of three luxurious hours.

 A self-taught chef, Budinich learned to make Italian dishes and desserts listening to her mother, aunts and neighbors who brought in suppers when Budinich and her family worked the feasts sponsored by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church and school their children attended. Years later, Budinich opened Word of Mouth caterers and in 1999 she turned her 15 Fox Place home into a supper club. Fourteen years later, business is so good customers have to make reservations two months in advance and Budinich only opens Friday, Saturday and one other night during the week. She also had to move out of her home to accommodate the demand for reservations.  Continue reading 15 Fox Place in Jersey City Puts the Home in Home Cooking →

Dining

Dining: restaurant VIEWS -Something’s Sizzling in Jersey City at Golden Grille

 TheGoldenGrillepic4  Golden Grille Heats Up Newark Avenue with Charcoal Barbecue Grilling

 By Sally Deering

 Jersey City’s urban dwellers can stop longing for that backyard to set up the barbecue grill. Rain or shine, you can now head over to the Golden Grille on Newark Avenue for some tasty charcoal-broiled barbecue pork ribs, chicken, steak and seafood.

Located on the corner where Monmouth Street meets Newark Avenue, the Golden Grille opened its doors a month ago to bring Fusion Churrascaria to an already busy neighborhood. The owners of the new Golden Grille transformed this corner location– it used to be a dessert place – into a hip 26-seat bistro with a contemporary design and house specialty: Fusion Churrascaria – charcoal grilled meats with a smoky barbecue flavor that’s mouth-wateringly delicious (think Brazilian/Portuguese barbecue).  Golden Grille also serves seafood and pasta and all the dishes are made with fresh ingredients.

Continue reading Dining: restaurant VIEWS -Something’s Sizzling in Jersey City at Golden Grille →

Dining, New Restaurants

Casual Dining in a Beautiful Mexican ‘Courtyard’ “Life is a Fiesta…Eat it Up!”

   By Sally Deering  

Co-Owner Carlo Oritz
Co-Owner Carlos Oritz

Step inside Blue Moon Mexican Café on Montgomery Street in downtown Jersey City and you’re transported to a warm and inviting Mexican ‘courtyard’ with large comfy booths and tables under the warm glow of paper lanterns strung across the dining room and an upstairs balcony of tables that overlook this sexy, spacious restaurant.

 On a snowy afternoon right after the Christmas holiday, I stopped in to meet Carlos Ortiz, who owns and manages Blue Moon Mexican Café with his brother Jose Ortiz. Together with their sisters who help with accounting and marketing and their mother who helped with the overall design, the Ortizes – who are originally from El Salvador – have created a warm and relaxed eatery with a terrific menu of Mexican dishes. Continue reading Casual Dining in a Beautiful Mexican ‘Courtyard’ “Life is a Fiesta…Eat it Up!” →