Category Archives: Dining

Dining, General

Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette Brings Back Old Hoboken Charm and Egg Creams

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Schnackies is Back!

By Sally Deering

SCHANACKS
Schnackenberg’s new owners Eugene and Joyce Flinn in front of their Hoboken luncheonette

If you’ve been in the Hoboken area for a while, it’s likely you’ve visited Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette and may even have a “Schnackie’s” story or two from back in the day. That’s what Eugene and Joyce Flinn have been learning ever since they took over “Schnackie’s” and gave the old-fashioned ice cream parlor a facelift that’s both retro and nouveau.

The Flinns – who own Amanda’s and the Elysian Café in Hoboken – really outdid themselves with Schnackie’s restoration. In many ways it looks pretty much the way it did back when it opened in 1931; the wooden booths in the dining room are original; so is the tiled floor that has been spiffed and retiled in some places. The display cases of homemade chocolates and fresh doughnuts and pastries are there, too, and so is the counter with all new marble countertop and red and tan upholstered stools that swirl before a real soda fountain where Egg Creams are made with real pressurized seltzer. You can have Cherry Cokes, too, the kind made with real syrup, and Strawberry Malts, Chocolate Milkshakes and Root Beer Floats.

The Novak family, descendants of Henry Schnackenberg who opened the luncheonette in 1931, turned Schnackie’s over to the Finns in 2012. They, in turn, restored it and brought it up to code.

“They saw what we did with the Elysian and we knew them from town,” Joyce Flinn says. “We didn’t want to do anything untoward. It’s still their family name.”

Restoring Schnackenberg’s has been a labor of love, especially for Eugene, who was a history major when he attended Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City. Continue reading Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette Brings Back Old Hoboken Charm and Egg Creams →

Dining

McLoone’s Restaurants Announces a Spring 2014 Opening of “Pier House” in Hoboken, NJ

New venture marks McLoone’s tenth restaurant

 

McCloone's new pier house restaruant in hobokenHoboken, NJ (December 5, 2013) - McLoone’s Restaurants is thrilled to announce that they will be opening a new “Pier House” restaurant at The Shipyard, a mixed-use community of luxury residences and upscale retail space located on Hoboken’s northern waterfront facing midtown Manhattan.  This McLoone’s restaurant will expand the very successful “Pier House” concept to three locations; adding to the original in Long Branch (2005) and National Harbor, Maryland (2010). The Hoboken location will offer McLoone’s “upscale dining for the entire family” with New American cuisine, neighborhood signature dishes, an extensive wine list and specialty drinks. Renovations are planned for the 7,000 square-foot venue, owned by Ironstate Development Company, since it is an existing restaurant space with many interior architectural accents. McLoone’s Pier House boasts soaring ceilings, vibrant features, and spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline that will debut in Spring 2014. Pier House will be added to an impressive list of ten restaurants owned by McLoone’s hospitality company. Visit www.mcloones.com for all restaurant locations.

“We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create a new restaurant located in the iconic city of Hoboken. The Shipyard is a great community”, cheers Tim McLoone, president of McLoone’s Restaurants. “With an exceptional waterfront location just steps from a New York Waterway Ferry Terminal and convenient Valet Service, we expect to attract patrons from throughout New Jersey and Manhattan”. Tim is known throughout New York and New Jersey as a celebrated musician, entertainer, athlete, restaurateur, entrepreneur, humanitarian and renaissance man. His interests and core values have cultivated a unique company brand that has been a successful formula for over twenty years. Continue reading McLoone’s Restaurants Announces a Spring 2014 Opening of “Pier House” in Hoboken, NJ →
Dining, General

ME Casa (Su Casa) Shining a Spotlight on Fine Puerto Rican Cuisine in Jersey City

 By Sally Deering

Chef Ed Coto Jr. in front of his restaurant Me Casa
Chef Ed Coto Jr. in front of his restaurant Me Casa

 Eighteen months ago Chef Ed Cotto, Jr., and his wife Maria discovered a little nook on Varick Street in Jersey City and turned it into ME Casa, a divine little restaurant where the star is traditional Puerto Rican cuisine served in grand style. Cotto, who was born and raised in Brooklyn and spent much of his childhood in his family’s native Puerto Rico, has a special ingredient he adds to all his dishes: he calls it heart and soul.

“I’m a little disturbed Latin cuisine hasn’t elevated,” Cotto says on a recent afternoon as he prepares for the evening dinner crowd.  “I went to Puerto Rico a couple years ago and not only didn’t they change their physical décor, it was the same dishes I had 20 years ago. Puerto Ricans have been content selling Puerto Rican food to Puerto Ricans. My challenge is to sell it to people of other cultures. Roast pork is roast pork, how do you make it differently? ”

The dining room, red-bricked lined with tables covered in white linens, is intimate and warm with Latin music

Me Casa downtown Jersey City Puerto Rican restaurant
Me Casa intimate dining room

playing softly in the background. It’s a BYOB restaurant and Cotto encourages his guests to bring their own wine or beer to complement his menu, which offers select traditional Puerto Rican dishes by Cotto.

“My boss is the people who sit here in these chairs,” Cotto says. “Good food and hospitality, it has to go hand in hand. I want my customers to connect.”

Cotto offered a visitor a few ME Casa signature dishes to taste like the Mofongo Al Pilon, mashed green plantains and garlic topped with beef (shrimp or chicken) stew which was very tasty. The beef in the stew was tender and the gravy had some really nice flavors. Another delicious house specialty is the Pernil Asado, traditional marinated pulled pork. A real standout is the Alcapurias, fried mashed green banana and plantain Continue reading ME Casa (Su Casa) Shining a Spotlight on Fine Puerto Rican Cuisine in Jersey City →

Dining

Orale’ Mexican Kitchen -Hot Mexican Dishes Served in a Cool Place

   Oralé Mexican Kitchen on Grove St — Hip, Urban and Hot, Hot, Hot!

 By Sally Deering

 

Orale Mexican Kitchen
 Oralé owners Alex Mendelsohn and Louis Alvarez

 

  

Nestled in the middle of Grove Street in downtown Jersey City is one of the coolest restaurants you’ll find in Hudson – Oralé Mexican Kitchen owned by business partners Alex Mendelsohn and Louis Alvarez, restaurateurs who meticulously created a beautiful eatery and a menu of authentic Mexican Cuisine with an American twist.

“We had fun with the fusion of Mexican and American.” Mendelsohn says, giving a visitor a tour of the restaurant. “The most prime example on our menu would be the Casa Gringo. We took the most common American dish, mac and cheese, and incorporated it with chipotle and Mexican cheese sauce.  As a special we did a Mexican version of classic fried chicken. We marinated the chicken in a number of different herbs and chilies and our breading had cinnamon and sugar. It was sweet and salty. We took something fun and twisted it; that was a huge hit.”

Located just a couple blocks from the Grove Street PATH Station, Oralé’s atmosphere is urban hip with red-bricked walls scrawled with big and bold graffiti, a wall of back-lit candy-colored sodas, and images of skulls inside one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city. By the time you’re seated at one of the dining room tables, Oralé’s ambience has you feeling both relaxed and excited about what’s to come – and the food doesn’t disappoint.   Continue reading Orale’ Mexican Kitchen -Hot Mexican Dishes Served in a Cool Place →

Dining, General

Bayonne by the Sea – Otaiko Hibachi & Sushi Lounge Serves Fine Japanese Cuisine in a Beautiful Waterfront Location

Otaiko Hibachi & Sushi Restaurant from River View Observer on Vimeo.

By Sally Deering

otaiko timConsider the waterfront view a side dish when dining at Otaiko Hibachi & Sushi Lounge, Bayonne’s newest hotspot on the Hudson. Serving fine Japanese cuisine that includes hearty Hibachi combination dishes of chicken, steak and seafood that are cooked right before your eyes by a master chef ; and fine Sushi creations designed by Master Sushi Chefs at the sleek and sexy Sushi Bar.  Whatever your tastes, you’ll find some delicious dishes at Otaiko, which opened just a few weeks ago in South Cove Commons on Bayonne’s waterfront.

Chef and co-owner Alex Ren, along with his three partners Leo Lin, Kenny Shao and Jonathan Jiang have many years of experience creating Japanese dishes. Ren has been a Sushi Chef for 12 years and served his apprenticeship with a Sushi Master who retired after opening several Sushi restaurants. Continue reading Bayonne by the Sea – Otaiko Hibachi & Sushi Lounge Serves Fine Japanese Cuisine in a Beautiful Waterfront Location →

Dining

HARD GROVE CAFÉ IN JERSEY CITY RAISES THE BAR

   Delicious Cuban/Latin Cuisine Ranks High Above the Norm

 By Sally Deering

Jersey City's Hard Grove Cafe  When the Hard Grove Café’s original owner Domenic Santana opened the Jersey City restaurant  on Grove Street in the early 1990s, the neighborhood was not as affluent as it is today and Santana offered locals more of a diner menu where you could get a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for a buck ninety-nine.

Times have changed and the restaurant has changed hands a couple times. In 2005, Evelyn Padin and Carmen Mendiola—two practicing lawyers and Jersey City residents – decided to try their hand at running a restaurant and purchased the Hard Grove Café. They kept on Chef Rafael Valdespino and the trio created a menu of Modern Latin Cuisine that is refined and delicious. Instead of the soupy beans and sticky yellow rice typically found at many local eateries, the Hard Grove Café’s beans are light, the rice is fluffy and both dishes are seasoned gently.

“Carmen is Cuban-American and I’m Puerto Rican and we were looking for something,” Padin says. “When we saw this place, Carmen didn’t want it closing down. Like everybody in the neighborhood, we’d known Domenic for years. So Carmen said let’s give it a go.” Continue reading HARD GROVE CAFÉ IN JERSEY CITY RAISES THE BAR →

Dining, General

Some Like it Hot! Azúcar Cuban Cuisine and Cigars: Tasty Cuban Dishes and a Smokin’ Cigar Room

Restaurant Views

By Sally Deering

 

Azucar restaurant manager Lauren Vazquez
Lauren Vazquez, Manager Azu’car Restaurant

Inside Azucar restaurant Azúcar Cuban Cuisine & Cigars’ owner and Executive Chef Nick Vazquez was just a kid when his family moved to the states in 1960 and settled in Hudson. Vasquez attended local schools, but learned he had a passion for cooking while watching his mom create traditional Cuban dishes in the family kitchen. Years later, Vazquez rekindled his passion and in 1995 opened Azúcar, his first restaurant in Edgewater. He closed the business ten years later and opened Azúcar Cuban Cuisine & Cigars in Jersey City, where his mother’s recipes highlight the menu.

Azucar has a cigar room for their patrons
Azucar Cigar Room

Step inside Azúcar and it’s like a step back in time to a 1950s Cuban bistro where above the reception area a huge “Cuba” poster showing a Latina dressed in a 1950s cabaret costume catches your eye. Stroll to the right and you’re in the bar, an inviting, low-lit atmosphere with black tables and chairs upholstered in faux leopard. The room is cozy and cool especially with the large overhead fan that creates wafting breezes below. To the left, there are two dining rooms that seat 120 comfortably.

Continue reading Some Like it Hot! Azúcar Cuban Cuisine and Cigars: Tasty Cuban Dishes and a Smokin’ Cigar Room →

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, General

Hudson Restaurant Week July 29th-August 9th

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Hudson Restaurant Week brings us 45 wonderful reasons to go out and dine from July 29th -August 9th.

Visit their website @  http://www.hudsonrestaurantweek.com/ to find out all the details for a delicious way to spend a summer day or evening.

 

 

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 →