Category Archives: Dining

Dining

Copacabana Grill mingles Italian and Brazilian Cuisine in a Hip, Romantic Setting

By Sally Deering

Copacabana Grill Restaurant owner Luigy Rivas (center) surrounded by his staff
Copacabana Grill Restaurant owner Luigy Rivas (center) surrounded by his staff

Whether you’re looking for a cozy place for lunch, a hip hangout for drinks after work or a romantic dinner with that special date, the Copacabana Grill in Bayonne has it all for you – Italian and Brazilian Cuisine served in a cool and romantic setting.

Bayonne is a city of many great restaurants and the Copacabana Grill is a hip little eatery on Broadway, off 11th Street. Enter the non-descript white storefront and you’re instantly transported into a low-lit sleek and sexy bar with dark wood tables and luxurious matching chairs. In the back of the room, a mini staircase leads to a beautiful, romantic dining room.

 

Formerly The Liquid Lounge, owner Luigy Rivas changed more than just the name. With the help of his staff, Rivas renovated, designed and decorated the restaurant, giving the place a totally new interior and vibe.

Inside copacabana dining room“We worked on this place so many nights,” Rivas says, taking a break from the reservation desk to enjoy a cup of tea. “We wanted it to be cozy, warm, romantic. The room upstairs is fancier and down here at the bar, it’s more casual.”

Before becoming a restaurateur, Rivas worked his way up in the restaurant industry first as dishwasher, then busboy, cook, waiter and manager. Continue reading Copacabana Grill mingles Italian and Brazilian Cuisine in a Hip, Romantic Setting →

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!” →

Dining, General, Restaurant Views

restaurant VIEWS- Ten Ingredients: Chef Abel Ruiz of Amelia’s bistro shares his Passion for Cooking

 By Sally Deering

Photo of Chef Abel Ruiz Sally Deering

 Nestled in the historic Paulus Hook section of downtown Jersey City, Amelia’s Bistro on Warren Street is a warm, welcoming and beautiful restaurant with a lovely menu. As soon as you enter, the attentive staff greets you at the door with a smile. Designed with an artful eye, the restaurant is reminiscent of Paris bistros with its muted gold walls, dark wood accents, white tablecloths and stained glass low-hanging lamps dimly lit over the bar and throughout the dining room.

When you are brought to your table, the waiter takes out a large ink stamp and stamps the white butcher paper on top of the tablecloths, a unique way to inform you of the day’s specials. For a recent lunch, the specials were Lobster Bisque; a Thai Steak Salad; and Caper Crusted Sole Sandwich. I tried the sole and it was magnificent, moist and flakey and the artichoke hearts nestled on the home-made Focaccia bread (baked on the premises) were a great tangy addition to the fish. The accompanying French fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside – sheer perfection on a plate.

With more than 20 years’ cooking experience, Chef Abel Ruiz creates Amelia’s dishes with country flair and the freshest ingredients. 

 Let’s meet Chef Abel Ruiz!

RVO:  Chef Ruiz, can you share with our readers where were you born and raised?

CR:  I was born in Mexico City, Mexico. I came to the States when I was 17.

 

RVO:  How did you get into cooking?

CR:  When I first came here I started doing odd jobs. Then I met someone who owns a restaurant and he saw something in me. He said, “Why don’t you come work for me? You’re a natural.” I worked the counter and started learning the business. Once I got my hands on the pans I couldn’t go back. When his Sous Chef quit, I became Sous Chef and worked my way up.

Continue reading restaurant VIEWS- Ten Ingredients: Chef Abel Ruiz of Amelia’s bistro shares his Passion for Cooking →

Dining

RESTAURANT VIEWS- EXECUTIVE CHEF MICHAEL COLETTI- VB3 RESTAURANT, JERSEY CITY

As part of our Ten Ingreditent series where Sally Deering our Senior Writer  interviews  the Chef’s that oversee the kitchens of some of the finest restaurants in Hudson County -we present Chef Michael Coletti of VB3 Restaurant

Ten Ingredients

By Sally Deering

VB3 on Washington Boulevard in downtown Jersey City features theVB3 Pizzeria where office workers and neighborhood residents dash in for a slice or a pie; and the VB3 dining room and lounge with the sexiest bar in Jersey City. It’s an eye-catching island of dark wood with a surface of “orange liquid lava” and bar stools with bright-orange backs and faux leopard print seats.  No detail in this beautiful restaurant has been overlooked by Owner and Executive Chef Michael Colletti, General Managers Giuseppi “Little Joe” Russo and Giuseppi “Big Joe” Russo; and business partners Gary Leff and Ricky Leff. This team put heart and soul into the place and it shows.

Chef Colletti, 29, attended the Culinary Education Center in Asbury Park and after graduation worked at the prestigious Le Cirque and then Chef de Cuisine at Mai House. After five years in New York, Chef Colletti joined his friend and celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn at the Sunnyside Group and helped him open Good Stuff Eatery in Washington D.C. In 2010, Colletti and Mendelsohn appeared in “Iron Chef” competing in “Battle Proscuitto” against world famous chef Michael Symon. Chef Colletti also cooked for President Barack Obama and his staff at The White House.

Let’s meet Chef Colletti!

RVO:  Chef Colletti, can you tell our readers a little about your background?

CC:  My family is from Sicily. My father moved here at 14 and I was raised in Elizabeth. My grandfather would be in the garden all day and my grandmother would cook in the kitchen. There would be 20 of us in the kitchen – we’re a big Italian family. Continue reading RESTAURANT VIEWS- EXECUTIVE CHEF MICHAEL COLETTI- VB3 RESTAURANT, JERSEY CITY →

Dining, General

Jersey City’s Surf City -Bringing the Jersey Shore to Our Backyard

River View Observer’s “Best Pick”-  Mini Vacation for an Afternoon or Evening

Your sitting there cool drink in hand, a warm breeze coming off the water, you stop and think for a moment-“Where Am I?” The Jersey Shore, A Caribbean Island and you realize I’m in Historic Jersey City, I’m at Surf City, one of the newest and coolest places to open in JC in a very long time.

If you want waterfront views, outdoor dining, cool cocktails and a place to hang with family and friends -this is the place for you.

Located at 1 Marin Blvd. Jersey City 201-516-6000 http://www.facebook.com/surfcitybar#!/surfcitybar

Check out our  photos of Surf City and look for a restaurant VIEWS feature on Surf City in our print edition of the River View Observer  coming soon. Continue reading Jersey City’s Surf City -Bringing the Jersey Shore to Our Backyard →

Dining

Rita and Joe’s Authentic Italian Cuisine-Popular Jersey City Restaurant serves Rita’s Special Recipes with a Whole Lotta Love

By Sally Deering

 In the Marion Section of Jersey City on Broadway near the Pulaski Skyway entrance is where you’ll find Rita & Joe’s, an Italian eatery that as soon as you walk in the door it feels like home.

 Rita & Joe Pane bought the place in 1985 when it was called the Broadway Tavern, a neighborhood hangout where the bar took up most of the room. Rita would make Chicken and Shrimp Parmigiana sandwiches and dinners for the customers and take out dishes they could enjoy at home. Soon, the bar got smaller and the dining room got bigger as more and more customers came in for the food and became regulars. 
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Continue reading Rita and Joe’s Authentic Italian Cuisine-Popular Jersey City Restaurant serves Rita’s Special Recipes with a Whole Lotta Love →

Dining, General

Ribbon Cutting of the new VB3 Restaurant in Jersey City

On May 2nd the newest restaurant to open onthe Jersey City watefront was VB3- Restaurant, Pizzeria & Bar – 201.420.4VB3 – 475 Washington Blvd.

Serving Italian food where  you will find a fresh, modern approach to classic Italian family recipes.  Chef Michael Colletti incorporates seasonal ingredients from local purveyors into signature small plates that evoke a sense of nostalgia, but will delight and surprise with his contemporary style.

Gary Leff, VB3 Owner

  John McCormick, Mayor of Woodbridge

Joe Russo, VB3 Owner/GM

Ricky Leff, VB3 Owner,

Chef Michael Colletti VB3 Owner,

Joe Russo   VB3 Owner/Manager

Mayor Healy, Jersey City, Jersey City Councilman Bill Gaughan,  Brad Klatt, Roseland Properties ,, Peter Mangin, Real Estate Developer

 

Dining, Restaurant Views

Riverview Diner in North Bergen , A New Look for an Old Friend

  

By Sally Deering

Maybe it’s the shiny chrome and Formica counter tops that draws us in or the beauty of the chocolate layer cakes beaming through the pastry fridge window? Then again, it could be the first bite of a juicy cheeseburger, the rich dark coffee or the eggs served just right. New Jersey has some fine restaurants, there’s no doubt, but our kinship with diners is as binding as meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

Riverview Diner on River Road in North Bergen has been a go-to spot on the diner directory since Tommy Mavronasios opened the place back in 1982. It became ‘all in the family’ when Mavronasios introduced his daughters, Olga, Cindy and Vivian to the business and then sent them off to college. After graduation, the girls came back to Riverview to share their time managing the restaurant with their dad. Continue reading Riverview Diner in North Bergen , A New Look for an Old Friend →

Dining

Biggies Restaurant in Hoboken -Just Got Bigger

HOBOKEN CHEESE STEAK KING IN NEW DIGS AT OLD CLAMBROTH HOUSE

By Sally Deering

Back in the day when I was a cub reporter at a local Hoboken weekly, the publisher would woo the crew to work on Saturday’s with one promise:  Free takeout from Biggie’s. And it worked. Work would come to a screeching halt when our takeout orders arrived in a cardboard box packed with Biggie’s Cheese Steak subs, tender strips of beef under a thick slab of gooey melted provolone cheese smothered in smoky, fried onions encased in a long sub roll.

Biggie’s has been a Hoboken tradition since 1946 when Joseph “Biggie” Yaccarino sold clams from a pushcart to the longshoremen who imbibed in the bars along the waterfront. He eventually opened Biggie’s on Madison Street and the business has been family-owned and operated ever since. In 2010, Biggie’s opened another location in Carlstadt on Rt. 17 and in 2011, just a few months before taking over the Clam Broth House; the family opened a Biggie’s in Tennessee.

Continue reading Biggies Restaurant in Hoboken -Just Got Bigger →

Dining, General

Dip into The Melting Pot -At this Hoboken Waterfront Bistro Melted Cheese and Chocolate Fondues take Center Stage

  By Sally Deering

It was my first time at a fondue restaurant and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into The Melting Pot on Sinatra Drive in Hoboken, a hip corner bistro where customers dip into delicious cheese and chocolate fondues, dine on tasty salads and cooked-to-order entrees while gazing at the spectacular views of the Manhattan Skyline outside its windows.

The dining experience at The Melting Pot is what co-owner Lina Patel calls “interactive,” because here diners don’t sit back with a knife and fork, they skewer and dip into the melted concoctions made right at their table by the wait-person. This family-owned business, a franchise that started in Florida, is a unique dining experience and a popular Hoboken night spot. On Fridays and Saturdays the 160-seat restaurant gets very busy and reservations are highly recommended. Continue reading Dip into The Melting Pot -At this Hoboken Waterfront Bistro Melted Cheese and Chocolate Fondues take Center Stage →