Category Archives: Sally Deering

Dining, Sally Deering

Cuban & Main – Fort Lee’s Main Street just got hotter with Babalu Cuban Café

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By Sally Deering

Sandwiches sold at Babalu Cuban Cafe in Ft Lee

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cuban hats adorn the windows and traditional Cuban cuisine graces the plates at Fort Lee’s newest addition to Main Street: Babalu Cuban Café. Since opening the bistro in December, owners Raul Vicente, Jr, his partner Patricia Matos, and their team of crackerjack cooks conjure up tasty dishes for new customers who are soon becoming regulars.

The café’s name pays homage to the most famous TV couple of the 1950s, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz) with posters from “I Love Lucy,” their famous TV Show adorning the walls.

Raul and Lara
Babalu Cuban Cafe owner Raul Vicente Jr. and his daughter Lara in front of the newly oepened Ft. Lee Restaurant

“I had a steakhouse in Jersey City,” Vicente says during a quick break between customers. “My mother was my cook; she was a great cook.” Continue reading Cuban & Main – Fort Lee’s Main Street just got hotter with Babalu Cuban Café →

Dining, General, Sally Deering

Presto’s Restaurant serves Authentic Italian Cuisine in Jersey City

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“SUNDAY SAUCE” SERVED (almost) ALL WEEK 

Dishes inspired by Sicilian Family Recipes                    

By Sally Deering

Presto's Italian Restaurant To Sal Albanese, the owner and chef of Presto’s restaurant on Warren Street in Jersey City, food should be simply prepared and lightly seasoned to let the flavor of every ingredient shine through. Too many ingredients and seasonings can overwhelm instead of meld flavors.

Albanese serves his personal philosophy with every plate that comes out of Presto’s kitchen where truly authentic Italian cuisine is the star of the show. Inspired by recipes handed down from family in Sicily – south of “the boot” – Albanese’s dishes stand out because they’re made with fresh, flavorful ingredients.

“A lot of my menu is from family recipes, friends, things you pick up along the way,” Albanese says. “My mother has given me so much info, and a lot of it has to do with how we prepare the sauce. We do it the way my mom made it at home.” Continue reading Presto’s Restaurant serves Authentic Italian Cuisine in Jersey City →

Dining, Sally Deering

Chef Frank Roda brings Italian Fare with Flair to Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken

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TEN INGREDIENTS…with Chef Frank  Roda

Frank Roda Maxwells of Hoboken's Chef
Chef Frank Roda

 By Sally Deering

Maxwells Tavern hoboken  Fame came to Maxwell’s back in the 1980s and it has since become a Hoboken landmark as revered as that other Hoboken celebrity Frank Sinatra. Through the years rock stars and wannabees have set up their amps and drum kits in the small back room reminiscent of the old CBGBs in the East Village. And along with live music, Maxwell’s features a big beautiful bar that dates back to when the place served boilermakers to longshoremen who worked the docks.

Good food has always been a big part of Maxwell’s allure. Whether it’s the Angus beef burgers on the bar menu or the omelets served at brunch, hearty dishes of American fare – nothing fancy – just substantial good food keep Maxwell’s customers nourished and coming back for more.

It’s now 2016 and along with a new year, Maxwell’s Tavern has a new chef (well, he started six months ago). Frank Roda, former owner of Francesca’s in Jersey City, now runs the kitchen at Maxwell’s Tavern where he creates Italian fare with a flair. Continue reading Chef Frank Roda brings Italian Fare with Flair to Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken →

Cover Story, Sally Deering

HUDSON MIRACLE- Miracle on the Hudson Plane Crash Survivor Pens New Book

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RIVER VIEW OBSERVER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW…

Author Dave Sanderson’s MOMENTS MATTER gives Insightful Life Lessons

By Sally Deering

Author Dave Sanderson
Dave Sanderson

Miracle on the Hudson Survivor…

When Dave Sanderson took US Airways Flight 1549 at LaGuardia Airport seven years ago, little did he know he would experience something so unbelievable, it would change his life forever. Sanderson was a passenger on that fateful flight that crash-landed in the Hudson River minutes after take-off. Here in Hudson, until it was removed, the sight of the abandoned plane floating on the river served as a reminder that life can take a harrowing turn in an instant.

Moments matter book cover On Tues, Jan. 19, from 6-to-9 pm at the Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Sanderson will be the hospital’s special guest, debuting his new book MOMENTS MATTER, a detailed account of how he survived this close encounter with death. Sanderson, who wrote the book with Cindy Wrightson, shares his personal story with an inspirational message that focuses on positive thinking and finding one’s purpose.

The book signing at the medical center coincides with the 7-year anniversary of the plane’s Hudson River landing which happened on Jan. 15, 2009. US Airways Flight 1549 piloted by Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, made an emergency water landing in the Hudson after birds hit both sides of the plane at once causing both engines to go out at the same time. Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles brought all 155 passengers and crew to safety. The landing became known as “Miracle on the Hudson”, and Captain Sullenberger has since been revered as a hero who saved 155 lives. Continue reading HUDSON MIRACLE- Miracle on the Hudson Plane Crash Survivor Pens New Book →

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

NEW PERSONA- With a New Liquor License and Broader Range of Entertainment – The Dopeness becomes The Citizen

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By Sally Deering

Logo for the Citizen in Jersey CIty
The Dopeness becomes The Citizen 

 

 

 

 

 

 No Jersey City club had a better name than The Dopeness, a little restaurant and performance venue on Second Street off Newark Ave that served kitschy food and entertainment that ran the gamut from stand-up comedy to jams and slams. Then, suddenly The Dopeness sign came down and a new sign went up for The Citizen. Run by the same team – Anthony Gude and Stephen Schlat – (minus one original partner) The Citizen has what The Dopeness never had:  a liquor license.

Now, visitors who stop by The Citizen can order a Colt 45 and a shot of “Jaimo”, 16-year old Single Malt Scotch, or The Grateful Dead and Moscow Mule – drinks that get squirted into the glass by way of nitro fusion. After one of those you may forget all about The Dopeness and welcome The Citizen with open arms.

“The liquor license was officially granted on Oct. 22nd and now we have a full bar,” co-owner Gude says, “We have a nice selection of top-shelf drinks and late-night deals that are synonymous with the dive bars in the Village. We’re classy but we serve it all in plastic cups for safety.” Continue reading NEW PERSONA- With a New Liquor License and Broader Range of Entertainment – The Dopeness becomes The Citizen →

Cover Story, Sally Deering

WE ARE FAMILY-Lincoln Center’s DADA WOOF PAPA HOT explores Gay (and Straight) Parent Issues

Hudson’s Tammy Blanchard Plays a Mom with a Secret  

Hudson's Tammy Blanchard
Tammy Blanchard and John Pankow star in DADA WOOF PAPA HOT at Lincoln Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Sally Deering

Dada Woof Papa Hot Poster The title of Peter Parnell’s new play at Lincoln Center DADA WOOF PAPA HOT sounds like the playwright went bonkers at his computer one night. It actually stands for the first words a little girl speaks to her dad – silly, yet endearing, baby talk.

Baby talk runs throughout DADA WOOF PAPA HOT, Parnell’s new play at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center through Jan. 3.  Directed by Scott Ellis, DADA WOOF PAPA HOT focuses on the relationships between two pairs of gay dads raising young children; and, it features Hudson’s Tammy Blanchard in the supporting role of a mom with a secret. All the characters in Parnell’s new play are parents, both gay and straight, grappling with childrearing and its effects on marriage and adult relationships.

Dada Woof Papa Hot Stars
Alex Hurt, John Benjamin Hickey, Stephen Plunkett and Patrick Breen in Dada Woof Papa Hot directed by Scott Ellis at Lincoln Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alan and Rob, played by John Benjamin Hickey and Patrick Breen, are gay and married with a three-year-old daughter.  During the course of one school year, Alan, Rob and their friends must deal with issues couples with children struggle with, like sharing child-rearing responsibilities and maintaining commitment in their relationships. Funny and poignant, DADA WOOF PAPA HOT is a mid-life coming-of-age story that explores some of the challenges gay parents face and are they different than the challenges of straight parents? Continue reading WE ARE FAMILY-Lincoln Center’s DADA WOOF PAPA HOT explores Gay (and Straight) Parent Issues →

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 →

General, Sally Deering

RUNAWAY DOLLS AND A COOL JAPAN GUIDE

Meet Cartoonist, Writer, and Dessert Blogger Abby Denson

Abby Denson Dollltopia

 

Tough Love High School Confidential

 

 

Cool Japan Guide

 

By Sally Deering

Imagine a place called Dolltopia where renegade dolls change the

Abbey Denson writer of books
Abby Denson with her book Dolltopia

world. That scenario is lifted from the plot of “Dolltopia” (Green Candy Press; paperback) one of several graphic novels by cartoonist, writer and dessert blogger Abby Denson.

The author of “Tough Love; High School Confidential” (Northwest Press; paperback) about a teenage boy coming out in high school; and the non-fiction work “Cool Japan Guide” (Tuttle Publishing, Paperback) on how to get around Japan, Denson earned a BFA from the Parsons School of Design in New York. She has written for the “Amazing Spider-Man Family”, “Josie and the Pussycats”, “The Powerpuff Girls”, “The Simpsons”, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Disney Adventures, and Nickelodeon Magazine.

Recently, Denson made an appearance at the Washington LIVE! Festival in Union City; and she will be at New York’s Comic Con in October.

RVO: Can you tell our readers how you got interested in cartooning? Continue reading RUNAWAY DOLLS AND A COOL JAPAN GUIDE →

Cover Story, Sally Deering

JC JAMS-Get ready for JC FRIDAYS, a Jamboree of Art, Music, Dance and Theater

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 Every Jersey City Neighborhood will have Art for a Day 

Logo JC Fridays
JC FRIDAYS September 11th, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Sally Deering

 Need a little help packing away the swimsuit and flip-flops? Searching for the mojo to help you jump into that crunchy pile of leaves? Well, if you’re a Jersey City resident or city neighbor, then you don’t have far to go to say bye-bye summer and hello fall.

Hackensack Dreaming
Hackensack Dreaming by Nancy Cohen

JC Fridays, a city-wide funhouse of music, art, spoken word, dance, food, arts, crafts and much more fabulousness happens Fri, Sept. 11 with a huge line-up of art shows, music and dance performances, and other events happening throughout the city.

Sponsored by Art House Productions, a Jersey City-based performing and visual arts nonprofit, JC Fridays happens four times a year at the start of every season: March, June, September, and December. (The next JC Fridays will be Fri, Dec.  4th.)

Each neighborhood in Jersey City will be jamming; here’s the lineup:

Continue reading JC JAMS-Get ready for JC FRIDAYS, a Jamboree of Art, Music, Dance and Theater →