A year ago, artist Fermin Mendoza of West New York decided he would paint a portrait every day of people he reached out to in person and on the Internet. Taking their pictures or having them email their pics, Mendoza used the photos as the basis for a series of portraits – 183 to be exact – in the project he calls “artists/models/others†opening this week at LITM Bar, Restaurant, Art & Video Gallery on Newark Avenue in Jersey City. Continue reading The Fermin Mendoza Project- “Artists/Models/Others†– A Year of Paining Portraits→
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
 Like 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→
Burger Buzz – The Merchant owners, siblings Dave and Anne-Marie O’Brien, have been serving up good
food, cold brews, and delightful spirits in Downtown Jersey City for over a decade, but the newest
addition to their menu is an unbelievable burger. This Pat LaFrieda short rib burger is topped with beer
caramelized onions, applewood smoked bacon, horseradish-chive cheddar cheese, iceburg, and a slice
of heirloom tomato, served on a brioche bun with hand-cut fries to boot. It will tantalize your taste buds
and beat out all competition. On Thursday nights, the Merchant will offer up this beautiful burger and a
pint of New Jersey Beer Company beer for just $15. Come and enjoy!
The Merchant Bar & Restaurant, est. 2002, is located at 279 Grove Street in Downtown Jersey City, just
three blocks from the Grove Street PATH. For reservations and inquiries call 201-200-0202
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Bill Zblyut Cats Watching MeRaymond Greaves A Better Life
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Joan Hujducek Rosen St. Maarten SunsetGeorge Weir Faces of Bayonne
Ellen Greaves A Flower Painting
By Sally Deering Hoboken’s been doing it for years; Jersey City does it, too; and now, Bayonne has joined the ranks of local towns holding their very own arts & music festivals. Where artists go, others follow, Joe Waks, a professional artist and member of the Art Circle of Bayonne says. More and more artists are planting roots in Bayonne.
 To celebrate that trend, Mayor Mark Smith and his administration are sponsoring Bayonne’s first-ever Arts & Music Festival on Fri, June 14, from 6 pm to 11 pm. Sixty artists from the Art Circle of Bayonne, a collective of painters, photographers, sculptors and other artists will exhibit their works inside the Bayonne Community Museum on Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets. Artists will also give free painting and drawing demonstrations outside the museum. Continue reading Art Venue Nouveau – Bayonne Spotlights Artist Community with First-Ever Art & Music Festival Friday June 14th→
A terrorist flirted with her; a murderer stuck his tongue out at her; and a victim whose face was slashed shared with her the heart-stopping details of her attack – it’s all in a day’s work for courtroom artist Christine Cornell who has spent decades in the courtroom with her canvas and pastels drawing some of the biggest criminal trials in our country’s history.
Cornell, a Weehawken resident, has been drawing trials since the 1970s and images from her portfolio are sought after by documentary filmmakers like Ken Burns who features 30 Cornell drawings in his new film “The Central Park Five†which recently aired on PBS about the five young men convicted and later found not guilty of the rape attack of the “Central Park Joggerâ€. Just last week CNN contacted Cornell for a documentary on the 1980 murder of Beatles’ singer/songwriter John Lennon. They wanted to purchase the drawing Cornell did of gunman Mark David Chapman at his arraignment clutching the book “Catcher in the Ryeâ€.
 On August 25th Jonathan Verpent of Hoboken will blow out the candles on his 30th Birthday cake and complete something that took him a year to accomplish. Verpent will be celebrating his birthday doing his 30th good deed of the year.
 30 Deeds is Verpent’s website where he documents his experiences volunteering for many well-deserving non-profit organizations here in Jersey and in New York. With the help of New YorkCares.com and NewJerseyCares.com – two websites devoted to connecting volunteers with non-profits who need a helping hand – Verpent has completed 18 good deeds that have included walking dogs at an animal shelter, giving out meals to people who are homeless and building homes through Habitat for Humanity. Verpent performed his first good deed on the Saturday after Hurricane Sandy.
 When you step inside RAZZA, Pizza Artigianale on Grove Street in Jersey City (right across from City Hall) you are immediately transported from the city street to a totally different atmosphere. Industrial and mysterious, like something out of a futuristic movie, the restaurant and the food are both unique and original. The walls are unpainted and reminiscent of the days when the space was part of the old Majestic Theatre, an old movie theater. There are unvarnished wood tables, metal stools and a large blackboard that features the day’s menu. Continue reading Brava RAZZA Owners Dan Richer and Fred Shandler Take Pizza to New Heights in Jersey City→
Mayor Healy & Mayor-Elect Fulop to Attend Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force EventJERSEY CITY – Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Mayor-Elect Steven Fulop will attend a Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force event with President Barack Obama and Governor Chris Christie at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, 1300 Ocean Avenue.
 Mayor Mark A. Smith has announced that the Bayonne Mini-Golf Course will open for the season on Memorial Day weekend – Friday, May 24, from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, May 25, Sunday, May 26, and Monday, May 27, from 12:00 noon until 9:00 p.m., weather permitting. The Mini-Golf Course will also be open on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) in June from 12:00 noon until 9:00 p.m. until school gets out for the summer. When the school year is over, the Mini-Golf Course will be open daily, weather permitting, through Labor Day, Monday, September 2.
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