Komegashi Spinoff Brings Restaurateur’s Passion for Fine Japanese Cuisine to the Jersey City Waterfront
By Sally Deering
Komegashi Too serves fine Japanese cuisine on the Jersey City Waterfront
Restaurateur Johnny Leung is a self-proclaimed “Foodie” who opened Komegashi on Montgomery Street near Exchange Place in Jersey City in 1990. He made a successful splash as the only fine-dining Japanese restaurant in town and in 2000, Leung opened Komegashi Too on the Jersey City Waterfront at a time when the waterfront had little to offer as a dining destination and there were few hi-rises beyond the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
 As the waterfront developed, so did the restaurant’s cadre of devoted patrons, some who have eaten at Komegashi Too practically every day since it opened. On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Komegashi Too was packed, as usual, with patrons dining on exquisite Japanese dishes beautifully plated and popping with fantastic flavors. Continue reading Komegashi Too in Jersey City, Just As Fine As The Original→
By Sally Deering                  Photo’s by Steveamack.com
Elena Vasilevsky, winner of the National Vitaminwater Color Collection Competition held at the W Hotel in Hoboken poses with her runway models.
 Glaceau’s “vitaminwater zero” is a naturally sweetened bottled-water drink put out by Coca-Cola that’s nutrient enhanced, flavored with a mix of familiar and exotic fruits and branded with names like “Glow,” “Squeezed,” “Drive” and “XXX.”
 On a recent Wednesday evening, the National vitaminwater Color Collection Competition was held at the W hotel in Hoboken where vitaminwater made a huge splash as the inspiration for five up-and-coming fashion designers who created couture dresses that exemplified their take on the flavors, tastes and vibrant colors of the vitaminwater line The New Jersey-based designers – Thomas Layone, Liz Fields, Devon Thomas, Ralph Thurin, and Elena Vasilevsky — put on a beautiful show of dazzling, edgy, and elegant dresses, pantsuits and evening gowns – as they competed for a $1,000 prize and the chance to have their designs strut the runway at October’s New Jersey Fashion Week.
The Hackensack Riverkeeper, a North Jersey environmental group, has announced that it will sponsor a waterfront clean-up at DiDomenico-16th Street Park in Bayonne on Sunday, July 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Hackensack Riverkeeper will provide tools, gloves, trash bags, and refreshments for volunteers. All are invited to participate. There is no cost or registration involved for families or individuals. Look for the big white tent and mobile clean-up unit on the lower level of the park, near the boat ramp on Newark Bay. Check in with Operations Director Lisa Ryan to get started. Continue reading Newark Bay Waterfront Clean-up Set for Sunday, July 10, at 16th Street Park→
Just for you Free Shows, Movies and Other Happenings on the Jersey Side
By Sally Deering
Well, its summertime and that means blowing up beach balls and dashing to the sandy Jersey shore to slather on sunblock and frolic in the Atlantic’s waves. But for urban dwellers who can’t slip away for some beach blanket bingo, there are plenty of fun and free activities in Hudson to help you enjoy the sunny days and balmy nights ahead
 Hoboken’s Cultural Affairs Department offers movies, kids’ shows, even Shakespeare in the park
3 Family
227 8TH STREET
JERSEY CITY
Asking …$760,000
Beautiful 3 family brick row house one block from historic Hamilton Park. Four floors of living space plus unfinished basement good for storage. Ground floor offers Garden level duplex with 2 bedrooms, laundry room and private spacious backyard. 2nd and third floor offers alcove bedroom with windows giving plenty of natural light. High ceilings, hardwood floors large eat in kitchen and full tile bath. Short walk to PATH, Newport.
 JERSEY CITY, N.J. / June 23, 2011 – Hudson County Community College is continuing to conduct information sessions to acquaint college graduates with a program that will enable them to become licensed teachers. The next session will be held on Tuesday, July 12, at 6 p.m. at the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City. Please pre-register by calling HCCC’s Non-Credit Office at (201) 360-4255.
Exit on the Hudson Realty will present an Open House on Sunday, June 26th
170 w. 17th Street, Bayonne
808 Broadway Bayonne, NJ
 201– 437-0411
Call Nancy DÂ Â Â Cell 201-988-7802Â www.exitonthehudson.com
                 2 Family on Desirable Bay Block                                    1st floor 2 bedroom one bath rental
2nd floor owners duplex apartment.
Eat in Kitchen, modern appliances, new 1/2 bath.
Kitchen has sliding glass door leading to a trex deck for  “Al Fresco” dining and relaxation.
Formal dining room and large family room/living room. 3rd floor has Master Bedroom with full bath plus 3 other bedrooms and another full bath. Home is 5 minutes from Municipal Pool, playground, basketball court, boat launching pad and fishing pier in
 waterfront park. This could be your “STAYCATION†HOME!!
You will not be disappointed
Asking $449,000
                Call Nancy Mazzilli D’AntonioÂ
Cell 201-988-7802 NancyMyAgent@yahoo.com
Union City actress Donna Bostany appearing in a play at New York City's Polaris North
Union City Actress Donna Bostany will appear in a play “Sammy and Delilahâ€Â on Sunday June 26, 8pm – Monday June 27 , 8pm and Tuesday June 28th 8pm as part of Polaris North’s “PLAYS’ FOR A SUNNER NIGHT.”
Anyone wishing to attend must RSVP 212-939-2361
POLARIS NORTH 245 w 29TH st 4th Floor, New York City
FREE EVENT: DONATIONS BENEFIT POLARIS NORTH REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED AFTERÂ
Jon Huntsman at Liberty State Park on Tuesday June 21st to join the Republican race for the White House in 2012
“This is the hour when we choose our future. I’m Jon Huntsman and I’m running for president of the United States,” with those words  Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman announced on Tuesday, June 21st, at Liberty State Park in Jersey City his candidacy for President in the 2012 race thus becoming one more Republican contender to join the race for the White House. Liberty State Park is also the location chosen by  former President Ronald Reagan to announce his bid for President in 1980.Â
Huntsman was President Obama’s Amabassdor to China until this past spring.
Fox Televison Anchor Sean Hannity and Jon Huntsman share a quiet moment before Huntsman's interview for Hannity's show- Hannity's America.
Sean Hannity from Fox’s Hannity’s America was on hand to interview Huntsman. When asked by Hannity why the former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China decided to enter the race;Â Huntsman said, “Because I love my country. And I can’t stomach the thought that we are passing down to the next generation, a country that is less viable, less good, less competitive, less compassionate than the one we got. You have a choice then, you can either stand on the sidelines or you can do as Teddy Roosevelt used to preach, and you can get in the arena and do something about it.”
New Play at LaMama in New York based on The Carmelettes, the 1950s All-Girl Doo-Wop Group from Jersey City
The Carmelettes: Angela LaPrete, Vicky Cevetello and Virginia Verga
By Sally Deering
Susan Murphy
When I think of girl groups that influenced my teen years, my mind goes straight to The Shangri-Las, four big-haired girls from Queens and their 1964 hit “Leader of the Pack.” That rocking tune about an ill-fated crush on a biker boy became the song for 60s teen-girl angst, inspiring us to iron our hair, slather our lips in Yardley pinks and Frug in white go-go boots. Â
 Before the Shangri-Las and girl groups of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond, there were girl doo- whop groups and one fondly remembered was The Carmelettes, a Jersey City trio of teen girls christened their girl-group name by their parish priest at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. In 1959, the girls Angela LaPrete, Vicky Cevetello and Virginia Verga recorded two songs, “My Foolish Heart” and “Promise Me a Rose,”  and in 1960 “Aching for You” and “Something Tells Me I’m in Love.” They sang backup for Neil Sedaka’s hit “Oh Carol,” and Carole King’s hit “Oh Neil.” And when the group regrouped under the name “The Kittens,” (after Verga left for a solo career,) the LaPrete and Cevetello sang backup on several songs including the Top 40 hit “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” – which bombarded the airwaves during the summer of 1960. When the group disbanded in the 1961, the girls went on to start other careers and raise families. LaPrete married James Murphy (folks just know him as “Murphy”) and the couple raised their  daughter Susan, who went on to earn a BFA in Drama at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and become a singer in clubs and cabarets while performing in Off-Off Broadway plays. A drama teacher at Snyder High School, Susan Murphy continues to reinvent herself and her latest career turn is her new play, “Girl/Group: A Daughter’s Tale” a personal piece about her mother’s life as a doo-whop singer and the affect it has had on Murphy’s life. (“Girl/Group: A Daughter’s Tale” features Murphy along with Tom Cappadona, Drew Citron, Alison Scaramella, and Jenna Smith and is directed by Mario Giacalone. It opens at LaMama’s The Club in New York City on June 17 and runs through June 26.)
A lifestyle and entertainment publication serving the Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, Weehawken, West New York, North Bergen, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Secaucus and Guttenberg Waterfront Communities
