Cellar 335 in JC, Asian American Fusion with a Side of Polynesian Kitsch
By Sally Deering
The buzz on Newark Ave in Jersey City continues to be: when will White Eagle Hall open and when do the bands come on? Meanwhile, just a few steps beneath the White Eagle hall entrance, Cellar 335 has just opened and it’s a cool looking place.
Cellar 335 is the newest addition to Jersey City’s downtown restaurant and bar scene, a cool new eatery designed in urban industrial décor and with a kitschy “let’s have fun†vibe. A darkly-lit Tiki bar stands out in the dark mysteriousness of the bar area as soon as you step in from outside. The bar flanks the left side of the bistro with roomy space between barstools and lots of space for standing and mingling. To the right, there’s an enclosed dining room – the type where you make an entrance – that offers dark wood tables, a muted red background and overhanging lights that slide on wires above, so the lighting can change in an instant. Continue reading I KNOW A COOL, SECLUDED PLACE Cellar 335 in Jersey City
 Whether grabbing a slice in the busy pizzeria on Central Ave or joining friends for a sit-down lunch or dinner in the dining room in back, Renato’s Pizza Masters in Jersey City offers the casual gourmet a delicious Italian experience.
 In the Central Avenue storefront customers line up for Renato’s classic pizzas and subs, and on a recent cold afternoon, the Pasta Fajioli and Escarole with White Bean soups were extremely popular. In the back dining room, which seats 55 very comfortably, the atmosphere is relaxed, open and classy with tables covered in white linen and white butcher-block paper and extremely attentive waiters stationed close by to give customers their best service.
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.
