by Sally Deering

 

Dave  and his sister Anne Marie carved a niche on Grove Street with their handsome little restaurant, The Merchant, where the bar is cozy, the drinks are yummy and the food is All-American delish! It’s a great place to go for a business luncheon, watch a game or hang out with your friends and talk about life.

 Dave and Anne Marie decided to try something a little more upscale and 2-1/2 years ago they opened The Embankment, a beautiful fine-dining restaurant nestled in the heart of 10^th Street in the Hamilton Park neighborhood, where friendly neighbors drop by for brunch, dinner and drinks with friends.

 

 

A truly beautiful restaurant, The Embankment is a jewel in Jersey City’s crown with a warm and inviting dining room that seats 80-100. It’s a wonderful place for private parties, wedding receptions, christenings and corporate functions where corporate heads want to show their employees some class. There’s a sexy upstairs lounge, too, with low-lighting and cozy seating for 40. It’s best to get a reservation, Dave O’Brian says, because on Friday and Saturday nights the upstairs lounge is always booked.

 

The Embankment’s elegance is reflected in the menu – American-style dishes with added flavors that are a little bit French, a little bit Italian and a touch of Mediterranean. For entrees, how about Fried Catfish with Cajun Fries or a Rib-Eye Steak with mashed potatoes and mushrooms? For pasta lovers, you might try the homemade fettuccini primavera – that’s right, they make their own pasta! (Appetizers range from $6-$12; entrees from $18- $26.)

 

For an assortment of different flavors, you might like the Tapas – mini servings of flavorful dishes like marinated artichokes, mushrooms and olives. The Embankment offers 12-15 Tapas to choose from. For light eaters, a cheese plate with five different types of cheeses will definitely satisfy the palate and go beautifully with their vast array of wines from affordable to high-end. The O’Brian siblings also serve a large assortment of beer including cold draft beers – including Guinness, of course!

 

And then, of course, there are the burgers!  In 2009, “New” magazine cited The Embankment’s burger as No. 1 in Jersey City. The secret?

 

“We use high-quality ground beef, well-seasoned and cooked to perfection,” O’Brian says. “It’s simple, but it’s the best.”

 

The Embankment

234 10^th Street

Jersey City

201-222-6115

www.theembankmentnj.com

 

The post Dining Out – The Embankment Restaurant in Jersey City first appeared on River View Observer.

Grand Prize Winner from North Haledon, N.J. Honors Father

Dana Nicoletti from North Haledon, N.J., (second from left) who nominated her father Chris Di Lenno (first from left) to win Quick Chek’s Devils Night Out Sweepstakes, enjoy the New Jersey Devils game along with Nicoletti’s daughter, Alexandra Nicoletti (third from left), and brother Chris Di Lenno (fourth from left), at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Sat., April 10. 

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., April 14, 2010 – Quick Chek, the family-operated premier chain of more than 120 food store locations throughout New Jersey and Southern New York, announces today the winners of its Third Annual Devils Night Out Sweepstakes.

            The sweepstakes, which celebrates Quick Chek’s famed coffee as the official coffee of the New Jersey Devils, asked customers to submit an essay stating why they deserved a “Devils Night Out.”  More than 800 essay entries vying for one Devils Night Out grand prize, along with ten runners up prize packages, were received online and in-store between Feb. 22 and March 22.

Chosen for its creativity, originality and compelling nature, the winning entry (inlcuded below) was authored by Dana Nicoletti of North Haledon, N.J., who submitted a poem in tribute to her father who had never been to a New Jersey Devils hockey game.

 I switch on the game on MSG, A very special man is sitting next to me.

He’s not young, not rich, not a celebrity…

But he’s all that and more, much more to me.

 My dad is a kind, generous, selfless man.

I really am his number one fan.

He is one that is always, always willing to help.

Go Devils!  Shoot, shoot… we let out a collective yelp!

 Langenbrunner, Parise take the ice.

To the devils game we go…

Wouldn’t that be nice?

…He has never been to a hockey game…

I passionately write this hopeful plea

To cross off a Bucket List entry…

To fulfill a dream for my Dad and me!

 Nicoletti’s grand prize package includes:

• Free Quick Chek coffee for one year
• Dinner for four at the Prudential Center Restaurant with a visit from a New Jersey Devils alumni player
• Four lower level tickets to the April 10 New Jersey Devils game
• New Jersey Devils autographed item and New Jersey Devils gift pack

 Ten runners up in Quick Chek’s Devils Night Out Sweepstakes were also chosen to receive: Ten vouchers for free Quick Chek coffee

• Two tickets to the April 10 New Jersey Devils game
• Autographed New Jersey Devils hockey puck and New Jersey Devils gift pack

 Quick Chek’s Devils Night Out runners-up prize winners are:

1. Joel Arela of Maywood, N.J.
2. Mary Beth Cole of Bayonne, N.J.
3. Kevin Coleman of Hillsborough, N.J.
4. Julie Dalley of Clifton, N.J.
5. Scott Molinaro of Succasunna, N.J.
6. Laura Hoffman of Verona, N.J.
7. Erika Perrius of Wall, N.J.
8. Andrea Sarich of Saugerties, N.Y.
9. Dustin Todd of Bayville, N.J.
10. Amanda Zapp of New Rochelle, N.Y.

 About Quick Chek

Devoted to providing convenient shopping blended with an expansive range of fresh products and services, Quick Chek, is a market leader in food service with an exceptional fresh coffee and fresh food program.  Operating more than 120 retail locations in New Jersey and Southern New York, Quick Chek’s locations include 12 pharmacy stores and 25 locations with fuel.  For more information, please visit www.quick-chek.com.

 

 

The post Quick Chek Announces Winners of Devils Night Out Sweepstakes first appeared on River View Observer.

by Sally Deering

 Tucked away in the back of South Cove Commons, a waterfront mall in Bayonne where fast-food places gratify customers on the run, Ten East – Hibachi, Fusion and Sushi Bar Lounge is an intoxicating oasis at the end of an asphalt parking lot. An exotic restaurant where the cocktails, cuisine and atmosphere are so divinely cool, you can practically picture Secret Agent 007 ordering a Jade martini (vodka and melon-pear juice) shaken, not stirred.

 The alluring atmosphere at Ten East whispers James Bond cool as you step inside the sleek and sexy restaurant bathed in red lighting with two stylish dining rooms and the sleek curves of an inviting bar. The lounge serves as the central focal point between the Asian Fusion dining room and the Hibachi dining area where nimble-fingered chefs prepare your meal right at your table juggling cutlery in a dramatic display of culinary “martial arts.”

Pictured (L) General Manager Tokio Naito, Bar Manager Carmella Addesso, Owners of Ten East Anthony and Patrick Franconeri 

 Ten East is the dream child of brothers Anthony and Patrick Franconeri, who grew up in Bayonne the sons of hard-working parents who ran their own local eatery. The boys, who attended Marist High School, decided they would someday design their own restaurant in Bayonne that would reflect their personal tastes. The result:  a sexy, sultry restaurant and club that serves sophisticated Asian cuisine in a sensual atmosphere and perfect location for appetizing adventures.

 On one side, executive chef Jose’ Ronquillo is in charge of the Fusion dining. The room boasts long tables in a dreamily-lit setting where guests dine on appetizers like Hot Rock Kobe Beef, Crispy Phyllo Lobster and Drunken Clams with Baguettes ($8-$29) and entrees like Roasted Free Range Chicken, Grilled Asian Double Cut Pork Chops, Spicy Lemon Whole Lobster and a Kobe Strip steak. ($23-$105)

 In the Hibachi dining area, diners experience the sensual thrill of watching their chef perform a spectacular display with knives that dazzle, entertain and serve up mouth-watering dishes that tantalize the taste-buds. Hibachi Chicken ($18,) Hibachi Chateaubriand ($32,) and Hibachi Twin Lobster Tails ($34) are just a handful of specialties.

 “We wanted to give people options,” Anthony Franconeri says. “Hibachi, Asian Fusion, Sushi – and all upscale. Our parents taught us that no matter what we do, we do the best of our ability.”

 Patrick agrees with his brother: “We put our passion into designing every detail of this restaurant. We figured if we can satisfy ourselves, we can satisfy anybody.”

 They even auditioned the Hibachi chefs as if they were trying out for parts in “Casino Royale.”

 “They had to cook for us,” Anthony says.

 On a recent Saturday night, twins Rob and Beth Pepe of Lincoln Park and members of their family are dining Hibachi-style to celebrate the twins’ 30^th birthday.  Everyone seems to be having a really good time.

 “The food is amazing,” Rob Pepe says. “The calamari was fabulous. The dipping sauce was fantastic. The chef was very entertaining. He set his hat on fire,”

Beth agrees: “The food was fantastic and very entertaining, a great way to spend a 30th birthday,”

 Bar manager Carmela Addesso, who looks like a sleek “Bond Girl” dressed all in black tells a visitor, “There’s nothing like this in Bayonne. You feel like you’re at a trendy New York Club.”

 She then goes behind the bar to help pour drinks as the lounge fills up. The bar serves appetizers and Sushi can be ordered in every dining area in the restaurant.  To cook all the specialties on the menu, the Franconeri brothers employ seven Hibachi chefs and three Sushi Chefs with General Manager Tokio Naito in charge.

Ten East opened a year ago and now the Franoconeri brothers are starting something new – Friday and Saturday night dancing from 10-to-3 am. After the dining rooms close (the bar menu is served ’til 12 am,) Anthony and Patrick turn the Fusion dining room into a dance area with a live DJ who spins tunes under flashing colored lights and through a high powered sound system for late-nighters who enjoy a little two-step to spice up the romance.

 Ten East is a beautiful, tantalizing restaurant where the food is upscale, the cocktails trendy and the atmosphere cool and divine. It’s the kind of place where you can go for an intimate meal or a birthday celebration. And who knows? You just might see that tuxedoed-stranger standing at the end of the bar sipping a Jade Martini – shaken, not stirred.

 Ten East

Hibachi – Fusion Dining – Sushi Sake Lounge

South Cove Commons

Route 440 North 125 Lefante Way, Bayonne, NJ

www.teneastdining.com

For reservations and information, call 201 437-1212

 

Dining Hours:

Sun 3-10 pm

Mon – Thurs 5-11 pm

Fri-Sat 5-12 midnight

Bar lounge – Fri & Sat 12 midnight to 3 am

Dancing – Fri & Sat 10 pm to 3 am

 

The post Ten East – Hibachi, Fusion and Sushi Bar Lounge first appeared on River View Observer.

             HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 11, 2010) – The much-anticipated pancake house, Stacks Pancake House & Café, finally opened its doors on December 11th in Hoboken on trendy Washington Street drawing record crowds and endless lines on the weekend.  Filling a void of offering pancakes for dinner, as well as other reasonably-priced American comfort cuisine, Stacks is bringing families, Hoboken professionals and the late-night bite crowd together to enjoy delicious food in an upscale, trendy atmosphere.  Stacks serves 22 different varieties of pancakes, as well as omelettes, salads, sandwiches and burgers, plus milkshakes, floats and coffee drinks.  Stacks replaces Junior’s Papaya, which closed in 2009.

            “I am passionate about breakfast food and always wanted to open my own restaurant,” said Andrew Cohen, day-to-day manager and one of the three owners of Stacks.  “Plus, there are so many restaurants in Hoboken, but no one was serving breakfast.”

Cohen and his two other partners, Elliot Cohen and Scott Handler, decided to fill that void and came up with the ingenious idea of offering a niche product around the clock: pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  In the few short weeks Stacks has been open, diners are flocking, and during the weekend, waiting in lines to get in to the newbie restaurant to try their signature dishes such as a Mama’s family-size pancake, a 16-inch pancake that serves a family of four or the pancakes wraps – appropriately named after Hoboken streets such as Hudson, Observer, Garden, Bloomfield and Washington — which are oversized pancakes filled with your choice of the standard breakfast fare:  eggs, taylor ham, sausages, cheese and vegetables, among others.  For the super sweet tooth, the Oreo Cookie pancakes are a menu standout and are served with Oreo cookies mixed into the batter, as well as crumbled on top.

Other popular dishes include the Belgian waffles and French toast, double-decker deli sandwiches, grill specialties such as a Philly cheese steak, Stack’s burgers and super salads.  Lighter alternatives are available and include whole grain and wheat pancakes and egg white omelettes.  On the  children’s menu you will find pancakes (that come in a variety of shapes:  truck, airplane, flower, Mickey Mouse and a ghost), French toast and waffles, hamburgers and chicken fingers.

 

 

 

 

“Our vision for Stacks is to become a staple household name in Hoboken,” said Cohen.  “We also want to provide our customers with a feel-good dining experience, a place where they can stop to get a great meal, socialize with family and friends and hopefully leave with a smile on their face – not to mention stuffed!”        

            Stacks’ progressive design and upscale ambience was the work Rose Meechan Interior Design of New York City.  Meechan is an interior designer with 15 years’ of industry experience, in a diverse range of styles and budgets.  Educated at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology, Meechan has collaborated on projects which have been featured in Architectural Digest, Better Homes and Gardens, Traditional Home, The New York Times, and on NBC’s “The Today Show”.  In addition to projects in the tri-state area, Meechan has worked on projects in Virginia Beach Va., Palm Beach, Fla., Carmel and San Francisco, Calif. and St. Martin. 

“My vision was to incorporate a coziness that worked with the finishes already in place, and was consistent with the comfort food on Stacks’ menu.  I stayed away from flashy, bright colors typically seen in fast food restaurants and diners so that customers feel a sense of warmth from the food and their environment, rather than ‘eat and run’,” said Meechan.

Stacks is owned by a partnership of three entrepreneurs and will be managed by Andrew Cohen.  Cohen, 25, previously worked in accounting and investment banking at Ernst & Young and Price Waterhouse Coopers.  He is a 2004 graduate of Adelphi University on Long Island and is engaged to be married in 2010.  He resides in Edgewater and grew up in Bergen County, N.J

The two other partners, Elliott Cohen, father of Andrew, is a former managing director at Banker’s Trust, and Scott Handler, is a former car wash owner and general contractor. For the senior Cohen, he left the corporate world in 1999 to become an entrepreneur after taking a buyout.  Since then, he’s been in the bagel business and has opened several shops in Bergen County.  In 2005, Cohen and his partner Handler, decided to trademark the Wide World of Bagels name and expand the bagel franchise.  Cohen resides in Park Ridge, N.J. with his wife Judy.  Handler resides in Cedar Knolls with his wife, Laurie and three children. The Wide World of Bagels store and corporate headquarters are located in Ridgewood, N.J.

The partners envision franchising the Stacks brand in New York City and surrounding boroughs. “We hope to make Stacks a dining destination around the tri-state area,” said Cohen.

Stacks is open 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. seven days a week.  The goal is to keep the restaurant open 24 hours a day Thursday through Saturday beginning in mid-February. Seating capacity is 49; outdoor seating will be available in the spring.  Stacks does not accept reservations.

            For more information, please visit www.stacksofhoboken.com or visit Stacks Pancake House & Café at 506 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, 07030; 201.710.5777.

The post NEW UPSCALE PANCAKE HOUSE OPENS IN HOBOKEN – DRAWS RECORD CROWDS first appeared on River View Observer.