The Jersey City culinary food scene is off the charts, and what better way to experience it than to enjoy a variety of cuisines from different venues—all at one reasonable price, and all in one day or one night?
Jersey Girls Food Tours (JGFT) showcase the gastronomic scene in Jersey City, perfect for locals and non-locals alike. Guests can enjoy YUMzzz from the best eateries in town and get a dose of JC history while walking from spot to spot.
My gals Janis Borroto and Alessia Aron (pictured from left to right, above) of JGFT invited me on a test run of one of their new Jersey City tours, titled “Best of Downtown.”
Click below to read about our day and find out more about the different tours…
Con Vivo will be performing at Groove on Grove this Wednesday at the Grove Street PATH Plaza. The group boasts an amazing new electric guitar piece, music based on glaciers, and a repeat performance of Stockhausen’s Tierkreis. The two-hour performance kicks off at 6pm with Stone Guitars by Richard Carrick, which is 11 movements of densely layered electric guitars described as nostalgic, raw, direct, meditative, bold, evocative, and micro-tonally dense. Then listen to Cascades by Erik DeLuca, a meditative piece based on a recording of a glacier, and finally CV’s reprisal of their performance of Tierkreis, with movements for all 12 signs of the zodiac by Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Jersey City kicks of Cinco de Mayo early with a parade on Friday, May 2nd that will take over Grove between Grand and Montgomery from 4pm until midnight.
As part of the celebration recognizing the Mexicans’ victory at the Battle of Puebla, the New Jersey Beer Co. will be serving margaritas and beer, and The Taco Truck and El Chilango Taqueria will be serving up Mexican eats. Way to kick off the weekend!
My time-honored tradition is to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Hard Grove Cafe, (I know it’s Cuban but their margaritas pack a punch and I love their taco trio,) but since Jersey City is making a weekend out of it, I may salute at Orale! Mexican Kitchen on the actual day. Other places that come to mind are Taqueria, Boca Grande, Blue Moon Mexican Cafe, and let’s not forget the excellent brick-and-mortar Cinco de Mayo on Central Ave.
The new year encourages us to re-focus our energy on our goals and aspirations. The last two weeks were relatively quiet, and now people are reconnecting and resuming business.
Here’s where Indiegrove comes in, Jersey City. For entrepreneurs and those who are self-employed, Indiegrove is your fully-equipped office away from home.
The co-working space boasts private offices, cubicle-like areas (you can even get your own phone number), conference rooms, printers, a copy/fax machine, mailboxes, free wifi in every room, bathrooms, a kitchen outfitted with a fridge, microwave, the ubiquitous water cooler (also free coffee and tea), and tables low and high allowing you to work there, too.
In other words, it is very much like a real office, except that every one in it is working on their own agenda.
Even if you are productive at home and have your own fully-equipped home office, I think you’ll find that being around other entrepreneurial types is motivating and keeps you fresh. Also, the high ceilings, bright, art-adorned walls, and huge windows overlooking downtown make it a little more cheerful than your typical digs.
Membership options are listed here. Not sure you’re ready to buy in?
No worries. Do what I did and go on a free-coworking Friday, the one day every week that Indiegrove is open to the public. I chose to sit at the communal tables by the big windows; there is also an adjacent lounge area with couches nearby which I may try next time. Professional meetings were taking place in the conference rooms and interviews were being conducted nearby, and there were several other solo workers like myself, doing their thing on their laptops.
Skinner’s Loft(146 Newark Ave.) is one of my favorite spots. Choose your floor depending on your fancy.
The copper-ceilinged bar scene on the first floor is always bubbling and best suited for drinks and small bites with friends.
The second floor, which I most frequent, offers more intimate dining with its candlelit atmosphere, ever-present gorgeous fresh flowers, a fireplace, well thought-out antique decor and different place settings on each table (totes my style).
Skinner’s has a warm, welcoming feel on cold winter nights. While the ambiance is beautiful, you don’t feel the need to dress up or be well-versed in wine (or Italian beer that comes in a corked bottle, for that matter). It is an elegant scene, but while the restaurant’s servers are super professional, they also make you feel relaxed—nothing’s uptight.
I’ve been here many times since I discovered it and will continue to go. Now, on to the menu:
Skinner’s Loft changes its menu seasonally, but here are some of the things I’ve tried:
