Today has turned into a gorgeous day, the perfect day to stop in at Dahlia’s Ice Cream Spot (290 Central Avenue). Dahlia and co. makes all of their ice cream in-house, including ice cream cakes and cookie sandwiches. You can buy a cone/ milkshake/ yogurt cup for now, but they have several flavors available in pre-packaged single serving, pint, and quart sizes to save for later. Their innovative flavors never fail to disappoint. (more…)
Archive of ‘Restaurants’ category
Cinco de Mayo in Jersey City
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.
Salute!
JCG
GP’s Restaurant
During one of the very bad snowstorms this winter, I had the privilege of having brunch at GP’s (11 am-3pm on Sundays) with some fabulous local bloggers. A day with the Jersey City Ladies Who Blog…
While GP’s offers brunch cocktails for $7, we were lucky to be privy to a day that the Bitter Bitches —a sexy duo of fantastic mixologists from Brooklyn who know how to make some serious drinks—were behind the bar. Their cocktail menu of the day featured cinnamon, maple, and pomegranate infusions.
The girls and I went all out with our order, hoping our hunger would allow us to try as much of the menu as possible.
GP’s BLT Panino (pancetta, arugula, tomato, lemon-garlic aioli) was the first thing I tried and it was beyond. All of the elements worked well together, and the flavor combination was a welcome surprise for all of the taste-buds at the table. The sophisticated twist on the classic was clean and not overly food-snobbish.
The Wild Boar Hash & Eggs, Toast was a special and a knockout that should totally become part of the regular menu. I can’t even describe it except to say that it was briny and melted in my mouth meaty goodness. I always take the worst photos! Believe me, there is some hash under those eggs. Here is @dontsithome’s photo of the day for the visual effect.
The Cinnamon Brioche French Toast was adored by my dining companions who are foodies, so while I wasn’t in a “sweet mood,” I can say with confidence that this is a winning dish.
We also ordered the meatballs from the dinner menu. I’m very critical of meatballs, always preferring my own, but I really enjoyed these.
The ambiance of GP’s is intimate, and the natural lighting as well as the incandescent make it feel as welcoming as it is.
I’ll always remember my day of cozy comfort foods and laughs—a true winter Sunday Funday. And I can’t help but love a place with my initials as its name.
I’ve already decided that my next (and warm-weather) meal at GP’s will be the Tuscan kale, endive, apples, gorgonzola, pears, and cranberry salad (champagne vinaigrette!) followed by scallops or zuppa di clams. Yum.
To my (real) initials,
JCG
Jersey City’s Murder Mystery Dinner Party
The Murder Mystery Company hosts dinner parties with a case to solve, and one of their regular spots is in Jersey City. A curious person and complete newbie to interactive dinner theater, I jumped at the chance to attend one of MMC’s shows at Sanai’s (510 Summit Ave.) earlier this month.
I was in for quite the experience. First, detectives, you must sign up in advance via their website, grimprov.com. Tickets include a 3-course dinner (bevvies and gratuity not included) and the very interactive murder mystery show from “the nation’s most popular interactive theater company.”
Once you book your party, you’ll receive your theme. Mine was “Wanted, Dead or Alive!,” a whodunnit set in 1887. Members of the audience are encouraged to dress up—and there is even a costume contest at the end. Immediately, I needed to get some attire. A couple of cowboy shirts, hats, bandanas and boots later, my date and I were ready to go.
I’m not sure how I’ve never heard about the popularity of mystery dinner parties in JC—the restaurant was jam-packed with cowboys, cowgirls, saloon gals, Native Americans, and serious duster jackets and hats on townsmen.
Actors are hired to perform for the show, and all audience members are labeled as detectives. You are seated at a table of 8-10, and your table serves as your team for the evening. Ours was the smallest 6 people, as some had canceled, so we were immediately at a disadvantage, but I was there for the experience and not in it to win it. (Sorry, mates!)
The two-hour interactive event was nothing if not intense. It’s an entertaining mix of actors performing scenes and providing monologues, guests discussing clues with their tables about suspects, guests dividing and going to other tables individually to bribe actors (with fake money) for more clues, reconvening, eating a bite here or there (note: Sanai’s was good and I will def be back on a regular night to review it), hearing more monologues, evidence, and repeating the cycle of gathering clues and reconvening.
The wild, suspensful, involved extravaganza is a bit much for a first-timer trying to keep track of information overload and all of the 120 or so people there. I found it hard to hear the evidence and clues because of audience noise. Additionally, one woman in our group wanted to take complete control of our investigation (fine with me, not so fine with some of our other team members who traveled from far-away towns and wanted more input).
At the end of the evening, all teams proposed their final verdicts and handed slips of paper to the announcer. At first, my group was led to believe we solved the mystery, but then that told our conclusion was so outlandishly off. However, we were so outgoing that we won the award for Team Spirit! That’s the best award, anyway.
Several other awards were handed out (including the best costume one) and then as our table settled the tip and ate dessert, we finally had some time to talk on a personal level. I love meeting new people. All in all, it was a crazy night and I’d totally do it again.
Tickets are $60 each, but I happen to have a giveaway. Two free tickets for the best comment on this article about why you deserve to go!
Murder Mystery Company also holds holiday parties, corporate events, small party events, and team building events. Visit grimprov.com for more info.
Have a killer time,
JCG
Abbey’s Pub & Grill
categories: Bars, Restaurants
Abbey’s Pub & Grill (not to be confused with O’Abbey’s, which is on the West Side and a place I have not yet visited) is an unpretentious spot on the corner of Monmouth and 4th. Downtown can be…downtown. But I like this spot because it’s not.
I first discovered Abbey’s when looking for a hookah bar in Hudson County. Not only is it one of the few hookah bars around (stop reading if you’re judgy), it is also a smoker’s heaven: they allow smoking inside by the bar area and even sell cigarettes (for shame!).
I love it because it has the raw feel of a true dive; it’s totally not trying to be anything but itself. Check your cooler-than-thou attitude at the door and relax. If you’ve ever been to Sophie’s in Alphabet City or Automatic Slims in Meatpacking, you know what I mean. And this is a notch up. Everyone is welcome in the diverse crowd drawn to this spot. I promise you will make friends here.
You have your standard bar stuff: pool table, music, karoake nights, big TVs. Drinks are stiff, food is as expected, and both are priced well.
Love me a gimlet!
I had a quesadilla and nachos here last year, both of which were delish for downtown dive food. Here are some recent eats:
I ordered the steak sandwich as it comes: Sliced skirt steak (I wasn’t questioned about meat temperature, and I didn’t ask because I figured it was, indeed, pre-prepped and frozen, but no worries) with mushrooms, onions, cheddar, and fries. This picture does not capture the sandwich’s appeal or give its size justice. I only got through a quarter of it. Seriously. This sandwich fed me four meals—one at the restaurant and three that I made from the leftovers—because gourmet be gone, it was great.
My dining companion ordered a burger with shrooms and cheddar, which he devoured in about 3 minutes. His meat was cooked to order, and clearly hit the spot.
You would never expect a decent bathroom in this bar, but alas! The Bathroom Sink needs its own shoutout:
Isn’t it just gorgeous?
Abbey’s is an all-around win for a casual night. The servers are friendly, and the patrons are even more warm and inviting. Having the option to chill in peace with your companions, or the guarantee to make friends the moment you wait at the bar or on the bathroom line—that’s just luxury.
Smoke and mirrors,
JCG