Need to go on a business trip to Jersey City in July. Only there for a couple days, but would like to try as many options as I can. Should be staying down near Newark Ave, so the South Indian and Filipino places are close. But am certainly willing to go further afield.
Current thoughts are: Sapthagiri/Chutney’s/Dosa Hut for south Indian, Little Quiapo, Casa Victoria and Max’s of Manila for Filipino in the area of my stay and I’d also like to check out 99 Ranch Market. If I ventured beyond, maybe Razza’s for pizza? Other places outside walking range seem like: Helen’s Pizza? Carmine’s Italian Deli? Wonder Bagels for the Taylor Ham thing? Cuban places for pan con bistec? Drinks at The Archer? White Mana? ( I kind of don’t care what the food is like here, the place looks amazing).
You DEFINITELY want to hit Razza and/or Porta; both have excellent pizza and food! The other spot I highly recommend in JC is Ani Ramen. Marvelous ramen, and their pork bao and shrimp tempura buns are as good as those I had at Momofuku!
If you have time, you might consider taking a PATH train or Uber to the ironbound section of Newark, which has one of (if not the) largest Portuguese and Brazilian populations in the country. Lots of good eats there, and fun to wander.
On the off chance you have a car Mitsuwa is one of the most amazing groceries ever. It’s not so close to jersey city maybe the train can get you there…not sure. It’s insane. Huge japanese grocery store (plus other asian ingredients too) and an awesome food court. Think crazy fresh sashimi, tempura, okonomiyaki, yakitori, everything. http://www.mitsuwa.com/nj/
Agree with Razza for pizza.
A couple others I like in JC:
Broa - Portuguese
Wurstbar, particularly their chicken tikka poutine
Taqueria Downtown
Dulce de Leche Bakery - Argentine
La Unica Bakery - Cuban
Honey Bakery - Russian
Philippine Bread House
I usually make a day-trip out of it when visiting Mitsuwa. Hike the giant stair trail at State Line Lookout, then drive over to Edgewater for Mitsuwa Market after. Alternatively Broad Ave in Palisades Park is a small Koreatown, or Main St. Fort Lee for post-hike feed.
Steak? Edwards. Tacos? Downtown Tacqueria. Pizza? A tie between Bread and Salt and Razza. French? Madame Claude. Italian fancy? Batello. Italian old school? Libretti’s. Sliders? White Manna. Tiki chic? Cellar 335. Apologies if some of them have closed/not reopened, but I haven’t checked nor been there since they cancelled The Big East Tournament at halftime during the St. John’s game, thank God for our betters taking care of us dummies.
