Rumba Cubana Now Open

Photo from Rumba Cubana

New Cuban restaurant Rumba Cubana is now open!

Get to Know JC Eater: Amanda

Welcome to "Get to Know JC Eater" where every first Friday of the month, I post a profile of a local resident sharing where and what they love to eat in Jersey City. If you'd like to be featured, please leave a comment below or email me directly.

This week's JC Eater is Amanda, a Hamilton Park resident who loves experimenting in the kitchen. 

Get to Know Eater: Ariel

Welcome to "Get to Know JC Eater" where every week I post a profile of a local resident sharing where and what they love to eat in Jersey City.  This site is meant to be useful to the community so what better way to do that than involve the community itself? If you'd like to be featured, please leave a comment below or email me directly.

This week's JC Eater (and her dog) are newcomers to Jersey City who are looking forward to finding all the best vegan eats. 

The Hamilton Park and Journal Square Markets Return

Today, 5/4, marks the return of both the Hamilton Park Farmer's Market and the Journal Square Green Market.

Upcoming Events in Jersey City

It's the first day of April which, despite the temperatures still being low for a while, means we're getting close to market season and outdoor events! Spring and summer are often a whirlwind of activity in Jersey City so here are a few dates to book in your calendar now.

Hamilton Park BBQ 2015

This Saturday is the 6th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ and it's sure to be a good time filled with lots of delicious eats. If you're new to the barbecue, check out my round-up from two years ago - although I have to say it's grown a lot since then.

Sponsored in part by Silverman, the HPNA, Sawyer Smith Residential Brokerage and others, this annual event is a major fundraiser for the Hamilton Park Conservancy and always draws a big crowd. It runs from 12pm-8pm at 232 Pavonia outside of GP's and boasts vendors like Milk Sugar Love, Taproot Organics, Just Jenny's Love, Outer Limits Hot Sauce, and Republic of Pigtails - and that doesn't even cover the barbecue vendors. There's also live music throughout the event and fun for kids with face-painting and a bouncy house.

Weekend Events

Jersey City is feeling very multi-cultural this weekend so get out there and enjoy it!

Today is the Journal Square Green Market with Bang Me Bakery, Taproot Organics, Stella's Empanadas, & more. This market seems like it's growing by the week, so make sure to check it out.

La Festa Italiana will continue every night through Sunday with music, games, 50/50, bull-riding (!) and lots and lots of food.

After water damage from a fire in the upper floors of their building shut them down, Taqueria Viva Mexico is opening back up today!

Departed Soles Brewing Company will be opening its doors on Friday from from 4-7pm and Saturday from 12-5pm for taste tests of some of their pilot kegs.

Weekend Events

Get ready for the weekend! Lots to do, lots to eat, and don't forget to enjoy Father's Day!

This Saturday is the Hamilton Bark Festival, a fundraiser for local non-profit animal shelter Liberty Humane Society. There will be fun for humans and dogs alike, food trucks, beer, and live music. 

Hamilton Park BBQ This Saturday!

This Saturday is the 5th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ Festival!

Organized by SILVERMAN, the BBQ Festival benefits the Hamilton Park Conservancy and always draws large crowds. It runs from 12pm-8pm at Hamilton Square. The festival will have live music all day, family-friendly activities like face-painting & a bouncy castle, and even a mechanical bull.

Quick Weekend Reminders (and Father's Day Ideas)!

• WORD Bookstore is having a Stumptown Roasters Tasting beginning at 11am
• Today is the Hamilton Park Festival. It will go until 6pm tonight and features lots of family-friendly activities, live entertainment, sports clinics and plenty of food including local trucks like Carmella's and Mordi's
• GP's, right by Hamilton Park, will be holding their First Italian Festival from 1pm-5pm with bocce ball and their new meatball cart
• Milk Sugar Love is opening today! The store (19 McWilliams Place, also right by Hamilton Park) will open at 11am with plenty of organic ice cream and delicious treats for everyone, including puppy fro-yo!

Community News

• Congratulations to ModCup on the Grand Opening of their cafe in Jersey City Heights this weekend! They are offering their fantastic coffee of course, as well as tea from Do You Tea and baked goods from Cocoa Bakery and All Kinds of Whoopie. They will be open all next week from 7am-5pm.
• The date for the 5th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ Festival has been announced. It will be held on Saturday, September 27th and will run from noon-8pm. If last year was any indication, you don't want to miss it!
• Congratulations to Jersey City Veggie Burgers whose Kiva Zip loan was officially funded last week! 
• Liberty Humane Society is hosting their 4th Annual Wine Tasting at VB3 next Sunday, March 2nd from 5pm-7pm. For a $35 donation, there will be wine, antipasti, pizza and all benefits will proceed LHS. Check Seen in Jersey City's post for more info on the event and on current adoptions.
• More congratulations go to Thirsty Quaker. After much hard work and waiting, they will officially open this Tuesday, Feb. 25th for all your local brewing and beer needs!

Community News

• Congratulations to Emma of Milk Sugar Love who is moving into 19 McWilliams Place by Hamilton Park! She's hoping to be open and operational by May.
• Congratulations also to Tea NJ who held their pre-opening this Saturday and got a full house!
• Roman Nose will now be open for brunch beginning at 11am on Saturdays and Sundays
• On Feb 5th, Iron Monkey is hosting a Meet the Brewer event with Twisted Pine Brewery  from Colorado beginning at 6pm

Event Recap: 4th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ

This past Saturday was the 4th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ. There was live music, beer, games, and of course, a lot of BBQ!

BBQ vendors included Dinosaur BBQ, Soul Flavors, Union Republic, Delaney Barbecue, and Jimmy's Barbecue from Pennsylvania and everything was priced around 7-10 dollars. Desserts included Andy's Italian Ice Truck, Torico Ice Cream, and Sophie Sophia with drinks being provided by NJ Beer Co. in conjunction with the Hamilton Inn and Lizzmonade!

 

I got there a little after 6pm and the crowd seemed like it was in full-swing. The lines for Dinosaur BBQ were really long and they didn't diminish until the very end of the night. Unfortunately, shortly after I got there, Soul Flavors started packing up so I'm not really sure what they had on offer, but there were plenty of other options to choose from.

Community News

• Tomorrow is the last day for Jersey City Veggie Burgers' Start Something NJ challenge so watch the video and help support their efforts, veggie burgers, and small business in Jersey City! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vs6jYrMa3iU
• Hound About Town and GP's are hosting a happy hour tomorrow with a portion of the proceeds going to help support See Spot Rescued:  https://twitter.com/SeeSpotRescued/status/384427875899682816/photo/1
• The 10th Annual 4th Street Arts Festival (and the last one) is next weekend. Get ready for arts, comedy, fun, food, and the Jersey City Homebrew Competition:  http://jerseycityeats.blogspot.com/p/ca.html

The 4th Annual Hamilton Park BBQ Festival

On Saturday, Hamiltion Park will hold it's 4th Annual BBQ Festival from 12 pm to 8pm!




The festival is a family-friendly event with live music, games, drinks, crafts from Not Yo Mama's Craft Fair, and of course, BBQ!

Congratulations to Rustique Pizza!

Tomorrow, Rustique Pizza, in Hamilton Park on Jersey Avenue and 5th Street, will celebrate it's two year anniversary!  Congratulations to all of you!  While I haven't yet mentioned Rustique here, I've been there several times over the past couple of years and it's a great, intimate place for a friendly, relaxed, and tasty meal. The service is great, their brick oven is impressive, and the garlic spread is amazing.

Cupcakes in Jersey City

Something I've long been looking for in Jersey City is a bakery to pick up a quick, delicious gift. Something fresh, easy, reliable, able to survive a subway trip and good for a group. While it seems like we're slowly getting more options in this area, one place I found that fits the bill is Sophie Sophia. Located right by Hamilton Park, this bakery focuses day to day primarily on cupcakes although also creates beautiful and creative made-to-order cakes.

The day I went in, I was on my way to a friendly dinner in the late afternoon and they were clearly running a little low on inventory but I was more than satisfied with the choices I had. I selected the sophia (yellow cake with vanilla frosting), the chocolate dream (chocolate cake, chocolate frosting), peanut butter and jelly, and cookie dough.  There were a couple other "standard" flavors and one slightly more creative that I could choose from so it's nice to see they have a mix depending on your tastes.  It's a small, cute, very feminine shop and it does put you in the mindset of sweetness and treating yourself.

Event Recap: 28th Annual Hamilton Park Festival and Lizzmonade!

Last Saturday, June 8^th, Hamilton Park held their annual festival - #28, filled with live performances and music, booths, family activities, and of course, food! It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, inviting everyone out to play.

There was music and entertainment for kids and families at the center of the park with live bands also performing on the Jersey Avenue side, appealing to all ages. I saw a variety of booths, some promoting new events or different organizations in Jersey City; others selling some interesting art pieces and collectibles. It was great to walk around and peruse. I was impressed by the attendance and it made me very excited to see people getting involved and enjoying the sense of community.