Square 1 Jersey City Opening Soon

Photo submitted by reader

New restaurant Square 1 Jersey City is coming to Journal Square.

Save LSP Picnic (and where to stock up!)

This Friday, join the family behind E. Tittlemouse and Co. for a picnic in Liberty State Park! The goal of the picnic - which is a casual get-together, not an organized event- is to help raise awareness about the importance of saving LSP from development and privatization. The idea is to have anybody who's interested show up between 1pm and sundown to enjoy their own picnic, have some food, have some fun, and just enjoy the park, showing their support.

To help get you in the mood, I've compiled a list of picnic best bets from around Jersey City, nothing that needs to be kept cold, warmed up, or requires major preparation:

Two Aprons: A not-quite-hidden gem

Two Aprons is a small cafe with a Mediterranean-inspired menu that serves everything from croissants to a turkish cheese sandwich to hormone and antibiotic free rotisserie chickens you can take home.

The store is on Warren Street, a tiny space with a table inside, sometimes one or two outside and a tempting display case of the day's pastries. They have their menu written on the walls for those who need to ponder and with so many delicious sounding options, I definitely needed some time. For breakfast, there are the afore-mentioned pastries, yogurt parfaits, and bagels while the rest of the extensive menu is made up of a wide variety of sandwiches including wraps and paninis, salads, and sides; many of which I was happy to see were vegetarian. While reading the menu, I was intrigued by the fact that the Mediterranean influence is seen in just about every item I saw - even if it was just in the form of an ingredient or the way the ingredients were put together, creating a slight twist on some of the more "classic" menu options.

Razza, Round 2 (and 3)

"Wow, you really love this place, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."  

And so went the conversation during my most recent visit to Razza. It was the third time I'd been there in less than a month and that's because it's true; I do love Razza and there are a lot of reasons why:

• The service is wonderful. On my second visit, the manager came over and talked to our table about the pizza we'd tried which was new that evening, asking for feedback and telling us about some plans in the works. On my last visit, when I was still waiting for my friends, the hostess came out and offered me a table without my asking. Those are just a couple of examples but the staff just go above and beyond and they seem to do so cheerfully. It's something I notice and appreciate every time.

Delivery from White Star

I've been to White Star Bar a few times and always enjoyed both the atmosphere and the food, so I was curious to see how delivery service would stack up to the bar itself.

White Star is small, but has a good selection of beers on tap and a menu that focuses on slightly upscale bar food - there's burgers and sandwiches, but also grilled and roasted entrees, tacos, soups, salads, etc. all with a slight twist that stands above the standard versions you might otherwise find.

The first time I ordered, I got a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato) with mayonnaise on toasted whole grain pullman bread ($8) and the house salad ($6). The BLAT sandwich came with a very generous side of fries which were still nice and hot by the time they got to me. They weren't super crispy but definitely not soggy which is not an easy thing to pull off with delivery fries. The BLAT itself was...well, somewhat disappointing.
Having had the sandwich at the bar, I know how good it can be and this one just did not meet those standards. The heat from the fries must have slightly steamed the toasted bread so it became dry but kind of chewy and the tomato was far from ripe while the avocado was overripe. Relatively minor complaints, and only one delivery-related, but all together, it was enough that I left most of the sandwich alone, eating one side of the bread topped only with lettuce and bacon. The bacon itself was excellent - good quality, thickly sliced and both crispy and chewy. It was fine...but I don't think I'd order it again, at least not for delivery.