Serata Toscana at Pasta Dal Cuore

On Wednesday, November 7th, join Pasta Dal Cuore and Jersey Wine and Spirits for a special event -  the Serata Toscana Wine Dinner.

Bella d'Estate Summer Seafood Wine Dinner

On Tuesday, August 7th, join Pasta Dal Cuore and Jersey Wine and Spirits for a special event -  the Bella d'Estate Summer Seafood Wine Dinner.

Community News: Pasta Dal Cuore Wine Dinner, Zeppelin Hall Tulum Menu, and more

Jersey City

• Join Pasta Dal Cuore and Jersey Wine & Spirits for their new collaboration, Bella d'Estate Summer Wine Dinner, a seasonal five course dinner featuring seafood and paired wines from Jersey Wine & Spirits and Sicilian winery Firriato. The dinner will be next Tuesday, 8/7. 
• Zeppelin Hall is offering a special menu from now through August 19th, featuring cuisine from Tulum, Mexico. Dishes include fried oyster tacos, moljacates for two, and more. This is the first menu in a series, exploring cities and dishes from around the world. 

Pasta Dal Cuore In Viaggio sulla Via Emilia Wine Dinner

UPDATE - This event has been postponed. Stay tuned for more information on the next event. 

Pasta Dal Cuore is kicking off summer with a new wine dinner, In Viaggio sulla Via Emilia. 

Join Pasta Dal Cuore for Springtime on the Italian Riviera

Join Pasta Dal Cuore on Tuesday, 3/27, for a five course dinner inspired by the tastes and style of the northwestern coast of Italy. Personalized takes on regional favorites from Cinque Terre and Genoa will be served with a focus on fresh spring ingredients and seasonal flavors. 

A Look at Jersey Girls Food Tours

*Full Disclosure - my ticket was complimentary, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not asked to post a review in exchange for coming on the tour*

Recently, I was invited to join Jersey Girls Food Tours on a downtown Jersey City tour. If you're not familiar with Jersey Girls Food Tours, it's a Jersey City-based company that organizes food tasting tours in Jersey City and throughout New Jersey. I'd been on a tour a few years ago when they first started up, but over time they've grown and modified the structure of the tours, so it felt like a brand new experience. The concept behind the tours is to offer attendees a chance to try a bite or two at every spot while learning a little more about that particular restaurant, the chefs, and to give everyone chance to get to know more about the story behind the restaurant and the food.

The Hunt at Pasta Dal Cuore

*UPDATE* This event has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date, TBD. 

Join Pasta Dal Cuore, 527 Jersey Ave, next Tuesday, 12/12 for a special six course dinner with wine pairings from CoolVines.

Community News: Corgi Spirits Opening, Food Truck Permits, Graze & Braise at Grove St.

Jersey City

• Corgi Spirits is opening to the public this Saturday! The initial opening celebration will run from 4pm-10pm and then they'll be open regular hours the following week. Corgi Spirits will offer both distillery tours and information and a tasting room with a selection of specially-crafted cocktails featuring their distinct spirits. 
• Congratulations to Milk Sugar Love whose Mac Daddy ice cream cakes were featured on Thrillist.
• Congratulations to Pasta Dal Cuore who Maltagliata Pugliese was recently named one of the 35 best pasta dishes in New Jersey by Pete Genovese. 

Pasta Dal Cuore - Non Solo Verdura: A Night of Vegan Delights

Pasta Dal Cuore is putting together a very special vegan dinner featuring fresh, handmade pastas and complex Italian flavors and they're bringing in some natural wines from Pet Shop to go with it.

Friday Feature: Maltagliati Pugliesi from Pasta Dal Cuore

Welcome to weekly series,"Friday Feature"! The first Friday of every month will continue to be "Get to Know JC Eater" showcasing a local resident and their recommendations, but on all other Fridays, a specific dish or food find from around Jersey City will be featured on the blog.

This week's feature is the Maltagliati Pugliesi from Pasta Dal Cuore.

Pasta Dal Cuore Wine Dinner + New Years

Full disclosure: I attended this dinner free of charge at Pasta Dal Cuore's invitation, but with the understanding that any review I posted would be honest and unbiased. All opinions are my own and are an honest reflection of my experience. 

Earlier this fall, Pasta Dal Cuore and Cool Vines collaborated on Autumn in Northern Italy, a five course dinner featuring regional Northern Italian recipes paired with Italian wines. It was a wonderful night, complete with an excellent menu and some truly delicious wines. For the diners and organizers alike, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation that paid off so well, Pasta Dal Cuore has already planned their next event (hint: midnight and drinks are involved! More details below).

It felt like the theme of the night was elegant simplicity. As guests came in, they were started off with a light prosecco, a nice touch. As each course was presented, we'd hear a couple of notes about the dishes and the wine and what went into them from Elena, owner of Pasta Dal Cuore and Amy Ezrin from Massanois Merchants who worked with Cool Vines to select the wines. There wasn't a wine I didn't like and it was a great way to learn about and experience some I might not otherwise try. While there were a couple of moments of off-timing as wine got poured and dishes were served, overall, the evening flowed very well and the portions were perfectly sized - not just bites of everything so everyone's still hungry but made with an awareness that five courses can be a lot to get through.

Community News

• Pasta Dal Cuore and Cool Vines are teaming up to offer a special five course Northern Italy Dinner and Wine Pairing on Tuesday, Oct. 18th from 7-9pm. Tickets are $75/person with tax and gratuity included. 
• Baonanas has launched a kickstarter to help them move into a new, bigger kitchen and expand their business. 
• The opening for the Jersey City location of Ani Ramen has been pushed back to November. No exact date has been announced. 
• Eighty Mag is throwing a party and fundraiser this Saturday, Oct. 1st to help nonprofit the Jersey City chapter of Church Worldwide Services, dedicated to helping newly arrived refugees find housing and employment. Food will be provided by Garden Steaks, Fox and Crow, Roman Nose, and Milk Sugar Love. 

Get to Know JC Eater: Bill

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 is a Korean food enthusiast who enjoys biking around Jersey City.

Pasta Dal Cuore

Shortly after Pasta Dal Cuore opened their pasta counter, they began working on their next project: putting a restaurant in the back of the store. The restaurant, which naturally focuses heavily on the house-made pasta, opened in June, offering classic but modern Italian dishes with specials that draw from local markets and what's in season.

The restaurant is on the smaller side, but comfortable and noise is kept to a minimum. It's equally fitting for date night, a family night, or just dinner with friends. It does get a little crowded on the weekends, so if you want to come with a group, I recommend a reservation. Keep in mind, it's also BYO, and the staff will happily set you up for whatever you bring.

The meal begins with a complimentary bread basket, accompanied by a dish or two of something to dip it in. In our case, we had a delicious eggplant caponata and seasoned olive oil. The bread basket is one of the best I've had in Jersey City, containing three kinds of bread including a special Sardinian flatbread reminiscent of an herbed cracker and a Tuscan foccacia-like bread, rich with slightly salted olive oil you could taste in each bite. Definitely take advantage of the variety and try a little of everything.

Weekend Events

This weeked in Jersey City is a busy one with a lot to eat do, so get ready!

Recently, Kraverie underwent some renovations and this Friday at 5pm is their Grand Re-Opening celebration with the mayor. They will have live music, food, and best of all, a special charity raffle for a private NY Harbor Sail for four people with catering provided by Kraverie. All proceeds will benefit Bike JC and their quest to help make Jersey City streets safer for bikers, a cause especially close to Kraverie after one of their founding members died after being hit by a car while biking.

Friday night also marks the soft opening for Pasta Dal Cuore who have been busy at work getting the restaurant portion of their space set-up and ready - including lots of recipe testing! Fresh pasta will feature heavily, but there will also be other Italian dishes on offer. The soft opening hours are from 5pm-10pm for dinner service. The fresh pasta counter will continue with regular hours.

This week, Cocoa Bakery has been offering special lemon blueberry cupcakes in honor of Cancer Survivor week and all proceeds will go to benefit charity organization, ChemoComfort. Get one while you can and show your support.

Pasta Dal Cuore Adds Take Out Lunch Specials

Pasta Dal Cuore is expanding their pasta options! They've been busy doing recipe testing and the store will now carry fresh take-out pasta lunches, available every Tuesday through Friday.

Community News

• This Monday is the last Farmers' Market of the season at Grove Street.
• Check out this review of Satis Bistro from Jersey Bites.
• Thirsty Quaker is extending their hours for the holidays.

Pasta Dal Cuore Opening Tomorrow

After dealing with some unexpected inspection and permit delays, I'm happy to announce that Pasta Dal Cuore, 527 Jersey Avenue, is opening (EDIT) tomorrow (Wednesday, 11/4) at 10 a.m., selling fresh pastas and daily specials like vegetarian, meat, and cheese raviolis and gnocchi.

Elena Cartagena, the owner of Pasta Dal Cuore, is a graduate from the FCI Italian program where she first began to form the idea of her own specialty pasta shop. After working around New York (including a stint at Eataly) and then traveling through Italy for six months to gain inspiration and knowledge, Elena decided to make that idea a reality by opening up a shop in Jersey City where she grew up and has long resided.