Hidden Grounds Now Open

Hidden Grounds launched the soft open of their new Jersey City space at 148 1st Street last week.With two locations in New Brunswick, Hidden Grounds has quickly gained a devoted following since it opened in 2013 with their attention to detail, style aesthetics, high quality coffee and unique offerings like their specialty chai teas.

The Big Straw is Opening!

Today is opening day for the The Big Straw!

After several months of building out their space and vending at various Grove St. events, The Big Straw is now officially open for business at 276 1st Street. They will be open from 10am-9pm, Mon-Sat, and 10am-7pm on Sundays.

Good Eats at 6th Borough Market

This past Sunday, 6th Borough Market moved to their new home at the lot across from City Hall and the market at the new space proved to be bigger and better than ever.  

Beyond the usual wonderful crafters and vendors, there were several new (or at least new to me) food and drink suppliers with both exciting new products to take home and to enjoy there. While I was tthere, I picked up two bottles of all natural hot sauce produced by a company in Bayonne called Outer Limits. One is a Jalapeno Lime and the other is their Habanero hot sauce. I was able to taste them there and both packed quite a bit of heat, the Habanero especially, but beyond the spice, they also had a strong peppery tang that I immediately imagined adding a nice flavor pick-up to dishes.

Tea NJ Comes To Jersey City!

On Saturday, Tea NJ held their soft opening, and while they started a little late, they quickly had a full house. Located at 262 Newark Avenue by Monmouth in the Village, next to Tachair Bookshoppe, the space is intimate but with room for about 10 tables and the counter. It's got a cozy, relaxed feel with an eclectic collection of art, figurines, and other decor placed all around the store including an art wall where Jersey City artists will be welcome to post their work for free.

Walking in, we were told to pick anywhere we wanted to sit down and menus were brought over to us while drinks to go were being ordered at the counter. The tea list is extensive, listing green, black, oolong, white, and many more as well as specialty beverages including tea ciders, bubble tea, different tea lattes and a number of coffee drinks with coffee from Red House Roasters in Union City. Each of the teas listed comes with a caffeine rating and a thorough description to help guide your decision and they offer a variety of milks and sweeteners so this is about as personalized as it gets.

Word Bookstore - Coffee and Baked Delights

After a long wait, and much anticipation, Word Bookstore finally opened a few weeks ago and then this past Saturday, they opened up their cafe (including a walk-up window! Genius!). They're serving Stumptown coffee with a full menu of different beverages (caffeinated and non) as well as a variety of baked goods from different vendors, including some from local catering company and bakery, Bread and Spoon!

Community News

• Don't forget, Hudson County Restaurant Week starts next Monday, January 13th! Start making your reservations now!
• White Star Bar has started a new blog! Their first post is some of their most popular Facebook posts from 2013: http://white-star-bar.tumblr.com/
• Tea NJ is coming to Jersey City! Formally located in Union City, Tea NJ is moving to 262 Newark Ave and is a vegetarian and vegan friendly tea house and cafe with over 30 kinds of loose leaf teas and will serve bubble tea (I love bubble tea!)
• Iron Monkey is having a Karaoke Night next Saturday, January 11th beginning at 10 pm with lots of drinks specials so stop by!