Introduction to The Kitchen Step

The Kitchen Step, the newest restaurant from Chef Ryan DePersio and team, is getting close to opening according to their FB page. They've finalized menus, finished decorating, and while they aren't able to announce a date yet, hope to be open within the next couple of weeks.

Thirty Acres To Become The Kitchen Step

When Thirty Acres announced they were closing, they mentioned they'd been in talks with another restaurant development group familiar with Jersey City to take over the space and over the weekend, it was revealed that it will be taken over by the team behind Battello, Chef Ryan DePersio and his partners.

Thirty Acres is Closing

Alex and Kevin Pemoulie, owners of Thirty Acres, announced yesterday that they are closing their much-lauded restaurant in Jersey City and will be moving to Seattle. Service at the restaurant will continue through Saturday, November 28th.

The closure doesn't exactly come as a surprise, but it's certainly a huge loss for the dining culture in town considering Thirty Acres is one of the few truly innovative and high-caliber restaurants we have and can be credited with bringing a huge amount of attention and change to the Jersey City restaurant scene. They've gone through a few transitions over the past four years, originally starting as a BYOB dinner spot before getting a liquor license, then adding a brunch menu, and most recently, changing to a ten course tasting menu format, but always with incredible attention to ingredients, detail and flavors.

                                              Shrimp and grits from the brunch menu at Thirty Acres

Community News

• Milk Sugar Love is bringing back the Pint Club! And the final summer sundae, a collaboration with Thirty Acres, is now on offer every weekend in September.
• Sam A.M. announced their three day supper club menu for the week.
• Art House is hosting a Fall Spectacular next Saturday with food trucks, live music, beer tasting, and a cake baking contest.
• Dark Side of the Moo is hiring.
• Carvao BBQ was featured in The Jersey Journal.
  

Community News

• Congratulations to Razza for their write-up and "Excellent" rating in the NYT.
• Lucky 7 is having a beach party this weekend, beginning Friday with a Brooklyn Brewery Tap Takeover.
• Congratulations to Thirty Acres for making Eater's list of 38 Essential New York Restaurants.
• Grandma Downtown is having a mini-loaf special Monday through Thursday.
• dullboy will now be open at noon on the weekends.

Community News

• Congratulations to Thirty Acres on receiving three stars from Eater on their new tasting menu and special congratulations to Kevin Pemoulie who was named one of the People's Best New Chefs for the NY region. Voting is going on through April 8th, so click here to show your support.
• Milk Sugar Love has started serving the first sundae in the summer-long sundae collaboration with chefs around Jersey City. This month's collaboration is with Sam a.m. and has french toast ice cream, candied bacon, and raspberry syrup. It will be available every weekend this month. 
• Along with the new summer sundaes, Milk Sugar Love has introduced a new flavor of the month: Lime in the Coconut.
• On April 14th, Komegashi Too is hosting a scotch tasting. Contact them for reservations. 

Community News

• FastBoy Delivery is now offering delivery from select restaurants for only $1.99 through April 30th. 
• Thirty Acres will begin offering a vegetarian option for their tasting menu this week. You must reserve in advance. 
• Hudson Flea in Journal Square is looking for licensed food vendors to serve food, drinks during the market. 

Community News

• Congratulations to Talde JC and Carrino Provisions for this write-up from Tasting Table.
• Porta Pizza will be having their first Jersey City Dinner Party on March 5th. Featuring Australian wines from Mitolo Wines, it will be a five course diner with wine pairing and tickets are $60 each. Call now to reserve your seat. 
• On March 4th, join See Spot Rescued for their 3rd "Hair of the Dog" happy hour fundraising event from 7-10pm at Carrino Provisions.
• This Friday, The Iron Money is throwing a Clown Shoes Carnival to celebrate 1 year of the brewery distributing in NJ. There will be games, carnival food, and lots of beer. 

Community News

• Check out this article on 942 Summit, housing WHOS Gluten Free, Do You Tea, and Bloomsbury Sq. to find out more about how it got started and what they're offering.
• Here's a first glimpse of the new tasting menu at Thirty Acres from Adam Robb.
• ME Casa is offering free lunch delivery for all of February.

Community News

• Congratulations to Jon Vitiello of Thirty Acres on being named one of the Top 5 Sous Chefs of 2015 by Inside Jersey Magazine.
• Stony Hill has opened up their 2015 CSA membership and they have both full and half shares available.
• Sam a.m. has extended their hours and the kitchen will now be open until 3:30pm every day.

Community News

• Congratulations to Thirty Acres on being included in Eater's 38 Essential New York Restaurants.
• Pint will be closed on Monday and Tuesday this week for their annual staff holiday event.
• Grandma Downtown has launched a new and updated menu for 2015.
• Sam a.m. has extended their hours and will now be serving brunch until 3:30pm on the weekends.

Halloween Weekend Events!

It's Halloween Weekend in Jersey City and there is a lot going on!

• The Iron Monkey is getting into the spirit with $6.66 drink specials tonight and the Samhain Soiree Costume Party tomorrow. There will be drink specials, free candy, and prizes.
• On Friday between 3:30pm-7:00pm, hang out on Newark Ave for the City of Jersey City's Family Halloween Bash. The 2nd Annual Halloween Parade will kick off at Gymboree at 3:30 and there will be festivities like a petting zoo, "Frozen" themed games, pony rides, S'mores from Bambino Chef and food will be available to purchase from Tea NJ, WORD, Roman Nose & more.
• After the Family Halloween Bash, Newark Avenue will continue the Halloween fun with the Newark Ave. Pedestrian Plaza Closing Party which will have food, cider, and beer from all over town, music from DJ Pastiche and dancing. This will be the last night of having Newark Ave closed off so make sure to enjoy it!

Community News

I'm sorry to report that after twelve years in Jersey City, The Merchant will be closing this Saturday, Nov. 1st. Stop by this week to say goodbye.

Congratulations to Nu Bar on their mention in The Jersey Journal.

Next weekend will be Thirty Acres' last brunch service as they plan some new developments.

You can now find Oh Honey products at Pig & Pepper and Madame Claude Wine.

Weekend Events

There's a lot going on this weekend, Jersey City!

Get ready for fall with Pint's Pumpkin Oktoberfest tonight.

Tomorrow, there's the All About Downtown Street Fair which will be full of fun, food, and shopping.

Saturday is also the day for Washington Park Live, an arts and music festival from 10am-6pm. There's a ton of bands, art installations, a beer garden, food & drinks provided by ModCup, Lizzmonade, El Chilango, Orange and Olive Caterers and more.

Community News

• Tomorrow kicks off Hudson Restaurant Week! Start making your reservations to take advantage of great deals in Jersey City and all around Hudson County.
• Thank you and congratulations to The Jersey City Project and all the vendors and workers involved on an incredible, fun, and delicious event yesterday, Project: Eats! 
• If you missed it, Milk Sugar Love had an amazing and extremely informative write-up in the Star-Ledger this week
• Congratulations to Hoboken Farms, whose marinara sauce "Big Red Marinara" took second place in a tasting of jarred tomato sauces from across the state. You can find the sauce at the HDSID and Hamilton Park Farmers' Markets. 

Community News

• Congratulations to Thirty Acres for being included on Eater's 38 Essential New York restaurants!
• The Liberty Science Center is having a Rubik's Cube Cake-Off! The deadline to enter is tomorrow 7/7.
• The Dark Side of the Moo got written up in The Jersey Journal for their wide variety of exotic meats and was reported on by CNBC.
• The NY Times went on an ice cream tasting expedition which included Kwality Ice Cream near Journal Square.

Community News

• Jersey City has a new bubble tea shop coming to town! The Big Straw will be moving into 276 1st Street, right off Jersey Avenue and they are currently hiring. If you want to get a preview, check them out at Groove on Grove, May 7th.
• Speaking of hiring, Thirty Acres is looking for experienced bussers for weekend dinner and brunch shifts. Email them at info@thirtyacresrestaurant.com to apply.
• Sam a.m. and Satis Bistro both debuted new spring menus this week! Sam a.m.'s menu features some new sandwiches including a shrimp po'boy and Satis Bistro's dinner menu now includes a number of spring produce based dishes.

Community News

• Congratulations to Thirty Acres on celebrating two very successful years of being open!
• Downtown Yogurt recently added a couple of delicious-sounding toppings: cotton fizzy candy and cannoli cream. Anyone given these a try yet or have combo recommendations?
• This Tuesday, April 8th, join the Van Vorst Park Association at Brightside Tavern to help support their fight against the Bright & Varick Micro Unit Development. It's $20 at the door, beginning at 7:30 pm and there will be an appetizer buffet and happy hour specials all night.
• A new restaurant, O'Lala Empanadas on Communipaw Ave had their grand opening this week. I haven't been yet but can't wait to try them out!

Community News

• Check out the latest issue of The Digest Online featuring Park & Sixth as well as great interviews with Dale Talde about Talde JC and Kevin and Alex Pemoulie of Thirty Acres. Such Jersey City love!
• DOCO Market & Cafe is now Goods & Greens. An official website is still in the works, but in the meantime, stop by and feel free to ask about their CSA program with Veritas Farms
• ModCup is holding brew classes again and the next one will be held on Sunday, April 6th at 10am. 
• All Kinds of Whoopie is now going to be known as Cholita Dessert Bar in honor of the expansion of the business so keep that in mind when trying to look them up.
• Join See Spot Rescued, Jersey Cats, and Hound about Town next Saturday for their adoption event where Milk Sugar Love will be providing ice cream sandwiches, including a dairy and gluten-free option!

Brunch At Thirty Acres

One of the nice things about Thirty Acres is that they frequently update their menu, so while this can be difficult if you form a strong attachment to something, it also means they are constantly creating new and delicious dishes. When I saw the changes to their most recent brunch menu, I knew immediately that I needed to make it a priority to go.

We started with drinks: the Michelada and the Stiff Java. Both were excellent and surprisingly large. The Michelada was spicier than I expected, but definitely not unbearable especially with the tang of the pickle to distract your taste buds. It was served with the rest of the beer so that you could keep refilling and the heat and vinegar flavors stayed strong until the end. The Stiff Java was like drinking the best coffee dessert you could ever have - dark and rich, but still sweetly refreshing. The intensity of both drinks was a nice change for a daytime brunch cocktail - instead of feeling light and dainty, these were bold wake-up calls and helped break through the richness of the meals.

The dish that first caught my attention and that I was most excited to try was the steak tartare club. For some reason, I'd actually been craving streak tartare for a few weeks and then the thought of it in sandwich form with bacon? There was no way I was missing out.