June Calendar of Events

Friday, June 2nd

• It's National Doughnut Day so swing by Krispy Kreme to pick up your free doughnut or Dunkin Donuts to grab a free doughnut with the purchase of a coffee. 
• Today is JC Fridays with art events, performances, live music, and gallery displays up all over town - including in restaurants and bars throughout the city. The full listing of events is here.

Saturday, June 3rd

• The Arlington Park Farmers Market starts back up for its third season! Come check out the beautiful park, pick up some fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods, skincare, and more from 10am-2pm. For the full list of Jersey City Farmers Markets, check here. 
• The Jersey City Craft Brew Fest is back at Harborside, running in two sessions. The first is from 12pm-4pm and the second is from 5:30pm-9:30pm. Use code JCEATS for $15 off the ticket price. 
• Today marks the kick-off for the Riverview Jazz Festival which runs from 12-7pm at the Urby lot, 200 Greene Street. There will tons of great music, food trucks, vendors, and more. There will also be bands playing at Fox and Crow and The Corkscrew.  The festival runs through June 10th with events all over town. The full line-up can be found here. 

Monday, June 5th

• Atlas House is celebrating Negroni Week (June 5th-11th) by hosting the official NJ Kickoff Party from 6-11pm. They're partnering with mixologists from all over the state who will take a turn bartending and showing off their Negroni week specials. There will be a 50/50 raffle where all proceeds will be donated to City Harvest along with a portion of the profits from the Negroni sales.

Jersey City Wine Fest Coming Soon

Earlier this year, Harborside Craft Brew Fest came to town and now the organizers are back with the Jersey City Wine Fest, coming next year, 1/28/17.

Here's the press release for more information:

Exploring Cool Vines

Last weekend at the Charles & Co. Block Party, I checked out the new location of Cool Vines which recently moved to 276 Grove Street as part of Charles & Co. and was really impressed with the new store

Community News

• Congratulations to modcup on being named #3 in the 10 Best Coffee Shops in New York.
• Third and Vine is having a special - all wines by the bottle will be half off through Monday.
• Grandma Downtown is offering all large loaves for $10 each when you buy two or more through Thursday.

Covering the Basics at Roman Nose

Roman Nose, conveniently located right by the Grove Street Path, is a fairly casual and family-friendly Italian restaurant that focuses on serving authentic home-style meals. While not exactly brand-new, the restaurant still feels like a relatively new addition to Jersey City, partially because of their recent remodel. The new bar area adds a welcoming touch and the space is very nice; intimate but casual and while it can get crowded, I didn't feel like I was right on top of the other customers.

Not long ago, I stopped in for a casual dinner with some friends. We were waiting for two more people to join us who took longer than expected, but the staff was very friendly and calm about it. They went ahead and seated us and didn't act as though it was a problem which we appreciated. However, throughout the meal, I found our service to be a bit disorganized and slow. We had to ask for wine a couple of times, our food took quite a long time to come out and it felt like we were alternately being left alone for long stretches of time or checked on four times in a row by different people. Those issues aside, I found it to be a welcoming and friendly atmosphere and think they probably just need to work on organization a bit.

As for our actual meals, we pretty much stuck to the basics: salad, meatballs, and pasta although it was hard to say no to several of the delicious-sounding and much-buzzed about pizzas. I did have a glass of wine which was served in a small carafe and proved to be an exceedingly generous pour, especially for the price. While I wouldn't call the drinks menu expansive, it was pretty well-rounded for a restaurant this size and I'd say there's something for everyone.

We started with the house salad which was made with very fresh mixed greens (heavy on the arugula), cherry tomatoes, and a decent sprinkling of Parmesan, all tossed with a simple but tart vinaigrette. I'm a big fan of the peppery flavor of arugula which was complemented by the slight salt of the cheese and the vinegary tang of the dressing. I loved that it came in a large wooden bowl which felt familial and comforting and contained enough to feed a small army.

Third & Vine Now Open!

Last weekend, Third & Vine, a wine and cheese bar that also carries small plates, quietly opened up in the Village section of Jersey City.

I went to check it out within the first few days and while I'll hold off on posting any real reviews until they've been open a bit longer and I've had the chance to try more, I did want to at least let you all know this place is up and running and share some pictures.