http://nydn.us/1bVWw5J

Jersey City is emerging as the hot new foodie destination in the NYC area

The hottest new foodie neighborhood has a posh wood-fired pizzeria, a buzzed-about hipster bar and a new eatery on the way from Park Slope?s most-hyped chef.

No, it?s not Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ditmas Park, Greenwood Heights or Ridgewood. In fact, it?s not even in New York state.

Apparently all those years of ?sixth borough? jokes have finally rubbed off on Jersey City, which is in the midst of a culinary renaissance.

Building at 8 Erie St. in Jersey City where partners Dale Talde, John Bush and David Massoni will have their new restaurant
Joe Tabacca for The New York Daily News

Building at 8 Erie St. in Jersey City where partners Dale Talde, John Bush and David Massoni will have their new restaurant

Star chef Dale Talde, best known for cooking up a storm on Bravo?s ?Top Chef? and his well-reviewed eponymous Park Slope eatery, has partnered with Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, the stars of HGTV?s ?Kitchen Cousins,? to open a second location of his Asian-fusion restaurant Talde in Jersey City next year.

Talde admits he was hesitant to cross the Hudson ? just as he was hesitant to cross the East River. It?s only been a few years since he left his stomping grounds of the lower East Side to open the original Talde, along with his other Park Slope joints Thistle Hill Tavern and Pork Slope.

?It was the exact same reason I was skeptical about going into Brooklyn,? Talde says. ?I had just never been there.?

Carrino and Colaneri convinced Talde and his business partners to check out a downtown Jersey City building they are renovating ? a giant, light-filled space built in 1892 as the Garden State?s first telephone switching station for calls between New Jersey and New York.

The Jersey City-based cousins had hoped to convince Talde to open a stall in a planned Italian market in the building, but after seeing the space and visiting other new eateries around Jersey City, the chef and his business partners opted to take over half the ground floor for a new restaurant. The top floors of the building at 8 Erie St., between Bay and First Sts. ? once Jersey City Police headquarters ? will soon be convereted luxury apartments.

?It reminds me of all the Brooklyn neighborhoods,? says David Massoni, one of Talde?s partners. ?There are corners I?ll turn down and it feels like Bushwick. Other corners I?ll turn down and it feels like you?re right in the heart of Park Slope.?

The new Talde won?t be Jersey City?s first restaurant with New York cred. Thirty Acres, opened by Momofuku alums, has been luring Manhattanites over the bridge since last April. Barcade, an offshoot of the popular video game-centric Williamsburg bar, gives downtown Jersey City a craft beer option. Locals cite restaurants like Mediterranean-inspired Satis, gastro pub Marco & Pepe and Mexican standby Taqueria as other reasons to stay in town.

?By no means do we feel like we are the trailblazers. Other people have come here first. If Barcade wasn?t around the corner we wouldn?t even be thinking about this,? Massoni says. ?The fact that we are coming will bring other people to Jersey City, too, because it is a great market.?

Roasted pears with sea urchin mayo, pickled squash, maitake and shiso at Thirty Acres in Jersey City.
Norman Y. Lono/for New York Daily News

Roasted pears with sea urchin mayo, pickled squash, maitake and shiso at Thirty Acres in Jersey City.

Fred Shandler and Dan Richer chose Jersey City as the second outpost for their artisinal pizza empire after the success at Arturo?s in Maplewood, N.J. They opened Razza ? which means ?pure-bred? or ?original? in Italian ? in what they consider an emerging Jersey City neighborhood by the Grove St. PATH station last year.

And their Jersey City clientele eat up their pies, which use locally milled flour, wild yeast and veggies from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The Santo ($18), with sausage, shaved onion and chili oil atop a crust charred in a wood-burning oven, made Thrillist?s list of America?s top 33 pizzas.

?We feel that Jersey City is at a tipping point of receiving massive attention,? Shandler says. ?We?re thrilled about being here.?

So are spouses Kevin and Alex Pemoulie. Kevin gave up a job working in Manhattan for James Beard Award-winning chef David Chang to open Thirty Acres in Jersey City; Alex juggles a full time job running the financial operations for Chang?s Momofuku group with running the front of the house at Thirty Acres.

?We were looking for a community feel. In New York we had a lot of friends in the restaurant world, but there wasn?t a sense of a community around us,? said Kevin.

His sister lived in Jersey City, and when the couple visited they fell in love with the neighborhood near Van Vorst park.

?Everyone here is really into food. They are thankful and excited for new places ? but they will let you know if it sucks,? says Alex, laughing. ?Jersey City is ready for a wider variety of restaurants.?

Local real estate broker Eugene Cordano agrees ? and he says Jersey City?s culinary transformation is fueled by its residential explosion.

?Everything that is being built there is the demographic that restaurants like Thirty Acres would want to capitalize on,? Cordano says. ?You have thousands and thousands of apartments there and people coming in, and a real lifestyle has developed in Jersey City.?

Thirty Acres, named for a Prohibition-era boxing arena in town, serves a mix of small plates and heartier dishes from roasted pears with sea urchin mayo, pickled squash, maitake and shiso ($14) to Spaghetti Nero with bottarga, garlic and chili flakes ($18).

The couple behind the restaurant view their food as seasonal, creative and a mixture of refined and casual.

?We call ourselves New New Jersey cuisine,? Alex says. ?That?s not really a thing yet, but it?s starting with us.?

gpace@nydailynews.com

Anyone know of any JC restaurants that will be selling deep fried turkeys for Thanksgiving? No one in the family seems to want to cook this year, so I thought it'd be an interesting change of pace.

Sweet post, welcome to JC!

+1
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Ok since everyone's doing it...

I'm a big burger guy so I was excited about this place opening. Went Monday and started with the Mac & cheese pops and the pale ale battered onion rings. Both were excellent and had me eagerly anticipating the main event.

I ordered the mac daddy burger (house blended burger topped with deep fried Mac and cheese and bacon) and my buddy did a build a burger with deep fried goat cheese, shaved pork belly, fried egg, and red onion. I first tasted just the burger and bread and like previously stated, completely under seasoned! For what it's worth though it was juicy and the meat was quality. Lucky for me, the salt from the toppings balanced things out and my burger was delicious. My buddy didn't fare as well though, his toppings weren't enough to save his burger from bland city.

I definitely plan on coming back, loved the decor of the place especially the Jersey City theme. I should also note we didn't detect any strange orders, so that was a plus.

This is why I frequent JCList.

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Awesome, can't wait to check it out in person. Quote:

Lol I'm also confused about the bed bugs comment, but can definitely help you with directions. I'd say your best bet is the light rail and then walk, if you don't mind the 15 minute hike (I do it all the time to my house and it's definitely safe during the day).

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I guess they're more of an outdoor antique market? I know for a fact that they have outside vendors there though. There's contact info on pacificflea.com if you're interested.

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That menu looks awesome. The nods to Bartholdi and exit 14B lead me to believe there are some JC natives behind this, will def be supporting.

Awesome pics, thanks!

Saw the trailer yesterday, mad I missed it.
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Was a nice addition, I really don't understand why someone would paint that over.

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Am I crazy or does this look like a Banksy? It was on the corner of Monmouth and Newark.

http://instagram.com/p/fcw9yiqiUB/

Watched the film Pearl on Sunday at the Loews in JSQ and it was FANTASTIC. I highly recommend it if it's still showing. www.pearlfilm.com

Checked out Pacific Flea last Saturday before the JCAST and it was pretty awesome. They had all sorts of vintage Americana type stuff and the owners were really great. They're located at 149 Pacific Ave in the Lafayette neighborhood and open Saturdays 9-4.

(I'd post pics but embarrassingly can't figure out how on here lol)

For great Mexican delivery I recommend Taqueria Viva Mexico Kitchen Cafe (ridiculously long name, I know) over in Paulus Hook. The food and customer service are excellent and I'm pretty sure they will deliver to the Hamilton Park neighborhood. My fav is the chorizo everything burrito, but lots of other good stuff as well.

LOL, just choked on my water. Thanks.

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http://streetartnyc.org/blog/2013/10/ ... t-then-one-ekundayo-more/

Wow these are great. I've seen a few in person, but curious to know where the unlisted ones are located. Any one feel like taking a stab at listing the locations?

Love this. Ups the "cool" factor of JC while also bringing in extra revenue, win win.

Not sure if this has been posted about, but it looks like they're opening soon in the old It's Greek To Me space. Between this and P&6's new place it's a good time to be a JC burger lover!

https://www.facebook.com/LBburgerbar

Try the AT&T at Hudson Mall. I remember a friend getting a previous iPhone on launch day with little to no wait there a few years back.

Mark, just curious which pie you had? I find the mai pie and margherita
to be a little lackluster, but the cinghale, santo, tartufo (RIP), and whatever the special is are usually fantastic. Hope that helps!

Also, the meatballs and the bread with ricotta are fantastic.

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This place is no MAE, but it wasn't bad. Tried the torch burger, which was actually really good, and the chicken marsala which was ok. I live a few blocks away so will definitely be returning.

lmao @ that video. definitely wish JC had a better music scene.

Awesome, can't wait to check this out. Read in the MAE thread that there's a soft opening happening tonight.

Another vote for Rasoi.

I go out of my way to use the lane since it's pretty much the safest place to bike in JC. It's a shame that people are always double parked, forcing you to bike out into the street anyway.

They were mostly serving Riverhorse Imperial Pumpkin Ale, but I do recall seeing another Riverhorse brew in there as well. Hopefully that helps? I'd say Super Buy Rite is your best bet to find it.

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Great event! Was awesome meeting neighbors and the food/beer was fantastic. Big thanks to Green Villain, Morris Canal CDC and whoever else put this together. Wish I could've stayed for the whole thing.