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How many stories is 500 ft? Just trying to imagine how it will relate to the buildings in the area. It sounds big, but I really have no idea.

The further you can go, the better selection, prices, and service you'll get. The places on 440 We've shopped have been way overpriced and the salesmen have been unprofessional and not very knowledgeable.

We had a good experience at Mahwah Ford buying a used car. The dealership looked like it was from the 1950s but the staff was trustworthy and enthusiastic about the cars. We got a great price from them after doing our research on autotrader for comps.

Do your research. Scour the area. Befriend a Car and Driver subscriber. Be prepared to walk away from a car if you can't get the price to where you need it. Let the salesman try to figure you out. A good salesman will appreciate the cat and mouse approach.

They have my favorite pizza in JC. It's thin and crispy with just the right crust/cheese/sauce ratio. They get pretty busy at lunch but they are always friendly and working hard to get orders filled. And a slice of plain is still $2!

When I've ordered delivery, the pizza comes hot and fresh but it always seems to take 45min at night.

There's a ping pong table in the new park in Newport on the waterfront as you walk towards Hoboken. Not sure if the park's open yet and it is getting colder...

I'm not lookin for the best, just the cheapest place to get my nails done. What's the best price you've found in Downtown JC?

How much snow did we get? I was out of town this wknd.

I have hundreds of lego-type blocks that were going in the trash at work. They are small, so probably not good for under 4yo, but still lots of potential for creative fun! What organizations around town should I look into?

I'm thinking of taking the path out to Newark on a weekend night for some Portuguese food. Any recommendations?

Is the Ironbound area walkable from the path station or should I expect to take a cab for distance/safety reasons?

Rem Koolhaas is so 2005.

The eggplant rollatini and kebabs are consistently delicious. I'm also a fan of their baba ganoush. Their chicken ala vodka is great comfort food. They make some good food here.

However, their service is so unpredictable and more often than not, just frustratingly bad that I have trouble psyching myself up to go. There used to be a young guy who was nice and fairly attentive (not sure if he's still there). The bald owner is very friendly and smartly remembers locals. The other owner seems more interested in talking on his phone than running a restaurant. Many time I've been there, he's the only staff in the dining room, we are waiting for something, and he's clueless. Once there was a guy with a beard who actually seemed like a trained waiter. There have been several girls who were simultaneously overbearing and inattentive.

I usually love the food but the service is some of the worst. They've been open for too long now to not have figured it out. Sometimes I wonder if they're really in the restaurant business because I can't understand how they can survive on so few customers.

Good to know. I've only walked this block once in all the years of living in JC. I'd wondered about that little park across the street.

Doesn't sound like a good block to invest in...

What's this place like?

I think it would be great if this happened: jobs of all levels, $ for the city, and making a piece of unattractive land useful.

But isn't this nextdoor to all the chromium (a known carcinogen) contamination? So you live there and then have the convenience of a cancer treatment center right there.

Anybody go to the beer event last night?

It's nice to hear the service is good. Service can be something that's tricky for new places to get right away and IT IS SO IMPORTANT!

I'm excited to hear some brunch reviews. The menu has a lot of variety and they have sausage gravy and biscuits, one of my guiltiest pleasures.

I had a pretty bad gyro there a few years back and haven't been back since. It was a load (a crazy amount - I had to dump out 50%) of tough gyro meat on a pita with almost none of the cool crunchy stuff to balance it out. It's a shame when a street cart (specifically the street cart on Madison and 67th-ish) can put together a better gyro than a restaurant. I'm guessing a lack of customers means the meat is hanging around a little too long.

I agree, this place needs a makeover from the bottom up.

I'm still boycotting them. And I don't care how ridiculuous anyone thinks that is.

On Sunday it looked like all the sand in Van Vorst's sandbox had washed out. You could help to refill it if they haven't already.

The dollar store in the mall had a ton of identical wood frames the last time I was in there. They could be painted black to look a little better. If price is your main concern, I doubt you'll find them cheaper anywhere else.

I've never had a problem with the food or service but that comment left me a little cold. I think I'll bring my business elsewhere where my "class" won't come into question.

I'm not sure if it's still there, but I saw it on the corner of Pavonia and Coles a couple weeks ago. Not sure what the story was with it.

Imo it's an improvement in that the selection of dry and fresh groceries is superior to the previous store and it's open 24 hours. I like having a place nearby that carries some basic groceries at all hours without the crazy lines and unfriendly cashiers (I'm lookin' at you, Shoprite).

I will be shopping here. It was clean, convenient, the proprietors were friendly, the prices were reasonable (for a quickstop/bodega type place), and they had what I needed when I needed it. I see no reason to complain.

I stopped in last night to pick up some parmesan (yup, they have parmesan) and was very impressed by the selection. The place has been redone, I think by new owners. They've still got the Indian dry goods and basics like laundry detergent, toilet paper, and cereal, but now they've got lots of other stuff too. Basic cheeses, almond milk, San Marzano tomatoes, capers, fresh fruits and veggies (including some exotic looking things that I wasn't familiar with), and dried fruit were some of the things that caught my eye.

They don't have the hot food selection they used to but they've got basic groceries and they're open 24 hours according to the deli menu I picked up. Also, they did a nice job with the renovation.

I'm also interested.

I can't wait any longer! When are they opening??? I need coffee and cookies ice cream and a strawberry milkshake. I have yet to find an acceptable substitute for their delights!

I think having more places with outdoor seating on Newark is a definite improvement. Gypsy Grill's got it, Helen's got it, soon Barcade... Maybe there won't be any place left for the n'er do wells to hang out if we fill the sidewalk with tables and diners.

I got a coupon for a free appetizer at Michael Anthony's in that Clipper bundle we get in the mail. Thought it was worth trying for drinks on a nice wknd afternoon.

Is this the place that is right on the water? Do they ever have live music?

Woo hoo!
One less reason to go into the city!

I just found that I can donate to local animal groups like Liberty Humane Society and Hudson County Animal League by using this search engine (donates a penny a search) and by specifying the charitable org:
http://www.goodsearch.com/
If you do online shopping, you can also use their link and a percentage of the sale will be donated.

I'm sure many other local charities can be used. I just checked those two.

It seems to be a decent search engine so that's my new homepage at work. Makes me feel better about surfing the web during business hours!

I've heard two solutions for ant invasions in the past year that I've been meaning to try:
1. Cornstarch: ants cannot digest corn, they bring it back to the nest, feast, screw up their systems, and hopefully die off. (Cornmeal and cornbread mix might also work.)
2. Chalk: draw a line in sidewalk chalk where they are coming in and according to my last issue of Readymade, they won't cross it.
Would like to hear if you beat 'em!

Madame Claude Wine sells excellent Manchego cheese.

I've gotten queso blanco at Shoprite. Not the best, but it works.