I haven't seen them at the Grove Street Farmers Market this year. Are they at VVP or HP?

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Honey Bakery to me is about introducing a broad geographical range of tastes form some of the simplest and best dishes in Asia. They're inspiring the American palette, not driven by it. HB also creates a unique fusion, like the owners themselves - and they're creating something new - they're recreating some authentic tastes - but not cloning an authentic dining "experience" from any country. I hope they continue to be a huge success.

I came to the States from Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan) and Honey Bakery's specialties like Lamb samosa (all other kinds are blasphemy in those parts and probably only on their menu to appeal to American tastes), lagman, chak chak, really took me back home. Lagman is really just like what i remember back home with homemade noodles and the right flavor. I couldn't find lagman like that even down at brighton. It would be awesome if they could make shashlyk as well, but the owner told me they couldn't have it on the menu because neighbors complain about wood fired grill. Then of course carrot salad and plov is a must as well. Kind of wish they stuck to being a bit more authentic, but I understand they are trying to appeal to American taste. Still was a little disappointing not to be able to get a pot of tea to share, which is a staple in those countries.

Good Eats: Honey Bakery




By Tom Ciocco ?

A recent report on demographics ranked Jersey City the second most diverse city in America, so it should come as no surprise that a Russian/Uzbek/Korean eatery like Honey Bakery resides within the borders of our city. This small but sunny and inviting caf? is set back on a deep sidewalk on Bergen Avenue just off McGinley Square, and according to Arseny Popov, one of the owners, and the Russian part of this ultra multi-culti spot, it?s the only place on all of Bergen Avenue with outdoor tables and chairs for their customers. Though that might not sound like a big deal, it?s a clear testament to their optimism and belief in the future of their burgeoning neighborhood.

If you?re wondering is how a place with such disparate cuisines came together under one roof ? here?s the short story. Apparently, Uzbekistan has a large and long standing Korean community, and because Uzbekistan was once one of the republics in the former Soviet Union, and still has strong ties to Russia, Popov, who is from Novisibirsk in Siberia, met a girl named Oksana from this Korean Uzbek community in Moscow, fell in love and married her. He had no clue at the time that his new parents-in-law, Feliks and Svira Kim, would one day become his partners in a restaurant in an emerging area of Jersey City.

And though Popov and the Kims all loved to cook, none of them had any prior experience in anything close to a professional kitchen. Mr. Kim was previously a professional bass player, leading a band that played Korean folk music for the expat community in Uzbekistan. In addition, Mr. Kim had a business in Tashkent designing, building and selling stereo loudspeakers. Prior to moving to The States, Popov earned a living translating Chinese documents into Russian.

Arseny Popov one of the owners of Honey BakeryThe business began to take root a little over four years ago in a part-time rented space in Manhattan as an exclusively wholesale operation making chakchak ? a crunchy, fluffy ?noodle?, sesame, and honey sweet from the Tatar Russian food tradition. This foundational item remains a pillar of their business at both the retail and wholesale level right up to the present day. But Honey Bakery?s bill of fare doesn?t stop there. They also make to-die-for, flaky-shelled, Uzbeki-style samosas (they?re more like turnovers) in lamb and chicken versions, as well as two vegetarian options filled with pumpkin or asparagus and mushroom. Honey Bakery has an open kitchen which makes it clear that they aren?t cagey about what they do or how they do it. Arseny confided in me that only the chakchak recipe and the samosa dough are house secrets.

Honey Bakery?s approach is simple: they?re committed to making old-school, home-made food ?like your grandmother would make,? Popov said. Even the techniques and ingredients that go into making their fantastically fluffy lamb pilaf is not a closely guarded recipe, though Svira and Feliks (who does most of the cooking) teasingly say that maybe by the time Arseny reaches his 40th birthday, he?ll be able to make a perfect pilaf.

In addition to the chakchak, the lamb pilaf and the samosas, I?ve also eaten Honey Bakery?s lagman, a light and spicy beef and vegetable broth served over thick, udon-like noodles, their dainty Siberian-style meat-stuffed dumplings, as well as their subtly sweet and savory sea salt shortbread cookies, all of which were delicious. I haven?t tried them (yet), but Arseny points to the Siberian cottage cheese cookies and the guksu, a Korean noodle dish made with thin noodles in a chilled sour broth, as his favorite items on the eatery?s super-eclectic menu. He says he could eat guksu three times a day, especially in the summer?nothing short of a rave if you ask me.

Some of the goods for sale at Honey Bakery

Because Honey Bakery is not a restaurant proper (there are only a few small tables, not counting the outdoor seating in the warmer months), they do a fair segment of their business in the form of deliveries to downtown Jersey City and Hoboken, as well as to Bayonne and Union City. They also sell their specialties at street fairs, farmers? markets, and they cater as well, which brings us to their physical location?This architecturally charming stretch of Bergen Avenue, little by little is spiffing up and smoothing out, but the rough spots still scrape the Kims and Popov from time to time ? like when they recently had a 50 lb. potted rhododendron that sat outside the door dragged away at three in the afternoon. (They got it all on video, by the way.) But then to counter, Popov also told me that on another day, a new customer and neighbor just showed up at their door with the hugely magnanimous gift of the very smart-looking ?Honey Bakery? sign made from salvaged sewing machines that now hangs above the entrance of the caf?.

When they opened, Arseny admitted that they were pretty green, and they had their hits and misses. Popov and the Kims were not even sure who their customers would be, and I?d say from talking to Arseny that it?s not easy to pigeonhole them even today. Just like the multifarious neighborhood, and JC in general, Popov says he gets customers in all styles and sizes, and he thinks it?s the place?s quirky, seasonal and eclectic menu that gets all kinds of folks coming in and coming back again. And the fact that they don?t serve pork and most of their meats are Halal (done more out of Central Asian tradition than any deeply held conviction), helps to remove a couple more barriers for the still skeptical.

?We need a tree,? Popov lamented after telling me about how a recent car accident had taken out the one that had stood out front. I agree (get JC Parks and Forestry on the horn!) ? the shade is a blessing when their sidewalk caf? is full. Which is often.

Honey Bakery is located at 673 Bergen Ave. (between Duncan and Fairview) and can be reached at 201 984 0795 and on their Facebook page.

We had an asparagus and mushroom samosa, the dumplings, and a slice of carrot cake. All were quite good, the first two were cooked to order. Very casual.

Fully agree with Bill!!! Their lamb pilaf is INSANELY good, with a heavenly earthy aroma to it.

<3 Pumpkin Samosa & Mushroom Asparagus Samosa

Can't stop eating lamb pilaf...

I like their stuff, but I wish they had more entree's.

Stopped by after class last night, and I'm glad I did! I tried all 4 somosas (lamb,chicken, savory pumpkin, and mushroom w/ asparagus) and they were all delicious. Also tried out the lamb rice pilaf, which was pretty good. The owners are super nice and wish them nothing but the best.

Fabulous! Another home run from JC List! Honey Bakery could single-handed bring back McGinley Square. A msut stop if you're in the neighborhood!

I'll give a shout out to honey bakery. I stopped by there after visiting the thriftstore/flea market across the street. Really nice folks, delicious food. It's nice to see in the neighborhood and deserves to be supported.

Honey Bakery is amazing. High quality, consistent, delicious. I have not tried their satellite down at Grove Street, but their home court on Bergen Ave is da bomb. Completely beyond any of the downtown fancy bakeries.

I'm so happy that they're just around the corner from me! Their dried fruit pilaf and eggplant salad makes for the only decent vegetarian meal I can get around here that isn't Indian, and it's truly delicious. Their samosas are also very good.

As for the chak-chak, I refer to it as "crack-crack". They sometimes have chocolate dipped slices, which is a bit like gilding the lily.

We got one of their "water-baked" cheesecakes and it was delish - very good.

With all the attention on JC list going to the new french bakery opening downtown, this past weekend I decided to check out Honey Bakery located here in uptown which I first read about on JC List.
After all, notable food offerings in downtown JC are quite common but the options uptown are more rare and when one is found, I would like to help encourage them with my patronage.
I was very happy with what I found. I tried a lamb samosa and a mushroom and asparagus samosa which were terrific. I also tried there signature item, the chak-chak made with honey and sesame. I brought a whole one home with me and could not stop nibbling on it all night.

The service was friendly and helpful. When I asked about a pastry they offered me a sample. It was the cream cheese cookie. I did not try it until I got home but I will definitely be going back for more!

I went for the first time yesterday - fantastic!

We love Honey Bakery! Arsenal and the entire family are wonderful!

I want to add my support for Honey Bakery! I got to try some of their food this past Friday at their stand in the Grove Street Plaza. The lady running the stand was super sweet and friendly and allowed people to have mini samples of the hot food items. I ended up buying a large container of their lamb pilaf rice (AMAZING, and a good deal at $6) and a lamb samosa (very good, and stuffed with lamb meat, $4). I didn't get any sweets, but I intend to go by their shop sometime soon to pick some up. I asked her if they would be back at the Plaza and she did indicate they would be there this week at the Monday and Thursday events. Good food, with a smile. I hope they succeed and I wish them the best.

Love this place! I'm a newbie and would describe their whole menu, too, if I could speak Russian.
My husband bought Downtwon one of their sweet potato samosa's. Yummy!
I stopped at their Bergen Ave location for some pastries to go and ended up staying and talking with one owner, Arseny Popov, who is very friendly and a sweet woman who works there, Trish Szymanski. They were preparing Thanksgiving Dinner for the neighborhood.
This is a great little shop!

I love this place! Uzbek food, great pastries, good coffee, and Arseny always seems to be trying new things. Full disclosure, I live around the corner so I REALLY want this place to thrive. But I can't imagine it won't. It's a unique place witg character and charm, the food is fantastic and they are involved with the neighborhood. If you haven't been yet, stop by!

I've picked up dinner there a couple times in the last few weeks - yum! Carrot salad, lagman (hearty soup w/ noodles), pilaf, samosas - excellent stuff and a good value.
Very nice vibe in their Bergen Ave shop, too - check it out!

Their food is really delicious. The samosas really are tops. To the poster who asked about tables (sorry I forget your name) - their shop is really tiny, but I think they do have one or two little cafe tables, and when the weather is nice they put a few tables on the patio outside. It's more takeout oriented. But they have nice coffee, and the people there are really friendly and fun to talk to, so if it's not too crowded you can grab a little table and chill.

I tried the lamb samosa a couple of weeks ago at the VVP Saturday market. Oh so good. Was disappointed they did not have any this week, so I bought the Borsch instead. Also good. But those lamb samosas!

I like their chak-chak. It's sort of like a giant rice krispie treat made of fried noodles and honey? We'd never had it before and brought it to a party... once people figured out how to eat it it was very popular.

Thanks for telling us about this place. Do they have any tables there? I might want to drop by for lunch.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/honey-bakery-jersey-city

I'm not connected to the owner, but I can say that Honey Bakery is excellent. They have the cutest shop in McGinley Square and wonderful samosas, quiches, and desserts. The prices are very reasonable, too. They've been selling their stuff at the Hamilton Park farmer's market. That's how I discovered them.

Thank you, first-time poster who has absolutely no connection with the Honey Bakery owners, but knows the menu by heart. We'll be sure to try it out.

Honey Bakery
673 Bergen Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07304
201-238-3732

http://goo.gl/maps/Oj5uv

Just tried Honey Bakery at the grove st. path fridays, but went and got more stuff at their McGinley Square location today--and they are awesome~!

uzbek specialties...and WONDERFUL fluffy cheesecake and napoleon. uszbeki samosas, which are puff pastry around homemade fillings like lamb, pumpkin, asparagus/mushroom. I want to go back and try their soup.

so far everything i've tried has been excellent. I want this place to stay in business!!!