shmaylor ham/egg sandy is a great brunch dish with potato side. check it out.

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that reminds me, what is shmaylor ham?

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that reminds me, what is shmaylor ham?[/quote]

hey cory - schmaylor ham is our take on taylor ham. we had the folks over at the meat hook in brooklyn (http://the-meathook.com/) make it and we think they did a pretty awesome job (considering they're in new york city).

Mother's Day dinner --- still some coordination issues in the kitchen as our third appetizer (four people sharing) came out with our main course.....but, man, it was worth the wait. The scallops are amazing...and the mussels ... wow.

Everything was delicious. The place was packed. I do wonder, however, if opening the doors for dinner at 6 pm -- and having the place fill up immediately -- puts too much pressure on the kitchen. Everyone is ordering at the same time -- almost like a first sitting on a cruise.

But again -- Happy Mother's Day to me -- the meal was fantastic.

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I kind of guessed it had something to do with taylor ham by the name, so again... what is schmaylor ham? how's it different than regular taylor ham?

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Ah, Taylor Ham. Trenton's gift to the world.

I think they did answer the question, sounds like they asked these guys in Brooklyn to reproduce it (probably using better quality ingredients) and since it's not technically "Taylor Ham" changed the name slightly.

Wondering if 30 Acres tried to source their charcuterie (ah, gentrification) thru Europa. If Europa didn't make the cut, I wonder why.

Coincy, wouldn't it make sense to ask them directly????

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Only if Europa has a wholesale division selling to other retailers otherwise it makes no sense for them to pay the same price you pay.

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yeah it's pretty f'in good. would be interested to do a head to head comparison against some of the taylor products (or other purveyors of the mighty roll), to get a better sense of meathook actually did.

Anyway, can see that becoming a staple of my weekend diet.

so is it taylor ham made by someone else or taylor ham with different ingredients? there's a difference.

Taylor is a brand, pork roll is the product.

There are other brands (not many these days), but Taylor is the biggest.

We finally had a chance to eat here, and loved it. Super friendly staff. Wonderful food -- my husband and I shared a mussels appetizer (among the most tender mussels I've had) and the poussin entree with the asparagus side. The portions were perfect for a weeknight meal. We even had a small amount of leftovers. I found the mussel broth to be a tiny bit too salty (although my husband disagreed), but otherwise thought everything was perfect. I can't wait to go back!

Has anyone been to this place? Opinion? I like the BYOB but it is closed on Sundays and has no outdoor space. Also, the name would seem to imply they serve a lot of meat but it seems seafood heavy. Thoughts

Search for another thread on this forum, it has already been extensively covered.

I can tell you several things. First the name "Thirty Acres" has nothing to do with the cuisine, it's a reference to an arena that was put up for a boxing match early last century in Jersey City. Second, the chef worked for the Momofuku chain of restaurants in New York City. Third, while the individual items we had were pretty good, I found the menu very limiting and we were hard pressed to find things we wanted to eat when we ate there. Based on many things I had read on this forum, I was eagerly anticipating our dinner there. I feel no compelling reason to return. JMHO.

I ate here for the first time (shame on me) since its opening, last evening (Sat night). I'd say it's definitely a welcome addition to the neighborhood. I don't envision this being the kind of place you'd eat at more than once or twice per month, though that's certainly okay. The food was absolutely excellent - every bite was teeming with flavor. Contrary to what others have said, I had no issues with the portions brought to the table. The waitress clearly explained from the onset that the items on the menu are meant to be shared, and most tables order a few, where as the two "entrees" are just that.

My biggest issue with the restaurant is that they were blasting 80's music rather loud in conjunction with the acoustics of the restaurant. When the tables are packed and everyone is chatting away, it's hard to hear what your neighbor is saying when Poison's "Something To Believe In" is resonating through the speakers. The other issue is, given they don't accept reservations for parties under five, you have to be really flexible in terms of time allotted to dinner, if you want to eat there during peak times.

But I'd certainly go, again, but might attempt to go during the week, instead.

Innovations, Both Raw and Cooked
A Review of Thirty Acres, in Jersey City

The New York Times
By FRAN SCHUMER
Published: June 22, 2012

JUST when I thought I had experienced almost everything the restaurant scene had to offer, I walked into a renovated pizzeria in Jersey City and ordered a spicy barbecued squid salad. The pickled pearl onions, jalapeño peppers and fresh, bright cilantro seemed to pop in my mouth, to set off intensifying waves of flavor. Here was a kind of cuisine I had never tasted in New Jersey.

Thirty Acres is the source of the squid salad and other innovative dishes prepared by Kevin Pemoulie, who opened the restaurant with his wife, Alex, in April. During the previous 10 years, he had worked with the masters. From Akhtar Nawab at Craftbar, he learned to rely on seasonal and mostly local ingredients, he explained during a telephone interview after my visits. From David Chang at Momofuku Noodle Bar, where Mr. Pemoulie was chef de cuisine for almost five years, he learned to be daring. Instead of merely sautéing his greens in olive oil, he mixes them with mustard seeds he pickles and tops them with sweet and crispy onions, a remarkable ingredient he gets in plastic bags from the Pakistani grocer around the block. The results are rousing. I could eat bowlfuls of these greens.

His other vegetable combinations are even more brazen. Broccoli, crisp and juicy from having been charred, raw, on the griddle top, arrives with hon shimeji mushrooms and — surprisingly — chicken livers puréed with cognac. They turned this simple dish into a deeply satisfying one. Now I want chicken livers with all my vegetables.

The atmosphere inside Thirty Acres is as lively as the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood around it, and the décor is as authentically Jersey City. The base of the bar, for example, is constructed of wooden beams from an old local brownstone. It’s an exciting room to be in, alive with the energy of an enterprise that is young but already knows it is going to be successful. Even the ever-changing menu at Thirty Acres is unconventional. Instead of the usual appetizer, salad and entree categories, it features — in various sizes — platters of cooked and raw ingredients, with a heavy emphasis on vegetables and fish.

Two of the raw fish dishes on the menu surpassed even the pleasures of sushi. The Arctic char features slices of lightly cured fish mixed with trout roe, jewel-like cubes of pickles and sesame seeds pulverized with bits of Balthazar rye bread, all served beside a purée of beets and goat cheese. Such a hodgepodge, yet the ingredients only intensify, rather than detract from, the fish, which is rich, slightly salty and luxurious.

The other great raw appetizer is the sea scallop marinated in lime vinaigrette and Cholula, a commercial hot sauce. Before you taste the tiny flecks of gold illuminating the scallop, you’re likely to mistake them for some kind of roe. They are bits of country ham, shipped from Tennessee, dried overnight in an oven and then grated over the scallop. They give the dish a haunting, slightly smoky flavor. And what a novelty — a plate of raw fish that doesn’t contain soy sauce.

The only species of pasta served is cavatelli, and it is perfect: soft and buttery and, because of its density, more fun to eat than other kinds of pasta. I especially liked it with grilled asparagus and floppy, slippery oyster mushrooms. Another, heartier dish is Mr. Pemoulie’s beautiful roasted trout, its interior filled with lemon slices and whole fronds of lemon thyme. The fish is fine on its own, but it is irresistible paired with lardons of bacon; we dug for them among the glazed baby turnips and onions as if they were diamonds. The poussin, roasted so that the skin is crispy and the meat is juicy, offers other treasures: fingerling potatoes cooked in duck fat and hearty hen-of-the-woods mushrooms.

Mr. Pemoulie mixes ingredients and takes chances, but sometimes his playfulness backfires. A bowl of fingerling potatoes meant to evoke the experience of eating a chili dog at a baseball game misses the vital ingredient — the excitement of the game. Without it, the dish is just chili. And although I love his perfectly cooked sweetbreads, which are crisp and creamy, the purée of white Spanish anchovies meant to dress them up overwhelms them. All I tasted was anchovy.

“There’s something a little dictatorial about offering just that one dessert,” my friend Alice said at the end of our visit. I disagree. The lemony zing of the lone dessert, “Kevin’s mom’s lemon bars,” with their rich and buttery crust, is the perfect note on which to end a meal that includes so many explosively exciting dishes. The only more appropriate ending to a meal at Thirty Acres would be fireworks.

Thirty Acres
500 Jersey Avenue
Jersey City
(201) 435-3100
thirtyacres.tumblr.com

We ate there Saturday night, after this review was on the Times on line but before it hit paper. Outstanding meal. A chicken live mousse app special and pork chop entree, and a second dessert. We left happy. Yes, the accoustics stink but every bite was a treat. Another vote for the greens with mustard seeds.

I went there and I was not that impressed with the food. The staff was very pleasant so I'll go back at some point, hoping that the food is awesome. The food seemed bland but maybe it was the gin playing games with my palate or something.

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I guess the reporter hasn't eaten in NJ too often. I agree the food is good, but it's hardly the most amazing place in NJ. And why can't they review anything in NJ without some crack about our quality of life?

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They're serving gin now? At a BYOB? I haven't had a single bland dish there. If anything, perhaps one too many flavors dancing about. But bland hasn't been an adjective that has ever come to mind. What dishes did you try?

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It's definitely ONE of the most amazing places. I'm thrilled to have this in my backyard and hope more of these types of restaurants come to the area.

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i don't think that was the intention at all. point is: can you compare this style of food to anything else in Jersey? I am not going to claim to know the answer, but i do know i have not seen it anywhere else. and that's not a slight... think about it: he is coming from the Momofuku team, which was a new style IN NY CITY not long ago. Should it be surprising that it is new in Jersey now?

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I disagree. And I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason they wrote the piece was his Momofuku connection. NYers have been falling all over that franchise for years.

Who cares. Food is good. Nice to have new restaurant that is good in our neck of the woods.

Went recently for dinner....for the third time. Everything we have eaten there has been great. My only complaint would be that there could be a couple more entree choices or they could be switched out more often. Regardless, that still won't keep me from going back. Looking forward to trying brunch as well.

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an interesting point.

so anyone that reviews this spot is doing so because of the momo connection? or just NY publications? and what's wrong with tracking a chef who makes a move from a "high profile" spot? isn't that the point of food journalism.

Thirty Acres Brings Momofuku-Style Fare to Jersey: Review

By Ryan Sutton - Nov 21, 2012
Bloomberg

Is Jersey City the new Brooklyn, a place to savor creative food for a few dollars less?

That’s the question one might ask when gazing out the giant windows of Thirty Acres, a restaurant that requires patrons to cross not the East River but the Hudson, to a place whose tree- lined and townhouse-studded streets evoke Carroll Gardens.

If only the F-train to Brooklyn were as quick as the PATH.

At Thirty Acres sweet, raw scallops are dressed in jalapeno puree. The sting on the tongue is followed by soothing cilantro. Trout roe pop, releasing their oily salts. Crunchy pumpkin seeds add a hint of sweetness. This dish wouldn’t be out of place at Per Se. Cost: $12.

Or try corned beef slicked with maple syrup, an occasional special that wouldn’t be out of place at your favorite diner.

This highbrow-lowbrow tightrope act is the brilliant work of ex-Momofuku Noodle Bar chef Kevin Pemoulie and his wife, Alex. They opened Thirty Acres nearly a year ago with the help of Kickstarter funds. They hoped to raise $10,000; they ended up with over $18,000.

The bad news is that Thirty Acres lost $15,000 to $20,000 in ingredients and income to Sandy-related power outages.

Hickory Quail

So just as we frequent the beleaguered restaurants of lower Manhattan in the wake of the hurricane, we can do the same for Jersey. Thirty Acres is hardly hardship duty. Order the $16 quail. Pemoulie smokes the bird over hickory, imparting a gentle sweetness. Then he ups the ante with a swath of tart cranberry sauce and a small mound of walnut bread pudding.

It’s one of just 17 items on the menu; such are the constraints of a small, 40-seat restaurant. There are no reservations for small parties, no sound absorbing linens, no formal bread service. The upside is that the menu isn’t littered with fancy pizzas, fish tacos or large-format items coyly priced “for two.”

No steaks, either. Pemoulie sears gargantuan, beef-like blocks of duck breast ($27), as filling as beef with a hint of game and a roundhouse kick of cumin.

Instead of risotto, we get spelt ($17), a quinoa-like grain that acts as a springboard for pancetta and sea urchin.

Brown Bag

Pemoulie loves intense flavors. He jolts the palate with the gentle pain of heat throughout your meal. Oysters (never too cold, never messily shucked), are paired with a dollop of beet cocktail sauce. Your nose begins to run. Cod collar ($12) is a fatty, sticky slice of fish that soaks up salty soy and more jalepeno.

Braised chuck flap, meltingly tender, is finished with a generous shaving of sinus-clearing fresh horseradish ($27).

And cavatelli ($14) are jazzed with so many chilies you might think you’re in a Sichuan restaurant. You’re reaching for a tissue but the fire never overwhelms the dish’s bitter broccoli and fragrant mint.

The chef also knows how to use neutral ingredients to heighten flavors. Cod steamed in cabbage is a subtle vehicle for Polish sausage. Arctic char ($26) is pretty much just that, a slab of medium rare fish with no bells or whistles. Balance is respected.

Well, most of the time. Baked clams are just a pile of dry breadcrumbs atop the bivalves ($13). And neither brioche nor cranberries can balance the off-putting tang of chicken liver pate.

A liquor license can run as much as $150,000 in this town (Pemoulie hopes to acquire one in the new year), so for now, bring your own.

Finish with a cup of strong coffee, dig into tart apple crisp and stare at the quiet streets. Welcome to the sixth borough.

Rating: **1/2

The Bloomberg Questions

Price: All dishes $27 or less.

Sound Level: Shouty, sometimes over 80 when full.

Date Place: Canoodling happens at the bar.

Special Feature: Check Thirty Acres’s tumblr for specials.

Inside Tip: Avoid too-sweet sweet potato tortellini.

Back on My Own Dime: You bet.

Thirty Acres is at 500 Jersey Ave., Jersey City. Information: +1-201-435-3100 or http://thirtyacres.tumblr.com

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11 ... are-to-jersey-review.html

So is 2.5 stars means it's amazing???? Sounds average to me. I haven't been yet so can't comment on the food.
My question is does the place have a sign yet? I drive right past it & have never seen a sign or many people there.