Bloomfield

Read more about the article Bloomfield Cuban

Bloomfield Cuban

Havana Sandwich Cafe, originally uploaded by bloomfieldguy.

When we restarted our search for a house in Bloomfield earlier this year, we made an effort to explore some of the restaurants here and in the surrounding area (trans: Montclair) and were delighted to come across a solid assortment to choose from, both in price and cuisine, and so far have only experienced a handful of duds, including the State Street Grill (overpriced, glorified diner), Nevada Diner (bland diner food) and Stamna (beautiful Greek decor; bland, uninspired food).

Among the places we’ve enjoyed are Aki (unpretentious sushi in a relaxed setting), Vinnie’s Pizzeria and Restaurant (solid Italian food with decent pizza), Señorita’s (great Mexican food and margaritas), and even the Glenwood Diner (solid breakfast) and the IHOP on Bloomfield Avenue (great off-menu specials with a southern twist; kids eat free Mon-Fri evenings), next to Watsessing Park. Our favorite to-date, though, has been Cuban Pete’s in Montclair, a high-energy restaurant that combines authentic Cuban food with a sense of style and atmosphere that avoids feeling like a chain.

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Read more about the article East Orange is for…lovers?

East Orange is for…lovers?

Reddog n Neenee, originally uploaded by Nudnik N Da Hood.

According to CNNMoney it is, ranking it at #21 of the 25 places that have the highest percentage of singles, and an over-30 scene. Hoboken is ranked #1 (ugh), while Newark is #20. (Hat tip to the Barista.)

Interestingly, this is the same East Orange that shares Bloomfield’s southwest border and, every step of the way through our homebuying process, was referred to negatively by, well, just about everybody! (Check the Barista’s comment section for a representative selection of bons mots.)

The worst was the security system sales rep (from Brinks, I think) who drove up the day we were moving in and chatted us up while pitching his services.

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Read more about the article Cruising the Center

Cruising the Center

Sweet Rides, originally uploaded by bloomfieldguy.

The Bloomfield Center Alliance sponsors two events in the summer that nicely represent one of the more appealing differences between living in the sortaburbs and living in the City: Cruise Night and the Farmer’s Market. While a Farmer’s Market isn’t terribly unique — I haven’t visited yet, but after walking through Venner “Park” last night, I don’t imagine ours is terribly big — the central location of both events makes for a nice community-building opportunity in a relatively small town like Bloomfield.

If it were about 5 degrees cooler when we headed uptown for Cruise Night last night, we would have walked there, but instead we drove — those carbon offsets alleviating a bit of the guilt — parked on the south end of the Glenwood/Broad Street intersection, and walked the two block stretch of classic (and not-so-classic) cars on display. There were approx. 25 cars there and at least as many people milling around them, checking them out and talking to their owners.

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Read more about the article Please Keep Out of Water

Please Keep Out of Water

Please Keep Out of Water, originally uploaded by bloomfieldguy. This seemingly purposeful collection of bottles has been sitting on the bank of the, um, creek (?) in Watsessing Park for a couple of days now. They were IN the water on Monday. Considering this creek is presumably one of the reasons we have to pay an extra $2k/year for flood insurance, it's nice that all of the trash gets pulled out before it can back up a drain somewhere down the line, but is it that much more work to bag it and dump it properly?

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Read more about the article Going Local

Going Local

Going Local, originally uploaded by bloomfieldguy.

I picked up the local paper, The Star-Ledger, today instead of the Daily News for the first time. While I prefer the tabloid format over broadsheet, esp. on the train, I want to have a better appreciation for what’s going on in and around my new hometown. The Essex County section’s feature on the Family Day Nursery’s new learning garden was exactly the kind of local story I love to read about, but the quality and focus of their sports coverage will ultimately dictate whether or not it supplants the News as my morning read.

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Read more about the article Bloomfield Station

Bloomfield Station

This is the Bloomfield station where I catch the train into the City every day. It's a shame that this part of it is in such a state of disrepair -- especially considering the other side just got a nice facelift -- but politics have apparently gotten in the way of its restoration and the surrounding area's revitalization. It would be nice to see a development plan that balances local flavor with notable franchises, a small movie theater and a good selection of restaurants because I'd rather not drive up to Montclair whenever we want to find something new and…

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Read more about the article Breaking Ground

Breaking Ground

Bloomfieldguy

There are 8 million stories in the naked city, plus another 2-3 million, give or take, if you count the transplants who still commute in for work from the surrounding cities and towns in Long Island, Connecticut and, yes, New Jersey.

From Bloomberg to Bloomfield is my story, a native New Yorker on his third go-round living in the Garden State, now as a first-time homeowner in the town of Bloomfield, which is in Essex County, due West of the Lincoln Tunnel and just north of Newark and East Orange, which are effectively the Bronx to Bloomfield’s Mt. Vernon, the former being where I’m from originally, the latter where I lived for most of my high school years.

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