Tag: restaurants

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Reader says Ridgewood’s CBD has become the largest open air food court in Bergen County

CBD ridgewood ArtChick

photo by ArtChick

Ridgewood’s CBD has become the largest open air food court in Bergen County. We should embrace that and close Ridgewood Ave between Broad and Maple and make it a walking mall like Washington Street in Cape May, Main Street Charlottesville, Pearl Street Boulder, 4th Street Louisville, the list goes on. Sure NJ Transit bus people may complain, but fix that with a one-way (west obviously) Dayton Street. Changes like this would drive improvements on Franklin (while simplifying the intersections at Chestnut, Oak, Walnut and Cottage Place). It would push parking (or at least parking access) to the perimeter of that space and allow for a real walking village with diverse shops and restaurants to flourish. It would also make The Greek’s planters a non-issue! Who’s with me?

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Village Council’s Plan to get Ridgewood CBD employees away from the “prime spots” up near the restaurants is a great one

parking CBD
January 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council is well aware that there is ample parking in town and they are simply trying to redistribute the cars.  This is a sensible solution instead of putting up an unneeded, unsightly, unwanted and unaffordable parking garage.

The plan to get CBD employees away from the “prime spots” up near the restaurants is a great one.  However, it does seem that there might be too many CBD-Employees spots set aside, based on these photos.  There was a ton of empty spaces for them Monday mid-morning and again mid-afternoon.  Perhaps the number will need to be reduced.  There was also ample parking available in the lots as well as on street for shoppers and diners.

Kudos to the VC for working toward resolving this.  I am confident that they will be monitoring the ebb and flow of open parking spaces in the weeks ahead, and probably adjusting things as needed.  But it is more and more obvious that a massive garage is not needed and it never was.

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Council Majority Continues to Push Restaurants at the expense of the Merchants in Ridgewood

parking_enforcement_theridgewoodblog
March 3,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Council Majority starting to cater to the Chamber of Commerce by changing the hour from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m.and free parking on Saturday night. That is an estimated loss in revenue $ 50,000. $50,000 a year for 25 years is 1.25 Million.The council majority used the excused it was for the church goers on Saturday. The Village Manager called lowering the meter times and free Saturday night parking . ” A mere bag of shells”.

So our main question is if the garage is in fact a boost for local merchants in  the Central Business District , how does raising meter rates from .75 to $1.00 and adding free parking at night when most are closed help any merchants in Ridgewood ???
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Ridgewood Restaurant Week Starts Tomorrow !

Sakura_Bana_ Restaurant1_theridgewoodblog
Restaurant Week 2016!
Sun, January 17, 2016 – Thu, January 21, 2016
Time: 12:00 PM
See the list of Restaurants below, All through Ridgewood
2016 Restaurant Week in Ridgewood is Back!

What a great way to start the New Year.

A Year Never Tasted So Good!
Back by popular demand – RESTAURANT WEEK 2016

What a great way to start the New Year
Sunday – Thursday January 17-21
And January 24-28
Restaurant Week in Ridgewood – Fine Dining at $25.16

Each chef is preparing a tantalizing 3-course, prix-fixe menu at $25.16. Please add a wine that will enhance the cuisine.

Call the restaurant for selections.

Fish Urban Dining
201-857-5151

It’s Greek to Me
201-612-2600

LaTour, A French-American Grill
201-445-5056

Mediterraneo Restaurant
201-447-0022

Memoire Restaurant
201-857-8899

Novo Mediterranean
201-444-4910

Park West Tavern & Loft
201-445-5400

Pearl Restaurant
201-857-5100

Planet Swirl FRO-Yo & Grill
201-857-4455

Raymond’s
201-445-5125

ROOTS Steakhouse
201-444-1922

Sakura-Bana Japanese
201-447-6525

The Office Beer Bar & Grill
201-652-1070

The Sensible Fork
201-857-8686

Village Green Restaurant
201-445-2914

Catering
Chestnut Catering
201-445-3031

From Scratch Ridgewood
201-981-8606

Other Offerings

Ben & Jerry’s
201-689-1122

Carlo’s Bakershop
201-962-9080

Super Cellars Fine Wines & Marketplace
201-444-0012

The Wine Seller
201-444-3300

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North Jersey restaurants offer special dinners to ring in the New Year

Picnic on the Square

DECEMBER 30, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD

Ring in the new year with a scrumptious meal. The following are just some of the restaurants going all out to satisfy palates in the final moments of 2015:

Picnic on the Square

The Ridgewood restaurant is celebrating New Year’s with a loaded prix-fixe menu. The meal includes a snack plate to start followed by salad, appetizer, entrée and dessert courses. This year’s celebration features an all-new menu crafted by chef Christine Nunn and a complimentary champagne toast. Other than the toast, the meal is BYOB. $85 per person, 26 Wilsey Square 201-444-4001; picniconthesquare.com.

https://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/north-jersey-restaurants-offer-special-dinners-to-ring-in-the-new-year-1.1482159

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Vaughn Crenshaw of Pearl Restaurant in Ridgewood on how he evaluates a restaurant

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APRIL 8, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD

Vaughn Crenshaw

Pearl Restaurant, Ridgewood

When he was 13, Vaughn Crenshaw was living out of a car in the streets of Paterson. Today, the 29-year-old is executive chef at Pearl Restaurant in Ridgewood.

Crenshaw has an associate’s degree in culinary arts and a bachelor’s in food service management, both from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. He has cooked at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack, the Brick House Inn in Wyckoff, Jacksonville in Paterson, Mocha Bleu in Teaneck, and Fort Lee’s Khloe Bistrot before arriving at Pearl in January 2013.

The Hackensack resident also appeared on the Food Network show “Chopped” in 2012; he made it to the entrée round before he was “chopped.”

Here, he tells how he evaluates a restaurant, and the strangest customer request ever.

How I evaluate a restaurant: I evaluate them on a 1-10 scale that has to do with the greeting, the curb appeal and the setting in the dining room; that’s what’s going to tell me if I’m going into another typical old-world restaurant where there’s no lively, electric energy. I also evaluate it by the clientele — the clients become a reflection of ownership.

https://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/vaughn-crenshaw-of-pearl-restaurant-in-ridgewood-on-how-he-evaluates-a-restaurant-1.1304526

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Small-plates restaurant Finca is now open in Ridgewood

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Small-plates restaurant Finca is now open in Ridgewood

JANUARY 29, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015, 1:20 AM
THE RECORD

NOW OPEN

Finca

20 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood

201-444-1199; fincanj.com

* How it began: Marcelo Czernizer is no stranger to the Ridgewood restaurant scene. In addition to having owned The Stable, Finca’s prior incarnation, the Hillsdale resident owns Cravings Tapas Bistro, which is just across the railroad tracks on Wilsey Square. He closed The Stable in October and remodeled for three months before reopening two weeks ago as Finca, which means “estate” in Spanish.

For Finca, Czernizer jettisoned The Stable’s rodizio-style menu in favor of a selection of small-plate “global tapas,” which run the gamut from crab cakes and charred octopus to skirt steaks and shrimp tempura.

The two restaurants are differentiated by their size (Cravings has about 60 seats; Finca more than 100) and their décor (Cravings is modern and upbeat; Finca a calmer, statelier spot).

https://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/small-plates-restaurant-finca-is-now-open-in-ridgewood-1.1260740