Saturday night dinner preshow at izod center

[chowfun]

I am taking my two adventurous eating and music appreciating kids to the izod center to see Bruce Springsteen tomorrow night. We are looking for an early dinner, late afternoon or very early evening, nothing fancy, but something really good. My sister and adventurous eater who has a touchy system when it comes to very rich or very spicy foods will be with us (so unfortunately Thai and Mexican are likely out).

The Portuguese restaurants in Newark sound interesting if anyone has any specific recommendations. I would appreciate all suggestions for any type of cuisine.

Thank you.

[marge201]

I am taking my two adventurous eating and music appreciating kids to the izod center to see Bruce Springsteen tomorrow night.

←

First of all, JEALOUS!!

Second of all, sounds like you have 2 terrific kids who are open to the world. Congratulations!!

I've eaten in Don Pepe once and loved it. The chips were the best and after pigging out on those, dessert is all I need. We had the paela and it was great. Had tons of leftovers, which of course is out of the question for you tomorrow night.

Just get one dish and plenty of chips and dessert and you'll be all set for a great concert. HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING!

[Curlz]

Tough call...the Ironbound is a great place to go food-wise, but I wouldn't exactly call it LIGHT! But if you're going, I'd hit Seabras Marisqueira and TRY to eat on the lighter side. Just know that they are sloooow in serving sometimes, so allow plenty of time. Casa Vasca is another favorite, but again, I think that's too heavy for a pre-concert meal--but that's me.

Without knowing where you're coming from, here are a few other ideas:

Queen Regina Margherita brick oven pizza in Nutley is tasty and easy on/off of Rt 21 (and just off of Rt 3), but it's also pretty standard Italian menu; not quite adventurous.

Haven't been yet, but I've been wanting to try Sabor Peru in Rutherford, which is less than a mile in off of Rt 3... And it's right around the corner from Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, which has some damn good cupcakes!

La Estrella del Caribe sits on the service road in Secaucus on Rt 3, EAST of the Meadowlands; but then you can do the ridiculous loop-de-loop to u-turn and approach the Izod Ctr from the other direction... Terrific Dominican (iirc?) food; rice, beans, seafood, ropa vieja, etc.

Have you been to Chengdu 1 in Cedar Grove or (the unrelated) Chengdu 23 near Willowbrook Mall? Again, depending upon where you're coming from, sis with the food issues can eat plain food while the rest of you try some authentic Sichuan!

Let us know if you're married to the idea of the Ironbound or if we can suggest other areas.

[chowfun]

Thanks for the recommendations so far. One more twist to the requirements is that one person in the party is in a wheelchair so I am busy calling these places to see if they are accessible.

[jtphjl]

I love Seabras Marisqueira and Casa Vasa in Newark HOWEVER not with a wheel chair! My new favorite place for OUTSTANDING sangria and delicious array of tapas - wheel chair accessible (Restaurant and bathrooms!!!) is :Mompou Tapas Bar & Lounge 77 Ferry St, Newark, NJ ((973) 578-8114). THe atmosphere is festive, the staff professional, the options limitless!