Nutley Advice Wanted

[Rachel Perlow]

Our best friends just moved out of NYC into a new townhouse in Nutley, near the border of Clifton by Rt. 3. This is an area with which we are almost entirely unfamiliar (the only place we know about in Nutley is the Vietnamese restaurant, Little Saigon, on Franklin). In fact last night we drove about a half-hour away to Hunan Cottage because we didn't know where else to go with six adults and a baby!

Recommendations for or warnings against restaurants in any type of cuisine welcome!

(Edited by RPerlow at 9:30 am on Jan. 2, 2002)

[Rosie]

Petit Cafe serves dinner on Fri. and Sat. nights. BYO

In Montclair--which is very close to Nutley we like Corso 98 and Blue Sky Cafe.

[tommy]

scuttlebutt's is pretty darned good, and bizarre at the same time.

the franklin steakhouse has decent steaks and a pub atmosphere.  the steaks are probably a step above arthur's, which may or may not sound good depending on your opinion of arthur's.  i find the sandwiches and salads very good for lunch.  lots of beer and hot sauces and TVs as well.

Dish in passaic park is (well, was the last time i was there) very good.  

the High Street Brewery in nutley is basically a pub, but has good bar pies.

as rosie says, montclair is filled with reasonable choices.

[walter maier]

I've heard tell of a Russian place in Nutley called Peter the Great, which I think is across the street from Little Saigon on Franklin Avenue.  But that's about all I know.

[Rachel Perlow]

I've seen it but never been inside. Third hand advice was that it is unremarkable. Has anyone actually eaten there?

[Rail Paul]

Rutt's Hutt is just over the border in Clifton. I think River Road goes right past it.

Great hot dogs, very 1950s (real 1950s, not imagined) atmosphere. Village Gourmet in Rutherford is only a few minutes away. Moving up the ladder, Cafe Matisse in Rutherford, Park & Orchard in East Rutherford are also within 10 minutes.

[Rosie]

Paisano's is also in Rutherford. BYO

[tommy]

and that harolds NY deli place is in lyndhurst, about 10 minutes away.  huge sandwiches and pickle bar, etc.

[Rail Paul]

Tommy -

where's the Harold's NY in Lyndhurst? I know of the location in Parsippany, but Lyndhurst would be a big plus

Thanks

Paul

[nizza]

In Clifton, I would suggest the following:

For Spanish  -  Valencia's - it is just past the circle by Rowe Manse Emporium and next to Home Depot on Bloomfield Avenue.  They have excellent Spanish-Portugese food.

For Italian - almost right across the street from Valencia

is Gigi's (the same street the Allwood Bakery is on which is Market Street).  It's a pizza place with a small restaurant which is very good.

For Chinese - The China Garden on Main Avenue (right down the road from Costco - and do not stop at the new Chinese buffet on the corner - where Kracker's was - it is terrible).  China Garden has come back and now has a very large number of Asian diners - in fact their blackboard specials are written in Chinese for those that know.

In Nutley - I've heard good things about a fairly new place I think it's called La Papillon - right across from Capablo's fruit basket place - again on Main Avenue going into Nutley.

For a diner - The Tick Tock on Rt 3 West is still good.

Pizza in Nutley/Belleville -  not far from the Lyndhurst bridge/Washington Avenue intersection is Ritacco Brothers - the last time I was there it was pretty good.

For a Charlie Brown's - Clifton has one on Van Houten and it's usually very good during the week.  Sometimes on the weekends they slip.

There is a pub on Lakeview Ave called Harp n' Bard that serves very good Irish pub food such as Corned Beef and Cabbage, Sheppard's Pie, etc. and they have entertainment on the weekends.

There is also a very good little Italian restaurant on Broad Street in Bloomfield called Angelo's.  They have large portions of good food and have been consistent whether it's a weeknight or weekend.

For Bakeries - the Styretown Bakery in the strip mall with Rowe Manse and the Allwood Bakery mentioned above.

Hope this is of some help to your friends.

For Rail Paul - Harrold's is located in the Quality Inn that is opposite the Novatel Hotel and down the street from Medevial Times.    But, if you are looking for the real deal drive out Rt 17 North to Fairlawn and over to the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock (about a 20 minute ride from Lyndhurst).

[tommy]

Quote: from nizza on 11:00 pm on Jan. 2, 2002

For Rail Paul - Harrold's is located in the Quality Inn that is opposite the Novatel Hotel and down the street from Medevial Times.    But, if you are looking for the real deal drive out Rt 17 North to Fairlawn and over to the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock (about a 20 minute ride from Lyndhurst).

i appreciate both of these places on different levels, and for different reasons.  it might be unfair to compare the two (i don't think harold's claims to be jewish as much as "new york" - whatever *that* is).  so, try both!

kosher nosh website

Harold's New York Deli

10 Polito Ave

Lyndhurst, NJ 07071

(201) 935-2600

there's also a "new york deli" in a hotel on rt 17 south near the paramus area.  can't find it on the internet though.

[walter maier]

A friend swears by Terrazza in Nutley on Franklin Ave.  http://www.terrazza.net   I've never been there, but he strongly recommended it.

[tommy]

Quote: from walter maier on 12:54 pm on Jan. 3, 2002

A friend swears by Terrazza in Nutley on Franklin Ave.  http://www.terrazza.net   I've never been there, but he strongly recommended it.

same owners as the Franklin Steakhouse, which is across the street.  my friends dig it as well.  i don't think it's fine dining necessarily, but they enjoy it for a reasonable and decent dinner.  also, if you're waiting for a table at the Steakhouse, you can wait at terrazza, which is a little more quiet, less packed, and has wines that you might actually want to drink.  they'll call over to terrazza's when your table is ready.

[tommy]

there is a thai place called bua thai on washington ave in belleville.  i'm not the biggest fan of it, but it's good in a pinch, and there's no other thai around as far as i know (with the exception of montclair).  it's byo.

Bua Thai Restaurant 137 Washington Ave  Belleville, NJ (973) 759-7425  

there are also some great ethnic grocery stores down in belleville on washington.  there is a thai place on the southbound side, and an indian place on the northbound side.  great places for those extremely hard-to-find ingredients.  worth a trip even though they don't look like much.

[Rosie]

Terrazza's is next door to Petit Cafe which serves dinner on Fri. and Sat. nights. We were there once and liked it. BYO

[Rachel Perlow]

Thanks to everyone who posted all these suggestions. I'm going to email the thread to our friends. Feel free to post some more if you think of anyplace else. BTW - they tried that buffet place the night after the move and agree that it is awful (most buffets are, they are only a last resort if you are starving and in a real hurry IMHO).

[Rachel Perlow]

Quote: from Rosie on 1:48 pm on Jan. 3, 2002

Terrazza's is next door to Petit Cafe which serves dinner on Fri. and Sat. nights. We were there once and liked it. BYO

I couldn't find the actual address for Petit Cafe. I looked up Terrazza's and nearby are:

News Cafe 503 Franklin Ave  Nutley, NJ (973) 667-7778

- and -

Cafe St Honore 510 Franklin Ave  Nutley, NJ (973) 661-0200

Are one of these actually Petit Cafe?  

[Rosie]

It's next door to Terrazza's. BYO  Check Table Hopping to see if it is listed.

[njduchess]

FYI

The Petite Cafe

503 Franklin Avenue

Nutley

973-667-7778

We have been there once for lunch and once for dinner.  Two completely different experiences - formica vs white table linen.  We enjoyed both very much.

Marie