Date Night in Ridgewood: Joe’s Restaurant

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A dark and chilly night at Joe’s Restaurant on Forest Ave

“Quick! What’s a good date-night dinner spot in #Ridgewood?” we recently inquired on Twitter. Armed with several excellent possibilities, we bundled up and headed over to Joe’s Restaurant, an old-timey Italian joint on Forest Ave. We’d wondered about this place for awhile, as it has a bit of history: the original Joe’s, a few blocks down the street at 66-53 Forest, opened in the 1960s, and they moved into the current fancier digs about 10 years ago, according to the nice young man who served us. Continue reading

A New Asian Market in (Almost-)Ridgewood?

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Jelly cups at Sea Town: one of the few Chinatown-y products available there

UPDATE 2/20/13: Jose from Sea Town read our post and said he’ll be ordering some of the products we suggested! He’ll let us know when the new store is open so we can check out the Asian goods.

UPDATE 2/28/14: We give up! Sea Town still has not added any kind of significant Asian section to their store. If you continue down Myrtle, further into Bushwick, you’ll find another new Asian market (not sure of the name but we’ll find out). It’s one block from Sea Town, right next to Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union. We’ve found assorted Asian noodles, kimchi, potsticker wrappers, and frozen mock-meats there.

Two blocks over the Ridgewood-Bushwick border and steps from Myrtle Avenue, Sea Town Fish & Meat Market was deemed a founding part of a “tiny Bushwick ‘Chinatown'” when it opened in 2010. And though the store boasts an impressive variety of fresh (including live) seafood, the general grocery area lacks a significant Asian presence — even staples like tofu, seaweed, and rice vinegar are nowhere to be found (tofu didn’t sell, said the store’s manager, Jose).

But that could change: Across the street, construction is underway on a triangle-shaped annex, which Jose told Ridgefood will be like a “regular grocery store” with more vegetables and an expanded ethnic section. They plan to stock more Asian goods, and Jose welcomed Ridgefood to compile a list of products that would appeal to local shoppers.

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Dynamite Sandwich and Other Egyptian Eats at Amun

Lamb kebab

Lamb kebabs at Amun

Update 7/29/14: Amun’s original location recently closed, and the restaurant is now run out of a bodega called “Seneca Falafel” on Seneca & Madison.

You may have heard about Ridgewood’s Little Nepal, but did you know we also have a growing Egyptian community? More specifically, we’re home to Egyptian Coptic Christians, or Copts — many of whom have fled to the U.S. following the Arab Spring revolution in their homeland. Two visible centers of the Coptic community can be found in Ridgewood: St. Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church and Amun Restaurant.

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The Early Word on Ridgewood’s Nepalese Indian Restaurant

Let’s be honest: in the world of Ridgewood’s meager sit-down dining options, the fact that we now have Indian and Nepalese food, in a comfy space with cute moon lamps, is monumental. We’re thrilled. The Nepalese Indian Restaurant on Seneca has been open for just over a week, so we thought we’d share some of the highlights thus far.

Vegetable momos

 

Momos! Everyone seems to be super-psyched about these traditional Nepalese dumplings, which so far are the only Nepalese menu items that are available. The vegetable momos are filled with finely chopped cabbage, flecks of carrot, and lots of ginger, and they’re served with a spicy, lightly curried dipping sauce. Very, very tasty. Our momos were fried, but we’re eager try the steamed version next time; they seem to be the more popular option among Nepalese folks (totally unscientific observation).  Continue reading