Looks like we’ll be sipping beers and eating burgers on the sidewalk at Jersey and 10th Street once again. Enjoy the beautiful weather!

The Hamilton Park Ale House has long been a staple of downtown JC. Under the watchful guise of Maggie Vecca, a former waitress turned co-owner, the Ale House thrived and was a local favorite. The food was always top-notch, especially considering the other choices in the area at that time. Executive chef, Krista Trovato, had been a cook at impressive locales such as Gramercy Tavern and the World Trade Center’s Windows of the World before coming to the Ale House.

In recent years, however, since Maggie (also involved with Skinner’s Loft) sold the bar the service and food has gone downhill. One of the biggest issues that had surfaced in my mind…the lack of a good beer selection – they do call themselves an “ale house.” I have read many complaints about the owner that came after Maggie, Jim Leo, and how he ran the bar into the ground. I can attest to the validity of these rumors. The food and service became terrible. Their burger wasn’t even that great. For me, it was the brunch that was the worst. We only had it once. It’s a shame because it’s so nice to walk a few blocks from home in the nice weather and sit outside for brunch. We just haven’t found anything that fits the bill for a good brunch with outdoor seating. (I will write about Beret’s Simple Café in a later post).

After a long phase of papered windows, there is a new name on the window: The Hamilton Inn. There has also been some activity in the way of renovations. I have read some rumors online that the new deal for the Hamilton Inn fell through and that management ran out of capital after the renovation. It has been quite a long time since we noticed the reno being done, but I cannot confirm the validity of these rumors. There’s a short blurb from November 2009 in the Jersey City Independent that states the Hamilton Inn would open in a few weeks, but obviously that didn’t happen. Although, there is another article in JCI that discusses Jessie Dardar – the chef behind JC dessert truck La Petite Temptation – who is “readying to supply desserts for the Hamilton Inn, which is set to open in the former Hamilton Ale House space on Jersey Avenue this April.” So, maybe we’ll get lucky next month and see an open door. I did find the official Hamilton Inn website where there is no new information about their much anticipated and elusive opening. However, if you give your email address they promise to send you “information” about their opening.

For now, we’ll just have to wait it out. If I find out any new information, I’ll write an updated post. In the meantime, check out The White Star bar on Pavonia and Brunswick. They boast a good burger and decent beer selection, better than the Ale House has had in years.

The Hamilton Inn (formerly the Hamilton Park Ale House), 708 Jersey Avenue, Hamilton Park Jersey City.

Jersey City Independent reported that “the production company has made arrangements to secure the private parking lot on Erie and 10th.” Click here for full post. However, this information supposedly came from a letter that the production company sent out to residents, but I am a resident and I received no such letter…so…what’s up with that? Anyway, apparantly the number you can call for parking information is (973)925-8157, but according to comments on the JCI webpage, the people answering the phones aren’t much help.

I was deeply saddened to read today that Robert was found dead in his Park Slope apartment on Wednesday, March 4th. I was also very sad to learn that he had been going through a “rough several months” and previous health problems. Here is a link to In Memoriam, posted on Gowanus Lounge, which was beautifully written by Marc Farre.

I needed to pay tribute to such a gift to the blogosphere and to the Brooklyn community. Robert, you will most certainly be missed more than you can imagine. When I think of the neighborhood that I left and will always love, I often think about your witty and colorful posts. My deepest condolences to Robert’s family and friends.

Isabella's De Cuba

Moving from Park Slope, Brooklyn to Jersey City has been a major adjustment. Finding good food has proven to be tricky. Park Slope definitely spoiled us, in that we could walk down the block and have 5 – 10 restaurants of good quality at our disposal. I’m not saying that Jersey City doesn’t have good food, there’s just less restaurants. In our constant quest to befriend our new neighborhood and find some good eats, we discovered Isabella’s De Cuba. (Downtown Jersey City, Hamilton Park neighborhood.) It’s not a bad walk from our apartment and the food is great. The first test was delivery. We ordered and got our food fairly quickly. I have to say that the Pollo Asado was excellent and best of all only $8 and came with 2 sides! They run daily specials throughout the week ranging from $8 – $10.

We noticed that they served breakfast all day, so we walked over one cold morning in search of some good coffee and food. We weren’t disappointed. The Cafe Con Leche is only $1.75 a cup and delicious. I opted for the Isabella’s French Toast, which is croissants dipped in cinnamon egg batter and powerdered sugar. The hubby got one of their 3 egg omelets with chorizo, onions and cheese. We were blown away that yummy breakfasts were so close to our door and so inexpensive! The only drawback was the service. We have been on 2 different weekend mornings, both times only one girl was working in the front. She had some issues with prioritizing. People would come in and tables were still dirty and she’d say “just a minute”, but then the phone would ring and she would take the delivery order while the people were standing there. (This happened to us both times we went.) Service was slow, too. I think she forgot to put our order in the second time we went because it was just way too long. Be that as it may, if you go in there with a relaxed attitude and have some time to spare, it’s a good experience. The staff is really nice and the place is very cute inside. The orange colored walls and full store-front windows in front make it feel cozy and warm. People watching while sipping your hot Cafe Con Leche is a perfect combination for a  lazy Sunday morning.

–Isabella’s De Cuba – 227 7th Street at Erie (201) 222-2562 – Free Delivery w/ minimum order of $15.

First, the hubby and I finally made the jump (after all the mortgage shit worked out) and moved to Jersey City! It’s been a lot to get used to, but we own our place! The commute is a bit strange, still getting used to that. I’ve used my bike more than ever before! It’s quiet here and very chill. I like it, but I still miss Brooklyn. Sigh. I use any excuse to go there I’ve recently been letting the hubby take mass transit in the morning and coming to pick him up in the evening. Of course, getting dinner and drinks…as long as I’m there I may as well, right? Which leads me to explain my sudden wealth of free time.

Next, I recently was laid off. BLECH!! Yes, the recession came out and bit me full in the ass. So, I’ve been baking and cooking a lot and now I’m hoping to get to write more and search for another job, of course. I’m looking into freelance work and full-time, we’ll see what happens. Don’t worry about me though, I’m hanging in there and the hubby is LOVING all the muffins, cookies, pies, cakes, etc. I’m going to have to start giving them away though. There’s only so many baked goods you can eat before your ass starts to scream to the whole world that you’ve been eating way too many buttery crusts.

Well, for now I will leave you with this info and I’ll be back, hopefully with much more regularity.

The move to NJ is upon us, so the hubby and I took this weekend to do a few of our favorite Brooklyn things. Hanging out in Prospect Park is great during the summer (and all year), but we had never gone pedal boating at the Wollman Rink. So, on Sunday we decided to give it a go.

It was pretty hot, but a gorgeous day. We walked all around the park and eventually found our way to Wollman Rink. There was a line for the boats, but we didn’t want to give up right away, we would wait it out. It was $15/hour and a $10 refundable deposit. We were given our life vests and got on line. The guy said it would only be about 15 minutes, but it turned out to be more like an hour. We were getting pretty antsy and so were the bunch of kids waiting. Finally it was our turn and we couldn’t wait to sit down and relax. After about five minutes of pedaling furiously we were sweating and getting pretty worn out. This is harder than it looks! Then we took a look around at our fellow boaters and realized we didn’t have to pedal that hard, just get into a nice even rhythm. Once we figured that out, it was a blast!

“1. There are two common brands of hydrants throughout the city: Smith and Dresser. Not only are they the easiest to find, they’re the easiest to open. “You can use a regular pipe wrench,”says Jeffrey Ercolino, lieutenant of Engine Company 26. Pick up a pipe wrench at Home Depot (40 W 23rd St between Fifth and Sixth Aves; 212-929-9571, homedepot.com) and look for a hydrant with either brand name stamped on the top.

2. Use the wrench to unscrew one of the two bolts on the side of the hydrant. Some turn clockwise, while others turn counterclockwise, so you may need to try both directions.

3. To release the water, slowly turn the bolt on the top clockwise. “The further you turn the bolt, the harder the water comes out,” Ercolino warns. “The pressure ranges between 40 and 70 pounds per square inch, which is very powerful.”

4. Splash around wildly but keep an ear peeled for police sirens, and be ready to run like hell.

4b. There is also a legal approach: “Go to your local fire department and ask them to install a free spray cap for the day,” explains Seth Andrews, a spokesperson for the FDNY.”

—Lisa Freedman – Time Out New York – Click here for full article.

The north corner of Carroll Street and 4th Avenue boasts a brand new (and extremely ugly) 9 story skinny building. The condos must be super thin and with no windows on one whole side of the building. Why would you intentionally build something filled with railroad apartments? (BTW – totally ruined the view from my roof, blech) “Luxury condos” is what they say about all these new buildings going up. With this real estate market though, I’m not sure who the hell is going to buy these things. Across the street on the south corner of Carroll and 4th is a 12 story building. This lot has been under construction for about a year, maybe a bit longer. Shut down numerous times, they now finally have a steel structure up. It will be a 12 story “luxury condo” building.

Currently, an old parking lot across the street from me and another a few doors down, are both under construction to become…possibly more condos. Uggh. The building next door to me, which went straight through to Garfield, was torn down last year (ruining my backyard in the process and soon after the whole side of the building — pics on Flickr coming soon) and has yet to be anything more than a huge canyon.

The over development on this block (and in Park Slope in general) has gotten out of hand. Soon, the cute buildings that have sat here for over 100 years will be overtaken with ugly hack construction…I mean “luxury condo” buildings. Not to mention, the overpopulation of this already heavily overpopulated neighborhood. Once these buildings are complete, up to 200 or more apartments will be within this half of a block, you do the math. Lots of people. Gone are the days of knowing everyone on your block.