A couple months back we took another road trip to Hoboken. Two days, there and back. It looked like they have fully recovered from Hurricane Sandy. At least on a superficial level. Drove by Teaneck, NJ. Teaneck? Isn't that an insult. Wherever you go, you will probably find some amusing town names. Ho-ho-kus is another one, or Hi-Nella, and even Watchung (wasn't that an 80s band?).
Now, I've been to New Jersey several times, but it took me until now to realize that honking your horn is a requirement to obtain your drivers licence.
So, seven hours there, 23 hours in New Jersey and seven hours back. We stayed in a flea bag motel that we booked via Hotwire. Kind of a surprise when we got there. What's their slogan again? Four star hotels at two star prices? Well, hardly four star but what can you expect for $83 bucks a night. Oh, and the second surprise? Happy honeymoon baby!
Every so often you go to a restaurant and you are shocked. That's what happened the Saturday night in North Bergen. It was a surprise finding this place in what looked to be a sketchy and industrial part of town. We went to eat a La Fusta, a steak place. Not only was the food excellent but, the service was superb. The waiter was warm and friendly and as it was our first visit he gave me a beer on the house. The money he saved me on the beer, I gladly added to the waiter's tip. So, Danny, thank you for the great treatment. And if you are in northern NJ, check out a superbly run family restaurant called La Fusta. (Today is day eleven of the thirty day writing challenge (February edition) as arranged and hosted by WeWorkForCheese.com.)
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| La Fusta, North Bergen |
Ohh, now I'm itching to go on a road trip and eat at new places and be pleasantly surprised. It would take me a bit longer than 7 hours to get to New Jersey, though...
ReplyDeleteZiva, It's a mere 11 hours of flying time, via Copenhagen and Frankfurt.
DeleteDon't you just love finding new places? :)
ReplyDeleteI love my favourite places. But finding a new great place? When it was not expected? Fantastic!
DeleteYou spent your honeymoon in New Jersey? You spent $83 on a flea-bag hotel? This marriage is off to a good start!
ReplyDeleteWe went two months before the wedding. The missus didn't buy it as an early surprise.
DeleteLA Fusta - must be a fancy french place...
ReplyDeleteIt's an Argentinean place with a hint of Russian and Italian.
DeleteI love Jersey. I am so sad. I'm in Alabama. It's unnatural to take the Jersey girl out of Jersey, I tell ya...it's just not Kosher.
ReplyDelete:(
There ain't a whole lot of kosher in Alabama. Well, maybe in Birmingham.
DeleteI love road trips and finding great out-of-the-way places. Sometimes it's just a hole in the wall, but a place you would go out of your way to visit again. Oh, and honeymoons don't have to be fancy and expensive to be wonderful. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThx Linda.
DeleteSome of the best places are holes in the wall. They don't advertise, you fall upon them or hear about them by word of mouth.
Hey Shawn! Mmmmmm, not had a good steak in a long time. I'll have to drop by sometime soon. I'm envious of your road trip! Indigo
ReplyDeleteA lot of driving in 2 days but well worth it
DeleteWe have a client in Teaneck. Oh and you can blame the Dutch influence for all those whack town names.
ReplyDeleteI assumed the names were Native American. Maybe not Teaneck but Watchung
DeleteJersey as a road trip, eh? Nothing like a little Ho-ho-kus to get the day going.
ReplyDeleteAnd a little Shamong
DeleteBack in the 80s, some of the best restaurants in NYC were in Hoboken. I lived there sporadically and never met a meal I didn't like and I'm not much of an eater. Glad Hoboken's still serving up surprises.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't been back to Hoboken lately you wouldn't believe your eyes. It's a vibrant youthful place.
DeleteI'd go to New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteAFTER, I go almost everywhere else.
I've been to all the eastern states. So I had to go back.
DeleteA good friend of mine is from New Jersey. I like to give her grief about it and make a lot of obvious jokes (which never get old, because I'm the one telling them). I should send her a link to this entry, though, and remind her that some people in this world still have nice things to say about New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteThere are a lot of good spots to visit in NJ. Especially if you are visiting family & friends.
We once stayed at a hotel in Virginia called the "Your Inn" hotel. When we walked in we realized the significance of the name. The place smelled like urine. URINE HOTEL.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of a motel I stayed at in Vancouver. I couldn't understand how and why the sink would smell like urine.
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