Railside Restaurants

trainfreak wrote:Theres a pizza place in Newark Penn that serves a really good pizza. I dont know the name all i know is that when i go there to railfan i wont leave without a slice...or two from that place.

They also have awesome breakfast sandwiches - 2 eggs, mozzarella cheese and whatever else (bacon, sausage, peppers, etc, take your pick).

There really isn't a sign with a name on it. The shirts that the staff wears all say "Figaro" on them. I happen to like their pizza, one of my work mates won't eat it. Go figure.

zablocki22 wrote:If you are looking to watch NJ Transit, there is the Trackside Diner in Rutherford right next to the train station.

VZ

Allow me to add two more: RR cafe (complete with model train around the ceiling and plenty of RR memorabilia inside), and the Blarney Station (complete with inaccurate painting of Rutherford station on the wall).

Decent reasonably priced food and drink, and RR cafe has an outdoor patio during appropriate times of the year.

gravelyfan wrote:

trainfreak wrote:Theres a pizza place in Newark Penn that serves a really good pizza. I dont know the name all i know is that when i go there to railfan i wont leave without a slice...or two from that place.

They also have awesome breakfast sandwiches - 2 eggs, mozzarella cheese and whatever else (bacon, sausage, peppers, etc, take your pick).

There really isn't a sign with a name on it. The shirts that the staff wears all say "Figaro" on them. I happen to like their pizza, one of my work mates won't eat it. Go figure.

I like Cafe 1935's breakfast food quite a bit. Zaro's is also good, but my new favorite is Seattle Coffee Roasters... I love those Panini's, and they are every bit as fast as McDonalds (OK, well, not as fast as the one in Penn station, but as fast as most). You can be in and out of there in under 10 mins, as I frequently did heading home to NB. They are also 24 hours. Awesome to see so many good places to eat in that train station.

Some more recommendations out of me:

Rutherford: Eros cafe is open until 3:00a some nights and is less than a block walk from the station. Slightly overpriced (not for food, but for like side-items and soup perhaps), but the food is good and you can sit in there for hours.

Risotto House is a new one (well, relatively new) on Park Ave, about 2 blocks up. Pretty good food, very attentive owner (interesting to watch him go collect people from outside) who is very eager to please.

Spring Grill on Glen Ave (just off Park Ave, by the Williams Center -- about a 1 block walk from the station). This place serves Thai food which is phenomenal. The interior of the place looks a lot nicer than its reasonable prices would indicate also. I /will/ be going back here.

Ramsey: Pizzette, which is on the western side of the tracks, in the strip mall up the street (past the Trackside). There is a liquor store in the plaza with which to furnish a BYOB operation. The food is abolutely wonderful... I can't say enough about it. Fairly cheap, too, as they go. I only found out about this place a few weeks ago and have already been twice.

New Brunswick: Stuff Yer Face. http://www.stuffyerface.com. Good stuff! A wider variety of beers than you'd expect (some stuff you've never heard of), samplers of 5 for $15, great boli's... just one of my favorite "haunts."

Atillio's Pasta Kitchen is a nice cheap place (I believe their pasta entrees are $3.95), and I love their marinara sauce (available in containers as well). They had been take out/cash only, but they now take charge and I believe may deliver. This one is on Spring Street, back off Albany from the McDonald's.

Marita's Cantina, in Ferren Plaza across from the train station, has very good tortilla soup, as well as a number of other things... typical mexican fare, but pretty good, and the bar is very alive some nights (wait to get in, live music, etc.)

...I'm big into eating, what can I say?

^I ain't been to "Stuff Yer Face" yet. Been by it many times though.

New Brunswick also features the nice homemade Ice Cream and Candy store, Thomas Sweet which is right by SYF.

I do like Tumulty's in New Brunswick. They have various model trains about the place.

I've been to "Stuff Yer Face". I liked it.

Bob

There is a good ice cream place up in Vernon called Dairy Swirl and its less then 500 feet from the NYSW main. Serves excellant soft ice cream and from the parking lot you can see right down a road (Old Rudetown Rd.) to the tracks. Its definately a nice way to end a chase as one can catch a train in Ogdensburg hustle over to Dairy Swirl, get some ice cream, and go down to the crossing and bid farewell to the train you chased up.

Can't beat the Blue Moon Diner in S. Orange, UNDERNEATH the tracks!!! And the Gaslight and Bunny's within a few feet of the tracks!

Lots of the patrons of the Walt St. Pub in Red Bank use my engineer as their designated driver!! haha

J.J. Bitings in Woodbridge, but Ive heard a few not so great things about that place....i believe its in the former freight house, someone told me that - is that true???

Jtgshu wrote:Can't beat the Blue Moon Diner in S. Orange, UNDERNEATH the tracks!!! And the Gaslight and Bunny's within a few feet of the tracks!

Lots of the patrons of the Walt St. Pub in Red Bank use my engineer as their designated driver!! haha

J.J. Bitings in Woodbridge, but Ive heard a few not so great things about that place....i believe its in the former freight house, someone told me that - is that true???

JJ Bitings? Is that the place just (rail) west of the Woodbridge station? I visited there a few years ago. Nice place, good beer. The upstairs has (had?) a seasonal deck where you can watch the trains go by.

Looks like it could be the original freight house, heavily remodeled.

There's a super hot Thai Resto between it and the station (Banh Mie). If you're anglo, and you order medium or hot, Banh Mie gives you a sample before they make up a full size portion. Too many people got incinerated.

^I ain't been to "Stuff Yer Face" yet. Been by it many times though.

New Brunswick also features the nice homemade Ice Cream and Candy store, Thomas Sweet which is right by SYF.

I do like Tumulty's in New Brunswick. They have various model trains about the place.

Wow - talk about ancient history!
I used to go to Stuff Yer Face and Tumulty's when I was but a young undergrad at Rutgers back in the late 70's... Good to know they are still there and YES I can highly recommend them both. Best part of the New Brusnwick eateries, back in the day, was that the legal drinking age was 18.

CRANFORD - I still highly recommend the Cranford Hotel for an excellent burger and great draught beer. We just had a mini-reunion of our high school gang down in the basement, by the fireplace, over the holidays. Run by VERY nice people - good food and service.
BigDell

JJ Bitings? Is that the place just (rail) west of the Woodbridge station? I visited there a few years ago. Nice place, good beer. The upstairs has (had?) a seasonal deck where you can watch the trains go by.

I agree with L484. My wife and I had some good "summer food" there last year and very good draught beer whilst watching the "action" on the mainline from upstairs. Didn't have a great view of the tracks, but it IS right there...
My wife tells me there are a couple nice little restaurants by Manasquan station as well. Nothing fancy, but nice...
BigDell

if you're down the shore, check out Klein's Seafood Market in Belmar, they have an outdoor patio on the water (Shark River Inlet) right next to the North Jersey Coast Line bridge over the inlet. Also get lots of large fishing boats going past.

If I could add one more place to the North jersey Coast Line pile, there is a diner(forgot the name), right across the street from Pt. Pleasant beach station.

Diamond_D wrote:if you're down the shore, check out Klein's Seafood Market in Belmar, they have an outdoor patio on the water (Shark River Inlet) right next to the North Jersey Coast Line bridge over the inlet. Also get lots of large fishing boats going past.

I've been to Kliens a few times, we watched several trains go by. Great Seafood, Trains and Boats.. how much better could a restaurant get (unless it's on rails.. )

If you are in the mood for Sushi, There is Rock Sushi in Glen Rock that is across the street from the Glen Rock Main Line Station. The dining room has great views of the station and Rock Road Crossing.