Verde Vita Toscana in Hoboken, NJ

When Choco-Pain opened downtown Hoboken, it was like bringing a bit of France to the city: delicious bread, pastries and viennoiseries, made traditionally and tasting like it should. I hate when I buy a croissant and it is not buttery! So, we were wondering when they would open Uptown. But no, it did not happen yet. Instead, Verde Vita Toscana, an Italian café opened few month ago, replacing a beauty salon, with the great idea to get its bread from Choco-Pain!

It is a great place with a very European feel and a relaxed atmosphere: ceramic tables, brick walls and a long counter where one can sip a delicious espresso with a croissant. 

Besides this, they sell different olive oil

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries in Hoboken, NJ

There is a new burger place in town! Yes, Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries opened a week ago, replacing Bombay West an Indian restaurant that closed. At first, I thought it was another place to celebrate the Jersey Shore, like the now defunct WindMill tried to. But in fact, it refers to the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, where the owners, brothers Dave and Fran DiFerdinando use to go to get fresh hand cut fries that gave them the idea to open their first establishment, serving mainly French fries, cooked at different temperatures in peanut oil, giving them a nice taste and slight crunch, keeping the inside soft. But customers were asking for more and they decided to add burgers to the menu. Today, this franchise has locations in Georgia, California, Maryland, Texas...

And now a brand new location in Hoboken that, despite the Art and Craft Festival, attracted the crowd.

The way it works is that you order at the counter: you can either pick one of their signature burgers or build your own. They will then give you a number and bring your order at your table.

It came fairly quickly. First was my vanilla milkshake that I could not resist to order.

The Brick Pizzeria in Hoboken, NJ

We decided to try The Brick, a new pizza place uptown Hoboken. I am sure the stakes are high for The Brick considering the number of pizza places in Hoboken, such as Benny Tudino's, Johnny Pepperonni or Basile's. So I was curious to see what would make it stand out.

The decor has nothing fancy, but there is a bit of warmth from the bricks on the walls.

I decided to try their homemade mint lemonade.

It was delicious, not too sweet, with the right amount of mint, making this drink quite refreshing.

Rosticeria Da Gigi in Hoboken, NJ

Rosticeria Da Gigi, located uptown Hoboken, is the kind of small joint where you would go to grab a quick bite: nothing fancy, but comforting.

It is a small place that probably sits 16 people.

So we sat at one of the tables and went through the menu. It consists of standard breakfast dishes like eggs, pancakes...as well as panini, sandwiches or items from their rotisserie.

Jodi decided to try their croque-monsieur:

When the plate arrived, we were a bit surprised as it did not look like a croque-monsieur, but more like a panini.

Johnny Pepperoni in Hoboken, NJ

The night of the Super Bowl, we decided to go to Johnny Pepperoni to try their pizza as a friend of Jodi recommended that place. Needless to say that this was the perfect night as the place was empty!

I discovered there that the owner, local restaurateur John Avoletta, also owns City Bistro, a popular bar Uptown Hoboken; so I figured at that point that it was not just some random pizza joint. It is a place of a good size that serves Italian food only, from pasta to pizza, and even more. Too bad as I was craving wings...

The restaurant had a nice feel, with its red and white checkered tablecloth and the black and white photos of Italy on the walls. 

On the right of the entrance is the open kitchen and on the left the dining room. 

We decided to start our dinner with Arancini Di Riso, that are fried rice balls with cheese and prosciutto. 

They were served in a thick tomato sauce that had a bold taste. The balls themselves were delicious: crunchy on the outside and cheesy on the inside. I simply loved it and they were probably some of the best I ever tried.

German cuisine at Helmer's in Hoboken, NJ

Helmer's is a restaurant located on the Uptown part of Hoboken. Serving authentic German cuisine, it opened in 1936 by the Helmer family who immigrated from Germany. It was then sold in 1940 to the Lueders from Bremerhaven, Germany. 

There is definitely a particular atmosphere there, rendered by the decor: high wooden booths, wooden tables and beer steins on top of the bar.

If you are a beer fan, they have a mice selection of Belgian and German beers, served in big beer glasses also used to serve...water.

As I mentioned above, their menu proposes authentic German food, like wurst, Sauerbraten (pot roast) or schnitzel. But they also serve American dishes such as cheeseburgers or NY Sirloin steaks.

After we ordered, they brought us some bread:

There was a pretzel bread as well as one that I guess was pumpernickel bread. This bread was perfect to open our appetite.

As an appetizer, we ordered the stuffed mushrooms:

Brunch at City Bistro in Hoboken, NJ

If you come to Hoboken, there is one thing that you cannot miss: the number of bars in the mile square city. City Bistro, located uptown, is one the popular ones that has a big advantage over the others: its rooftop. Not that it is very useful in the winter, but in the summer, it is definitely the place to be and they sometimes even ask bands to come perform there. 

It was not our first time there, being there for drinks, but also a dinner few years ago, that I hated, not because of the food, but because of the noise level that very loud, not allowing me to understand a word of the conversation. So, this time, we decided to go for brunch, thinking that it was probably quieter. I am sure that there would be a game, it would have been a madhouse though...

It is a bar, so the decor is pretty standard: wooden floor, bricks, high and low tables. The first time we went, I noticed all the strollers at the entrance and a large number of families inside.

I had hopes for the brunch, because a lot of time, bars are proposing great comforting dishes. Their menu offers the classic choices you get for brunch, as well as their own dishes. The first time, Jodi went for the salade Niçoise, a French specialty made of tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and tuna.

Brunch and Lunch at Schnackenberg's in Hoboken, NJ

Schnackenberg's is one of the oldest restaurants in Hoboken, opening in 1931 few years after the founders, Dora and Henry Schnackenberg, came to the US, immigrating from Germany. This soda shop remained opened until being purchased by Eugene and Joyce Flinn who also own Amanda's and the Elysean Café, two of the most popular restaurants in town. After undergoing renovations for few months, the restaurant reopened in December 2013. So, it was time for us to try it! We went twice: once for breakfast and once for lunch (the lunch menu is available after noon).

Entering there is like traveling in the past, not only because of the decor and the different artifacts witnessing the old time, but also because of the overall atmosphere: from the music (lots of Frank Sinatra who was from Hoboken), to the uniform of the staff. 

Right at the entrance is the old cash register that did not leave the place.

As well as an old mirror that probably had some history.

When we went for breakfast, we sat at the bar where large cakes were on display. These cakes are not prepared in this place, but by a bakery in a neighboring town. 

Jodi tried the coconut cake, but did not like it though.

However, we tried their homemade donuts that they sell for $1 and they were delicious.

They have different kinds and we went for the cinnamon sugar.

I started off with some coffee, served in a mug with the mascot of the restaurant on it, a mascot that we will see on every plate.

As it was brunch, I went for the eggs Benedict.

Vietnamese soup at Pho Nomenon in Hoboken, NJ

We were excited to go to Pho Nomenon, one of the new restaurants that opened recently in Hoboken. It replaced Hoboken Cottage that was really not one of my favorites. Well, think about it: they were proposing Chinese and Turkish cuisine; not sure what the link between the two is...Nevertheless, I tried both and did not like it.

So, we arrived in the restaurant that had a medium size dining room, dominated by a painting of Buddha. 

As soon as we sat, they brought us some green tea that was welcome considering the temperature outside, and kept serving it as soon as our cups were half empty.

As an appetizer, we ordered Goi Cuon Chav or vegetarian Summer rolls:

Contrary to spring rolls, they are not fried, making it a healthier version. It was made of rice noodles, fried tofu, picked carrots, daikon, lettuce and mint, wrapped in rice paper.

It has been a while since I ate this kind of roll and it was delicious, very refreshing, especially thanks to the mint. I ate it with the peanut sauce that came with and I also tried with some hoisin sauce that added some sweetness.