Makeda in New Brunswick, NJ

by Adrienne Wilson on

A friend of mine thought after a long holiday celebrating food and feasting for days would slow down my appetite and for a second I did too, until I walked into the Ethiopian spot she had been talking about on our ride from the airport to my hotel. The only thing is I hadn’t eaten much during my travels my earlier that day, so by the time we made it to Makeda I felt like a lion who’d gone months without a meal. As we walked in and through the restaurant I saw the cutest set-up of African chairs and tables in the bar/lounge and several great pieces of art hanging from the wall. Before I even caught sight of the menu, I knew Makeda had flavor. Our hostess seated us in the main dining area towards the back, but close enough for me to look into the bar area. It was empty and quiet at the time of our arrival, but my friend states Makeda is the place to be on Friday nights when there is live music and lots going on. I tried to imagine handsome couples sitting together starring into the others eyes and digging into their delicious dishes with their hands. Passion being exchanged between each bite taken from the meal and love secrets being exchanged with each whisper across… Using my imagination started making me hungrier so I stopped to look at the menu and get some real food action going at the table.

To start I ordered Zaalouk, a diced pan fried eggplant in virgin olive oil with a blend of garlic, ginger, chopped parsley and cumin with a hint of lemon. It was too spicy according to my friend, but that only meant more for me and less for her. I gobbled down all the egg plant on my own after she sampled two. I thought it was well-seasoned and the right kick-off for any dinner. The main course followed shortly after I devoured the appetizer and what my waitress sat in front of me was by no means a small portion. The plate was filled with a hefty amount of everything I had ordered. My plate consisted of the following: Assa Tibs, marinated filet of Cape Hadie seasoned with fresh herbs, sautéed in Shiba wine with African salsa; and from the veggie menu Atakilt Wat and Ful with Ethiopian bread. I don’t recall breathing much as I wrapped my food into the bread almost taco-style and inhaled it off my plate. I was in an Ethiopian food lotus land. What had taken me so long to dine like this before? I’ve longed to visit the country for centuries almost, yet I’d never even taken the simple pleasure of eating out at an Ethiopian restaurant with so many past opportunities! Sometimes I don’t even understand myself or how I managed to finish the evening off with a serving of vanilla gelato, but I don’t question these things too long.

Although it was my first time eating Ethiopian cuisine, I’m going to highly recommend you go if you’ve never been. If you have by chance please share your thoughts.

Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant is located at 338 George Street, News Brunswick, NJ 08901. Ph. 732.545.5115. Meals range from $13-36.

La Fusta Restaurant

by Adrienne Wilson on

Since I only went into to La Fusta to pick up my carry-out order I can only go into detail about the menu item I ordered two days in a row. (It was just that good!) If you’re in search for a light yet filling dish and wanting to avoid pastas and steak for whatever reason try La Fusta’s avocado & shrimp salad. One serving is good for either one or two people, but if you like it anywhere close to as much as I did, you’ll want it for yourself or you’ll go back for greedy seconds. Sliced egg, tomato, red onion, beans, lettuce, avocado and shrimp are all found in the salad and with a dash of salt, pepper and their lemon dressing, a simple leafy dish becomes a mouth-watering masterpiece.

I had a full sample of the salad at La Fusta’s North Bergen, NJ location while camping out at the Comfort Suites for work. It’s in an industrial, slightly sketchy part of town, which makes it easy to miss if you’re trying to make it to an area more pleasing on the eyes. Check them out if you’re in North Bergen or if you’re in New York at their Elmhurst location. See the website for more details.

La Fusta is located at 1110 Tonnelle Avenue, North Bergen, NJ 07047. Ph. 201.770.1950.

Touring America’s Northeast with HP

by Adrienne Wilson on

Just wanted to give everyone here a quick update on my whereabouts since I haven’t sat still all year. Over the next couple of months you can find me riding around parts of America’s chilly north east as one half of Hewlett Packard’s Color Works dynamic tour staff. I’ll be hanging around the local Staples, Office Max, & Office Depot in places like Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia demonstrating how laser jets and ink jet printers can benefit small and medium business owners. Why am I telling you about all this? Mostly because I’m hoping to see some of the Gadling readers pop into a store from time to time to say “hi!” With a van like the HP Color Works one I’ll be pretty hard target to miss, so if you see it parked in a parking lot come on inside and I’ll give you the 411 on printers and other HP items.

Casinos to Close in Atlantic City?

by Adrienne Wilson on

Bad, bad news for tourists with upcoming vacation plans to New Jersey’s famed Atlantic City. This news certainly isn’t hot off the press, but it looks as if the NJ government is set to face a shut down if lawmakers don’t enact a budget by 8 am Wednesday morning. If Atlantic City’s 12 casinos were to close it would cost the state 2 million dollars a day in tax revenue. Ouch! The problem goes far beyond casino closings; state parks and other historic sites will also shut down according to this AOL news piece all due to lack of compromise on a plan to increase the state sales tax from 6 to 7 percent.

Travelers looking to gamble away their vacation savings really have it easy in this situation. Sure you may have dropped $139 bucks most on Spirit Airlines out of Orlando, but still. It’s the employees of the state lotto, construction, DMV, vehicle inspections, courts who are seriously getting burnt in this whole mix up. Casino gambling monitors are next and won’t be getting paid during the closings.

What’s up New Jersey?

Hidden Gems: Princeton, New Jersey, a photo essay

by Sarah Gilbert on


Brad Hill, Princetonite, was my guide on a tour through his favorite Princeton, New Jersey haunts on a grey
Friday in March. But first, I gazed in awe at the ivy-covered Ivy-ness of the University.


It’s beautiful, of course, but
we were looking for gems, and hidden ones, at that. Brad’s favorite spot (and mine, as well): Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon St., where the lattes are
poured fast and the Rice Krispie treats are served in gigantic cubes.


One of the best parts about Small World Coffee is their bean-erific logo, emblazoned on the most
impressive array of schwag I’ve ever seen in a
coffee shop (and boy do I know coffee shops, folks). Most of the items, which range from shot glasses to insulated mugs
to girly-shaped tees, can only be purchased in the coffee shop itself.


The shop has a commitment
to organic coffee and foods and a full complement of Princetonites in all their glory. A 15-month-old tried to share
his cookie with me and the most happy barista I’ve ever met served me a mini cupcake in a plastic bubble. I loved every
minute.


Zorba’s Grill, 183-B Nassau St., is hidden in plain site
between the campus and the main drag. According to Brad, it’s where most of the professors get their lunch, and the
gyros are great and cheap.


As most college towns,
Princeton is infatuated with ice cream. Next door to Zorba’s is the most popular creamery, Thomas Sweet, 179 Nassau St. With its bubbly graphics and
primary-colored logo, the place looks like a chain. Oh, wait, it is a chain!


At
Thomas Sweet, the "blend-ins" are famous and made my
mouth water and stomach grumble for more chocolate. They sound like a copycat of (or precursor to) the Blizzard. And I
know you’re asking, Sarah, what is a popular chain on the main drag doing in your "Hidden Gems"
feature? Well…


…as a contrast to Halo Pub, 9
Hulfish St. (off Palmer Square), the ice cream store that had far, far more character. And, it appeared, far more
customers on a cool not-quite-spring day.


Why are there more customers?
Possibly because the possibilities are mind-boggling. I love an ice cream store that sells so many flavors I can never
pick one.


Even better: the wall of cows.
I don’t know if that’s what they call it. But that’s what I’m calling it. Every ice cream store needs a wall
of cows.


After all that ice cream I’ve worked up
an appetite for something spicy… Indian food! Princeton seems to be a haven for Indian restaurants, and we ate at a
popular Indian spot on Thursday night. We only ate there, it seems, because the "far better"
Méhék, 164 Nassau St., never answered their phone to take our reservation. Their hours are murky and
their phone isn’t answered, but they’re the best in town. Consider yourself informed.


It
wouldn’t be a photo essay without a stop at the local camera joint. The man behind the counter at New York Camera, 173
Nassau St., was studiously answering a difficult question from the owner of an old camera, but he took a break to ring
me up for some interesting and very cheap Kodak film.


The shop, like many in
Princeton, was located in a Colonial-era house connected by walkways to the houses behind — in central Princeton, it
seems, there are few yards.


I couldn’t leave the town
without visiting some of the spots made famous by Hollywood. This room, Brad tells me, was the one where the other
members of the faculty gave John Nash their pens in
A Beautiful Mind. Of course, no such real ceremony exists, and the books that filled the
"library" were added just for the filming. It’s no less stunning and – next time I’m in Princeton — I’m
totally hanging out here with my laptop. The room was empty but for two students last Friday afternoon.


[Photos of Princeton taken March 24, 2006, by Sarah Gilbert.]