Category Archives: Restaurants

Date Night in Ridgewood: Joe’s Restaurant

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joes-restaurant-dark

A dark and chilly night at Joe’s Restaurant on Forest Ave

“Quick! What’s a good date-night dinner spot in #Ridgewood?” we recently inquired on Twitter. Armed with several excellent possibilities, we bundled up and headed over to Joe’s Restaurant, an old-timey Italian joint on Forest Ave. We’d wondered about this place for awhile, as it has a bit of history: the original Joe’s, a few blocks down the street at 66-53 Forest, opened in the 1960s, and they moved into the current fancier digs about 10 years ago, according to the nice young man who served us. Continue reading →

Dynamite Sandwich and Other Egyptian Eats at Amun

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Lamb kebab

Lamb kebabs at Amun

Update 7/29/14: Amun’s original location recently closed, and the restaurant is now run out of a bodega called “Seneca Falafel” on Seneca & Madison.

You may have heard about Ridgewood’s Little Nepal, but did you know we also have a growing Egyptian community? More specifically, we’re home to Egyptian Coptic Christians, or Copts — many of whom have fled to the U.S. following the Arab Spring revolution in their homeland. Two visible centers of the Coptic community can be found in Ridgewood: St. Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church and Amun Restaurant.

Continue reading →

The Early Word on Ridgewood’s Nepalese Indian Restaurant

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Let’s be honest: in the world of Ridgewood’s meager sit-down dining options, the fact that we now have Indian and Nepalese food, in a comfy space with cute moon lamps, is monumental. We’re thrilled. The Nepalese Indian Restaurant on Seneca has been open for just over a week, so we thought we’d share some of the highlights thus far.

Vegetable momos

 

Momos! Everyone seems to be super-psyched about these traditional Nepalese dumplings, which so far are the only Nepalese menu items that are available. The vegetable momos are filled with finely chopped cabbage, flecks of carrot, and lots of ginger, and they’re served with a spicy, lightly curried dipping sauce. Very, very tasty. Our momos were fried, but we’re eager try the steamed version next time; they seem to be the more popular option among Nepalese folks (totally unscientific observation).  Continue reading →

Our Favorite Ridgewood Meals of 2012

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Fried fish dinner at Johnny's Cafe

Fried fish dinner at Johnny’s Cafe

It’s been a quiet December here at Ridgefood. Seasonal malaise has us hermitting and lazing and eating the same comfort foods on repeat (though, to quickly boast, we’ve squeezed in some amazing exo-Ridgewood meals:  Malaysian curry laksa, noodles, and stuffed tofu at Taste Good; pizza at DiFara; an ode to bibimbap at M. Wells Dinette; and dim sum at East Harbor Seafood Palace).

Ridgefood’s just a few months old, but we’d like to wrap up the year with a roundup of the best foods that we can recall eating in Ridgewood in 2012. In no order, really, here are seven of our favorite meals that come to mind:

Continue reading →

Himalayan Explosion Continues: Nepalese Restaurant to Open on Seneca Ave

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Golden Star Chinese restaurant

Editor’s note: We originally reported that the new Nepalese Indian restaurant would be called “Mt. Everest.” It has since been changed to “Nepalese Indian Restaurant.” We have updated this post to reflect the new name. For a more detailed explanation … Continue reading →

Om My! Tibetan Cuisine Coming to Venditti Square

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Happy Tibetan New Year

 

Update: The Tibetan restaurant never opened, and you can now find a men’s clothing store, Big Poppa Styles, in its place. -The Mgmt.

Yesterday while strolling through Venditti Square, a cheerful sign in the window of No. 1 Fusion caught our eye. It read “Happy Tibetan New Year.” The heartfelt yet untimely sentiment — Tibetans celebrate the new year (losar) in February and March — suddenly endeared us to this Chinese restaurant that we assume is shitty, so we ventured inside.  Continue reading →

The Gates Burger Mystery: Solved!

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gates burger

 

BREAKING NEWS: The Gates Burger Mystery — we’re just going to go ahead and call it “Burgergate” — has been solved.

A quick summary for those of you who haven’t been following along: a few weeks ago, we noticed that a place called Gates Burger purports to exist in Ridgewood, but the only establishment at their address (17-01 Gates Avenue) is a bodega called Gates Deli. Naturally, we figured it was one big scandalous cover-up: Gates Burger was fake, the reviews were fake, and Gates Deli was delivering crappy food to non-discerning Ridgewoodites. It didn’t really make sense, and we weren’t sure that was the exact explanation, but we didn’t feel like dealing with it anymore and we let the mystery linger — Ridgewood would have to draw its own conclusions.  Continue reading →

The Food Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

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Hey ya’ll. We feel so lucky that Ridgewood survived Hurricane Sandy without suffering any major damage. Neighborhood folks Ridgewood Beat have tweeted details about A LOCAL DROP-OFF LOCATION FOR DONATIONS. (Oh, and HERE’S ONE MORE.)

In regard to food during the storm: is anyone else on a post-hurricane diet? Here are a few of the things we ate in the 24 hours before, during, and after Sandy:

Snickerdoodles

Monday, 4pm: Snickerdoodles

I grew up eating these cookies but haven’t had them in years. Nowadays I opt for cookies with chocolate, but I didn’t want to go back out and I had all the ‘doodle ingredients already on hand, so the decision was made. I followed this recipe for the most part, with the following modifications: Continue reading →

Ridgewood Thai Delivery and the Gates Burger Mystery

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ridgewood thai pad see ew

Pad See Ew from Ridgewood Thai

We’ve been kind of lazy with food shopping recently, which is something that tends to happen whenever the seasons change. Casseroles are just around the corner, but it’s not quite cold enough yet. So, in honor of our laziness, let’s talk for a moment about food delivery. If you live in Ridgewood, you probably do a fair amount of cooking; Ridgewood is full of young couples and families with young kids, and home-cooked meals are a way of life. Not surprisingly, there’s also fewer food-delivery options in the ‘wood than in many other parts of the city. Yes, everywhere from the corner bodega masquerading as a burger joint (see “A word about Gates Burger,” below) to the Peruvian hole-in-the-wall says they deliver, but when it’s 9pm and we’re tired and hungry, we want something fast and dependable. One place we like for delivery — at least for some things — is Ridgewood Thai. It’s one of only two Thai places in the ‘wood; the other one is really, really, really gross. Sorry, but it is. Continue reading →

Taqueria El Paisa and Other Mexican Options

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tacos from taqueria el paisa

 

Looking for great tacos in Ridgewood? Keep reading and we’ll tell you about our favorites. But first, here’s a quick rundown of all the Mexican (and “Mexican”) eateries:

Authentic Mexican (i.e.,  food like it actually is in Mexico)

  • Guadalajara De Dia #2 (Seneca & Menahan): Serviceable, old school taco joint and grocery. Seems to sell a lot of nostalgia products for folks far away from home.
  • Fresh Pond Mexican Restaurant (corner of Fresh Pond & 68th Avenue): Busy, cluttered, lunch counter–/diner-type spot that sells big Mexican plates. Continue reading →