Well, friends, I have a bit of a confession to make. <<cringe>> When I go out to eat, I don’t usually go out in Jersey. Yup.

<<breathe, breathe>> Okay. Here’s the thing. I work in NYC (where I lived for the last 10 years) and prefer walking over driving (of course, if metro Jersey had subways, I’d be all over that). In all fairness to moi, it’s not always up to me where we go out to eat and my husband has yet to really get all the “yay Jersey” signals I’ve been sending out.

I guess Jersey is still pretty “new again” to me, too; all our favorite places — French, Thai, Seafood, Peruvian, Austrian, Vegetarian, Steak House, and even chain restaurants –are in the city. So, I know how it feels — whether you’re new to Jersey or have been living in Hudson County your whole life — to be stuck in a rut or, as I like to say, stuck in a repeating-what-wouldn’t-be-bad-if-you-weren’t-always-repeating-it mode. So, just as I’m hoping this site will get you to shake up your usual nightlife choices, it’s challenging me to do the same. I know you - you might even read about a delicious, unique place on this site but still go for the pub grub on 17 you get every Friday.

So, I’d like to ask you a favor: write and tell me about your favorite non-American (no, dad, I didn’t say un-American) restaurant. Where do you go when you need a special night out? The kind of places you can’t live without. The place that introduced you to a new cuisine you thought you’d never try. Your old standby may become my new obsession, and someone else’s unique find. Like a flea market, but without the overpriced crap and pushy older ladies. Mail me at: donna AT gooutjersey.com

There are some things, though, that even NYC with all its options has not been able to take away from Jersey. Truly home-cooked Italian. Click here to read my review.

— by Donna M.
Donna is both a Jersey native and recent transplant from NYC. She is executive editor and a co-founder of GoOutJersey.

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