Well, folks, it’s been a while since my signature has dared to grace these pages but that may soon change. I can’t make promises, though, so I will tell you why. As Ali mentioned earlier, we’ve been going through some changes. I left my previous employer and am training to be a teacher in NYC (subject: English as a Second Language). That has meant 12-hour days. Oh, and I have been on crutches for 5 weeks and expect to continue in my cast for a possible 6 more months! Take my advice: if you see a movie being filmed on a street you happen to walk down, don’t bother to even try to get away (as I did). Stay perfectly still until they finish and go away - even if that means standing in one spot for weeks. Their seemingly safe wires that are strewn over the sidewalk are anything but. Ah, but I digress. So, I haven’t been Going Out Jersey very much lately. Not even for my thirtieth birthday! Big Jersey Pout.

But, don’t worry dear Jerseyites, we’ll be back in no time!

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Dearest Jersey Natives and Recent Transplants,

Since our official launch on April 20, 2007, GoOutJersey has been featuring more columns, Thoughts of the Day, editorials, and general bloggy-ness for your reading pleasure. This also includes Click This!, our recommended link of the day, which sends you to blogs or sites with Jersey news, Jersey-related info, or “going out”-related fun and advice. And, of course, you can’t forget everyone’s favorite column from the, er, candid Jersey Waitress.

And now, to help you to better navigate from our drunken exploits, overindulged tummies and general Jersey raucousness, to our more topical, ever worldly opinions, debates and ranting, we’ve created a special site just for the latter, called GOJ Features. Just click the Features tab you see at the top of the page. There, you’ll be able to find all previous editorials, opinions, Click This! columns, Jersey Waitress, etc., and the ones to come. But, don’t worry, we’ll let you know here about what’s new over there so you won’t get lost and frustrated in your next apple martini-induced stupor.

We hope you’ll continue to read our site and share your opinions with us, to show your support for this growth — even while you talk shit about us behind our backs.

July 30, 2007

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Hello Readers,

Donna and I have been struggling for two months to develop some kind of ratings scale to make life easier for our dozen (perhaps dozens) of readers. We wanted something a little bit different, a little quirky, very GoOutJersey. And it just hit me, thanks to my mother.

My family and I were about to head out to Marzullo’s in Montclair for Mom’s birthday dinner and I asked her how I should dress. Her response, “Casual,” didn’t help me. I was standing in my living room at 5 p.m. wearing glow-in-the-dark monkey pants and a hooded sweatshirt. “This is causal, no? I don’t get much more casual than this.”

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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.

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Hey everyone,

In the coming weeks, GoOutJersey will be searching for the Best Pizza Slice in this region. We’ll be wandering — with grease dripping down our chins and a trail of paper plates in our wake — from North Arlington to Kearny, Clifton, Hoboken, Nutley and beyond (well, not too far beyond).

This is obviously a lot of ground to cover and with some seriously steep competition, so help us out! You’re from Jersey, which means you’re opinionated and vocal, so let us know your favorite pizza parlor, where it is, and why you’d recommend them. Post your comments below, for all to see and agree/disagree with you.

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Dearest Jersey Natives and Recent Transplants,

We have found that every night out in metropolitan Jersey seems to end the same way: a brightly-lit diner, a hot cup of coffee, a greasy plate of disco fries (if you don’t know what they are, don’t worry, you’ve come here to learn*) and a group of friends laughing at an intoxicated Guido yelling at his fake-nailed girlfriend.

But how the night begins is another matter.

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