No Bull: Chronicle Burger Now Open!

Do you ever just crave a really good burger? Satisfy your craving at the newly opened Chronicle Burger located at 15 S. Essex Ave (right off of Main St behind the library). We'll write a more thorough review with pics later, but we did sample some stuff yesterday and it was pretty great- the burgers came out fast, they were substantial but not too big, and I highly recommend the onion rings. The prices are also very enticing and they have a good variety of items on the menu- not just burgers (see below). So if you're tired of wasting your money on big macs, walk on down the street and grab a Chronic Burger. I'll even throw in a coupon for you. As always, after you give it a try, come back and let us know what you think!

Uncle Philly's Famous Cheesesteaks NOW OPEN!

Uncle Philly's has officially opened! Located at 501 Central Ave Orange, NJ. See below for menu and 10% off coupon. Go try it out and let us know what you think!

Olga y Juanita's Deli aka Biggest Lunch Ever

Olga y Juanita’s Deli

17 White Street, West Orange
(Corner of White & Ashland, one block east of Main)

It was the cheerful murals that first inspired us to check out this Peruvian spot in West Orange. Its official name is Olga y Juanita’s Deli – for the owner, Juanita, and her late mother – but we started calling it Biggest Lunch Ever halfway through our first visit: the food is delicious, and there is a lot of it.

Don’t try to order off the menu; just ask for the daily special. This will set you back just $6.00, and includes soup, a main course (choose one of two options) and a drink. As you wait, you nibble on puff-roasted jumbo corn kernels called cancha, a forerunner to popcorn. The ambiance is upbeat: there are colourful tapestries on the walls; the television is always on, playing telenovelas; the staff are friendly; and the customers will pitch in with suggestions if you have trouble deciding what to order, as we often do.

Then the majesty of Lunch begins. Forget those prissy little soup bowls you can barely fit your spoon in: the bowl is as big as your head. It’s usually a hunk of chicken or beef with noodles, though we have gotten an excellent seafood bisque on occasion as well. We season it liberally with limes and hot salsa, which features onions and garlic (a note of caution: since the salsa is homemade, its spiciness varies; do a taste-check before adding that second spoonful). Before you’ve reached the bottom of the soup, the main course appears – and the table starts to look like Thanksgiving for a rather large family.

The main course is a large platter of rice with stew – chicken with beans, grilled chicken with stewed vegetables, grilled fish – which, again, goes well with a dash of the hot sauce. We were pleased even with our more adventurous choices, such as trepa – tripe – served in bite-sized pieces with green beans, and as flavorful as everything we’d come to expect at Biggest Lunch Ever. To wash it all down you get a tall glass of something cold and sweet, again depending on the day: sometimes lemonade, sometimes mango, and we especially like the chicha, a deep red drink made out of maize.

The biggest surprise at Biggest Lunch Ever is that you’re actually able to eat most of it – it’s that good. We finish with a café con leche, which comes piping hot in a (what else?) very large mug. The consistently happy food has made Olga y Juanita’s a favourite spot for our team; as deadlines approach and projects loom, we retreat to Biggest Lunch Ever to recharge.

Biggest.Lunch.Ever.

Rita's Deli pt.2: Uruguay is the New Jersey to Argentina's New York

This is the second time we have visited Rita's Deli near the corner of Central Ave. and Scotland Rd. in the valley. Rita's specializes in Uruguayan deli fare, catering to the small but concentrated Uruguayan population of Essex County. Rita has run the kitchen for the last 15 years keeping her customers happy in the morning with her traditional pastries. Uruguayan food is similar to Argentine cuisine but a little more rustic and heartier. Both are very beef-centric cultures. One of Rita's cooks Tino - a lifetime Orange resident - compares Uruguay's relationship to Argentina as the one he sees between New Jersey and New York. Very similar at first glance, but there is a honesty and attitude that really defines Uruguay.

The morning rush is the lifeblood of Rita's. Each morning at 3am the baking begins to crank out dozens of sweet and savory pastries. They all look, smell, and sound delicious. How can you turn down something called 'pan con grasa,' which literally translates to bread with grease. Donuts and other types of sweet breads filled with creme, dulce de leche, or even quince jam round out the offerings. By mid-morning the pastries are all but gone and lunch begins.

Lunch at Rita's is usually a daily special or two and the ubiquitous Latin snack, empanadas. Monday through Thursday's specials tend to be a simple but amazingly flavorful stew with rice. Estofado was the choice on my last visit; a beef stew with potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers. There was also a hint of fish or shrimp stock added in, which really ratchets up the flavor and sets it apart from other beef stews. This was a seriously hearty lunch, eat the whole plate and you may need a 2pm nap.

While you can't go wrong anytime you stop into Rita's, do yourself a favor and come in on a Friday or Saturday for a chivito, the national sandwich of Uruguay. Sliced steak is garnished with lettuce, tomato, mozzarella cheese, ham, bacon, and hardboiled egg. Slathered with a bit of mayonnaise and served up on hearty bread. Eat it in, or bring it home and savor it with a bottle of hearty red wine.

Rita's Deli
502 Central Ave.
Orange, NJ 07050
(973)-675-9002

Algarve BBQ II Portuguese Restaurant

You don't always have to go to the Ironbound to get good Portuguese BBQ! Algarve opened up right here in Orange back in December 2009, and has been serving up delicious, HEAPING portions of tender grilled meat ever since. Its great for lunch or dinner- just make sure you go with a group, this is the perfect kind of place to order a big plate of food and split it. We went with the standard BBQ chicken for starters and it was tender and juicy and the large plate was more than enough for 4 of us. (And for $12.95, split 4 ways it was also a great deal!). The order also comes with a huge serving of rice and french fries. Make sure to take advantage of the BBQ and hot sauce they put out on the table. Also, I usually can't resist ordering anytime I see plantains on the menu, so we ordered a plate of those. I consider myself somewhat of a plantain connosieur and let me tell you, these were perfectly cooked plantains. They weren't too mushy or too crispy, they had just the right amount of fried-ness. To wash it all down? Try an uptown: a mix of their homemade lemonade and ice tea.

www.algarvebbq.com

Algarve BBQ II

7-9 Lincoln Ave

Orange NJ 07050

973-614-RIBS (7427)

Award winning Cheesesteak comes to Orange

Unfortunately Daily Soup is no longer with us. They closed their doors in mid-August. However, the space will not be empty long as we will soon be graced with the presence of one of NJ Monthly's top cheesesteaks -- Uncle Philly's, originally of Matawan. Alongside their signature steaks they will serve up Italian style hot dogs and sausages.

They are slated to open in the next two weeks. Grand opening coverage to come.

Sandwiches Unlimited pt. 2: Because we Just Couldn't Get Enough!

Sandwiches Unlimited in Orange is a staple in the center of Orange. Operating since 1974, Sandwiches Unlimited serves high quality deli sandwiches seven days a week. Walking into Sandwiches Unlimited, even the first time, feels like home. The restaurant is usually bustling, filled with the sounds of music playing from the jukebox, the sizzling of real rib eye steaks on the grill, and the latest gossip around town. The sandwiches are affordable, and not your traditional deli sandwich. You can order a sandwich "unlimited" which is a standard preparation with lettuce and tomatoes or for the more adventurous diner, you can order a sandwich "Italian" with french fries inside the sandwich. Each sandwich is made fresh to order in just a matter of minutes. You can order the half or whole sandwich (trust me, half is more than enough for the average appetite) On this visit, I got the fish filet unlimited, one of my favorite sandwiches. It comes with 1-2 hearty fried fish patties with lettuce, tomato, tartar sauce, oh and don't forget the hot sauce! Not only does this restaurant serve high quality sandwiches made from fresh ingredients, they offer locally prepared desserts (sweet potato pies and a variety of cakes). Sandwiches Unlimited operates in two locations one at 23 S. Center St in Orange, and the other location is 405 Central Avenue in East Orange. Visit the website: http://www.sandwichesunlimited.net/index.htm

Hat City Kitchen

From a Guest Blogger-

Decided to have an early Valentine's Day dinner at the newly opened Hat City Kitchen, a restaurant my daughter has been extolling as worthy of breaking our recent belt-tightening cutback of limiting outings.

We were not disappointed.

I had the Grilled Catfish with Crayfish Sauce (I'm used to it being spelled "crawfish" and pronounced that way as I am from south Louisiana - Baton Rouge to be specific, so I have eaten a fair share of catfish and crawfish). It was delicious! The catfish was grilled just right so that it looked tasty; grilled to tenderness bringing out the slightly smoky, delicate nutty flavor that satisfies. The crawfish were equally as good, just braised enough to bring out their sweetness, and not overcooked to toughness (which happens when cooks/chefs don't know what these "meats" should be like). The sauce looked a little watery, but was not. It was smooth, not too rich, and the flavors held together, which helped meld the crawfish and the catfish really nicely.

My sides were greens and cornbread. The greens were fresh and tender, and the cornbread was good (although it could have been warmed a little to help melt the butter I asked for on the side).

My husband had the Blackened Salmon with Brown Sugar Mustard Sauce. All I could get out of him was that it was really good -- that is high praise from him. His sides were greens and the Baked Potato Fries. We all ate the Baked Potato Fries!

The presentation of the food was inviting; oversized, slightly welled plates with the food centered and "placed" showing off the not to large, not to small portions immediately put me in the mind that the food was going to be good, and it was. Needless to say, our plates were clean, which is not always the case eating out.

About the bar service -- we both had drinks. I had a pomegranate mojito which was blended just right. My only complaint here was that the mint leaves needed to be more whole to keep from coming up the straw or more pulverized so I wouldn't have noticed pieces of leaf in my teeth. My husband had a beer. Well, Hat City Kitchen has draft beers, bottled beer, and micro-beers! My husband said the service was superb! I think that was because the waitress, without asking, bought a chilled glass with my husband's beer!

I agree that the service was excellent. The waitress was thoughtful, friendly, and attentive.

The decor was comfortable, casual, warm colors, and in the mind of retro - Depression-era chic. The main dining area is separated from the bar area (which after entering through the main door is to the right), and a bandstand and club area is to the left after you enter the main door.

What about the prices? After dinner I was fine and intend to go back. I didn't blink at the appetizer prices which did not surprise although I did not have any. My first reaction to the prices for Main Courses was that they could have been a couple of dollars less, but after dinner I reconciled with myself that if I were in Montclair or South Orange I would not have had that first reaction. I know I would have spent the same at Libretti's (in Orange) and may or may not have gotten such welcoming service.

My hat is off to Hat City Kitchen!

I'm definitely going back with friends.

By the way, you can park behind the church that is diagonally across the corner from the restaurant.
Oh yes, the name came from the history of Orange.

Hat City Kitchen, 459 Valley Street, Orange, NJ.
(If you know Orange, it is where Ricci's in the Valley used to be)

http://hatcitykitchen.com/