Lori-Ann Sciachitano

Distribution Manager

Food: ****

Atmosphere: N/A

Service: !!!

Price: $

Distance from Campus: .5 miles

Address: 677 Broad Street

Website: http://www.planetwings.com

Sometimes there is a rainy day, and sometimes on those rainy days we here at the newb don’t want to leave The Vector office. So we decided to review a delivery place and let you our loyal readers know that while we like to promote students going out and exploring Newark, sometimes it’s okay to support local restaurants from the comfort of home. With about six of us wanting to eat we decided we wanted to try something that would give us a variety of flavors for a reasonable price and Planet Wings was a great choice in that sense with over 24 different types of sauce to put on you wings.

The delivery was okay. When we called to place the order they said the order would be to us by 4:30. At 4:30 there were no wings. We called and asked when our food was going to be delivered we were told that the food was leaving the restaurant. The food finally arrived in about 20 minutes though all the food was still hot enough temperature wise. Though to be fair we did order about 60 wings.

We tried 6 of the 24 different sauces. Our favorite was definitely Parmesan Pepper.  The name is exactly describes. It was a really unique non-spicy flavor. It was the first one to go out of all the flavors we tried. Another good non-spicy flavor was the BBQ Teriyaki. It was sweet and tangy; it had a more teriyaki flavor than a BBQ flavor. There was one non-spicy one that was good but had some room for improvement. The Gourmet Garlic wasn’t too garlicy. We were really expecting to have garlic breath for the rest of the night, but didn’t get that here. On the spicy side our favorite was the Hot. It had a very slight sweet flavor but a really good kick of heat, but not to hot to bring tears to your eyes. Like with the non-spicy ones, there were a few spicy ones that disappointed slightly. The Medium was way to mild; it definitely could have used a little more heat. The biggest disappointment was the Cajun. There were two members of our group who had both spent time in Louisiana. The flavor could have been spicier; it didn’t have enough of a Cajun flavor. Some of the members liked the flavor though felt that the name didn’t fit the flavor.

We had some side items and a dessert along with it. The sides we had were curly fries, biscuits and onion rings. The fries were your generic curly fries but were able to keep crispy while being packaged up. The biscuits were a good texture and had a slight garlic flavor to them. Though the garlic flavor was lost with the other flavors in the wings. A little more garlic would have went along way. As well, they didn’t include butter, which was a bit of a disappointment. The onion rings were great. They were big and thick. The onions on the inside were cooked really well, which was impressive due to the size of the onions.

With the dessert we had a similar issue with the name of the item. We ordered what on the menu was billed as Peach cobbler. While the crust that was part of the cobbler had a really good texture, it was not in the traditional way that cobbler is made. Cobbler is generally made with fruit on the bottom toped with a crust and baked. This was more like a pie with crust both on the top and bottom and cut like a piece of pie.

All in all for a take out experience it was pretty good. We ordered over 60 wings with 3 sides and the dessert all for about $10 a person. It was definitely a tasty experience, and the only thing that could have made it better was a couple of ice-cold beers.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano is a junior Science Technology and Society major and can be reached at distribution-manager@njitvector.com.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano

Distribution Manager

Food: ***

Atmosphere: ! ! ! !

Service: @@@@@

Price: $ $ $

Distance From Campus: 1.5 miles

Address: 99 Monroe St

Website: http://brasiliagrill.com/

When trying to figure out where to go for a Newark Newb sometimes it takes thought. Sometimes it may take awhile to describe where you want to go or what kind of food it is. This week when I invited a friend to come along with me the only words I had to say were “Wanna get some meat?” and immediately he knew what I was talking about. Rodizio is a traditional Portuguese where the waiter comes around with different types of grilled meats. Brasilia Grill in the Ironbound is a bright yellow building right off of Ferry Street. When you enter there is a rustic feel to the restaurant that makes it feel that you have left the city and landed in a large country estate. The walls are painted with country landscapes and exposed dark brown rafters.

The drink options are expansive from house made Sangria, gurana soda to fresh squeezed juices the choices are endless. We tried two juices passion fruit and guava. The passion fruit was very thick and had a great mix of sweet and sour. The guava juice was a bit thinner but still had a great flavor to it. They have full bar as well serving draft beers and traditional mixed drinks. The bar also has a seating area for meals as well.

While rodizio is an expensive meal it is well worth the price. With an open salad bar having both hot and cold items from traditional salad, fresh fruit, rice, beans and collard greens this alone makes the $18 completely worth it. There was one let down, there was fried whiting which was very tender but there were lots of bones spread throughout which made it difficult to eat. After we picked a few side items out the meat began coming. The way rodizio works is different types of grilled meats are brought out on skewers and sliced fresh for you enjoyment. From skirt steaks, rump roasts, and prime rib, to delicious spicy sausage, chicken pieces and chicken hearts. The meats were perfectly seasoned and for a lot of them there was a choice between rare and medium rare.  The two favorite items we had was the sausage and the chicken hearts. The sausage was definitely made with natural skin that was crisp and enhanced the flavor of the sausage itself.  Chicken hearts were something we’ve never tried before. They were tiny pieces of meat that had an interesting chewy texture and had a slight irony after taste. Which was really enjoyable. The thing that made this all worth it is you can eat as much meat as you stomach can handle.

All in all the Brasilia Grill is a great place; it’s easy for a large group or a small intimate date. The price is slightly high for a college budget but again it is all you can at including salad bar and the meat. I would recommend visiting the salad bar minimally and concentrating on the variety of meats available.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano is a junior Science Technology and Society major and can be reached at distribution-manager@njitvector.com.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano

Distribution Manager

Food: ****

Atmosphere: ! ! ! ! !

Service: ****

Price: $ $ $

Distance: .7 miles

Address: 37 Commerce Ave

Website: http://www.foodforlifesupreme.com/index.html

Before ever entering Food For Life I had seen the exterior during closed hours and thought that it was a very interesting looking place. There is a large sign on the exterior exclaiming Food for Life, giving the passerby the ability to know that there is an interesting eatery inside.  The outside is painted with a creamy orange with a darker orange flower pattern. The inside of the restaurant has as much appeal as the outside. The floor is tiled with different types of tiles. Ranging from traditional creams and browns, to a mosaic of rocks.

The walls are decorated with large murals of tropical flowers. The individual paintings on the walls were created by students in Newark schools from ages 6-18 about what their concept of food is.  The staff is very friendly and very knowledgeable about the food they are serving. Any question that I had the server was ready with an answer. Even the cook staff was really pleasant and asked how the experience was.

As for drinks, Food for Life has a selection of bottled beverages, their own blend of teas and coffee. One of the highlights is that they have their own fresh made blended smoothies. The fruits used in the smoothies are all grown on Food for Lifes’ own farm. The two flavors they had were mango and strawberry; the fruits were blended to perfection with slices of the frozen fruit garnishing the top.

The cuisine at Food for Life is a fusion of classic American, Asian, and Tex-mex favorites with a twist. When you order a Cuban sandwich instead of the traditional roasted pork and ham, the Food for Life version is a fillet of salmon with banana peppers, pickles and Swiss cheese. The BLT instead of the magical meat made of pork is made but what is known as Nautical Bacon. The meal that I had was the fried whiting with 2 sides. The coating was crispy with just the right amount of spice, and the whiting was tender and flaky. The serving sauce was a spicy creamy mix that went really well with the spice combination of the coating.  As for sides there was a great mix of sides from carrot fries, green beans and mac and cheese. For my sides I had the smothered potatoes that were long thick slices of potato sautéed with onions and green peppers; and candied carrots that were thick coins of carrots coated with a buttery mix of brown sugar and cinnamon.

As I finished the meal the server came up and informed me that they were having a customer appreciation and giving free vanilla ice cream cones. Even though the ice cream was the only thing not made by the company it still tasted good.

One of the best things about Food for Life is not only that 99% of their meals being made with fish, and ½ of the meals either already vegetarian or with the ability to have a vegetarian or vegan, but also they promote education for people around the country to learn about operating a business. In walking distance from the Prudential Center Food for Life is a great healthy option for a delicious dinner, or pre-game snack.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano is a junior Science Technology and Society major and can be reached at distribution-manager@njitvector.com.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano

Distribution Manager

Food: ****

Atmosphere: ! ! !

Service: ****

Price: $

Distance From Campus: 1.5 miles/.5 miles

Address: 946 Broad St. or 136 Halsey St

Website: N/A

The Ark Gourmet has two locations in Newark both set up the same way with a deli style counter in the front, a hot and cold buffet in the middle and a small seating section in the back. The drink choices are just as varied as the menu choices ranging from traditional soda cans and bottles to aloe juice and coconut water. The cold buffet section also had a great mix of fresh fruit and veggies.

The staff is really friendly and is always there to give advice or a recommendation about what to eat. This time I was looking for something without meat in it, and was having some difficulty deciding what to eat. After discussing with the cook and having him suggest a soup or salad that I wasn’t in the mood for, he recommended The Veggie Pita.

The Veggie Pita was a mix of fresh veggies including broccoli, mushrooms, onions, carrots and cucumbers. The cucumbers, cooked with the other vegetables, were the first cooked cucumbers I ever had. While the cucumbers were as warm as the rest of the veggies, they still kept their crunch. Additionally, the veggies were only sautéed with salt and pepper but still had a good flavor.

The pita was warmed before the veggies were placed on top. You can also get the same combination of veggies in a cold version called a California wrap. I had mine served with Caesar dressing, though I felt that the best way to enjoy the pita would have been with a really good cheese. On the topic of cheese, Ark has an amazing selection including havarti, brier, and jalapeño jack. While most people get their orders to go, it seems like the Ark really cares about how their food looks. The pita was wrapped in tinfoil, and the veggies cascaded out of the pita.

I also tried a great pita that was filled with grilled chicken, roasted peppers, pesto sauce and melted bier cheese. The flavor combinations here were great. The tanginess of the pesto mixed with the creaminess of the brier was a great combination. The sandwich was filled to the brim making it very difficult to eat without a fork and knife.

So, if you are looking for a variety of choices, the Ark’s to-go menu is large enough to fill 2 sides of an 8-1/2” x 11” sheet of paper. Not to mention that breakfast is available at anytime. So pick one of Ark Gourmet’s two locations and enjoy.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano is a junior Science Technology and Society major and can be reached at distribution-manager@njitvector.com.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano
Distribution Manager

Food: ✮ ✮
Atmosphere: ! ! ! !
Service: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Price: $
Location: 61 New St
Distance from campus: .5 miles
Website: N/A

One would think that a restaurant close to a college campus would work extra hard to make the quality of their food better than average. That is not necessarily the case with Woodrow’s Café. While Woodrow’s does have some good points it was a generic sort of place.
The setup of the restaurant is really cute. It has lots of grouped tables with the ability to be moved around to fit whatever size party you have. Each wall is covered in different fiesta colors, as well as art from students at Rutgers.
The beverage choices are your average café style coffee drinks, the hot mocha being the highlight of the experience. Soda choices are the average Coke and Pepsi with a few Stewart’s choices thrown in.
As for food choices it was the generic café soups and sandwiches, with no salad choices at all, which was very shocking. I have never been to a café that didn’t at least have one salad choice. There are two soups of the day every day of the week, with one vegetarian option and one non-vegetarian option.
We tried the vegetarian mushroom soup, which had a fine puree of mushrooms and a strong flavor of garlic. It was served with fresh made whole wheat bread that was crusty on the outside and warm and chewy on the inside.
We had two sandwiches The Woodrow Special and Eggplant Balls. The Woodrow was fresh grilled chicken, roasted red peppers and balsamic vinegar. The only flavor that was really prominent was the red pepper, and the chicken by itself was pretty plain.
The Eggplant Balls were served with hummus and were bland as well. Both the hummus and eggplant balls were lacking flavor and were most definitely missing garlic. Both of the sandwiches were served on homemade pizza bread that was the only redeeming quality to both the sandwiches.
All in all Woodrow’s was a pretty big disappointment. I have walked past this restaurant numerous times and was intrigued by its promises of healthy homemade meals, only to be let down when finally trying it out.
If you regularly read the Newb, you know that four issues back, we reviewed a restaurant on Halsey Street called The Coffee Cave. The Coffee Cave offers many of the same amenities as Woodrow’s Café, and they are, in my opinion, of a better quality.
If you are looking for something in the same price range go to The Coffee Cave. If you are looking for something with similar atmosphere and service go to The Coffee Cave. If you are looking for a greater variety of soup choices and must tastier sandwiches go to The Coffee Cave.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano is a sophomore in Science Technology and Society and can be reached at distribution-manager@njitvector.com.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano
Distribution Manager

With the snowstorms we’ve had the past week the newb was stranded on campus. We figured it was a great opportunity to go exploring Newark for some great weekend eats. Little did we know that like our campus a lot of places in Newark close early or don’t open at all on the weekends. In light of this discovery we present a very special Newb. The top 10 places to eat on the weekend. We will provide the location and weekend hours with a general rating and a brief description of each place. There may be repeats. Happy eating!

Breakfast

3. Central Restaurant:    ****
30 Central Ave
Saturday 6:00am-5:30pm, Sunday 6:00am-4:30pm
Central Restaurant is a cute diner that serves breakfast all day, great for a late morning or after religious service. In the early morning there are breakfast specials that include your meal with juice, tea, or coffee with most being less than $6.

2. Intrinsic Café:    ****
5 Sussex Ave
Saturday: Closed, Sunday: noon-12am
Intrinsic Café has the best hot and cold drinks in the city. With bottomless cups of coffee, individual tea pots, and enough bubble tea flavors to explode your head. The atmosphere is great and the variety of baked goods, from bagels and rolls to Chinese steamed buns, is key.

1. Je’s Restaurant:    *****
260 Halsey St
Saturday 8:00am-7:30pm, Sunday 9:00am-7:30pm
When we original reviewed Je’s we went for lunch but we’ve returned on numerous occasions for breakfast. Je’s breakfasts are big cheap and good. Our favorite is the 2 eggs any style with slab bacon grits and biscuits. With that everyone’s welcome feel it is a great breakfast spot. Don’t forget to ask for a side of fried apples!

Lunch

3. Kara’s Roti Shop:    ****
579 South Orange Ave
Saturday: 8:30am-7:00pm Sunday: 9am-5pm
Kara’s has a great selection of traditional Trinidadian favorites from Roti and Doubles, to Bakes, there are great prices and friendly service. They don’t make you feel dumb when you ask what something is and you can choose the spiciness.

2.  The Coffee Cave:    *****
45 Halsey St
Saturday: 11am-8pm Sunday: 11am-6pm
The Coffee Cave has the best soup we’ve tasted in Newark. With new flavors everyday you’ll never get bored. Our favorites were the chicken tortilla and mulligatawny.

3. Hobby’s Deli:     *****
32 Branford Pl
Saturday: 11am-3pm Sunday: closed; they are also open until game time for every Devil’s home game
Hobby’s is one of the best spots in Newark, with an amazing staff, great sandwiches, great prices and tons of Newark History it’s a wonderful lazy Saturday lunch spot with pickles and a brisket wrap.

Dinner

3. Ando’s Restaurant:     ****
9 Wilson Ave
Open 24 Hours Saturday and Sunday
An awesome diner in the middle of the Ironbound Andro’s has great specials, large portions, and friendly staff. Most items are made fresh daily with new specials every day. Their French fries are to die for.

2. Adega Grill:    ****
130 Ferry St
Saturday 3:00-10:00pm, Sunday noon-10pm
This is not a place to go out with the boys, this is date night/mom and dad are visiting type of place. If you are looking to impress someone with the true taste of Newark Adega is a great spot. A little on the pricy side but portions are huge.

1.  Ferry Street BBQ:    *****
89 Ferry St.
Saturday and Sunday: 11am-10pm
With ribs and chicken seasoned to perfection falling off the bone, cooked right in front of you Ferry Street BBQ has large portions for awesome prices. Open late it’s great for a pre bar hopping or sporting event meal. Definitely not a spot to miss.

Overall Best Weekend Spot

Alta Horas:     *****
266 Ferry St
Open 24 hours Saturday-Sunday
Alta Horas has a great variety of burger choices, great drink selections, and is open 24 hours and will deliver to NJIT anytime before midnight. The best late night munchies or stuck in your apartment because of snow spot. Looking for leftovers? The Da Hora is the sandwich for you.

Lori-Ann Sciachitano

Distribution Manager

Food: ***

Atmosphere: ***

Service: 3333

Price: $$

Location: 6 Wilson Ave

Distance from Campus: 2 miles

We here at the Newb would like to issue a formal apology to you, our loyal readers. Back in October when we reviewed a local restaurant, we claimed that there were no 24 hour diners in Newark. After discovering Andros Restaurant in the Ironbound, we have what we are proud to say is a Jersey style 24-hour diner!

Located next to a strip club at the curve of Ferry St., it is a great spot to stop after a night out on the town. It is walking distance from the popular night clubs of the Ironbound and not far from the Prudential Center.

It is set up like a traditional diner with booths, tables and a long counter with stool seating facing the desert case. The color scheme is one we’ve seen many times in restaurants in Newark: pink and mint green. We chose to sit in a booth, and the seats were very comfortable. Unlike some diners, the cushions on the benches were still firm enough making the distance between the table and your mouth very far.

Andros offers a variety of beverages from traditional sodas, coffees and teas, to a complete open bar with house sangria, shakes and homemade lemonade. We tried a banana chocolate shake and homemade lemonade.

The coffee was a great cup, strong and never ending. The banana chocolate shake had a fantastic even flavor of banana and chocolate; it was served in a traditional silver mixing cup filled with that extra bit of shake. The homemade lemonade was a great mix of sweet and sour with pieces of fresh lemon served with the same extra cup.

For meals we had a traditional Reuben, a Cuban sandwich, a burger, and filet of sole franchise. The Ruben, Cuban and burger were all served with French fries, pickle and coleslaw while the sole was served with rice and steamed veggies. The filet of sole was a very generous portion with two large filets and a generous portion of rice. It had a nice tangy flavor of lemon and was tender and flaky.

The burger was a typical burger; nothing spectacular, nothing disappointing. The Ruben was made with corned beef, but you could choose to have it with pastrami or turkey. It was very moist and the Swiss cheese melted to perfection. The Cuban sandwich was a sandwich and a half packed with roasted pork, ham, pickles, mayo and Swiss cheese all pressed together through a Panini machine. The fries that were served with the sandwiches were great, perfectly crispy and spicy.

We ended the meal with desserts of carrot cake, rice pudding, and strawberry cheesecake. The carrot cake was moist with thick layers of cream cheese filling. The rice pudding was, while not the best rice pudding, a nice creamy blend of flavors. The cheesecake was served with two giant strawberries that complemented the sweet cake to perfection.

All in all, Andros is a great spot for typical diner food but straying from the typical diner fair may leave you disappointed. Andros gets bonus points for its fast, friendly service and its 24 hour status. So after a night of drinking or screaming your head off at a Devil’s game, Andros fits the bill.

Food: ***

Atmosphere: ☻☻☻☻

Service: ####

Price: $$

Location: 11 Lafayette Street (at the Prudential Center)

Distance from Campus: 1 mile

Website: www.brickcitycoffee.com

We here at the Newb are of course big fans of sports in Newark. Be it NJIT’s own basketball teams or NHL’s Devils we spend a lot of time at the Prudential Center. But recently we discovered an addition to the Rock, Brick City Coffee Company (BCCC).

Attached to the south side of the Rock near the Amerihealth Pavilion (where our men’s hockey team plays their home games), BCCC is a beverage haven; from hot coffees and teas, to cold blended beverages, they are prepared to heat you up or cool you down. The location has great hours; it is open from 8am, and it’s convenient to stop in while you wait to get into the game.

Pricing at BCCC is comparable to your typical coffee shop, but I feel better about giving them my money for a cup of coffee rather than a national chain. BCCC has Corey Booker’s seal of approval, as the mayor is a frequent customer; his favorite drink is a skim vanilla latte.

BCCC is a very nice location, the colors matching well with the home team’s colors of red and black. The seating options are limited with low and high seats and matching tables. The lighting is rather unique with very cute flame colored fixtures.

The space is very airy with a great exposed brick wall that brings the establishment’s name meaning. There is local art that lines the wall including a great collection of photos from around Newark. It is really great to see a local business that appreciates the sites and sounds of our city.

We tried a few of the beverages to get a rounded view of the different drinks they had to offer. We had the Brick City White Mocha, both hot and cold, a cinnamon mocha and a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was creamy but could have used a little bit more chocolate flavoring.

The cinnamon mocha was a great blend of chocolate with a nice kick of spice from the cinnamon. The cold Brick City White Mocha had a much stronger white chocolate flavor than anything else, while the hot version had a much mellower white chocolate flavor that blended better with the coffee.

The food choices are fairly limited, with pre-made sandwiches and giant cookies rounding out the options. We tried two sandwiches that made for decent pick me ups, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to grab one. They also serve Hales and Hearty Soups; they don’t compare to the soups we’ve had else where, but the location of BCCC makes everything they have worth it.

Food: ★★★☆☆
Atmosphere: ☺☺☺
Service: ✔✔✔✔✔
Price: $$
Location: 63 New St.
Distance from Campus: .4 miles
Website: http://robertspizza.synthasite.com/

As your average American we have had our share of pizza. From chains like Dominos and Pizza Hut, to mom’s homemade, we’re what some may call aficionados. We look forward to a crispy crunch of the crust, the tanginess of the sauce, and the melted, yet not molten lava heat of the cheese. And in no way, shape, or form should pizza be eaten with a fork and knife.

Robert’s was not the best pizza we’ve ever eaten but for a change of pace it does the job. Located directly across the street from the Rutgers Newark campus, Roberts pizza does a few things right.

They have fast friendly service, big portions, and a good price. The restaurant has your typical American pizzeria feel with wooden bench seats that form to the shape of your body and traditional wooden tabletops. The kitchen is completely open to view so you can watch as the chef’s prepare your order. The walls are a colorful mix of yellow, blue and green with paintings and photos depicting the scenes from “The Old World”.

Drink options are many with Coke, Pepsi, Snapple and Juice in both cans and bottles, though there are no fountain beverages, which was a little disappointing but the amount of choices made up for it.

The service was extremely quick. I sat for barely a minute before my slice of pizza appeared in front of me. The crust was thin and crunchy, the sauce was a good amount and the cheese was melted just right. But nothing about it struck me as special; it was average pizza. We also decided to order a few of the other menu items to see how they faired to our taste buds.

The next item that came to us was the Italian Cheese Steak, with cheese, onions, peppers, French fries, and mozzarella cheese on crusty Italian bread. The bread was awesome. We have seen cheese steaks where the bread was not toasted and couldn’t hold up to the moistness of the meat, but Robert’s toasted there bread which was a welcomed surprise. The steak was thinly sliced, mixed with the onions and peppers, and packed into the bread; the cheese was then melted on top of the steak mixture with the French fries placed on top of the cheese. We actually liked that the fries were placed on after the cheese was melted so the fries wouldn’t get soggy.

The last dish we tried was a calzone. We were a little surprised that the calzone was made with pizza dough and not different dough. Pizza dough gave the calzone a thinner crust and therefore made it prone to leaking. We decided to get ours filled with cheese, ham, pepperoni and peppers.

The cheese was great and there was lots of it. The pepperoni was cut in normal slices that would go on top of a pizza, but there were too many peppers and not enough ham. The ham was sliced ham cut up into smaller squares, and there was more peppers then anything else. When we tried to eat the calzone with our hands all of the fillings gathered at the bottom of the calzone, making some bites only contain crust. We would recommend getting fewer fillings so it has equal flavor and cutting the calzone in half so it is easier to eat.

All in all, the word I was use to describe Robert’s is “Meh”. It wasn’t anything amazingly delicious that would knock your socks off, but it wasn’t the worst thing we’ve eaten. With a price of $15 for all three items and two cans of soda it isn’t a bad deal. And with free delivery and late night deals, Robert’s is a good option to consider.