Baristanet | My Favorite Place

My Favorite Place: Joe Strupp’s Love Letter to Maplewood

BY Carolyn Maynard-Parisi | Monday, Jan 23, 2012 10:30am | COMMENTS (4)

Investigative reporter, blogger, pot-stirrer and die-hard Maplewoodian, Joe Strupp shared this video billet-doux with Baristanet. Filled with images of the people and places that make Maplewood great, it is an unabashed early Valentine to the town.

An Even Cozier Trend Starts Open Mic Nights

BY Debbie Galant | Thursday, Jan 05, 2012 11:06am | COMMENTS (0)

The sunny bay windows were what attracted us to Trend Coffee and Tea House last March. Then, last month, as promised, owner Eliott Alex opened up a large back room with sofa groupings that give the space a kind of Cafe Eclectic vibe — a nice addition to the block since Eclectic said its au revoirs. Cozy electric fireplaces add a little warmth. In addition to desserts, there’s a menu of salads, sandwiches, soups and even chocolate fondue. My personal favorite is the skim chai latte, made from coconut chai supplied by our own local Chai Guy.

Starting tonight, Trend will also hold open mic nights on Thursdays from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Singers, poets, comics and instrumentalists — anybody brave enough to hold a mic and bellow forth — is invited. Performers get a free large. coffee. Admission is free.

One More Reason to Visit the Van Vleck House (Hint: Bring Your Cell Phone)

BY Christina Gillham | Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 9:00am | COMMENTS (3)

Living just a block from the Van Vleck House & Gardens, I have long been aware of its charms. Still, my visits there have been mostly guided by the behavior of my children: when things get a little too rambunctious inside, the close proximity of Van Vleck has provided a much needed breath of fresh air.

Recently, however, after hearing about a new self-guided audio tour of the historic property, I went to explore the gardens on my own. The tour is done by cell phone and visitors can phone in to hear a recorded message from one of 10 locations around the property’s 5.8 acres. The tour is self-paced, so it can be as quick or as leisurely as you want.

Watchung Booksellers Turns 20

BY Debbie Galant | Tuesday, Sep 20, 2011 11:55am | COMMENTS (8)

Readers of Montclair, do you realize how lucky you are to live in a town that has not one, but two independent booksellers? And venerable ones at that? Two years ago, Montclair Book Center on Glenridge Ave. celebrated its 25th birthday, and this Saturday, Watchung Booksellers at 54 Fairfield St. in Montclair, turns 20. There are activities all day, starting with music for the kids at 10 a.m. and winding up with a champagne toast at 5 p.m.

My Favorite Place: Fabulous Wallcoverings

BY Debbie Galant | Friday, Jun 24, 2011 1:15pm | COMMENTS (3)

Women of a certain age who have lived in Essex County for a certain amount of time are likely to remember Fabulous Wallcoverings — an amazing store that existed in one of the Edison factory buildings in West Orange. Unlike other wallpaper stores, Fabulous had bins and bins of wallpaper rolls in stock — about 14,000 patterns at any time — at major discounts. You could literally walk in, pick out your pattern, go home and put it on the wall. Most rolls cost $9.95.

You had to ascend a very long staircase to get to the second-floor establishment, and it could be tough if you had a toddler in tow — but it was worth it.

That Fabulous has been gone since 2007, victim of a downtown redevelopment project that stalled in 2009. (The project appears to be happening again.) They relocated to an office building next to 4Sixty6 Lounge on Prospect Ave. in West Orange, where they still provide the services they always did — wallcoverings, window treatments and upholstery — but without the ready-to-purchase rolls.

My Favorite Place: Spice Thai Cuisine

BY Pat Gonzalez | Tuesday, May 17, 2011 3:00pm | COMMENTS (0)

I have been going to Spice Thai Cuisine since they opened. We have birthday parties there and have celebrated New Year’s Eve at Spice for the last 3 years.

A year ago, my mom Rose had a stroke and was at Kessler Rehab in West Orange for 2 months. The first thing she did as she recovered was to get someone to call Roj, the owner of Spice, to have some food delivered. At first he didn’t know who it was that was calling, but Roj and I eventually figured out that it was my mother. She never returned home, but went to live in California with my sister. Every time I called, she would ask “Did you go to Spice?”. She truly loves the food there.

It’s now been a year and she was finally able to visit us in New Jersey. Guess where we took her first?

You have it! The best food place around, beautiful flowers and great service — no, great family. You feel like you’re at home.

Roj, thank you for making me and my mom very happy, with great food and company. Please open a restaurant in California.

Baristanet Helps Launch “Authentically Local” Campaign

BY Debbie Galant | Monday, May 16, 2011 11:30am | COMMENTS (132)

Last July, we launched a feature called “My Favorite Place,” in which we celebrate the local places that fill our hearts and make Baristaville special. Last week, we helped spearhead a campaign called “Authentically Local” — which aims to preserve what is special in every community by celebrating, and supporting, those businesses and institutions that are home grown, not planted there by a large corporation. You can read our organization’s philosophy statement (which I wrote) here. Support our campaign by liking our Facebook page here.

Joining us in this campaign are 34 other hyperlocal news site, including our sister site Barista Kids, and in New Jersey, MyVeronaNJ, RedBankGreen and Hoboken411.

Irises: An Appreciation

BY Holly Korus | Friday, May 13, 2011 2:40pm | COMMENTS (4)

Before you all get lippy with me and start in on the “Baristas how many times are you going to post the same old Iris stuff?”…… zip it. Even my crotchety editor, who will remain nameless, (but she knows who she is D.G.) was ho-hum about irises. So, I have a story for you: Continue Reading

My Favorite Place: Southeast Corner of Claremont and N. Fullerton

BY Debbie Galant | Saturday, Apr 09, 2011 9:00am | COMMENTS (1)

If there was any one corner of Montclair where you could find not one but two orange sofas on the sidewalk it would have to be the one where they were actually found: the southeast corner of Claremont Ave. and N. Fullerton Ave.

My Favorite Place: Lotus Yoga

BY Debbie Galant | Friday, Mar 25, 2011 1:30pm | COMMENTS (4)

I’ve done warrior pose in most of the yoga studios around Montclair, and they all have something to say for them. In some ways, one could argue, they’re all pretty much alike. You buy a package of a certain number of classes, check in with somebody at a computer, grab a mat, some blocks and a strap, and get in lotus position and wait until somebody tells you to sit up straight. Most of the instructors around town move between all the studios anyway, so it’s not like any one studio has a stable of teachers that’s head-and-shoulders above the rest.

I didn’t find my yoga home, however, until I followed yoga teacher Mary Paige Snell to her Monday morning gig at Lotus Yoga in Montclair. I instantly felt transported.