For decades, Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood has been a haven for anyone wanting to shake off a Jersey state of mind without crossing state borders. The twinkly lights festooning Ferry Street are by now a beacon for those in the know; saunter through, and suddenly you’re feeling celebratory, as though you’re in another place.
Foodwise, that other place is primarily Portugal and Spain. Yes, traces of Brazil and other Latin American countries are part of the intimate, strollable scene. But the Iberian immigrant community (the Iberian Peninsula includes Portugal, Spain and the Basque country) is responsible for most of the unfamiliar flavors visitors find in the four-square-mile community locals call Down Neck, says Antonio Valla, cofounder of Have You Met Newark, which gives local culinary tours.
Manny Antunes, who leads the tours, says there’s no official count of how many Iberian places are in the district. Immigrants have been routinely opening and closing restaurants, there since the early 1900s, when they started putting down roots. But “if you include every restaurant, lunch counter and bar that serves Spanish or Portuguese food, you’re looking at over 100” within a single mile, he says.
Spanish Tavern, whose billboard on McCarter Highway is recognizable to many a Jersey resident, may be the longest running—it opened in the 1930s—and is a reliable spot for classic dishes like paella, Antunes says.
Fornos of Spain and Sol-Mar Restaurant & Marisqueira are the favorites of “insiders,” he adds.
A newer wave of restaurants is specializing in less familiar Iberian dishes. Antunes says Coimbra is popular with recent immigrants and “makes a very famous leitão” (suckling pig), “while Casa de Paco is known for their pulpo,” or octopus with paprika.
Barbecue adventurists may be drawn to the ribs and chicken at Ferry Street BBQ and McWhorter BBQ, recent contenders in a “battle of the Portuguese barbecue” hyped by the local business-improvement district (the winner: Ferry Street).
Texeira is the best-known outpost for sweets. But Pao da Terra, whose husband-and-wife owners live in the neighborhood, has been quietly churning out exceptional pastéis de nata, or egg tarts and Portuguese breads for 15 years. Co-owner Raquel Nascimento says the tarts remind locals of the tender puff pastries with silky-sweet centers they knew from home. Breads include paode mafra, a rustic loaf native to the Lisbon area.
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