Celebrating its official opening this past Monday night was The Ainsworth, the new restaurant-bar-lounge-event space at Hotel Indigo, 810 Broad Street in Newark.
It’s the fifth location for an Ainsworth; there’s one in Hoboken and the rest are in NYC. The concept? Swanky, sleek, sophisticated.
The food is American (upscale burgers are a specialty), the cocktails are hand-crafted and the HD TVs are typically tuned to sports. More information will be forthcoming at theainsworth.com.
What else in new in New Jersey restaurants?
SEAK, from James Wang, has opened at 725 River Road in Edgewater. If the address sounds familiar and you were waiting for a spot called “Phorage” to open there, you can exhale: Seak is the new name for the eatery that, yes, was planned with the name Phorage in mind. But that didn’t work out. So Wang went with SEAK—for Southeast Asian Kitchen, since the focus is on Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. it’s open for lunch and dinner daily. BYO. 201-402-3400; seaknj.com.
Afghan Palace opened earlier this month at 1020 Route 18 in East Brunswick. Serving Afghani and Pakistani fare for lunch and dinner daily, the menu offers classic dishes in its shopping-center storefront setting. 732-307-7163 and on Facebook at Afghan Palace NJ.
In the works:
The word on the street is that Elia will be the name of the new restaurant in the old Park & Orchard space at 240 Hackensack Street in East Rutherford. Think Mediterranean, with a strong Greek focus. Think lots of seafood. Think October opening. And keep thinking as we try to gather more info for you.
Tacoria, a Mexican street-food spot, is planned for 367 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. 973-893-5220.
Stone & Rock, 175 Glen Rock Road in Glen Rock. Fine-dining-fare alert: This one’s from Adam Weiss, long the chef at Esty Street, Park Ridge.