The Ironbound, if you haven’t been, is a Jersey food must. A lively Portuguese and Brazilian immigrant neighborhood, this area has not gentrified with the speed of Hoboken or other close-to-NY areas. It remains as delicious and authentic as it was when my fiancé started going there with his family 35 years ago.
English is still the second language spoken, soccer is the first sport on the television, and the food is reasonably priced, pridefully made and outrageously delicious.
We started at Seabra’s Marisquiera with drinks–a small pitcher of red sangria and a Super Bock beer, plus a plate of fried anchovies, because the two men sitting next to me were having a plate. When you go to the Ironbound, be sure to look around when you eat, because the locals rarely order what’s on the menu.
Next we had a "dry soup;" a mixture of shrimp, scallops, clams and other fish in porridge-like non-soup. An egg is cracked on top and stirred into the mixture by the server. Cilantro, garlic; it’s just good.
Aaron ordered chicken soup, as he was a little under the weather, and I think this sums up the joint: the chicken soup had sausage floating in it. Never seen that before. The soup was rich, fatty, very chickeny–and with one slurp, he was healed.
We were full but we couldn’t deny the call of the churrascaria on the other side of the parking lot. The Brasilia Grill serves "rodizio," which is meats on skewers, cooked over an open pit. There were small chickens, shrimps and many different beautiful cuts of meat.
In addition, there was an incredible buffet and salad bar, with over 45 non-meat options like Brazilian-style collards, breaded cauliflower, bacalao and more.
I stood in front of the wealth of rotating meat and my chin dropped to the floor like some cartoon character. Sadly, there was no more room in the belly, but next time I fly into Newark, I know where I’m headed.
Happily, the dessert section of my stomach still had room, so we had a flan, and okay, one more glass of sangria. Aaron called the flan "the cheesecake of flans;" it was that rich and dense.
My sangria was made to order, and when something that looked like wine came out of the soda gun, I had to ask. Yes, it was wine, right there between the buttons for Sprite and Coca-Cola. Because in the Ironbound, the wine flows like soda water.
Before we drove home, we stopped into Seabra’s food market, which was a one-room shopping experience. Fresh fruit and vegetables, check; a savvy butcher with fresh meats and Portuguese sausages, check; and imported cookies, candies and teas. It was a small, well-stocked grocery import. We picked up some pork chops (cut to order), imported sausage, Manchego cheese (forgive us our familiars) and fruit.
And though we weren’t able to make it this time, the last time I wanted to impress some folks (OK, my parents) with New Jersey food, we went to the Spanish Pavillion, a special occasion Ironbound venue. My mother is still talking about the calamari, which we had grilled and sautéed; she’s never enjoyed better calamari texture in her many years on this planet. You will be overtaken by the garlic soup, the patatas bravas, croquettes, and yes, if it seems like everything is cooked with garlic, that’s because it is.
And in the Ironbound, that’s a very, very good thing.
Seabra’s Marisqueira
87 Madison Street
Newark
(973) 465 1250
www.njdiningguide.com/seabras.html
Brasilia Grill Restaurant
97-99 Monroe St
Newark,
(973) 589 8682
www.brasiliagrill.net/about.php
The Spanish Pavillion
31 Harrison Avenue
Harrison
(973) 485 7750
www.spanishpavillion.com/
Allison Fishman is a cooking teacher, TV host and author of You Can Trust A Skinny Cook. For delicious humor & recipes, visit allisonfishman.com or follow @allisonfishman on Twitter.