FERRY STREET- Newark, NJEvery now and again, it just feels great to return to a place that holds great memories- whether it’s somewhere you used to visit as a child, a road you used to travel frequently en route to somewhere exciting, or even just a place you liked to linger for a while all on your own. One of our places is Ferry Street in this small section of Newark known as The Ironbound.
From first step and first smell (and we mean that in a good way), you’ve somehow crossed the border from industrial Newark to a mile-long stretch of street in Portugal. The signs and language spoke along the block- Portuguese. The restaurants, cafes & bakeries- Portuguese. The shops and markets hawking everything from intricate jewellery, to music to fresh groceries and fish- Portuguese. And it’s divine. We’ve spent many a Saturday ambling down the street, stopping in for a freshly baked buttered roll and a galao at Delicia’s for breakfast before browsing in small shop after shop selling everything under the sun- things you need, things you don’t need but might want, and of course the obligatory Lusitanian kitch and soccer-related paraphernalia present in almost every storefront.
One is absolutely spoiled for choice here when it comes to the heavy-hitting late lunch or dinner options...that’s part of the real beauty here. You’ve got tremendously affordable old-school places that serve the freshest, most traditional seafood dishes, you’ve got new emerging trendy spots delving into more of a tapas/sangria feel, and of course the rodizio houses. The gluttonous meat-fests made only more intense with the augmentation of not 1, not 2, but normally 3 starches on the table.
For us, it’s nostalgic for many reasons. For the first time visitor, we’re pretty sure it will strangely feel the same. It’s not too pretty, rather a bit gritty (and not really at all like a beautiful urban street in Lisbon), but the sights/sounds/smells/vibe are a pretty good match. Need advise on where to eat? Ask us, it would be our pleasure!
From first step and first smell (and we mean that in a good way), you’ve somehow crossed the border from industrial Newark to a mile-long stretch of street in Portugal. The signs and language spoke along the block- Portuguese. The restaurants, cafes & bakeries- Portuguese. The shops and markets hawking everything from intricate jewellery, to music to fresh groceries and fish- Portuguese. And it’s divine. We’ve spent many a Saturday ambling down the street, stopping in for a freshly baked buttered roll and a galao at Delicia’s for breakfast before browsing in small shop after shop selling everything under the sun- things you need, things you don’t need but might want, and of course the obligatory Lusitanian kitch and soccer-related paraphernalia present in almost every storefront.
One is absolutely spoiled for choice here when it comes to the heavy-hitting late lunch or dinner options...that’s part of the real beauty here. You’ve got tremendously affordable old-school places that serve the freshest, most traditional seafood dishes, you’ve got new emerging trendy spots delving into more of a tapas/sangria feel, and of course the rodizio houses. The gluttonous meat-fests made only more intense with the augmentation of not 1, not 2, but normally 3 starches on the table.
For us, it’s nostalgic for many reasons. For the first time visitor, we’re pretty sure it will strangely feel the same. It’s not too pretty, rather a bit gritty (and not really at all like a beautiful urban street in Lisbon), but the sights/sounds/smells/vibe are a pretty good match. Need advise on where to eat? Ask us, it would be our pleasure!