Jersey City meetup for Indian food
posted December 15, 2010 4:48 AM   RSS | iCal | +googleCal

Sun January 23 at 1:30 PM, Mithaas
795 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ, USA (Map & Directions)
There are a lot of good Indian restaurants on Newark Avenue in Jersey City, just a few blocks from the Journal Square PATH train station. Would any NJ/NY area mefites be interested in having an Indian food meetup some weekend?
I've only been to a couple of the restaurants so far -- Sri Biryani House has a $12 all-you-can-eat buffet on the weekends, I had it this past Sunday and thought it was really good. I had mango lassi afterwards at Mithaas and a couple having lunch there said their meal was great. They also recommended Sapthagiri, a South & North Indian vegetarian place just off of Newark.

I think that Mithaas is probably the best suited for a largish meetup -- the seating is very open, and the menu has a variety of meat and vegetarian dishes. If it's just a small cadre of meat-eating mefites though, starting at the Sri Biryani buffet and moving on to Mithaas for dessert would be the way to go.

How about January 22nd or 23rd?
posted by oh yeah! to Meetup (36 comments total)

I'm interested.
posted by Eideteker at 9:01 AM on December 15, 2010


I've been craving Bengali Sweet House for ages and they have a Newark Ave location so a nearby meetup would be just what I need to get me out of NYC and into NJ for an afternoon.

I don't care if we go someplace that is veg/non-veg.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:59 AM on December 16, 2010


Ooo, I'll keep my eye on this thread. I like Indian food.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:28 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I'm not vegetarian, but I figured I should mention it in the options since the question usually comes up at some point in a food-meetup-thread. I'm sure that the food at Sapthagiri is good, but, the tables are all pretty close together, so, logistically it wouldn't be the best place for a meetup. Sri Biryani House has just a bunch of 4-seater tables and you serve yourself from the buffet, so it would allow for table-hopping to socialize, but the place is kinda tiny. Mithaas is probably the best starting point, since it has both meat & vegetarian options, and the table setup would allow for people straggling in at different times.
posted by oh yeah! at 9:30 PM on December 16, 2010


Sounds good. My studio is a block away and my house is also walking distance, so chances are I can make it whatever day works for everyone else. Mithaas is good, Sapthahari is excellent if you like Dosa but it's small. There's also Rasoi, which is pretty large and open. I've enjoyed all the dishes I've eaten there, but haven't been for almost a year, getting hooked on dosas and grabbing them at Dosa Hut instead. Haven't had a bad vegetarian meal on that block of Newark Avenue ever.
posted by stagewhisper at 3:46 PM on December 17, 2010


I'm totally down. I'm from NJ originally and absolutely love Indian food. Also, oh yeah! rules.

Let's make this happen!
posted by defenestration at 12:12 PM on December 21, 2010


Aw, you're too kind, defenestration. Ok, I'm gonna go ahead and edit this to confirmed for Sunday, January 23rd at 1:30pm at Mithaas, to get it on the Metatalk sidebar. I'm open to switching to Saturday the 22nd and/or changing the time. I think I might prefer Rasoi on the day (mmmmm garlic naan), but we can gather at Mithaas, then do a reconnoiter of the block.

For any NYC/outer borough mefites thinking Jersey would be too far, it's really just a few more stops on the train, and a short walk. Take the PATH train to Journal Square. At Journal Square, take the escalators all the way up. You will be in a courtyard, turn left and you'll see a Duane Reade to the left, and a statue of Jackie Robinson ahead and to your right. Go towards the street (JFK Boulevard) in front of Robinson's statue, and take a right, and in about 3 blocks there's Newark Ave.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:49 PM on December 22, 2010


Argh, I feel so dumb for missing this! I'll be in town visiting in January but I'm leaving the 22nd.

Oh well, have fun guys!
posted by bettafish at 8:02 AM on December 28, 2010


Sounds wonderful. Let know which day and if there's room for one more.
posted by jng at 6:19 PM on December 28, 2010


There's room for everyone, jng. Since I live only a 10-minute walk from Newark Ave & the PATH station, I'm flexible on the time & day, I just want to do something sociable sometime that weekend because it's my birthday on the 25th. In all honesty, I picked the Sunday because then I could use Saturday to tidy up my apartment in case people want to come hang out at my place afterwards (post-food Bollywood dvd watching perhaps?). If more mefites prefer a Saturday meetup, it's fine by me.

Post your preference, and we can tally the votes when the weekend gets closer.
posted by oh yeah! at 9:50 PM on December 28, 2010


I think I could make this one! Rasoi would get my vote, yum.
posted by fings at 1:44 PM on December 29, 2010


I'm moving to New York around Jan. 21 or 22 (looking for a cheap apartment for Feb. 1), and it would be awesome to get to hang out with some folks! Especially as I love the heck out of some Indian food, and am vegetarian to boot. I've never been to one of this Mefi shindigs, but I'm interested to see how they go down.
posted by threeants at 11:17 PM on December 30, 2010


And by cheap apartment, I mean cheap room. Just threw that in in case anyone reading randomly knows someone who is seeking a roommate.
posted by threeants at 11:18 PM on December 30, 2010


threeants, you should definitely come. MeFi meetups are good fun and great way to meet people.

Where are you looking? Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens? I'll keep my ears open.
posted by defenestration at 10:42 AM on December 31, 2010


I'll be working partly on the Upper East Side, but am more motivated by cheapness than by location. Pretty much willing to live anywhere kind of interesting. Thanks for keeping an ear open!
posted by threeants at 1:07 AM on January 3, 2011


Either should be fine for me. If something comes up between now and the time we set a date, I'll def pipe up. Thanks for organizing.
posted by jng at 9:47 PM on January 6, 2011


This sounds good, although my 'real-life' friends will kill me if they find out I'm willing to go to NJ (from nyc) for strangers and indian food when i'm usually reluctant to travel so far!:)
posted by bquarters at 7:35 PM on January 8, 2011


Oh. just realized I have an engagement party on that Saturday. So Sunday would be best for me, though feel free to do whichever day works best for others. If I can't make it this time, hopefully another time! Thanks.
posted by jng at 12:48 AM on January 10, 2011


I'm looking forward to it! Sunday is better for me.
posted by Salamandrous at 12:53 PM on January 10, 2011


Still psyched about this!
posted by defenestration at 3:14 PM on January 10, 2011


omg omg
posted by grobstein at 11:06 AM on January 13, 2011


So where is this actually meeting? Sorry if I missed that.
posted by threeants at 5:52 PM on January 13, 2011


The rally point will be at Mithaas, 795 Newark Avenue. Once everybody has arrived, we can move further down the block to Rasoi for the actual meal (or send scouts out to see how long the wait is at Rasoi versus Sapthagiri and pick whichever can seat us first).
posted by oh yeah! at 7:36 PM on January 13, 2011


Not going to end up making it- eat extra for me!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:42 PM on January 17, 2011


How did I miss seeing this before? A NJ meetup! I live near Oaktree Road in Edison, I've become familiar with a lot of Indian food. I just have to make sure my Sunday is clear.

I might even be able to do NJT to PATH and not have to find parking!
posted by Karmakaze at 8:44 AM on January 19, 2011


Hey, maybe we should have a meet up in the Oaktree Rd area some time in the future ...
posted by sciencegeek at 1:54 PM on January 19, 2011


Karmakaze, if you do come by car, there should be spots on JFK Blvd or on the side streets, and there's a pay-lot across from the PATH if all else fails. A couple of stores on Newark Ave have a small lot for customers, but the traffic on those few blocks is usually painfully slow due to people trying to get in or out of the lots and people trying to parallel park, so, best to avoid it.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:11 PM on January 19, 2011


Sorry, not able to make today. Next time?
posted by fings at 10:25 AM on January 23, 2011


GAH! It's 1:36 and I was thinking this was happening until 7:00 tonight for some reason and planned my day around that.
Am a stone's throw away but stuck in virtual client meetings this afternoon. Have something delicious for me. :(
posted by stagewhisper at 10:36 AM on January 23, 2011


Ok, 7 of us are at Mithaas now, having tea until we reach critical mass.
posted by oh yeah! at 10:36 AM on January 23, 2011


I'm not sure what we'll do at critical mass -- explode?
posted by Karmakaze at 10:55 AM on January 23, 2011


Ok, we have relocated to Rasoi for the buffet lunch. If any of the Maybes feel like joining later, post to the thread or mefimail me for location info.
posted by oh yeah! at 11:21 AM on January 23, 2011


Mmmmmmm tasty lunch.
And I have a whole box of Indian sweets that I'm trying not to eat so I can bring them to work tomorrow.

oh yeah!: thanks for provoking this meetup and happy birthday!
posted by sciencegeek at 1:51 PM on January 23, 2011


Thanks for braving the cold weather, it was really nice seeing you all. (And sorry to have missed everyone who couldn't make it -- but I'll call it again when the weather's warmer, no doubt.)
posted by oh yeah! at 8:45 PM on January 23, 2011


great to meet you all! thanks for the intro to the indian food mecca that is jersey city.
posted by enzymatic at 12:08 PM on January 25, 2011


Agreed. Good grub and good people. Till next time!
posted by defenestration at 3:26 PM on January 26, 2011



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