It was a busy, buzzing Saturday afternoon at JC’s Closet, South Orange’s newest and hippest kids clothing store. Joanne Watkins, who runs the shop with fellow South Orange resident Kimberly Minor, greeted customers, helped choose gifts and dispensed fashion and jewelry advice.  “The word of mouth has been tremendous,” said Watkins, who looked crisp and stylish in a fitted green blazer.  “Customers are saying how happy they are to have a place to buy interesting kids clothing – without having to go to a mall.” The store is filled with a terrific selection of clothes for style-conscious boys …

Midweek dinners can be a challenge.  For stay-at-home parents, afterschool activities mean spending much of the afternoon and evening in the car.  Working parents are exhausted by the time they drag themselves home from the train station. Either way, the thought of cooking dinner can be overwhelming. That’s where Wednesday Night Pasta comes to the rescue.  A recipe of my own creation, this dish is quick (30 minutes tops), healthy and delicious.  It requires just one pan and a minimum of ingredients.  Best of all, it is extremely adaptable.  Use whatever you have in the fridge.  Swap out the …

Ready to Run, Walk or Stroll? Don’t forget to register for the 9th Annual Newstead 5K, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m.  The deadline for pre-registration, which costs $20, is this Tuesday, 9/20.   Registrations for $25 will be accepted up until the day of the race.  To register online, click here.   Last year, the race drew several hundred enthusiastic participants and raised $12,000 to benefit the Achieve Foundation of South Orange and Maplewood. Not much of a runner?  No problem, there is also a 2-mile walk and a Kids Fun Run. “It’s a very flat and scenic course, so it …

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to shoot a TV show?  I got to find out today, as I tagged along with Hank Zona and his crew as they filmed scenes for an upcoming episode of “The Grapes Unwrapped” in downtown South Orange. Zona – on-camera star of the wine infotainment show (which airs on SOMA-TV), proprietor of Swirl Wine Events, and longtime local resident – invited me to watch the taping. “We are exploring the idea of doing the show in front of a live audience,” he said, “and this was a good way to test the waters.” Each episode of “The Grapes Unwrapped” takes a user-friendly approach…

Sick of wet basements and downed branches? Put on your party clothes and make your way to downtown South Orange tonight.   From 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. in Spiotta Park and Village Plaza, the Village will be showing off its true colors – blue and white, naturally – to greet new and returning Seton Hall University students. Everyone is welcome to this festive street party that will feature food, music and games.  On tap: great eats from local restaurants including Town Hall Deli sandwiches, pulled pork sliders from Eden Marketplace, Stony’s lemonade, Lickt Gelato and more. There will be live music …

Strolling through downtown South Orange this morning, a visitor found normal signs of life and commerce nearly everywhere she looked. Just a day after the Rahway River rose to near-historic levels, flooding nearby streets, there was little in the way of debris or standing water on South Orange Avenue and adjacent streets.   A check of local businesses turned up mostly good news.  Village Diner was bustling with customers tucking into steaming mugs of coffee, crisp bacon and eggs any style. "Yesterday was crazy busy," said manager Leo Ruiz, who noted that the diner had escaped the storm with …

These Boots Are Made for Walking There’s a new gang in town, and they’re walking like nobody’s business. “SOMa on Foot is a grassroots social movement working to change the culture of the way we live and think about being ‘on foot,’” said Maplewood resident and wellness professional Risa Olinsky, who is spearheading the initiative.   The group will host a wide variety of activities, including neighborhood walking groups, historical walks, garden tours on foot, senior outings, parent stroller groups, and more.   The goal is to improve health and well being by encouraging people to walk both …

Celebrity Chef Day at the Farmers’ Market To me, fresh mozzarella equals summer.  Sure, you can always have it at any time of year, but when it is readily available in our local farmers markets – just begging to be paired with juicy, vibrant Jersey tomatoes – that’s when I eat it as much as possible. This Wednesday, August 10, the Main Street South Orange Farmers’ Market will be the scene of some serious mozzarella tasting.  Eden Marketplace Chef Nabil Wah – who happens to be the store’s head mozzarella maker – will be at the market from 2-3 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. to prepare Eden Marketplace …

Rock the House at Munchie’s To celebrate Jamaican Independence Day this Saturday, Aug. 6, Munchie’s Take a Lickle Taste will host a big blow-out dance party.  Owner Reid Taylor explained what to expect. “Around 9:30 p.m., we will be pulling out the tables from the restaurant and rolling in the sound system so that we can play music and dance to celebrate 49 years of independence.  If the other times we have done this are any indication, we will be dancing up a storm ‘til – well, ‘til the wee hours.”  Sounds like a party. Reid and wife Sophia, aka “Munchie” and chef extraordinaire, will also …

This past weekend I had a sudden pang of nostalgia for the Sunday dinners of my youth.  We would all congregate at my grandmother’s house, where there would be enough food to feed an army and plenty of people to eat it. There were always multiple courses – antipasti, pasta, meat and dessert – but the highlight was the Sunday gravy.  My grandmother would start the gravy early in the morning, filling the tomato sauce with all the good stuff: meatballs, sausage, pork cutlets and sometimes, if we were lucky, braciole. Braciole, at least in our Southern Italian house, was thinly pounded beef …

This is a tale of trees, community, and the value of good neighbors. Recently, About Town chronicled the story of a band of plucky street trees that line the sidewalk on South Orange Avenue.  The trees were planted by the town and nourished by the merchants whose stores they stand in front of. One of those tree-sitters is Ben Salmon, owner of Kitchen a la Mode, who over three years had grown pretty fond of the flourishing little tree outside his shop. Imagine, then, his reaction when he came to work one day to find the tree gone – chopped down to a stump.  A shocked and devastated Salmon …

Ben Salmon of Kitchen a la Mode reported some dispiriting news last week: the street tree outside his shop had been chopped down.  Apparently South Orange DPW workers removed the tree after discovering it was diseased.  Ben was heartbroken to lose the little tree he has so carefully nurtured for three years. But this tale of woe actually has a happy ending, one that is about community spirit and good neighbors.  About Town will bring the full story to readers later this week.  Stay tuned. In other village news, business woman extraordinaire and longtime South Orange resident Holly Scalera has…

Last week, a concrete and metal sculpture titled “Spirit” in downtown South Orange was slightly damaged in what looked to be an act of vandalism. The artwork, located in the small plaza next to the Dunkin' Donuts, was knocked loose from its base. “Someone must have tried to knock it over, and two of the posts were pulled out of the concrete base,” said George Berkeley, owner of The UPS Store just around the corner on South Orange Avenue. Berkeley reported the vandalism to the South Orange police.  According to a representative from the police department, one of South Orange’s finest was able …

Over its 15-year history, Café Arugula has become a much-loved standby in downtown South Orange.  The traditional Italian menu, with a Tuscan influence, features delicious renditions of classics like shrimp scampi and veal Milanese. Now, Café Arugula – rated three stars by The New York Times and “Excellent” by Zagat Survey for five consecutive years – has a new owner.  Restaurant veteran George Filippatos bought the restaurant from former chef/owner Carlo Carbonaro in April and has been slowly tweaking the menu while keeping customer favorites. “I’m going to make it a little more …

Robyn Ross boutique is helping to support wounded veterans and their families with a unique bracelet that models those worn by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers in the field braid the bracelets – known as survival bracelets – out of parachute cord, which can be unraveled and used in an emergency.  Sometimes a uniform button is sewn on and used as the clasp.  The soldiers also trade them as friendship bracelets. The bracelets symbolize the unbreakable bond soldiers have with one another.  The shop is carrying a designer version of the bracelets as part of “From Soldier to Soldier…

As we all bask in the afterglow of what might have been the greatest Maplewoodstock yet, it’s time to catch up on some South Orange news. There are some exciting developments in the local restaurant scene, with a brand new place opening up, a popular eatery welcoming a new chef, and an old favorite changing hands.  As you might have read on Patch recently, the upscale Haitian Creole restaurant Le Kiosque opened its doors on Valley Street.  Owned by a husband and wife team, the spot is an exciting addition to South Orange’s lively ethnic dining scene.  Above Restaurant has a new chef, Mark …

The South Orange Farmers Market is not the only place to score fresh, local, in-season goodies.  Eden Marketplace now carries a small but well-chosen array of cheeses and condiments sourced from local New Jersey food producers. “It has been a goal of mine to carry local cheeses,” said Daniel Epstein, Eden’s head cheesemonger.  “Many New Jersey producers are worthy or being sold in places outside of farmers markets, and this helps gives more people access to them.” Try Springhouse Farmstead from Springhouse Creamery, a family-run cheese maker in Sussex County.  “It’s a simple farmhouse cheese…

Summer has never been my favorite season; I’m more of an autumn person.  To make matters worse, each June I realize that I have failed to arrange adequate camp and vacation time to get me through the vast sea of unstructured days looming ahead. One thing that helps me tolerate the less-than-wonderful moments of summer, when the kids are at each other’s throats and the humidity has swollen all the windows shut, is iced coffee. Nothing beats a good old basic iced joe, but there are times when something a bit more special is required.  For those times, I turn to the shakerato.  For those …

South Mountain Yoga has a new home, right in the center of town.  The studio recently relocated from its cozy Scotland Road location to a light, airy architect-designed space at 18 South Orange Avenue. The new space is on the second floor of the 100-year-old historic building that also houses Chase Bank.  It is the former home of the Town Hall Deli.   “We love South Orange, and we love being in one of her oldest buildings,” said owner Emma Magenta.  The studio doubled its capacity with the move, and now provides up to 60 students loads of elbow room for downward facing dog and tree pose.  In …

Liam Sullivan always liked to sing.  Like a lot of kids, he was always jamming along to his iPod and the radio.  He would sometimes sing at family gatherings and holidays.  But not even his parents were aware of just how talented he is. “We always knew he had a good voice, but he was a little shy about singing in public,” recalled his dad, Michael.  Now, after beating out hundreds of other aspiring singers for a coveted spot singing the National Anthem at the Newark Bears Stadium, it’s safe to say this South Mountain School 5th-grader is shy no more. It all started when Liam’s mother, Elie, …