Could paterson , new Jersey be the next foodie destination, Surprisinglly this gritty industrrial town could be on everyone's list to visit int e next few years.It has a thriving immigrant community and with that a thriving food scene. You can find everything from Caribbean pupusas to Turkish piti there.
Paterson has always been a factory town ever since Alexander Hamilton (yes , that Alexander Hamilton) showed George Washington the majestic falls known as the Great Falls. It was in 1792 that Hamilton wanted to turn the area into the next Manchester England, an industrial city filled with mills and factories. He succeeded and within a century it became a major US manufacturing city. with it came the first immigrants, namely Irish. However the Piedmontese came from Northeastern Italy to run the silk mills, hence the city's nickname Silk City, They brought such good food as bagna calda , fritto misto and risotto. The Syrians, also skilled in silk making followed and they brought dishes like kibbeh, and the now popular breakfast dish shakshuka. African -Americans migrated from the South in the Sixties and Seventies and brought with them such tasty dishes as fried chicken and collard greens. The recent wave of South Americans brought a tropical flavor to the city , with such dishes as plantanos and mofungo.
If you go to Paterson (and it's a quick hop from Manhattan) there are several restaurants to try.Patsy's is one of the oldest , first serving customers in 1931. Their pizzas are legendary and have a huge fan base.. They also have arancini, Sicilian rice balls and clams oreganata that are amazing It's right off Route 20 and is easy to get to. The city has a relatively large Middle Eastern population. There are several places to get sharma and za'atar along with Turkish pizza or pide This is a long flat bread filled with everything from pastrami to veggies.Pide 28 is one of the best and one of my favorites. I do like their tomato and mozzarella pide but the pastrami one is beyond tasty.Every bite is a mouthful of delicious spiced beef. It's across from another great place Nablus Sweets Bakery. Here you can try all sorts of yummy sweets like knafa, a kind of Middle Eastern cheesecake. The classic Bonfire Restaurant , a paterson staple for decades has reinvented itself. It now serves every kind of mofungo, from the traditional pork infused to ones full of lobster or goat stew.
Few cities in New Jersey have a multicultural culinary scene like Paterson. Visit it for the history but definitely stay for the food. You'll find a rich and varied menu.
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