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Since moving to the woods in Western Morris County, I've talked here and elsewhere about how purdy the trees and aminals are, but how lousy the food markets are. I like to explore, so since moving here I've driven the 12 or so miles to Hackettstown, in addition to some other places I never heard of before moving to the area.
While the food market situation in Hackettstown still ain't great, I'm really amazed at how many good restaurants there are in the town! Not just good, but usually cheap too!
I just discovered Gaza Ramen the other day. Man, this place is the bomb. Located in a nondescript strip mall, this place makes some great ramen, super cheap. The portions are huge, and you get the same size portion with the lunch specials as you do for dinner/stand alone orders. They do a ramen and bulgogi don (Korean beef rice with peppers and onions) lunch special for $13.95. It's worth at least $20. Very good sushi too. The same strip has a really nice dessert place called Delacort Desserts. They have great individual pastries and homemade puddings.
On the other side of the cornfield, there's Piggy's BBQ. I love this place too. Great food, super cheap prices. 4 meat platter with two sides, enough for two people, $20. Quarts of chili for $9. Delicious baked mac & cheese. When I lived in Bergen County, I used to go to the (now defunct) Bourbon BBQ in Wyckoff, where the food was double the price and not nearly as good.
Then there's a whole bunch of places that I haven't been to yet, but look great. Marley's is a wing place/bar with 600,000 flavors. There's a local rodizio joint in the town. As someone mentioned a few days ago, a Polish restaurant just opened in the town and they look really good. There's a crepe restaurant. I saw a sign yesterday that mentioned "30 Burgers" was coming soon. This place is a mini-chain, but they look really good.
Was Hackettstown always a foodie town like this or is this a recent phenomenon? I never would have guessed!
Its become foodie probably around the start of gentrification of dover because these 2 town are cheap but growing.
My family and I moved out of Hudson County and into Jefferson Township last winter. We recently discovered Dover and we probably have dinner in Dover 2x a week. Its great having a slice of home with the abundance of food options in that town.
Hackettstown has slowly been evolving into a foodie town. In addition to the places mentioned above, we have Stella G's, open for breakfast and lunch. They have revolving specials every month, which are quite unique. We also have James on Main, a farm to table restaurant that gets great reviews. Last year we finally got a quality Italian place, Toscana, which is always mobbed and the food is delicious.
As someone who moved from Bergen County to this area, I'm thrilled with this evolution.
Hackettstown has slowly been evolving into a foodie town. In addition to the places mentioned above, we have Stella G's, open for breakfast and lunch. They have revolving specials every month, which are quite unique. We also have James on Main, a farm to table restaurant that gets great reviews. Last year we finally got a quality Italian place, Toscana, which is always mobbed and the food is delicious.
As someone who moved from Bergen County to this area, I'm thrilled with this evolution.
I’ll always bleed Bergen and Bergen is unlikely to be beat by any other place in the state in terms of food options, but it is nice that things are getting better out here yonder.
We still gotta get some decent food markets around Hackettstown, Roxbury, Randolph, Mount Olive, Rockaway, and Sparta. Denville’s making strides with the recently opened (although small compared to Wayne and the Clifton Death Star) Corrado’s and the Trader Joe’s due to open at the end of October (at least Denville has really good restaurants). Would it really be that hard to put a Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or something along the lines of an Uncle Giuseppe’s or Fairway in any of those towns?
The growth of food choices in Hackettstown has happened for a few reasons. Basically, the town's Business Improvement District has been welcoming to people who want to start a business and grow community. The community has been building thanks to the breweries working together instead of against each other. They understand there is enough business for everyone and working together is the path to success.
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The town is really divided in feel and geographically. The area around Centenary University/Main Street has become very walkable in terms of choices. You can grab wings at Marley's, take them over to Czig Meister and when you are done there, you can grab ice cream or coffee. The college itself has been noticeably improving both in looks and what it offers students.
I call Hackettstown Morristown West. The prices are MUCH cheaper and you don't have to blow your load in one night out because of that. More for your money and without the sometimes snootyness of other more wealthy towns. The vibe is relaxed and welcoming.
The changes all started roughly 5 years ago and the general consensus of people in Western Morris County that I know all think Hackettstown is great and has tons of promise. Another change is that some of the buildings on Main Street used to be owned by people who don't live in town or sometimes in state. The trend has been leaning towards locals owning, therefore they have a vested interest in improving the area. It's a win/win which I hope continues.*
Yes they reopened it as dine in theater. Also complementing all these nice restaurants are the breweries.. Czig Meister.. Manskirt Brewing. Unfortunately they don't have food license.
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