dining & social life in west windsor/plainsboro? (Trenton, Princeton: day care, home) - New Jersey (NJ) - City-Data Forum

KDKL · 03-02-2007, 09:47 PM

My family is looking into to moving to Plainsboro (seems to be the most affordable place to buy a home in the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district). We will be moving from Queens, NY, where we can eat nearly any ethnic food our heart desires. Although we are moving away from Queens to get away from the congestion, overpopulation, and pollution... what in Plainsboro can we try to replace this food mecca with? Also, what's there to do at night?

We are trying to visit the Princeton-WW-Plainsboro area at least once a week to explore the area we will soon call home. I already did a test run on my commute via NJ Transit (1 hr and 10 min!) as did my husband by car (1 hr and 15 min!) and we are quite happy. Any other ideas where we can go or what else we can do before relocating?

We also have 2 kids... any thoughts on day care/school? My daughter is 4 and would've gone to free pre-k in Queens, but I haven't found public school pre-k in Plainsboro. Also, my son is 15 and will be in high school. Any thoughts where we can take him so he can get to know the area better?

Thanks in advance!

Viralmd · 03-02-2007, 10:08 PM

Parking at the Princeton Junction train station has a waiting list that's YEARS long..so you should have someone drop you there to get to work. There are ALL kinds of restaurants in the area - lots of Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Indian), as well as others.

burdell · 03-02-2007, 10:38 PM

KDKL--If you've been visiting the Princeton area and enjoy ethnic food you might want to try the Hungarian platter at the Hopewell Inn.

LittleMissSunshine · 03-03-2007, 07:50 AM

There are lots of great places to eat right in Princeton...I can recommend a really good Bulgarian place (The Under Ground Cafe) in the Princeton town center and an AMAZING Thai place ( Penang Malaysian & Thai ) off of Route 1 Princeton/West Windsor Border.

There's really everything you'd want...sushi, indian, chinese, italian.

Onizuka · 03-03-2007, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Parking at the Princeton Junction train station has a waiting list that's YEARS long..so you should have someone drop you there to get to work.

Is it really that bad? I thought they had unreserved daily parking as well. I assume these spots fill up very quickly?

KDKL · 03-03-2007, 10:34 AM

Ooh, this all sounds great. I don't think I've ever tried Hungarian or Bulgarian food before. I'll make sure to try either one when we visit again next week. I remember seeing a lot of Indian food places as well, but I eat plenty of that already. We went to a Romeo's in Plainsboro (next to a SuperFresh) last week because we were running late and thought pizza was our fastest bet, though I ended up having the black/white seafood ravioli!

As for my son, what is it like for kids his age (15) to hang out after school? Here, he plays handball after school on his way home and on Fridays walks around Forest Hills with friends, where they eat and window shop (and sometimes catch a movie). What do kids from WW high schools do for fun? They probably have so much more to offer as far as after school programs go.

KDKL · 03-03-2007, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Parking at the Princeton Junction train station has a waiting list that's YEARS long..so you should have someone drop you there to get to work.

Yup, someone can drop me off. However, there are 3 days during the week that no one can pick me up! The realtor said there are shuttle buses that go from the train to shopping centers? I will look more into this when we settle on the actual home.

Viralmd · 03-03-2007, 11:28 AM

I lived in Princeton for 1.5 years (the only time - outside of college - I've not lived in NYC) when I worked nearby. But when I got another job in NYC I moved back to the city, because there was a three year waiting list for a parking place at the Princeton Junction station and I wasn't about to start driving to NYC every day. And that was years ago and, from what I hear from my friends in the area, it's only become more congested.

jerseyj · 03-03-2007, 02:45 PM

There are quite a few nice restaurants within 10-15 mins of Plainsboro. In Lawrenceville on 206 (Main St.) there is Lawrenceville Inn, Acacia, Chambers Walk. In Cranbury there is the Cranbury Inn and Teddy's on Main St. In Princeton there is Teresa's and Mediterra (Palmers Sq.), Ferry House, Alchemist and Barrister, Chuck's, The Annex. If you venture into the Chambersburg section of Trenton there are several good Italian (small family run) restaurants like Diamonds, Amici's, Marsillios. Then there are some good places around Market Fair, Big Fish, PF Changs and the usual chains.

There is no pre-K in the WW-P district but there are several Day Schools in the area, a couple of Montessori schools, The Harmony School, Goddard School and many private day care centres.

The Rec Department of both WW and Plainsboro offer summer sports camps suitable for your 15 y/o, there are YMCA programs and the school district has summer camp programs. Depending on where you move in Plainsboro, he will either go to HS South or HS North, they both offer many after school activities depending on what he likes to do. Some of the HS kids are employed at the local businesses. It would be nice if he had some friends before the school year starts.
Hope this helps!

LittleMissSunshine · 03-03-2007, 03:34 PM

Besides organized activities, there are two malls in the area Princeton Market Fair and Quakerbridge and there are Fridays and Applebees around, big movie theater in Hamilton. All typical places teenagers can go out to.

And if you need to do a really heavy day of shopping for yourself or the kids, Freehold mall is gigantic and not too far.