How to Spend a Perfect Day in Jersey City—Starting With a Giant Pork Roll Sandwich
When I moved across the Hudson from New York, I worried I was giving up on the dream of being a true New Yorker. But after a few years here, I can say without hesitation that Jersey City is exactly where I belong. The Manhattan skyline still feels like a postcard on clear days, but the real gift has been discovering JC as its own vibrant destination.
Jersey City is regularly called one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., and you see it everywhere. In Journal Square, you’ll find parathas and biryanis that rival anything across the river. The Heights offers affordable Chinese family dinners, Italian red-sauce classics, and Cuban diner fare that makes breakfast unforgettable. There’s even a pizzeria on Grove Street that the New York Times once called the best in New York City. With the World Cup coming to East Rutherford, more people will get to experience this place I’m Jersey-proud to call home.
Start your day in the Grove Street neighborhood with a “Jersey stack” from B Bagels—ten slices of Taylor ham on white American cheese. Or hit Scram bakery (Thursday through Sunday) for egg tarts or glazed crullers. Stroll Hamilton Park, where dog walkers and tai chi groups share the morning sun. Then hop the PATH to Journal Square for Mana Contemporary, a million-square-foot former factory turned art space. Watch Karole Armitage’s punk ballerinas rehearse, or browse Warhol silkscreens and Irving Penn’s estate.
For lunch, you’ve got options. Sri Ganesh’s Dosa House serves a South Indian vegetarian thali that’ll satisfy any craving. Korai Kitchen dishes homemade Bangladeshi food, with fresh fish specials like Hilsa with eggplant. Or keep it cheap with a hot dog from Boulevard Drinks. Later, head to Liberty State Park—twice the size of Central Park, with the Liberty Science Center’s planetarium and the Ellis Island museum.
Dinner means Razza, the wood-fired pizza Pete Wells called NYC’s best. Try the Project Hazelnut or Di Natale pizza, plus meatballs with ricotta. Reserve ahead—it’s still packed. Taqueria Downtown serves killer tacos, and Gaia & Loki has vegan versions of everything from spaghetti to fish and chips. For dessert, Mango Mango’s matcha crepe cake skips the NYC lines.
End your night at Brightside Tavern for World Cup games and live jazz, or Zeppelin Hall Beer Garden for projected matches. However you play it, Jersey City is the perfect anchor for a night out.