Comfort Food With an International Twist is Coming to Princeton

“My vision is for this to be a neighborhood place, when people come home and kick off their shoes and put on casual clothes, they come over and hang out," Co-owner John Procaccini said.

  A new family-friendly restaurant is opening on Nassau Street next week, offering comfort food favorites like lobster mac’n’cheese, buttermilk fried chicken and authentic tacos.  The North End Bistro at 354 Nassau St. will offer a full menu for lunch and dinner inside the 3,000 square foot building located between The Whole Earth Center and Weichert Realors. The restaurant is the brainchild of brothers John and Tino Procaccini and their business partner, Z. Pappas. The men also own PJ’s Pancake House, The Princeton Sports Bar & Grill and Osteria Procaccini in Kingston and Pennington.  Stop by The North End Bistro for lunch, dinner, just a glass of wine, or pop in for a fruit filled crepe or homemade cobbler. “It’s comfort food, with an …

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Communiversity Returns to Princeton Today

This year, the annual celebration includes a live "Paint Out" project.

  It's time once again for Princeton's annual town-gown celebration for the arts.  On Sunday, April 28 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Arts Council of Princeton will transform downtown Princeton into an outdoor music festival, art museum, emporium, farmers market and restaurant sampling. The tradition of Communiversity has been alive and well since 1971, when the Arts Council began producing the free, community-wide celebration.  This year, tens of thousands of people are expected to peruse more than 200 booths showcasing original art and contemporary crafts, merchandise, food, information from community groups, and five stages of continuous entertainment. Because one of the goals of Communiversity is to inspire, engage and foster creativity, …

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Quaker Road Reopens Friday

A major section of the road has been closed since August 2012 for bridge repairs.

  Quaker Road will reopen Friday following eight months to reconstruct the bridge over Stony Brook. On Thursday, a Mercer County spokeswoman could not confirm the exact time of day the road would reopen. Drivers will now be able to travel between Mercer Road/Princeton Pike and Province Line Road. The road reopening was delayed twice due to unexpected weather delays. Keep up with Princeton news by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and subscribing to our newsletter.

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Mercer County Tourism Up for 3rd Consecutive Year

Expenditures in Mercer County were $1.13 billion in 2012, an almost 4 percent increase from 2011 and an all-time high.

  Tourism spending in the Princeton and Central Jersey region is on the rise for the third year in a row, according to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. Expenditures in Mercer County were $1.13 billion in 2012, an almost 4 percent increase from 2011 and an all-time high, according to “The Economic Impact of Tourism in New Jersey” report issued last week at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism held in Atlantic City. In 2011, spending was $1.08 billion, which then marked a 10 percent increase compared to 2010’s expenditures of $973 million. “We can attribute the growth to the continued promotion of the area through the Princeton Regional Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and its partners working to establish …

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Princeton Chef Still in 'Hell's Kitchen'

It was the second episode of the season, which features Jacqueline Baldassari as one of 20 contestants vying for a $250,000 job as head chef at Caesar's Palace Las Vegas.

  New Jersey chef Jacqueline Baldassari stayed mostly out of the limelight on Tuesday's episode of Hell's Kitchen.  That may have been a good thing. Chef Gordon Ramsay often berates contestants he feels are sub-par on the reality TV cooking competition on FOX.  Baldassari is known in Princeton both as the roundsman at the Institute for Advanced Study and as the woman who created the new food menu at the Ivy Inn. She lives in Florence Township, Burlington County. Ramsay did not disappoint on Tuesday, criticizing those who could not extract lobster meat from the shellfish during a timed competition, burn off white wine from risotto or cook scallops properly.  It was the second episode of the season, which features Baldassari as one of 20 …

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From the Ivy Inn to Hell's Kitchen

The winner of Hell's Kitchen will earn the position of head chef at Ramsay's gastropub at Caesar's Palace Las Vegas, with an annual salary of $250,000.

  If you have to go through Hell to get to Heaven, this could be Jacqueline Baldassari's chance.  Baldassari, 27, recently created the new food menu at Princeton's Ivy Inn and has been a chef at several local restaurants- she currently cooks at the Institute for Advanced Study. Beginning tonight (Tuesday), the 27-year-old from Florence, N.J. will compete against 19 other chefs on season 11 of FOX's reality show Hell's Kitchen.  In Chef Gordon Ramsay's kitchen, contestants are pushed to their breaking point and steadily eliminated each week. But the last chef standing gets a pretty sweet prize- the position of head chef at Ramsay's gastropub at Caesar's Palace Las Vegas, with an annual salary of $250,000.  On Hell's Kitchen, Baldassari says…

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Walking In the Shoes of Jim Weaver- Tre Piani

“Hey Suz, Walk in My Shoes” is a blog series that I started to follow different business owners and people of interest around for the day to learn what it’s REALLY like behind the scenes.

DOT Considering New Route 1 Jughandle Configuration

"This is not a plan and this is not a project," NJ DOT Spokesman Joseph Dee said. "This is a conversation starter and funding has not been identified."

  New Jersey Department of Transportation is considering an idea to reconfigure the jughandles on Route 1 and improve commuter traffic, following a failed experiment to close the jughandles last summer.  The area up for discussion would affect a stretch of Route 1 from the Dinky railroad overpass south of Washington Road intersection to the Millstone River bridge just north of Harrison Street, Princeton Engineer Jack West said.  NJ DOT Spokesman Joseph Dee said the new idea for the jughandles is just that- an idea.  "This is not a plan and this is not a project," Dee said. "This is a conversation starter and funding has not been identified." "We made a commitment to the communities back when we pulled the plug on the no left turn pilot …

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Hurricane Sandy

OPEN Pharmacies, Supermarkets, Gas Stations, Wifi, Hot Showers, Power, Etc.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just meant to give people options for what's available locally. Please feel free to add other places open in the comments section.

ATMS DRUGSTORES FIREWOOD FOOD GAS (no rationing in Mercer County) HOT SHOWERS MALLS POWER  POWER OUTAGES As of 11 a.m. Sunday, PSE&G reported that 493,000 of its customers throughout New Jersey were still without power. As of Friday mid-morning, about 50 percent of Princeton remained without power.  PSE&G priority was at 300 Elm and the care facility at the top of Bunn Drive. Those areas are served by from two different power feeders. ROADS CLOSED SHELTER John Witherspoon Middle School is open 24/7 until further notice with heat, power, light refreshments and a limited number of air mattresses and blankets. Feel free to bring yoru sleeping bag and camp out. STORM DEBRIS TRANSPORTATION WIFI 

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