Jersey City's Hudson Hall is in High Gear
When I was invited to a special "Influencers" event at a very soft opening of Hudson Hall some months ago, I came away impressed, predicting success for this most unique business model. This Influencer became a Believer.
In that column, I also promised to return after the place got its motor running, and today was the day. So I headed up to booming Jersey City where my son and his lady have established a residence.
Jersey City is fast following on the heels of its already "boomed" neighbor, Hoboken, which is also a wonderful place to visit--unless you have to drive. The old joke about a NYC guy who bought a new car because he finally found a parking space is not as farfetched as it would appear in either of these cities.
Fortunately for Kacy and Emily, they live three blocks from Hudson Hall and the very neat "Restaurant Row" section, so they need only hop on the "Ankle Express" to savor the delights of HH.
We ambled in around 1:30 on a Saturday, and although owner Peter Borovicka was not yet in, his able, affable and adorable manager Lucy was. I had met her briefly at the first session, and I liked her immediately.
Lucy's charming Czech accent, coming from her always smiling face , is as much a part of the decor as is Jirka Kolar's design. Perhaps remembering our first visit, she ordered me a "mliko" (milk) pour of a Pilsner Urquell, which I thoroughly enjoyed both then and today. You can view that pour here.
Lucy also introduced me to the new Executive Chef, Klaus Kronsteiner (above), an Austrian native, whose new menu will be debuting next week. Klaus promises great things in the tradition of Eastern European fare, which includes fermenting, pickling, smoking and brining of food.
Emily loved her Pastrami sandwich, Kacy devoured his special burger, and my French Dip was nothing less than superb. We enjoyed our beers and food in a sun splashed, old-world setting, and by the time we left, the place was already starting to pack out. The clientele ranged from to elderly buddies who were enjoying there beers in relative solitude to pockets of friends sharing the long tables--European style-- to a few full tables of partiers which included 30-somethings and babies less than a month old.
And the motor of this unique place with the subway tube hallway to another room was humming along quite nicely under Lucy's watchful eye. I had to coax her to take a sixty-second break for the picture, and she assented only because I promised i would return before Christmas--which I will.
If you haven't been to Hudson Hall, do yourself a favor and check it out. Street parking is tough, sure, and garage parking is pricey, but the end result at HH is worth the effort. And don't be surprised if you get there a time or two before Christmas--and often in 2018-- yourself.
Na Zdravi!
The PubScout
