I've been in New Jersey for three short weeks. There's a lot to do. I moved to a village that actually kind of resembled a village (though more like one in Europe as oppose to an M. Night Shyamalan film). I would say that the two is three streets by five streets (take that as you will) with the train station cutting through the upper third.
It's a nice village. There are gaggles of teenage girls wondering around without parent supervision, so I think it's safe to say that the area is very safe, even at night. It reminds me a lot of the town my college was in.
I've basically made it my mission to try every coffee shop in town. So far I've found five coffee shops by design. Only two of those are national chains. One is technically a french pastry shop, but they're practically the same thing right? I would also, happily make the argument that the doughnut shop qualifies as a great place to get a cup of coffee, along with maple bacon doughnuts (yes, they do exist).
The first coffee shop I went to in the area had a very hipster vibe. They play different styles of music, but I've mostly heard alternative rock when I've gone in. They have pictures of the Beatles and Stones all over the walls and a few arm chairs.
The second was, well, Starbucks. They have good breakfast sandwiches. They are also the closest to the privately owned bookstore that has authors come in for book signings. A lot of people frequent it.
The next would be the french pastry shop. Not only do they have amazing breakfast sandwiches and desserts, but you can watch them make the crepes fresh. I can't wait to take my sister there. It's absolutely delicious. My roommate, their significant other and I went there last night for dessert. (I started the day out with sugar and ended it with sugar).
The forth shop I tried had a distinct health theme. I tried one of their glutton free, dairy free muffins. It was good and not very sweet. They also had a service dog working there. I enjoyed all of the different rooms in the shop as well. It is easy to find a secluded corner for reading at this shop. It's also right across from the train station.
Finally I tried the donuts shop yesterday. They make all of their doughnuts fresh at one of their locations and there is coffee. They have a lot of flavors. I tried their maple bacon doughnut and their chocolate version of Twinkies (it's not called that...I can't remember what its called).
I haven't been to the two bagel shops yet. The people of New Jersey seem to be obsessed with bagels. My office has a bagel breakfast every other week. They complain when they get more pastries than they want, saying it takes away from the bagels. Since they serve bagels, I assume they also serve coffee. Therefore they are on my places to try.
There are a few other larger breakfast places (both of which I have been to for lunch/dinner). One of them has amazing flavored marshmallows for hot chocolate. I've had the strawberry flavored. The other is a pancake house that serves you so much food, you'll have left overs for days afterward. I have not tried the coffee at either place though.
I was hoping for a few more non-chain stores (there's a Dunkin Donuts, but I haven't been there yet as I'm not fond of their coffee). However the town is small and the fact that there are any is wonderful. I love being able to walk to all of them too. It really is like being in college again, except there's no college or college students (though there are tons of teenagers).
Moving is tough, but exploring my new environment is helping with the adjustments. If only everything wasn't so expensive. Ah well, until next week.
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