THE LIFE VICARIOUS

Old Bayonne and new Bayonne restaurant news you can use.

Last night during Bayonne mayor Diamond Mark Smith's seasonal televised address to the city, he focused more on the development of the new Bayonne he's constructing east of Rt 440. (Didn't the mayor try this in The Simpsons, moving the town a a few hundred yards over and starting again?)

Among the highlights? The Shop-Rite torn down only to reopen in the same location will be "the modern supermarket" Bayonne deserves.

A Longhorn Steakhouse has signed a lease at Bayonne Crossings (although so did Circuit City, and they're still in the plans) and while he didn't bring it up, the City Council last week approved raising the number of drive-thru establishments at the Crossings from two to three. While they are optimistic they can be used for big box stores, this is not a guarantee and it's clear they can just as easily be used for fast food eateries.

The Jersey Journal also revealed yesterday Bayonne is following in Woodbridge's footsteps, getting the state's second Off Track Wagering facility on Rt 440, with a restaurant and private party rooms.

In old town Bayonne news, a fro-yo shop remains listed as opening on the corner of 22nd and Broadway, a waffle shop that was scheduled to open months ago remains papered over on 38th and Broadway, Christopher's Deli - the old Royal Crest II - is for sale at the corner of 37th and Broadway and Al Richard's Chocolates is back to its original recipe and back in the hands of its original owners but, as always, closed for the summer.

Live no more than vicariously in Bayonne: Sports edition.

It worked out so well in Woodbridge, Bayonne gets NJ's second OTB. (NJ.com)
Benefit Bayonne Hockey Association, watch golf in Jersey City.  (Ticketmaster)

The Life Vicarious elsewhere on the web.

We have a new recession dining tip up on the Gourmet Glossary in honor of the Pink Elephant's bankruptcy plans and our summer foodie reading list recommendations over on Eat Me Daily.

Will Momofuku sue over its first Compost Cookie competitor?

Earlier this year it was hard to miss certain items on the Momofuku Milk Bar menu not only amended with an asterisk for their nut content, but a TM symbol lest some nut try to knock them off. As Gothamist learned back in May the trademarks for these recipes, including Crack Pie and Cereal Milk are in process, so what will the courts make of Sara Snacker's Fancy Food Show debut?

On Sunday we stumbled upon the Chipn'etzel, quite possibly "the original Potato Chip & Pretzel Cookie." Although we're pretty sure Christina Tosi and David Chang would disagree with that statement.

Bayonne and Jersey City outdoor dining news you can use.

(Zeppelin Hall's Blaue Speck burger, left. Kielbasa, right. Click to enlarge.)

First, to answer a commenter's question: When is American Masala's happy hour? Yes, their website reads they close at 3pm. No, they really close at 7pm. Though we're sure they can accommodate you with midday drinking as well. And just to remind you how good their hamburger is, it just got another shout-out from The New York Times.

As for Zeppelin Hall, we checked it out yesterday so now we can tell you a little more about the food. The sausages come from Schaller & Weber, our favorite upper east side German pork belly purveyor. The portions are worth the price - the dishes above were $10 each and all sausages and sandwiches come with fries that are otherwise $4 a plate on their own. And they're good. They're "best fries in Jersey City" good. We can't speak to the Kielbasa, but the char of the burger had a satisfying crunch and despite being served medium-well had a flavor that held up against the tender speck and crumbled blue cheese.

Ours was the first order of the day so we could understand our order taking a while to be ready, but once the grill was fired up service only seemed to slow. You may be surprised to know you can't order food from the bartenders or servers, you're instead encouraged to go outside and order and pay at the grill. On the plus side, this means you'll get your food faster, a thousand orders coming in at once would shut the kitchen down. On the downside, the table turnover getting up creates means once you get your food there may be nowhere to sit. We'll see how this evolves once the full kitchen is open. No schnitzel or desserts yet.

After the jump, details on free birthday dinners at Ten East and Bayonne's 2nd annual hot dog eating contest...

From the Canadian Pavilion to Canadian Independence Day.

We miss MuchMusic. Ed the Sock. Fromage. That Asian chick with the alternative videos. That other Asian chick with the show where everyone was freezing outside just wanting to dance to Daft Punk. All the white people VH1 stole then threw away. And the black guy in the kilt. Pour out a little syrup for him tonight.

Live more than vicariously with Alife Levis, Russian wives.

Bettina Rheims' $850 Book of Olga rereleased for $60 this October. (Amazon)
Alife quietly reintroduced deadstock of their 2004 Levis collab online. (Upset)

Summer.

Self portrait. Jersey City, Sunday morning. 9am, 6/28/09.

Call it the Fancy Food Truck Show: Augustin's Waffles, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Wafels & Dinges and Twitter take over.

Last year there was only one local food truck represented among the Fancy Food Show's 2300 exhibitors, this year, three: Wafels & Dinges is back in the Belgian Pavilion, their local competition, Augustin's Waffles has a booth of their own, and Van Leeuwen is offering their ice cream with the help of their chocolate supplier, Michel Cluizel.

Last year when waffle gossip expanded faster than sales, there was Wafflegate, a non-incident that began with Wafels & Dinges using Augustin's waffles at the Brooklyn Flea and ended with the threat of Augustin's Waffles launching a competing truck. A truck that never materialized. They have however had success setting up stands at street fairs, and now they've set one up just a few aisles over from Wafels & Dinges competing in the prepackaged gourmet waffle game. Alas no one at W&D was there to explain their new "De Kompleet Wafel Kit" but we did run into their ironmaker who could not be more successful. The signature Wafels & Dinges irons are now used at Ben & Jerrys throughout Europe. Do Ben & Jerrys in NYC even have waffle irons?

American Masala: Have a happy hour, no umbrella neccessary.

Expect a full report on both American Masala and Zeppelin Hall next week, here's a little advice to get you drunk and keep you dry until then. Up the stairs at 95 Greene inside acclaimed Devi chef Suvir Saran's new Indian burger joint, is one of the most underrated, quite possibly completely unknown, happy hours in downtown Jersey City.

Pints of Hoegaarden, Stella Artois and Amstel Light? $2. Champagne cocktails made with St. Germain elderflower liqueur? $4. Mixed drinks? $5. We dare you to name a better bargain in the neighborhood. And best of all? Happy hour dishes are all taken from the American Masala cookbook, filled with family recipes, here interpreted by the new to the neighborhood, ex-Devi sous chef Joshua Thomas.

If you're looking for an alternative to the bar snacks at Iron Monkey or Pizzeria Uno down the block, we recommend the Beef Burger, $5, packed with fresh herbs and spices and dressed with a tomato chutney aioli, and Papdi Chaat, $3, tortilla crisps with potatoes and raita.