By Serena Brown
Union City is located in Bergen County. More than 67,000 people live in the town, which is just 1.4 square miles. Ellsworth Park and Celia Cruz Park are great places to enjoy outdoors. Or, check out James A. McFaul Environmental Center in Wycoff, an 81-acre wildlife sanctuary with animals, a pond and nature trail. You'll find a delicious meal of Cuban food is the perfect end to a day of exploring Union City and its neighbors.
Park Avenue Bar & Grill
Park Avenue Bar & Grill has a chic atmosphere and gives diners a view of the New York City skyline. Open seven days a week, the restaurant serves lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Menu items include a variety of soups, salads and appetizers such as a crab and avocado quesadilla. Visit the restaurant for dinner and you may find yourself dining on Caribbean red snapper, plantain crusted mahi mahi or ropa vieja, a Cuban dish of shredded steak, vegetables, Spanish rice and red beans. A meal at Park Avenue Bar & Grill is perfect after visiting the Bergen Equestrian Center 10 miles away in neighboring Leonia. The center has an indoor arena for beginning riders and outdoor areas for jumping.
Park Avenue Bar & Grill
3417 Park Avenue
Union City, NJ 07087
(201) 617-7274
parkavenuebargrill.com
Sabor Latin Bistro
Sabor Latin Bistro is just a half mile away in New Bergen. Open seven days a week, the restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily and brunch on Sundays. The menu includes salads such as ensalada de agucate which has tomato, onion and avocado. Diners can enjoy Latin dishes such as Cuban sandwiches of roasted pork and ham or something more filling like Nuevo paella, which is a mixture of red pepper, rice, shrimp, chicken, clams, mussels and chorizo. Sabor Latin Bistro also offers a variety of desserts such as mango cheesecake, and guava and cream cheese purses. Visit the area in winter, and Sabor Latin Bistro will be a great way to end a day of skiing at Campgaw Mountain Ski Area, just 27 miles away in Mahwah.
Sabor Latin Bistro
8809 River Road
New Bergen, NJ 07047
(201) 943-6366
saborlatinbistro.com
Zafar Kitchens
Zafar Kitchens is a Cuban-Latino restaurant in neighboring Hoboken, just 3 miles away. Open seven days a week, Zafar serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also serves brunch on weekends. Diners have a variety of Latin dishes to choose from including little Latin dishes such as empanadillas con pebre, which are empanadas filled with beef and a spicy sauce. Main dishes include a roasted pork dish called cerdo brujo con yuca and a shrimp and plantain dish called camarones de papantla. Zafar also serves soups, salads, tamales and sandwiches. Beverages include guarapo, which is juice from pure cane, and chicha de pina, which is made from fermented pineapple peel. You can burn off some of the calories you eat on making your way along the walking trail at Twentieth Century Park in neighboring Garfield.
Zafar Kitchens
301 Willow Avenue
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 610-9801
zafrakitchens.com/zafra/index
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About the Author:
Serena Brown graduated from the University of South Alabama with a bachelor's degree in communication. She has more than 15 years of experience in newspaper, radio and television reporting. Brown has also authored educational, medical and fitness material.
