Wee Get Psyched for Le Summer
In this issue of the Weehawken Gazette: the French invasion, a 5K in Jersey City, saying goodbye to a favorite neighbor & more
It’s flipping freezing today but soon you’ll need to break out the bikinis. How soon? Like later this week. Anyway, here’s what’s happening…
Hello & hope y’all are super
The photo above was not posed. We were walking back from a friend’s superhero themed birthday party at Charrito’s. The moment reminded me of the line from The Incredibles, “No capes!”
I still love Charrito’s. When we have friends visit from out of town, it’s always a great option, but especially when friends visit from France. Why? Because there’s no decent Mexican food in France. I’m convinced if I open an upscale burrito joint in Paris, I’ll be rich. Speaking of France — Holy Haricot Blanc, Batman! — didja know that NoHu is experiencing a wee French invasion? Details below, and personally I welcome our new butter-drenched overlords. It’s cool as long as we make sure we also keep the fajitas flowing…
3rd Annual HunterFest 5K in Liberty State Park
Sunday April 28th at 10A: This run benefits a charity focused on teen mental health. I’m running* it with one of my kids. The views will be spectacular and it’s perfect for the whole family. You can register here. The woman who founded the charity, Tracy, is a friend. But for all details please read the story by Caren Lissner on Patch. Caren is a fantastic real journalist, a mom of 2 living in Hoboken, and we need more people like her.
Fun fact: Caren is also a novelist and her YA book Carrie Pilby was made into a star-studded feature film more than a decade after it was published. Impressive, right?
When will Weehawken pool passes fly?
I called and the nice lady who answered at the rec department says you’ll be able to purchase them “this week or next.” The pool doesn’t open until Memorial Day (best guess) so basically, my advice is to chill. It’ll happen. How much it’ll cost this year and all other details? No idea. Swimming is my favorite thing in the whole world. I’m one of those nuts who swims in the rain and no matter how cold. Apologies in advance for subjecting all of you to my gelatinous thighs that stay fish belly white no matter how long I stay in the sun — but I got over caring about what others think of my bod years ago. I have many dear friends who don’t swim because they don’t like how they look in a bathing suit so I made this video for them, and all who feel similarly.
🥖 BREAKING NEWS: FRENCH INVADE NOHU 🥖
So besides swimming what do I like? France. I have my reasons. Too many to list here. ANYway… did you know we had a group of French high school kids come to Weehawken in Oct 2023?** We did. And now we have a full-on Norman invasion.
Vive la what the heck?
Choc-o-pain is a fave spot for us with FIVE locations in Hoboken and JC. But did you know we have a French Bakery in West New York? We do. Petite B bakery is awesome. It opened in Sept 2020 — the worst time to open any biz — and is legit. Don’t be like me and hear about it from neighbors and wait forever to actually try it. It’s a 30 min walk from my house (which totally burns off any delicious croissant I might consume) and if you can go, go! Bonus: They sell candles there made by the Weehawken High School Bee Club. Buy a croissant, buy a candle, sip the delicious coffee, imagining you are on the Left Bank in Paris. Check their Insta for pretty pics and hours: instagram.com/bakerypetite_b/
Faubourg coming to Weehawken: learn to pronounce it now so you can correct others and feel superior!
The Weehawken waterfront is getting a trendy French brasserie. Yeah, really. Lots of articles about it so I’m just gonna link to one good one by Kara VanDooijeweert in the Bergen Record: Acclaimed French restaurant Faubourg to open a second location in this North Jersey town.
I’ve no idea how to pronounce that journalist’s last name, but I do know Faubourg is pronounced foh-boor because it says so right on the door of the restaurant in progress. Anyway, can someone please tell my kids their college funds are about to be spent on oysters and tarte flambé? Thanks.
Friday 5/17 Live Comedy & Music at the Elks Pub
Tix on sale now: Last show before our summer break includes a free cheese tasting sponsored by America’s oldest cheese factory!
Get your tickets now here on Eventbrite. Free cheese starts at 7P after the doors open sponsored by Crowley Cheese (a tiny cheese factory in Vermont currently celebrating their 200th year).*** Show starts at 8P. It will sell out and the comedians and musicians are top notch.
Lost dog is found
A dog named Nico was lost in Weehawken. After it escaped 4/19, posters went up, a celeb shared the news, a nice person on Weehawken Reddit spotted the dog on the light rail tracks, and then people all over started sending their sightings on Reddit and Facebook from Hoboken and Jersey City. It seemed pretty bleak. But guess what? Well you know what — because my headline was a spoiler. Yes Nico was found! Here’s the message from the foster pooch parents, “Reunited!!! Nico is home & safe! Bc of the caring communities in Jersey! Virtual hugs to everyone who cared & shared Nico the past 3 days, his Jersey tour is over, thank u everyone, our hearts are full, & Nico's tummy is finally full. We are taking down posters in the area, but if you see any, please pull them off, thank you!”
Remembering Marie
My heart hurts.
Marie Giusto was a neighbor friend I’d chat with and for years I didn’t know she was, in fact, the mom of another neighbor friend. They had different last names and I saw them in different places and it was a wonderful surprise when I found out.
Marie was a bright light. She liked my brisket. She made me laugh and she made me want to do the same for her. Talking to Marie I felt like her peer, but I also wouldn’t have minded if she had ever wanted to adopt me. I went to her funeral service yesterday because I needed it. Yes I know and like her brilliant daughter and son-in-law — they are good people, the kind who give more than they take in this town.
In short, if you knew Marie, you know how I’m feeling. Thing is, I wasn’t the only one who felt they needed to be there. Marie’s mass was packed to the gills, and tears were flowing. I hope the eulogy that her daughter Natalie wrote, and that her husband Rob expertly delivered, is published somewhere because it was SO GOOD. It told her story. It was deep, important, touching, and funny. It was so much better than what I’m writing here. I am not related to Marie, and we weren’t even that close, but she was significant in my life and in the lives of so many. I can only imagine what her family and loved ones are feeling. Love to them. To remember Marie: the family says if you desire to please consider donations to the Weehawken VFW.
Goodbye Marie. You were loved widely and deeply.
***
*Last summer I was walking with a cane… this was after wheelchair, after crutches, after breaking my leg (tip & fib) skiing in March 2023. Good news is that I ran a 5K by Halloween 2023. But my running is so slow I have no right to call it “running” but I do because it’s not walking. An 11 min mile? Yup, that’s me in 5K beast mode.
**I made the initial intro with the school in France, but the assistant superintendent at Weehawken High School is a superstar and she is the one who did all the hard work to make it happen, along with many neighbors who stepped up to host the kids — it was a beautiful thing.
***The owner of Crowley Cheese is an old friend of mine back from way back when we both worked at the same cable TV network. Last month he was a guest on a podcast my brother does with Paula Poundstone and if you care, you can listen to it. It’s fun and the cheese talk interview happens after about 50 mins. https://paulapoundstone.com/podcast/ep-299-blessed-are-the-cheesemakers/
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