Being it's a couple of days before Christmas, my partner and I were in the mood to see some…read moreChristmas displays without the hassle of long lines or costly charge. Luckily I was contacted by one of our friends yesterday about this location as she took her family. The town of Lyndhurst in NJ is only a few miles south of our home. Located on Forest Avenue, these 3 homes were decked out with their Christmas displays as the lines of cars full of spectators trying to get that great photo. We parked a couple of blocks away and walked as well as other onlookers. Tonight's crowd was manageable where social distancing was apparent as everyone wore masks. There was one home in the middle of the three was all covered with lights even on the roof. At that same house, there's a small donation box to assist these homeowners' expenses. If you are in this area around this time, we highly recommend it.

Holy shmoly, I love this place. I am not usually in this part of town, so I honestly was not sure…read morehow I would be received when I walked through the door. But the staff was incredibly welcoming right from the start, and that alone earns them five stars. You never know what to expect in a new neighborhood, but they set the tone immediately. The vibe of the restaurant is very comfortable. It is the kind of spot you walk into after a long day or a productive day and you just know you are about to eat something good. It feels like a family run place, even if it is not actually run by family. It has that warmth. You can tell it is an important part of the neighborhood. I even noticed pictures of community members on the wall, which says a lot. Now, the food. There is hot food, cold food, and plenty of items you can take home. I ordered a chicken parmesan sandwich, and let me tell you, it was the size of a skinny football. I am not exaggerating. It took me almost a day and a half to finish it. It tasted exceptional, and I actually had to stop myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting so I would not slip into a food coma. One tip, eat it while it is hot. That is when it is at its peak power. My friend agreed with me about the overall vibe and quality. If I am ever in the neighborhood again, I will gladly go out of my way just to try more of their dishes. You do not find spots like this easily. New York City has great food, but a place with this combination of warmth, quality, portion size, and charm is rare. In another city, this could easily be a reservation only spot packed every night. Here, it fits perfectly in the community. Great job to everyone there. Keep up the good work. Cheers.

My beautiful wife located this place and when i tell you, i thanked her all the way home…read more Lets start out by walking in the door and getting this homely, old school italian feel. It was 40 mins before closing on a Sunday, the complete staff still made us feel lived and welcomed. They went through the menu with us, they described anything that was needed. Let's get to the beautiful ambiance, we sat outside and had a nice romantic evening together. The food was beyond delicious. I got a chicken cutlet parm with vodka sauce on a huge hero. The flavor was on point, texture of vodka sauce was NOT overwhelming. The amount of mozzarella they put on it was perfect to where it had a nice even melt. My bride ordered an eggplant wrap drizzled with sweet balsamic glaze. Cant wait to have to go to NJ for something again just to enjoy this place one more time!

Always a pleasure to dine at Bareli's. We were four for dinner recently. The pork chop was amazing…read moreas always. There was a seafood special with squid ink pasta that everyone tried at the table and raved about it. Staff and cocktails were on "point" as usual!!

Bareli's in Secaucus makes a fantastic first impression. The restaurant sits on a busy route with…read moreeasy access in and out, and the parking lot is large enough to accommodate many vehicles. The interior is visually impressive: elegant table linens, comfortable leather chairs, and a dining room that looks polished and upscale. When we arrived, what appeared to be the owner was greeting guests at the entrance. Since he was welcoming everyone and dressed differently from the rest of the staff, we assumed he was the owner. It was a great touch and immediately raised our expectations. Unfortunately, the experience did not fully match that first impression. We started with drinks: a glass of wine for me and an Old Fashioned for my wife. As happens too often in restaurants, the stronger drink was automatically assumed to be mine, and the drinks were delivered incorrectly. It's a small detail, but one that reflects attention--or lack of it. Bread arrived quickly, followed soon after by the food. I ordered the gnocchi with meat sauce. The dish was acceptable, but nothing extraordinary. My wife ordered the house seafood salad, which was very good--fresh, flavorful, and easily the best dish we had that night. Our waiter spoke limited English. Once he realized we also spoke his language, the service became noticeably more relaxed and somewhat overly familiar. He immediately tried to guide us toward the most expensive items on the menu. When I declined coffee after dinner, he responded by saying something along the lines of: "Well, that's your choice, but the coffee here is very good," which felt unnecessary. We also had a small issue with the Old Fashioned garnish. The orange peel looked unusual, so we asked for the drink to be replaced. The waiter did replace it, though he first tried to explain that what we thought were worms were simply marks on the fruit peel. For dessert we ordered the tiramisu, which the waiter promoted heavily as the best dessert to try. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver. Instead of the classic layered presentation, it arrived more like a cup full of cream with a few pieces of soaked bread and very little coffee flavor. The issue was not just the dessert itself, but the expectations created when it was described. Bareli's is a beautiful restaurant with a great location and atmosphere, but the service details and execution didn't quite match the level suggested by the setting.

A great local italian deli with enormous sandwiches. Daily lunch special as well as home made…read morecannolis. The Classic Italian hero was large and thick enough for two meals. This was a 4" thick tasty, fresh and well seasoned sandwich with plenty of meat and fresh mozzarella. Fast and friendly service. Nice homemade salad selection. This local spot takes pride in what they serve and it shows. Parking is somewhat challenging being that it is located in the middle of a residental street. Well worth the minor inconvenience.

I never thought I would feel personally victimized by a sandwich cut, but here we are. This…read moresandwich was supposed to be split 50/50 with my friend. Instead, I was handed a social experiment in inequality. One side is clearly bigger, heavier, and living a better life than the other. How exactly am I supposed to divide this fairly without looking like the cheap friend who takes the larger piece? What makes this worse is that this was not cut by a new kid or someone learning the ropes. This was cut by one of the senior guys at the deli. The veteran. The supposed professional. Come on man, check your eyes. I literally felt robbed because I had to take the smaller half out of principle. No one should have to suffer like this over a sandwich. Food tasted fine, but the cut ruined the vibe. Do better. A straight line should not be this hard.

A Hudson Valley wine tour to celebrate a friend's landmark birthday was perfect! Hudson Valley…read moreBucket list did an outstanding job coordinating the day from transport and an itinerary of beautiful wineries to a magazine photo worthy picnic lunch orchestrated by an on-site host. Our group of 12 were treated like special guests everywhere we went and we were wowed by the friendly, welcoming reception at each stop and the delicious wines we were able to taste. HVBL made planning this event easy and the day memorable

Becky was the best and the day couldn't have been planned any better! Best time ever !read more

I love this place not only great choice of the menu but vey great food staff is always so welcoming…read morehelpful you see I'm a person of dairy can't have do sitting trying to see if it would be a problem for the chef or other professionals of the kitchen the staff noticed asking me my concerns and quickly answered with a very rewarding face as if she was overwhelmed and just delighted that she could make someone to enjoy a very special dinner of their choice if I wouldn't get fat I would know where I could eat every day and not have to be unhappy and if you love very great pasta menu so I say go for it oh! don't forget the lovely choice of your special wine brewery or cocktail

Stopped at Olive Garden mainly for the breadsticks and ENDLESS SALAD…read more It wasn't great 3/5 stars. Ordered the 6 oz sirloin and Alfredo as well as the spaghetti and meatballs. Pictures are attached. It was just ehhhh probably won't go again anytime soon. The staff was friendly and on point. The restaurant seemed old and out of date.

Before today, my review would've likely been glowing. The artwork in that's been associated with…read morethem in NYC is almost always spectacular and a welcome addition to the city-scape. Unfortunately I found out recently that they're actually quite shady and manipulative. They don't actually create or curate the art in Little Italy - they pretend to support it, plaster it on their social media, and try to profit from it. At the expense of the actual artists that create the art they're showcasing. They've gotten into legal action with artists over marketing rights for the art that they claim to "support", but essentially want to mooch off of and shake down for $$$. A lot of the gorgeous art, such as the Audrey Hepburn picture on Mulberry St, are examples that they claim to be big endorsers of - but have actually fought the artists over, to win sole rights to commercializing posters etc. They've tried to destroy murals & privately commissioned public art without consent or notification to the artists themselves. Again, mostly for the chance to bring in new art and profit from online sales of merchandise / picture rights. And they're more than happy to block/ban/remove you from any of their social media if you even think of leaving a vaguely negative comment (even a politely-worded one). A word to the wise: good, wholesome, community-minded organizations NEVER block or throttle people into silence because they might disagree with them. And they NEVER treat artists like they're disposable sources of income. This organization does not represent Little Italy in the slightest. Be very, very careful if you're ever asked to work with them. Better yet, stay clear of them altogether.

The L. I. S. A. Project NYC…read more I'm not sure about the politics of what's behind this organization. There appears to be some controversy in the Yelp Reviews. I'm just a huge fan of graffiti. I love the color it adds to the city. I love the smile it puts on my face. I like the happy feeling I get inside when I see it. I also like the legal authorization of the activity. For many years it was an offense to express yourself and your artistic talent in this manner. I'm glad Little Italy has embraced this organization and the art they promote. Please Visit Little Italy and keep your eyes open for the murals. They are here, there, and everywhere! I'm posting photos I've taken in the past couple years. I hope you enjoy. I can't wait to return!

I can't say enough good things about this entire experience. The tour we wanted was sold out,…read morebummer. Sent a message to see what was recommended as far as the availability of a wait list or moving tickets from walking to bus tour would be easy. Scott himself responded, almost immediately with his recommendations. Purchased the walking tour tickets, put ourselves on the wait list for the bus tour and watched emails like a hawk for the few days before our scheduled date. The pizza tour Gods smiled on us and the wait list opened up. I called to get our tickets moved and talked to Scott who handled the whole transfer quickly for me because once the wait list opens up it opens up for everyone on it. He was very helpful in scoring those seats for us and understood the urgency. LOL. That's ALL before we even got to our first meeting place. We met the tour and Scott at Keste in the Financial District. I had read in my research that the tour stops aren't planned ahead and I was skeptical, but you could see him figuring it out as he figured out his group for the day. One of the attendees had taken the tour a year prior, they played a game of guess the spot so he didn't repeat stops for her and the very large group of family that she brought with her on this tour. There was one request for a spot in Brooklyn but he couldn't make it happen due to their hours, not that he wouldn't have moved heaven and earth if he could have. We had a smaller than usual tour group because of timing and a LI RR strike and you could just see that this opened up other options for places to go. After Keste we were able to do two stops in the Bronx, one in East Harlem. There was even an ice cream, water ice store next door to the last pizzeria. So much thought went into this route. Scott was able to take this group to places he hadn't been to in quite some time due to the distance and size of the group. Back to Keste-- what tour guide takes his entire group and takes over the kitchen, helping himself to dough balls and creating pies as he discussed pizza history?? We saw the kitchen and oven in each establishment and each shop was welcoming and friendly. Scott is a wealth of knowledge and enjoyed sharing his story and the story of all of the stops we visited. Pizza is an absolute passion project for him. Highly recommend!

At Scott's Pizza Tours, the experience feels fun, lively, and full of flavor from start to finish…read more It's a great tour for husbands and wives, and also great for girlfriends and boyfriends who enjoy exploring the city together. The energy is uplifting, the stories about pizza are captivating, and everyone's mouths are sure to water as you watch those fresh slices come out--crispy crust, melted cheese, and that classic New York aroma. It's more than just eating pizza. It's a tasty little adventure in the heart of the city. A rose blooms in a gentle flame, No two petals are the same There's love in every color Soft as the morning and fresh as the dew.

Had a great time at Mutzfest! Food was plenty! My husband and I couldn't eat everything that was…read moregiven to us, we ended up taking food home to share with the kids! Every table had different selections that incorporated their mozzarella and most were very generous. They also had a cash bar with $5 drinks which was amazing! Will definitely go back next year!

The WORST festival ever. They charge $50 to get in and that just entitles you to wait in a series…read moreof long lines for crappie scraps of food. The food is supposed to be free when you get in, but not all of it is. Ben & Jerry's is one of the sponsors, but they were gone by 2 PM. The better delis like Fiore's know to stay away.