I live in Jersey City, which has one of largest Indian communities in the area. When I first moved here I had had Indian food, but more of the standard items like Chicken Tikka Masala and Palak Paneer. But in the Indian section of Jersey City known as Little India (the west side of John F Kennedy Blvd on Newark Ave), there is both North and South Indian specialities.
There are these amazing chickpea crepes that are filled with a curried mixture of potatoes and onions (masala), called Dosa. My husband and I wanted to try out this out but had no idea what to get. We stood there asking about every item on the menu. I figured why not, since I obviously have no clue what anything is and they were so nice and helpful. I think being the only white customer in there helped. We wanted to know about their culture and that was exciting!
Needless to say that we have been back many times, sadly the original place we went to is gone. There are so many delicious places to eat there and they don't shy away from the spice.
The Indian community has branched out of just the Journal Square area of Jersey City and there is another area that is largely populated by this community. Down by the Pavonia Newport area, there are lots of Indian families walking around and making their homes here. This area has been home to many Asian communities, but none have really stayed long. It was mostly people moving over to work for a company for a few years and then they were sent back to their countries. What I have noticed is that the Indian community are not going back. They have made their homes here and we are only benefitting from it.
In this area, there is a mall that was pretty ghetto when we first moved here. You would go to the movies and that was about it. You didn't shop here. It was just a route to walk through on your way to the PATH. It is now getting nicer and I had noticed Bollywood movies being shown in the theater. I thought, wow that is pretty cool! There is a demand and the theater was smart to show them! Then I noticed the crappy food court which has the usual suspects of a Sbarro, Taco Bell, Sarku Teriyaki (the one that always hands out chicken teriyaki samples on a toothpick), Panda Express and your other major chain fast food options had started to change. There are now 2 Indian places and a falafel place. Today, while i wait for my car to get fixed, I grabbed a dosa (spicy Mysore Masala Dosa) and sat down to eat it. After a few bites some man came over to ask me about what it was. Guess he felt the little white girl eating something different was a reason to ask! But as I say here eating this really tasty dosa, I kept thinking to myself- why on earth are people eating this other crap?! There is something new and tasty and exciting and they want the familiar. So wrong. I am glad that I have this option locally but I wish that all food courts could be like this.
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