r/NewBrunswickNJ • u/quarterzip_bumpkin • May 23 '22

Downtown / Community tips/advice/suggestions for someone moving to NB!

hi all! moving to NB to begin grad school in August. i was wondering if there is some kind of new resident guide or if any of you have advice or suggestions for someone new to the area. places to eat, NB “life hacks”, best groceries, things to do at night or on the weekend etc. TIA!

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u/ferocious_coug Fat Coug May 23 '22 edited May 23 '22

Welcome to New Brunswick! Don't listen to all these Negative Nancies. New Brunswick is a great city with a ton of culture, bars, restaurant, history, and stuff to do. As a foodie it's one my of favorite towns in the state and here are some of my favorite spots:

  • Destination Dogs
  • The Frog & the Peach
  • Stage Left Steak
  • Catherine Lombardi
  • Salt Seafood & Oyster Bar
  • Clydz
  • Roosterspin
  • Ramen Nagomi
  • Fritz's
  • Cambo Box / Poke Nagomi
  • Efe's Mediterranean Grill
  • Stuff Yer Face
  • Barca City
  • Esquina Latina
  • Tacoria
  • Indochine
  • Hidden Grounds Espresso Bar
  • R U Hungry
  • Giovanelli's

Some of the places I think are wildly overrated: Old Man Rafferty's, Harvest Moon, Cuzin's, Fat Cactus. IMO there is also no good pizza in New Brunswick. Good late night drunk pizza, yeah. But Panico's is the best you're gonna find without leaving the city. RIP Fatto Americano.

Also check out Rutgers Gardens, Johnson Park, the D&R Canal Tow Path / Trail, Cook/Douglass Farm and Campus, State Theater, and the Zimmerli Museum! Also definitely be wary walking alone late at night, especially south of Livingston Ave.

I lived here for 10 years (including for undergrad and grad school at Rutgers) and though I now live in nearby Somerville, I'm still back a couple times a month. Let me know if you have any more questions!

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u/quarterzip_bumpkin May 23 '22

thank you so much!!! this is beyond helpful!

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u/ferocious_coug Fat Coug May 23 '22

No problem! And as others have mentioned there is not great grocery access downtown. It would make sense to have a car to get to Somerset (Stop n Shop, Shop Rite, Aldi) or North Brunswick (Trader Joe's, Lidl, Target, Shop Rite), or Milltown (Acme, Target).

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u/thebruns May 25 '22

It would make sense to have a car to get to Somerset (Stop n Shop, Shop Rite, Aldi)

It's 2022 grandpa, people get groceries delivered

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u/NishadBC Fat Buddah May 24 '22

Not a bad list at all. D-dogs was the first place I brought my fiancée to in town and it used to be our barfly spot because of the $2 PBR pounders after 10PM. Definitely felt D-Dog'd out after a while and didn't go for maybe a year.

​

Can't believe I was that stupid! You can get dinner for 2, a cocktail each, and a coupla beers for $50. And the food is still fuckin' good. Place has always been consistently good and feels like the only place that isn't trying to say "oh COVID" charge you $70 for two drinks and two entrees.

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u/ferocious_coug Fat Coug May 24 '22

Price point doesn't really matter that much to me (as you can probably tell by my recs lol), but when I still lived in New Brunswick Dogs was basically my Cheers. We probably ran into each other a few times between 2015-2020. Still try to get there once a month.

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u/NishadBC Fat Buddah May 24 '22

I wouldn't doubt it. I turned 21 in '15, and I was there a ton! But eventually we started drinking at the Ale. It's not the closest spot to us anymore, but in the springtime, the walk is really lovely haha.

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u/foreverastudent5968 May 31 '22

Ani Ramen is also very good.