My vision for downtown adds some variety to the existing compliment of eateries. Plainfielders who have been in town for 30 years or more may remember What's Your Beef and Lily Greenleaves. These places catered to $15 - $20 a plate diners - converting to today's prices. The variety I seek is for these mid range priced menus. Throw in some craft beer and music on weekends and I am very happy. Remember the Clubhouse, with three floors of club scene for 20 somethings, back in the early 1980s? The importance of having these establishments is the connection to unsubsidized downtown apartments for people with money to spend in our downtown. I don't know which comes first, the nightlife or the apartments, but they go together.
The new urban living - people living downtown, walking around, shopping, dining, listening to music. It works with the right mix or should I say critical mass of apartment dwellers, convenient transportation and retail. And a mix of people of various income levels. Plainfield can be one of these places.
We now have two developers who are using the f word (food, that is): Plainfields designated downtown redeveloper, Landmark and the new kid in town, Arkad (http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20130927/NJNEWS/309270054/Developer-says-Plainfield-could-become-another-Montclair-New-Brunswick). While we are waiting to see what they will do to back up their words, you can do your part by dining in one of our downtown restaurants. Here are two relatively new ones on Park Ave:
2 comments:
Good Article Cory.
We've been to Guatelinda a few times the food tastes great and they give you plenty and about $10 a person for dinner. Helps to know some Spanish but the menu is in both English and Spanish. Atmosphere isn't the greatest but with enough friends joining you it doesn't matter, definitely worth trying it out. El Palacio is another great place on watchung ave, coffee is amazing. With an open mind there are a lot of good places to taste food from another culture downtown
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