The New Jersey Foodhound™

Shortly after moving to the North Bergen area from Staten Island, my girlfriend and I were on the lookout for some good, local restaurants within walking distance of our new apartment. Lucky for us, Rumba Cubana in Guttenberg was a short 3-block walk away. After a cocktail or two and a great dinner - we knew we had found a new regular spot.  The Grub: There are two things you really need to know if you've never been to Rumba - the drinks are strong, and the food is good. Really broad statements I know - but in my defense, I like strong drinks and good food and I love a restaurant that does both well. The first thing you should concern yourself with upon sitting down at your table is ordering a cocktail. The server will present you with a tablet menu with more drinks that I would care to count. Suffice it to say all the classic Cuban and Caribbean cocktails make an appearance here, but I would suggest a traditional caipirinha or mojito to start (I wont look...

I don't know about you, but I happen to be a gin junkie. Actually, that may be going a little far but suffice it to say I like the stuff quite a bit. My cocktail of choice for the past few years has been a high-shelf gin-and-tonic at nearly any establishment serving booze. I also happen to like cheap lunch spots, or at least ones where you get great value for your money. With those two things in mind, let me tell you about my favorite work-time lunch spot in Manhattan - The Distillery . The Grub: Now don't get me wrong, there are a number of places to get a good burger and cocktail in the city. Probably too many to list without having to start over by the time you finished (even popular ones can go out of business!) With that in mind, working in the city one has to take into account the walking distance from work and duration of the lunch in question - which brought me eventually to the door of The Distillery . All-in-all its a very simple pub, but where it...