Smokey Joe’s BBQ on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, NJ is a unique Tex-Mex Barbecue style restaurant with amazing smoked meat including Ribs, Brisket, Buffalo Wings – accompanied by great finger licking sauces. Check them out at: http://www.smokeyjoesbbq.com

Look out for more videos at Jewish Travel TV: http://JewishTravelTV.com

Full episodes coming late Fall 2009.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/JewishTravelTV

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JewishTravelTV

Contributed by: Arielle Klein | Last date of Travel: May 2007

In 2007, shortly after my husband and I got married, we had a great idea to take a couples trip. We invited three of our closest couple friends and headed to Mystic / Groton (rhymes with “rotten”) Connecticut. We chose Mystic because of it’s charm and close proximity to both New York and Boston, where one couple was coming from. We ended up having a really great time, even if everyone but me hated the aquarium.

Kosher Info: There was no kosher food in Mystic that we knew of so we brought our own. We hit ShopRite right before going and bought enough food for everyone. First day lunch,everyone was on their own after that we all did communal meals. We bought hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, peanut butter and jelly,mustard, relish, ketchup, beans, and a slew of other stuff. We brought a portable barbecue and charcoal. We found local parks and with areas made for BBQs and grilled ourselves amazing meals. We also turned one car into a tailgate and made sandwiches. You can find snacks and drinks in any local place, so there’s no need to bring too much other than meat/cheese, sandwich fixins and bread.

Tourist info: We started day one of the trip at the U.S. Navy and Submarine Force Museum, home of the USS Nautilus, the only nuclear submarine on display in the United States. The museum is free and really fun. We also met token Jewish Naval Officer Rob Melnick. He was so excited to meet us the first Jews he’d seen in awhile. He told us all about life in a submarine and kibitzed with us about being the token Jew in the navy. We had lunch on the pretty benches and tables overlooking the Thames river.

After all our underwater fun, we headed for more at the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration. Fun abounded for all with the dolphin and seal shows and many fun exhibits. I recommend the aquarium if like me you love animals, or have kids. They had a great live display where you got to pet stingrays. I chose to opt out as Steve Irwin had recently been stung in the heart by one of those bad boys, but all in all it was pretty fun. Another fun thing at the aquarium was the rock-climbing wall. For those skilled in the art of rock-climbing it’s small potatoes but fun either way.

After that we find a charming bunch of shops and decided to spend a little of our time there. We found a really great toy store, where the owner showed us his bubble-sword that he recovered from Bubbledore — don’t ask, we think he was high. He was an interesting character needless to say. We had delicious maple candy (made from natural maple syrup) and just enjoyed the cute kitschy stores only found in small towns.

After we found a local park to barbecue which happened to be on the beach and we had delicious burgers while watching the sunset over the beach. We headed back to our hotel, a Super 8 Motel which had great deals, and got ready to head out to Foxwoods Hotel and Casino a short drive away. Foxwoods was beautiful, but the smoke from all the cigarettes was killing me. The best part of the evening was when one of friends won $200 at the craps table and treated us all to ice cream.

The next morning we headed to the Denison Peqoutsepos Nature Center. They have a wonderful nature museum, a wetland exhibit and wildlife sanctuary with gorgeous owls. They also have a great trail that’s a lot of fun to hike through. After the nature trail we found a local Memorial Day parade with the Shriners ( 90 year old men on mini-scooters) and lots of little kids, it was hilarious. We tailgated, made sandwiches and had fun watching the old men. We found a really great health food store and bought kosher organic mint imitation Oreos.

Our last stop before we headed back to NYC, was another local park where I took the liberty of laying in the fresh cut grass and feeling the sun on my face. The boys played a little frisbee and then we got the burgers and hot dogs going. It was a lovely end to a lovely trip.

Jewish Info: We did not do anything Jewish related while in Mystic/Groton. After Googling for info on “Jewish Mystic”, nothing useful came up. There does not seem to be a significant Jewish population worth mentioning.

Mystic is great trip for couples or families looking for an inexpensive, fun filled vacation. Hope you have as good a time as we did.

Late last month, Arielle and I went to find a late bite to eat on the UWS and found a brand new place that just opened that night: Maoz Vegetarian. The name alone told me entrepreneurial Israelis have invaded the U.S. yet again. We walked in and found an Israeli-run Pareve / Vegetarian falafel place (with a Hashgacha). You could purchase your falafel as a part of a meal (with Belgian Fries) or a la carte. While I am not a fan of falafel, and I’ve had my share in Israel, Maoz’s took the cake. The falafel was awesome! To top that off, the fries were even better!

I don’t know what it was, but I just liked the atmosphere, and definitely the food. As it turns out, there are a few locations in NYC other than the one we found on Broadway between W70th and W71st streets. They also have locations by Union Square and on East 8th st near NYU. After visiting their super fun website www.maozusa.com I learned that they have additional locations in Philly, and MANY overseas including: Paris, Mumbai, Barcelona, Madrid, London, Perth, and 4 in The Netherlands. I must note though that I am not 100% sure that these are kosher. The good news is these places are vegetarian & do not offer any meat products. So feel free to check it out.

My wife and I have a ritual that every month or so we go on a date to a restuarant that we both want to try. She had been wanting to check out Clubhouse Cafe located on W.46th street between 6th and 7th Avenues. The establishment is owned by Le Marais located across the street, in the heart of the theater district in Times Square. Clubhouse Cafe is not your typical kosher restaurant. When you enter it’s as if you’re in some small trendy meatpacking bar, full of exposed brick walls, purple-black lighting and mirrors everywhere. There’s a bar up front, with a large flat screen for those who want to sit and drink. In the back there is a seating area and another flat screen (although it was not on when we were there.)

The food is traditional American-fare made upscale. Appetizers include duck empanadas, we tried those they’re pretty small but good – and buffalo wings among others. The sandwiches are fairly reasonable and well sized. She had the burger which was really delicious. I had a grilled chicken sandwich. Good but not as good as the burger. If you are looking for a fun place to go with friends, or for a different type of place then check it out. It’s not a great date place (tables are too cramped together) but it is definitely worth a try. For more info check out www.clubhousecafe.net.