Visit Hoboken

The following post was written for Summer, but Hoboken is a great place to visit all year round.  Due to strict parking rules, the best way to visit is to park in one of our municipal garages.  There is one just down the street from Patricia's Yarns (entrance between Clinton and Grand on Fourth Street), and if you eat at Grimaldi's Pizza, they validate parking!  So come to Hoboken and have fun - and Knit, Crochet, Create!  - Happy Knitting, Patricia (Sept., 2012)

Do you come to Hoboken solely for Patricia’s Yarns?  If so, we’re flattered, but you might be missing out. 

Here are a few of our favorite spots in town if you find yourself in "The Mile Square":

Start your day uptown.  Los Olas Sushi Bar and Grill (14^th and Washington) is a great spot for a light summer lunch.  They have a beautiful open patio in the back or you can sit out front and see the passer-bys on Washington Street.  Order the fish tacos; they’re amazing.   And the best part, it is owned by a fellow knitter - be sure to ask for Jessica.

After lunch, walk two blocks south to the best bakery in Hoboken.  Forget that guy at the south end of town (what’s his name, Cake Boss?), Hoboken’s first family of baking is found at Georgios.  OMG – their pine nut cookies… you’ll thank me later.

Next, walk off your lunch by heading south on Washington Street.  Forget what those people in Cooperstown say, Hoboken is the home of baseball!  The Knickerbocker Club played the first game of baseball on Elysian Fields.  There is a monument commemorating the historic event at Eleventh and Washington Streets. 

After you check out the birth of our national past-time, be sure to stop by venerable rock club Maxwells for a pint of Old Speckled Hen.  Hits the spot on a hot Summer day.  Plus, you’ll be standing in the same rock club where Bruce made his “Glory Days” video, and where Nirvana, REM, Sonic Youth, Husker Du, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (I could go on…) all played.   

  

Continue south on Washington St. checking out all of the great boutiques.  There are so many small independently owned shops in our Mile Square Town – catering to everything from children’s clothes to running shoes.  Remember to help support small business – wink, wink.

By the time you get to Fourth Street, you might be hungry again (yes, I’m serious. It’s a long walk.) So, if you haven’t eaten all of your pine nut cookies, stop into Ben and Jerry’s.  Yes, it’s a chain.  But, it’s also delicious.  And it, too, is owned by a fellow knitter who is committed to helping our community.  So show some love with some Chunky Monkey. 

Turn left on Fourth Street. Yes, walk away from Patricia’s Yarns.  Why?  Because you will stumble across the most incredible little league baseball field in America.  Remember, Hoboken is the home of baseball, and this field is an amazing tribute to the city’s history.  Fold-down seats, a turf field, and the best view of New York City is only half the attraction – the little leaguers in this town can actually play some pretty good baseball.  Maybe you’ll catch a pop fly!

Have you seen Pier C yet?  Hoboken’s newest park stretches out into the Hudson River and has views from the Verrazano to the GWB – amazing.  Take a nap in the grass.  It’s better than the beach and there won’t be sand in your pants.

You’ll wake up refreshed and ready to shop.  Walk west on Fourth, past Lepores chocolate, past Patricia’s Yarns.  Stop in Empire Coffee for a large iced coffee or a “sexy tea”.  It will wake you up and taste delicious.

Visit Patricia’s.  Nuff said.

Finally, grab a box of dark chocolates (insert Forrest Gump joke here) from Lepores next door.  Mario Lepore has been making chocolate in this town for over 30 years - after he learned to be a chocolateer (word?) in France.

And then head to the best pizza place in Hoboken, in New Jersey, on the planet. Grimaldi’s Pizzaria is your final stop on our tour.  Order a large with pepperoni and mushrooms.  Mmmmm.

If you feel you’ve eaten enough today, don’t worry, you’re still ten blocks from your car, and you still haven’t seen all the great pubs on first street.  Oh, and get yourself some "mutz" and fresh baked bread while your in town as well.  I guarantee you can’t find it as good as it is here.  

Other favorites… Hoboken Hot House (btw First and Second on Wash.), Vito’s Deli – for Mutz (between 8^th and 9^th on Wash.), Antique Bakery – for bread (between 1^st and 2^nd on Willow), Mulligan’s Pub (First St. between Bloomfield and Garden), Louise and Jerry’s Tavern (between 3^rd and 4^th on Wash.) and Carpe Diem Pub (14^th and Grand).