Did You Ever Eat at the Zig Zag? The Gondola?

My taste buds remember the great mussels at Zig Zag Restaurant on Belleville Avenue, Belleville and long for their hot gravy.  Angelo knew we would come in every Saturday evening and would have our table in the corner with the wine waiting for us.  The bar had unique light that had Clydesdale Horses that went around in circles. It keep all the kids entertained as the adults ate.  Ida, Jeannie and Connie were always there to help take your order and make sure the meal was perfect.  Wish we could go there tonight for dinner and have the chicken cutlet parmigiana/baked ziti special.   The restaurant is gone but not forgotten.

On one of my first dates, my boyfriend (now husband) took me to The Gondola Restaurant on Franklin Avenue, Nutley.  Never having been in such a beautiful place before, I was nervous and didn’t know what to order.  I fondly remember this older women, who was very short in statue but huge when she spoke and she got our attention.  She had grey hair and a white apron on and  could have been anyone’s grandma.  Speaking in broken English, she told us what she was making us for dinner.   There was no choice or selection needed and she fixed us the most amazing dinner.  To this day, I’ve never had such a loving and wonderful experience at a restaurant.  The restaurant is gone but not forgotten.

If you were from Nutley, you didn’t worry about shopping at the high end stores because you had one of your own.  The Janette Shop on Franklin Avenue, Nutley had the best formal attire and every well dressed person shopped there.  Walking into the multi-level store, I remember being greeted by a sales person that was willing to help find exactly what you needed.  My Junior Prom dress for High School was from this store, and I can still how special the experience was.  All holiday dresses (hats too) were purchased from this store, along with the terrible maroon gym uniforms we were required to wear.  The store is gone but not forgotten.

After we got married, we had the privilege to live in the Silver Lake section of Belleville on Heckel Street.  Our first year there, we got to experience the feast  that closed the two blocks  The street fair was for the Feast of St. Anthony and was like a smaller version of the feast in New York City, filled with great food and fun games.  Mr. Mindotto had his zeppole truck waiting to distribute the hot fried dough to his customers.  In the later years, they moved the feast to the parking lot of St. Anthony’s Church, but it wasn’t the same.  The street fair is gone but not forgotten.

Summer was never the same once Jackie's Lemon Ice closed.  Jackie’s was in Belleville on the Newark line.  We use to go every Friday night for lemon ice and always brought wet wipes with us, since we knew we would make a mess.  I think the mess was part of the charm of eating lemon ice and my favorite was tradition lemon with lemon zest in it.  Jackie’s is gone but never forgotten. We need to remember each one fondly, since they are an important part of our history.  My favorite quote is by Thomas Fuller – “Leftovers in their visible form are called memories. They are stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.”