Bergen Buzz

OUR GUIDE TO NEW IDEAS, TIPS, TRENDS AND THINGS WE LOVE IN OUR COUNTY.

WHO WANTS ICE CREAM?

Few things in life are as dependable as ice cream. It’s our trusty snack when we’re sitting poolside and our spontaneous after-dinner indulgence. It’s a first date that doesn’t disappoint— and the friend who’s been with us through the worst of breakups. Yes, some of us must opt for non-dairy alternatives or Italian ices for reasons of diet or lactose intolerance, but July is National Ice Cream Month for all of us. The average American reportedly consumes 23 gallons a year; if you’re not up to that pace, someone else is getting some of yours! You’d best head for one of these sweet spots:

Bischoff’s Confectionery, Teaneck. Since 1934, Bischoff’s has been scooping up sweets in Teaneck, but this family-owned business dates to the late 1800s. Laura Heckler of Northvale calls Bischoff’s her favorite ice-cream shop. “Though it’s far from my home,” she says, “I often make the trip down to Teaneck because I like it so much.” There are scoops, ice cream sodas and a variety of ices. Try one of the decadent sundaes or, if you’re feeling nostalgic, one of the classic egg creams.

• 468 Cedar Ln., Teaneck, 201.836.0333; bischoffsicecream.com BrainFreeze, New Milford. This kind of brain freeze you actually won’t mind. Icecream sandwiches, malts, sundaes, oh my! While there, get an ice cream cake for your next special occasion. Must go dairy-free? The Italian ices await you.

• 370 River Rd., New Milford, 201.265.5055; brainfreezeicecreamnj.com

DID YOU KNOW? July is the perfect time for ice cream, as the average high temperature in Bergen County for the month is 84.1 degrees Fahrenheit. While it’s a warm one, Bergen’s stat is one degree cooler than the state average high for July.

Conrad’s Confectionery, Westwood. Here’s the scoop: This is Westwood’s best-kept secret, so good we almost didn’t want to tell you about it. But we’ll wait on the longest of lines if it means getting our hands on a cup of the ice cream Conrad’s has been selling since 1928. If you’re looking for a non-dairy alternative, opt for a homemade ice pop in a flavor such as cotton candy, guava or pineapple. Matt Fagnan of Westwood grew up enjoying Conrad’s ice cream; today he visits with his wife and new baby. Fagnan didn’t stay in Westwood solely for Conrad’s, he says, “but it definitely helped.”

• 107 Westwood Ave., Westwood, 201.664.2895; conrads1928.com

Cranberry Junction Ice Cream and Hot Dogs,

Hackensack. This sweet little storefront has been serving up classic flavors since 2015. As the name suggests, the cranberry-colored ice cream shop is nestled right next to the train tracks. Sit at one of the establishment’s many picnic tables and entertain the kids with the real-life version of their favorite toy.

• 19 Temple Ave., Hackensack, 201.546.8966; cranberryjunctionicecream.com Daniela’s Ice Cream, Closter. I scream, you scream, we all scream for Daniela’s. This Closter corner store sells the classics with a sprinkling of flair. Earl Grey, ginger, key lime—the mouth waters at the thought of these exciting flavors. Here, fresh ingredients and small-scale production combine to ensure satisfaction with every bite.

• 234 Closter Dock Rd., Closter, 201.428.9600; danielasicecream.com Ernie’s Ice Cream, Mahwah. This windowservice ice cream shop has been bringing crowds to Mahwah every summer since 2010. Try its Mississippi mud pie or lemon-barflavored hard ice cream. There’s also a large selection of soft-serve options (34 flavors to be exact), way beyond the simple chocolate and vanilla offered at most other shops. Bring your dairy-free friends to enjoy Ernie’s Italian ices as well as ice cream made with almond milk or oat milk.

• 78 Franklin Tpk., Mahwah, 201.252.8373; erniesicecream.wixsite.com FM Cafe, Wood-Ridge. Come to this lovely storefront for a taste of Italy. You’ll find gelato and tartufo sundaes, bubble waffles and more. The menu may be small, but the gelato packs a real flavor punch.

• 255 Valley Blvd., Wood-Ridge, 201.728.4889; fmcafe.net

Francy’s Artisanal Ice Cream, Bergenfield.

As of May 2021, Francy’s is Bergen County’s new ice creamery. Here you’ll find flavors such as gianduja crunch and cannoli. Though new, Francy’s is already making a name for itself.

• 461 S. Washington Ave., Bergenfield, 201.942.6282 Ice Cream on Grand, Englewood. This ice cream sure is grand. With classic and novel flavors (passion fruit and yuzu), you can play it safe here or try something new. This spot is kosher too.

• 523 Grand Ave., Englewood, 201.569.5346; icecreamongrand.com Van Dyk’s, Ridgewood. With a plethora of flavors of rich, creamy ice cream, it’s no surprise there’s always a crowd out front here. It’s the favorite ice cream spot of many Bergenites—such as Alyssa Pagliei of Midland Park, who says, “When the weather’s nice, I often walk there with my friends. It’s the best local spot around.” (Needn’t bring credit cards; this classic joint is cash only.)

• 145 Ackerman Ave., Ridgewood, 201.444.1429; vandyksicecream.com

GOT OAT?

These shops serve creamy alternative non-dairy options for your ice cream fix: Ice Cream by Mike, Ridgewood. If you love ice cream but must avoid dairy products, this is the place for you. Besides regular ice cream, it offers vegan options in popular flavors such as vanilla and chocolate, as well as cookies and coconut. Crave something salty? You’ll even find hand-cut fries here.

• 305 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, 201.343.4514; icecreambymike.com Sprinklez, Hillsdale. With rainbow cones and, of course, sprinkles, this Hillsdale shop is probably the most colorful one on the list. It offers regular ice creams and 10 flavors of vegan ice creams made with coconut milk—feel free to bring the whole family. If you’re hyper-hungry, try the Big Mama, a 32-ounce shake made with flavors of your choosing.

• 130 Broadway, Hillsdale, 201.497.5515; sprinklezhillsdale.com Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, East Rutherford. While this cute chain offers both dairy and non-dairy ice cream options, its vegan ice creams are all the rage. They’re so creamy and flavorful, even non vegans forgo dairy for a scoop of vegan vanilla almond butter cup. Try all the flavors in a delectable waffle cone!

ICE IS NICE

These Bergen County locations may serve other sweets, but all eyes are on their Italian ices: Clyde’s, Garfield. Italian ice is the specialty here. Served in classic paper cups and packed with heaping scoops, the nice ice puts smiles on faces of all ages. And fear not, ice cream lovers! You’ll find the creamy treat as well. In July and August, stop by on Mondays for $2 soft-serve.

• 48 Gaston Ave., Garfield, 973.546.2760 Lyndhurst Pastry Shop, Lyndhurst. Italian ice in a pastry shop? We wouldn’t have it any other way. With regular Italian ices, sugar-free options and cream Italian ices made with milk powder, you’ll be able to please the entire family here. Christina Alberti of Lyndhurst gives us the inside scoop on one of the shop’s best flavors. (Trust her; she works there!) It’s cannoli cream. She likes that it has chocolate chips and “tastes just like real cannoli cream.”

• 256 Ridge Rd., Lyndhurst, 201.939.3951; lyndhurstpastryshop.com

Ralph’s Famous Italian Ice, Hasbrouck

Heights. This East Coast chain is a stop you need to make when the sugar cravings hit. Try Ralph’s Italian ices and sherbets. Want something different? Opt for the popular twisters: Italian ice layered with creamy soft-serve ice cream.

• 239 Boulevard, Hasbrouck Heights; 201.393.4891; ralphsices.com Rita’s Italian Ice, multiple locations. Rita’s is a crowd pleaser, with stores across Bergen County. Get a classic Italian ice or a frozen custard to cool off after a long summer day. Can’t decide? The two combine in Rita’s famous gelati.

• 1020 Maple Ave., Glen Rock, 201.447.4827; 184 Essex St., D-2, Lodi, 201.843.0882; 3 Miller Rd., Mahwah, 201.529.4237; 50 River Rd., North Arlington, 201.998.7482; 191–2 Hackensack St., Wood-Ridge, 201.804.9333; ritasice.com

Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ice and Ice Cream,

multiple locations. This chain offers a sweet escape here in Bergen that you’d otherwise have to find down the Shore. With pastel colors and candy-striped accents, even the storefronts make you feel like a kid on the boardwalk. Carol Sahagian of Oradell says: “Uncle Louie G’s has the best Italian ice ever! It tastes like ice cream (very creamy), with way fewer calories.” She favors chocolate mousse and chocolate peanut butter cup.

• 96 E. Main St., Ramsey, 201.962.2272; 111 W. Pleasant Ave., 201.909.5151; 135 Park Ave., Park Ridge, 201.690.6719; unclelouiegee.com

Friday the 13th is coming right up—in August. If you want to embrace a case of the chills, head to these haunts: • The French Burying Ground. Established in 1677, this New Milford cemetery is the oldest in the county. Many gravestones have deteriorated and are no longer legible. Though some grave markers have been destroyed, there are remains here that date back before our country’s founding. “When I went to see the cemetery,” recalls New Milford’s Samantha Kim, “seeing such old graves made the place give off a kind of eerie vibe.” Sacré bleu! • The Devil’s Tower. The site on Esplanade Road in Alpine dates from 1910. It’s rumored that Manuel Rionda and his wife built it to enjoy the Manhattan view. Allegedly, after Rionda’s wife spotted her husband with another woman, she flung herself off the tower—and supposedly she haunts it to this day. “It’s a strange thing to find in the middle of all these mansions,” says New Milford resident Chloe Youngs, who visited the tower recently. “It seems to pop out of nowhere and immediately seems creepy.” Mrs. Rionda was evidently out when Youngs came calling, but there was a ghostly feeling anyway. • Steuben House. This Revolutionary War landmark in River Edge was George Washington’s headquarters for 16 days in 1780 but has now grown infamous for its ghost. Legend says deceased former resident General F.W.A. von Steuben returned to the home and asked the new resident what was happening in the war. The new homeowner was confused, as the war had ended more than 200 years prior. According to the story, the ghost then disappeared with a perplexed look. Recently Emerson Junior-Senior High School history teacher Jennifer Norato visited the house and had an eerie experience, “I felt a chill,” she says. “And while I didn’t see anyone, I just had this feeling I wasn’t alone.” • Blauvelt Cemetery. This Harrington Park site dates back to 1722 and, according to legend, hosts numerous ghosts. Locals have reported seeing odd shadows, orbs and mists. Harrington Park’s Renee Scherer remembers that when she visited, “some of the tombstones were so old they were worn thin. It was very creepy.” Scherer did not witness the infamous shadows, she says, but was “creeped out” nevertheless.

BEAR NECESSITIES

What to do if you see a black bear? With the weather warming and more of us heading outside, that’s not an idle question. Reports of bear sightings in our area are on the rise.

“People always need to be aware of the environment they’re in,” says James Koth, director of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation. “When you’re out enjoying nature, remember you’re in someone else’s backyard. We’re sharing space, and the animals that live here are part of what makes Bergen County special.”

Don’t invite bears by leaving garbage containers unsecured or food items lying around. But if you do see one, the department recommends that you: • Be still. If the bear is a safe distance away it is likely not a threat. Witnessing a bear in the wild can be a wonderful experience, but never move toward the bear, corner it or try to feed it. Make sure the bear always has space and an escape route. • But don’t be silent. If you do need to frighten the bear away, say the parks officials, be loud. They recommend yelling, stomping your feet and waving your arms over your head. Black bears are naturally skittish and usually can be scared off easily.

If bears wander regularly into your yard, it is possible to condition them to fear the area and thus avoid it— noise is the key here too. The department recommends making loud sounds, such as banging pots and pans, and shouting to keep bears away.

NICE SLICE

This spring, Food & Wine magazine named New Jersey the best pizza state in America. Well, of course. And Kinchley’s Tavern in Ramsey, a long-established eatery known for its thin crust, got a shoutout for exemplifying the “tavern pizza culture of North Jersey.”

Says Kinchley’s general manager Gerry Calderwood: “The biggest key to our success is that we don’t skimp on the ingredients. Also, we have very low turnover in our kitchen. Some of the guys have been here between 20 and 40 years.”

Calderwood says that even during the pandemic’s peak, when his dining room was closed, Kinchley’s was selling the same amount of pizzas for takeout as before COVID because it had a loyal fan base. “Now our dining room is open,” he adds. “We’re back to full capacity and there are lines out the door.”

CAN THE ARTS BE HEALING?

If you believe creative work can be a force for reconciliation and understanding in society, here’s your chance to prove it with art of your own.

For its 2021–2022 season, the Healing Hands program at Ramapo College is looking for new work by “musicians, theater artists, dancers, filmmakers and other performing artists.” The works-in-progress should reflect “how the arts are contributing to healing in these challenging times.” That could mean, for example, addressing the impacts of COVID-19, current struggles for racial and social justice, the polarized political climate or changes in climate itself.

This project is run by the college’s Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Mahwah campus. The application deadline is July 29; artists will be notified of their selection by Sept. 1. If your work is selected, you’ll get a chance to perform it or show it (in a 25-to-30-minute presentation) next February. You’ll also receive $800 and the opportunity to take part in a post-performance discussion of how artists, in creating new work, draw on world events. (Find out more at ramapo. edu/berriecenter.)

BLOCK-PARTY BLISS

Restaurants acted quickly last year when capacity limits were imposed in response to the coronavirus— they expanded outdoor dining to allow for more customers. For many eateries, that meant blocking off cars in the streets to create a plaza of sorts to allow people to walk around freely and more tables to be set up outside, giving a fun, “block party” feel to many of the county’s downtown areas.

Even with the easing of dining restrictions this year, towns outside Bergen County such as Westfield, Jersey City, Asbury Park and New Brunswick have confirmed plans for pedestrian plazas this summer. But as of press time, Rutherford is the only Bergen town who’s solidified its plans: Dining Out Rutherford resumes Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer (weather permitting) from 4 to 11 p.m., when Park Avenue from the library to Ames Avenue will close to vehicular traffic to allow ample distancing in the restaurants’ outdoor dining areas. Here’s where things stand for other towns: • Ridgewood is still figuring out its plan for a pedestrian plaza. Though making room for more patrons has benefits, some of the village’s business owners worry that limitations on parking nearby have made pickups and curbside orders more difficult. Last summer, street closures went from East Ridgewood across to Walnut, Broad, Prospect and Oak streets on weekends from 7 to 11 p.m., but this year it’s all TBD.

There’s been no word on a potential pedestrian plaza plan in Fort Lee, Closter, Westwood, Ramsey or Englewood, each of which has its own downtown area. Stay tuned!

A PRODIGIOUS TALENT

We first told you about Hackensack native and jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker in December 2018. At 11, he began performing around the world. His blindness wasn’t the point; it was his music.

“When I was very young, I used to play nursery rhymes on a keyboard my grandfather gave me,” recalls Whitaker, now 20. “As I grew older, I constantly listened to music on my adaptive devices.” Soon he realized he wanted to become a professional musician.

In recent years the artist has been showcased on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and 60 Minutes, and he’s performed at the Exit 0 Jazz Festival in Cape May. DeGeneres, he says, was “very nice and funny, as was everyone I met.”

For the past two years Whitaker has attended the Juilliard School’s jazz studies program. He’ll release a new album in August— fans can find it on his website, matthewwhitaker.net, alongside his previous records.

OH, DEER!

Deer are majestic creatures that are entertaining to observe— but that can also decimate a garden. Many homeowners face frustration trying to keep deer away from their precious flowers. Katie Kearney, garden manager at Eisele’s Nursery and Garden Center in Paramus, reminds us that no plant is deer-proof if a deer is hungry enough. But there are deer-resistant plants, including butterfly bush, geranium, salvia and zinnia. They’re what deer usually eat last.

Kearney recommends Deer Out, an organic spray comprising garlic, mint, lemon and grass oil that deters deer. Spraying one’s flowers and lawn on a regular basis makes it less likely for deer to want to eat in the vicinity.

WHAT’S THE TEA ON BUBBLE TEA?

Bubble tea, also called boba, is a Taiwanese drink made of black tea, milk, ice and chewy tapioca balls the size of marbles. Though boba should not be consumed daily like coffee due to its high caloric content (not to mention its lack of protein and fiber), it’s a nice summer pick-me-up once in a while when you need a refreshing beverage and a yummy burst of caffeine. Try these bubble-tea spots: CoCo Bubble Tea serves the signature bubble tea in both hot and cold varieties, along with milk teas in various flavors sans the tapioca balls. All teas here are gluten-free and whipped with non-dairy creamer.

• 450 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, 201.820.2677; cocobubbletea.com Gong Cha is a chain with five Bergen locations (Paramus, Palisades Park, Fort Lee, Ridgewood and Closter) that sell bubble tea and only bubble tea. The “series” from which to choose are milk foam, milk tea, slush, tea latte and “the creative series,” which features inventive beverages such as lemon wintermelon with basil seeds.

• Multiple locations, gongchausa.com Moge Tee Fort Lee’s fan favorite menu items include cheesefoam dragonfruit tea and strawberry cheese tea. But vegans or those who don’t eat dairy should try the brown sugar bubble milk tea, purple yam bubble milk tea and superfruit green tea, each authentic and delish.

• 2029 Lemoine Ave. #102, Fort Lee, 201.849.5082; mogeteeusa.com Village Tea Shop has a Google review calling it “the best bubble tea anywhere.” This shop lets you select not only your flavor (matcha, taro, vanilla, etc.), but also your level of sweetness, amount of ice and extra toppings or balls of choice.

• 2 S. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, 201.857.0230; villageteashop.net Vivi Bubble Tea is probably not the place to go if you’re indecisive—this shop has five categories of bubble teas, including cream floats, yakult probiotics, fresh fruit, milk teas and organic milk teas. Vivi has signature drinks too, such as Oreo crème brûlée and pineapple mango jelly tea.

• 37 Broad Ave., Palisades Park, 201.942.2566; vivibubbletea.com Zai’s Dessertery isn’t a bubble-tea-only shop like some of the others, but doesn’t it make sense to get your dessert tea from a baker who specializes in desserts? Zai’s delish teas come in many flavors: coconut, taro, mango, cappuccino, strawberry, honeydew, avocado and plain bubble milk.

• 108 North Washington Ave., Bergenfield, 201.771.7000; 22B Union Ave., Cresskill, 201.266.8959; zaisdesserts. com