Things to do in NJ?

[Absolutely Virtue]

You didn't say what part of California you're from. If you're from LA, I guess you might like the Jersey shore. But if you're from any other part, chances are you're going to laugh at what the locals consider the "beach."

[Trichocyst]

Ugh. Grease trucks will fuck you up.

[BRP]

This one Cafe Colore(there are like two or more) is the best restaurant in New Jersey.

http://www.cafecolore.com/

EDIT: Go to the places I mentioned if they are close. You won't regret it.

[Cephius]

Also I pass the Nabisco cookie factory in Fairlawn, NJ several times times a week and you can smell delicious cookies for miles, so all you people who think the whole state smells like dead fish can go fuck off.

[Conrad]

I'm in North Jersey and really, there's not much to see here. Bergen county is a very expensive place to live, the median home value is around $800,000. Most people living up here are well-off, older generation people that do not want things like clubs, sports bars, or other things that someone in their 20s would consider "interesting" nearby. There's a couple very large malls in the area (Garden State Plaza on route 17, Palisades Center in nearby West Nyack NY) that have decent bars and hang-out spots but that's pretty much it. There are some very nice upscale restaurants, but again, nothing I'd consider "must-see". Grease trucks are pretty much our claim to fame, which is kind of sad. They're still awesome sandwiches, though.

Like people have suggested.. go to NYC. Much, much more to see there and it's a short bus or train ride away.

Grease Trucks are Rutgers, Middlesex County.

[Cephius]

Grease Trucks are Rutgers, Middlesex County.

By "our claim to fame" I was referring to North Jersey, really. They are definitely worth stopping by if you happen to be in the area.

[Delirium]

You didn't say what part of California you're from. If you're from LA, I guess you might like the Jersey shore. But if you're from any other part, chances are you're going to laugh at what the locals consider the "beach."

There are no beaches in Jersey, just the shore
If you go to the shore, funnel cake is the best food ever.

reiterating going to nyc. I would recommend taking the train or path into NYC, train is prolly better for Carteret. Once you get there, find a street vendor with chicken and rice, it is delicious.

There are 2 really good food blogs for things in NJ/NY/CT that I check infrequently. One is off the broiler and the other is jersey bites. Both should give lots of suggestions to you.

As for clubs and stuff, NYC is a lot better unless you are into guido culture and wanna get with Snooki's uglier cousin.

[aru]

You should take a trip into the "Ironbound" section of Newark. While there you can hit up some fantastic Portuguese/Brazilian restaurants. Two that come to mind are Brazilia and Iberia. I would suggest getting their rodizio (unless you are a vegetarian as it is an all-you-can-eat rotisserie of a large variety of meats that is served to you at your table right off the skewers). Forno's is a fantastic Spanish restaurant is is more classy(and expensive) than the other two I mentioned. Everything off their menu is top-notch, you may need to call ahead for reservations, however. Take your GPS, you don't want to get lost.

If you are dead-set on a diner, you can try Tops Diner that is in Harrison, NJ which is just east of Newark.

You might want to look up if anything is happening at the Prudential Center (The Rock) while you are there or check out Asbury Park or the Medowlands for any shows or events.

You can go to Liberty State Park, Ellis Island and Liberty Island (statue of liberty) all in one shot.

There's the Rutgers Ecological Preserve which is pretty close to where you're staying if you want to go for a hike. I think I went there once and they had a bamboo forest that you could walk through, although I may be thinking of a different Rutgers site. There are quite a lot of parks throughout NJ and it's hard to keep which is which straight.

If you are going into NYC, I would suggest using public transport (trains, subway) to get in and around. I'm not sure where they are with the WTC reconstruction, but if you take the PATH train into NYC it will go through the site and you can get off right there and check it out and then head north through SoHo/Chinatown/Little Italy. After the rubble was cleared out from the attacks, the train would cut into the "bathtub" hole that was left and was a really cool experience, that was a few years ago though and I haven't been back to see if it is still like that. Getting an unlimited use Metrocard may save you some money if you don't really know where you're going.

Morristown should have some Revolutionary War museums if you're interested in that. I think we took a class trip around there when I was in elementary school.

You could also go tour some of the locations that the Sopranos was shot if you were a fan of the show. That might be pretty boring, though.

Avoid Irvington and Paterson. They aren't nice places to be.

[Ace-o-fire]

Jockey Hollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jockey_Hollow

Really pretty area to walk around and learn about the revolutionary war

Island Beach - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Beach_State_Park

If you get a chance you can go to Island beach state park. It's one of the few decent non-douchey shore places in the state

But make your way in to nyc, it's expensive, but really it gives you something nice to do on a Friday Saturday night when north nj is dead.

[Tsutsumiko]

Diners are good, I can't reccomend those enough. Harold's is also an amazing restaurant, kind of pricey but huge portions.

I lived at Rutgers for four years for college, and wow, I can't believe I didn't reccomend the grease trucks to you. They're all grouped together in one spot so you don't have to go out of your way for them, and they sell Fat Sandwiches. True to their name, they are without a doubt the most gluttonous (yet delicious) food you'll eat. Sandwiches are about 2000 Calories apiece, but they're oh so worth it, only cost $5.50, and are open pretty late if I recall, although I'm not sure if they shorten their hours in the summer. Every pizza place in New Brunswick sells them, though. If I know my geography, Carteret is about half an hour from New Brunswick, so you really have no excuse not to go there and have one.

Grease trucks close @ 2 AM during the school year.

Also, all this talk about them and you forgot to recommend THE sandwich?

If you get the fat sandwich, get the Fat Darrel.

By far the best.

[Ksandra]

you know, you should find a local pizza place for that matter.+ Even if it's not NY pizza, NE pizza in general is very good (and very saucy <3 <3 <3). California's pizza sucks ass so I'm pretty sure it's safe to say no matter where you go, it'll be better than what you're used to.

[Cephius]

you know, you should find a local pizza place for that matter.+ Even if it's not NY pizza, NE pizza in general is very good (and very saucy <3 <3 <3). California's pizza sucks ass so I'm pretty sure it's safe to say no matter where you go, it'll be better than what you're used to.

This, and the bagels. Find a Jewish bagel store in NJ or NY, you'll never eat a bagel from anywhere else ever again.

[Cyn]

Wow. Is everyone in NJ fat or something? Every single suggestion other than leave is food related.

[Ksandra]

Wow. Is everyone in NJ fat or something? Every single suggestion other than leave is food related.

the op asked about food places...

[Cyn]

Yes but are there no cool bars or nightclubs there? Or is it all just cheap diners and whatever the fuck a grease truck is (sounds disgusting)?

The only place I've been to in Jersey was Newark, and it was one of the dirtiest and ugliest cities I've ever seen.

[Tsutsumiko]

Yes but are there no cool bars or nightclubs there? Or is it all just cheap diners and whatever the fuck a grease truck is (sounds disgusting)?

The only place I've been to in Jersey was Newark, and it was one of the dirtiest and ugliest cities I've ever seen.

Once again, New Brunswick is the way to go.

It has bars, a bagel store, and a pizza shop that's amazing. All on Easton Avenue.

As for Grease Trucks, it's what they're called by the locals because they only serve Greasy foods.

And no, we're not fat. I only weigh 145~150 lbs...*shrugs*

[Ksandra]

Yes but are there no cool bars or nightclubs there?

Welcome to New England. They'll have it, but it'll be sparse.

[Aeowin]

Get raped or just die, really.

[Zephyriel]

You didn't say what part of California you're from. If you're from LA, I guess you might like the Jersey shore. But if you're from any other part, chances are you're going to laugh at what the locals consider the "beach."

Yeah, from the LA area, bout like 10-20 minutes away. Are the beaches in NJ not too impressive? :O

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, lot of these places sound great :D! Had a friend who went to Rutgers as well, lived on-campus and had nothing but praise for those sandwiches (except about how he'd probably die from eating them, but that's a compliment.. in a way?). Guess I'll have to make a list of places for them to stop by.

Lack of bars isn't really a big problem, doubt there'll be much time for that anyway. As it is right now, the most spare time they'll have is just enough to grab a bite to eat somewhere; don't think they'll be seeing much other than the office and the hotel, heh.

[aru]

Welcome to New England.

What?