We think even our swamp is beautiful. NJ Meadowlands Environment Center

Are we done crying over some backwards people in California who are convinced that they live in paradise despite their dead economy and horrible smog? Public Policy Polling thinks this is still a news story by publishing yet another study about what states are “disliked.”

You know what?  If 2 out of every 3 people said they LIKED me, I’d be pretty happy with that.  That’s what these poll results say and yet 1010wins.com turned it into a Poor New Jersey article.

Whatever.

Click below for the link to 1010wins.com and Public Policy Polling’s full report.

Poll: Nearly 1 In 3 Americans Hold ‘Unfavorable’ View Of New Jersey « CBS New York.

Public Policy Polling’s full report in PDF, here.

Michael Te-Pei Chang was born in 1972 to Joe and Betty Chang in Hoboken. His parents both grew up in Taiwan (though were born elsewhere) and were educated in the United States, where they met.

After moving from Hoboken, New Jersey to Placentia, California, the Changs moved again to Encinitas, California. Michael dropped out of Grade 10 at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, California, after passing his GED in February 1988 in order to pursue a professional tennis career.

Chang is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17.

Known for his on-court speed and fighting spirit, Chang is considered by many observers to have been one of the best tennis counterpunchers of all time. He also introduced the jumping two-handed backhand. He remained in the top 10 of the ATP world rankings for several years in the 1990s, peaking at world no. 2.

Chang was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008.

The rest is tennis history.

[via Wikipedia]

New Jersey Boat Sale & Expo

New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center
Address: 97 Sunfield Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837
Click Here for Directions to the Convention Center.
Convenient Free Parking

Show Times:

Admission: 
ONLY $6.00 per person, 16 & under are free (when accompanied by an adult)

 Dreamation 2012

Thursday, February 23 – Sunday, February 26, 2012

At the Morristown Hyatt & Conference Center in Morristown, New Jersey

Legends In Concert Ballys Casino
Atlantic City, NJ Friday
2/24/2012
8:00 PM view
tickets

John Pinette Bergen Performing Arts Center
Englewood, NJ Friday
2/24/2012
8:00 PM view
tickets

Guns N’ Roses House Of Blues – Atlantic City
Atlantic City, NJ Friday
2/24/2012
9:00 PM view
tickets

Believe: Diva’s In a Man’s World Resorts Atlantic City – The Screening Room
Atlantic City, NJ Friday
2/24/2012
10:00 PM view
tickets

Philadelphia Mummers String Band Boardwalk Hall Arena – Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, NJ Saturday
2/25/2012
2:00 PM view
tickets

Citizen Cope Stone Pony
Asbury Park, NJ Saturday
2/25/2012
7:00 PM view
tickets

Edgar Winter House Of Blues – Atlantic City
Atlantic City, NJ Saturday
2/25/2012
8:00 PM view
tickets

Ms. Lauryn Hill Caesars Atlantic City
Atlantic City, NJ Saturday
2/25/2012
9:00 PM view
tickets

Believe: Diva’s In a Man’s World Resorts Atlantic City – The Screening Room
Atlantic City, NJ Saturday
2/25/2012
10:00 PM view
tickets

Legends In Concert Ballys Casino
Atlantic City, NJ Saturday
2/25/2012
10:00 PM view
tickets

Legends In Concert Ballys Casino
Atlantic City, NJ Sunday
2/26/2012
8:00 PM view
tickets

Click here for a complete list of upcoming Concerts in New Jersey

Photo : ROBERT SABO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

As anyone who follows sports knows Jeremy Lin has brought excitement back to the Garden and life back to the New York Knicks. The first official ‘Victim’ of Linsanity was Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets on February 4th. In the game as a result of a thin roster, Lin exploded onto the scene, outplayed Williams and began the Knicks’ winning streak.
Williams was constantly reminded of the beating he took on his Twitter feed with comments like ‘Jeremy Lin destroys Deron Williams.’ Last night Deron Williams and the Nets were determined to get their revenge.

The Knicks had just defeated the current NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks the night before and were expecting to sweep a bunch of ‘creampuff’ teams in an easy stretch of their schedule.

The New Jersey Nets had other plans. They shocked and surprised everyone by defeating the Knicks and Williams came out and scored 38 points in the win.

Carmelo Anthony’s return to the line-up and his lack of chemistry with Lin in the mix most likely played a factor as well. But Williams determination to avenge his humiliation was the driving force behind the Nets’ win. Now the Nets just need to use their humiliating record to motivate them to go out and attack more teams like they did the Knicks!

Yahoo article on Deron Williams getting revenge on Jeremy Lin

New York Daily News Article on Deron Williams and Jeremy Lin 

Mark Edward Kelly is the son of Richard and Patricia Kelly, two retired police officers. He was born in Orange and raised in West Orange. Kelly graduated from Mountain High School in 1982. He received a B.S. degree in marine engineering and nautical science from the United States Merchant Marine Academy graduating with highest honors in 1986. In 1994, he received an M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

In December 1987, Kelly became a United States Naval aviator and received initial training on the A-6E Intruder attack aircraft. He was then assigned to VA-115 (Attack Squadron 115) in Atsugi, Japan, and made two deployments to the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS Midway flying 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. After receiving his master’s degree he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School from June 1993 to June 1994. He has logged more than 5,000 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and has over 375 carrier landings.

He is the recipient of the following awards: two Defense Superior Service Medals; four Air Medals (two individual/two strike flight) with Combat “V”; one Legion of Merit; one Distinguished Flying Cross; two Navy Commendation Medals, one with combat “V”); one Navy Achievement Medal; two Southwest Asia Service Medals; one Navy Expeditionary Medal; two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons; and an Overseas Service Ribbon.

On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced his retirement from the U.S. Navy and NASA, effective October 1, 2011. His retirement was announced on his Facebook page, where he wrote, “Words cannot convey my deep gratitude for the opportunities I have been given to serve our great nation. From the day I entered the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the summer of 1982 to the moment I landed the Space Shuttle Endeavour three weeks ago, it has been my privilege to advance the ideals that define the United States of America.”

[via Wikipedia]

Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell and lived there for four years until the family moved to New York. He’s the only President who was born in New Jersey.

Cleveland and His Loyal Friend

Cleveland was both our 22nd and 24th president. He was the only president to serve non-consecutive terms. While most of his life, he lived in New York state, he retired to Princeton and is buried there in the Nassau Presbyterian Church cemetery.

We recently visited his birthplace for our one thousandth post because Cleveland’s face graces the $1,000 bill.

Not only was he the only President to serve non-consecutive terms, he was also the only President to be married right inside the White House.  Other Presidents were married while serving as President but they all held their ceremonies elsewhere.

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson was our 28th president and was born in Virginia but in 1890 moved to New Jersey and joined the faculty at Princeton.  He was the only president in our history to possess a Ph.D.  He went on to be promoted to President of Princeton University in 1902. In 1910, Wilson decided to leave Princeton and enter New Jersey politics.  He ran for Governor and won in 1910 and by 1912 was nominated to run as a Democratic presidential candidate.  He won the 1912 election and went on to govern the United States for eight years.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Yeah, I can finish that.

Can you guess where in New Jersey this picture was taken?

(RGGI) or the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is the first market-based regulatory program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI involves the cooperation of 10 states : Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. They have agreed to cap and reduce CO₂ emissions from the power sector 10 percent by 2018.
The RGGI region, is the 7th largest global warming polluter in the world and neighboring states have to agree to make the program work.

Over the years New Jersey has come a long way in cleaning up our air and promoting clean energy. But we still have some of the nation’s worst air quality especially in the Northern half of the state, which is responsible for millions of asthma attacks and hospital visits every year.

Governor Christie wants to pull New Jersey out of the program.

Sen. Diane Allen, who is against RGGI claimed that “RGGI drives up energy costs for consumers at a time when nobody can afford any additional taxes”, but when asked about what the savings from backing out of RGGI would be for consumers, Christie said: “I don’t want to overplay that because we’re not talking about a huge difference.” He obviously knows that there is no reason why RGGI can’t be complied with without any additional cost being passed on to the public.

Environment New Jersey wants you to contact your representatives and legislators to fight Christie and keep New Jersey in the RGGI. See more details here.

Environment Northeast article on RGGI

nj.com article on Governor Christie pulling out of the RGGI

Wikipedia article on RGGI 

Travolta, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Englewood. His father, Salvatore was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke), was an actress and singer who had appeared in The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama and English teacher. His siblings, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted. His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American; he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975.

After attending Dwight Morrow High School, Travolta moved across the Hudson River to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musical Grease and on Broadway in Over Here!, singing the Sherman Brothers’ song “Dream Drummin.” He then moved to Los Angeles to further his career in show business.

Travolta’s first California-filmed television role was as a fall victim in, Emergency!, in September 1972, but his first significant movie role was as Billy Nolan, a bully who was goaded into playing a prank on Sissy Spacek’s character in the horror film, Carrie (1976). Around the same time, he landed his star-making role as Vinnie Barbarino in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), in which his sister, Ellen, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack’s mother). The show aired on ABC.

Around this time, Travolta had a hit single entitled “Let Her In,” peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the next few years, he appeared in two of his most noted screen roles: Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and as Danny Zuko in Grease (1978). The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom. Saturday Night Fever earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. At age 24, Travolta became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. His mother and his sister Ann appeared as extras in Saturday Night Fever and his sister Ellen appeared as a waitress in Grease. Travolta performed several of the songs on the Grease soundtrack album.

In 1980, Travolta inspired a nationwide country music craze that followed on the heels of his hit film, Urban Cowboy, in which he starred with Debra Winger. After Urban Cowboy, Travolta starred in a series of financial and critical failures that sidelined his acting career. These included Perfect, co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and Two of a Kind, a romantic comedy reteaming him with Olivia Newton-John. During that time he was offered, but turned down, lead roles in what would become box office hits, including American Gigolo and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere.

In 1989, Travolta starred in Look Who’s Talking, which grossed $297 million, making it his most successful film since Grease. Travolta continued to the two sequels Look Who’s Talking Too (1990) and Look Who’s Talking Now (1993). But it was not until he played Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino’s hit Pulp Fiction (1994), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, that his career was revived. The movie shifted him back onto the A-list, and he was inundated with offers.

The rest is Hollywood history.

[via Wikipedia]

We had been swooning over their fresh, artisanal tacos for quite a while at the Montclair Farmers Market and in Newark where they parked their truck over the last few years.  But, now we don’t have to go running around to wherever they’ve parked.  We can visit any time we want! (except Monday, OK they’re not open on Monday, we can accept this…)

Taqueria Autentica brings in corn tortillas from Tortilleria Nixtamal, in NYC, which are made from fresh masa & contain no preservatives. They use locally raised, hormone & antibiotic free chicken from Goffle Road Farms in Wyckoff. Their house-made chorizo has no preservatives or unnatural ingredients. Did you read that? House. Made. Chorizo. Are you ready to head to Bloomfield yet? Plus, they have USDA Prime skirt steak, all natural pork and source local, organic produce and dairy when possible.

You simply have to go if you love tacos and tortas.  I haven’t even told you about the tortas, yet!

Ever since I had my first torta in Chicago many moons ago, I’ve been a fan.  Lightly grilled bread with delicious stuffing of meats and cheeses.  Yum.  Whenever I see tortas on the menu, I know what I’m going for.  Taqueria Autentica did not disappoint.

The torta with carnitas was crispy on the outside and while the meat was nice and crispy, too, the rest of the fillings filled in the crispness with a creaminess that is enhanced by the warm sandwich.  The creaminess comes from black bean paste, pickled jalapeno peppers, queso fresco, chopped white onion, salsa and avocado. Besides a carnitas filling, you can also get pollo, nopalitos or zucchini. My mouth is actually watering right now.

We tried every taco on the menu that night.  You can see some of them above.  Here’s more.

We had Carnitas which came with caramelized orange peel and salsa verde; Pollo with pico de gallo and crema Mexicana; Carne Asada with more of that delicious salsa verde; House Made Chorizo with black beans, chipotle crema; vegetarian Zucchini with corn, poblano, tomatoes, crema, queso fresco; vegan Nopalitos which is tender cactus with black bean paste, poblano, caramelized onion, pico de gallo; and, another vegan option, Hongos which was mushroom sautéed with herbs and spices, with salsa verde.

They also have tosadas and small plates of things like salmon and steak.  Yes, we need to get back and try those, too.  And, you should definitely go check out this great restaurant!

Check out all the pics from our evening at Taqueria Autnentica:

Taqueria Autentica

1035 Broad St., Bloomfield

973.320.4157

Tuesday thru Thursday: 11:30 – 9

Friday and Saturday: 11:30 to 10

Sunday: 10 – 4

Check out everything else we’ve written about New Jersey Food by clicking here.