Café Dolma is a true gem. It is tiny and beyond charming – the standalone building on Grand Street transports you to a European-style feel where people actually take time during the day to linger over amazing food and great coffee.

There are two new Asian eateries on Washington Boulevard in Newport. Menya Sendaime is a Jersey-based Japanese Ramen chain with 5 locations in total including Old Bridge, Paramus and 2 restaurants in Fort Lee. Chef Tan serves Hunan-, Szechuan- and American-style Chinese specialties.

It’s official! Coles St. Park is now open to the public. This follows the very recent ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor, Council and City officials, community members and Manhattan Building Company, the local developers who funded the construction of this $2.5 million project. Located on Coles St. near the Hoboken border, the Park’s 1.5 acres extend from 16th to 18th Streets.

The Power Plant Café by BoyceMode is now up and running at 60 Columbus Ave., at the ground floor of Club Base Gym. The all-vegan offerings of smoothies, juices and to-go meals are designed to fuel your body and mind with a balanced offering of nutrients that also taste flat-out delicious. As some of you might concur, it’s not so easy to make a vegan macaroni salad that tempts all.

We wrote awhile back about Tia Planta – the fabulous plant store/kiosk in McGinley Sq. that is owned and operated by JC’s very own Plant Aunt, Shayla Cabrera. As her business continues to boom, other local women are following her lead, either by cultivating their own gardens or branching out with their own business.

Have you had a chance to check out Belle Ame Café? Opened since July, the Café is situated on a quiet residential block (76 Cottage St., to be exact) and is a mere four-minute walk to the JSQ Path Station. The proximity makes it an ideal morning stop for folks back in the commuting grind and in need of a great coffee and/or breakfast sandwich to get going.

Yet another superb juicery/vegan eatery is open in our midst. The latest is VegBar, located in Hoboken at 464 Newark Ave., close to the JC border and the Hoboken Fire Station. While the first VegBar in Newark is vegetarian and mostly vegan, the Hoboken locale is all vegan all day.

Have you checked out the beautiful, dried flower arrangements at Hoboken’s Mela Fleur? If we correctly suspect a bit of pause on your end, trust us. These are not your grandmother’s dried flower arrangements. Unlike traditional aged flowers that dry to a brittle and discolored finish, preserved flowers are cut at the peak of health and then soaked for a time in silica.

Café Lafayette recently opened on a sunny corner of Maple and Monitor Streets in Bergen-Lafayette, serving up coffee, breakfast and lunch seven days a week. The menu centers around coffee drinks, smoothies, pastries, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and excellent authentic Korean food.

Attention, fans of Hidden Grounds Coffee (and those who love great coffee in general) – their second location in Jersey City is now up and running. It’s located in a sunny spot at 276 1st St., seconds from the Newark Ave. Pedestrian Plaza and minutes away from the original one at 148 1st St.

Congratulations to Pet Shop JC, the beloved Newark Ave. bar, eatery and event space that celebrated its’ 5th year anniversary this past August. Pet Shop is/was one of those places that upon opening somehow seemed fully formed as a business.

Hybrid Coffee and Kitchen is the fantastic new coffee shop at 398 Manila Ave. Situated on the ground floor of Villa Borinquen, the cheerful airy space was formerly home to a chiropractor and a hair salon. While it is the first food establishment in the spot, it is not owner Evan Santiago’s first business venture.

Just checking, Cocoa Bakery fans. Have you had the chance to check out the second location in the Heights? They opened at 475 Central Avenue back in summer 2019. At 2,500 square feet it’s triple the size of the first Cocoa Bakery downtown on Grand Street.

Argentinian Bakery Dulce De Leche is most famous for their cakes. Blissfully beautiful concoctions that taste as scrumptious as they look. The signature House Cake is a vanilla cake with layers of dulce de leche, whipped cream and peaches covered in a topping of crunchy merengue - somehow both light and decadent at once.

Sushi pizza. Sushi lollipops. Ramen tacos stuffed with pork belly, pineapple and cilantro. The softest Shrimp Dumplings ever. Crazy fresh sushi and expertly made ramen. A family-run business that passed on from father to daughter and grew in the middle of the pandemic. What’s not to love about Ichiban-To-Go?