Downtown Fair

Initially, I had some reservations about giving this event a good review, but it just took a while for me to warm up to it.
My initial assessment was that Newark Ave is WAY too narrow to hold an event like this, and they should have done it on Columbus or Grove. It was so crowded that you felt like cattle being driven into a narrow holding pen. I was literally bouncing off of people in every direction. There were lots of artisans hocking their wares, Local organizations and shops trying to stir up interest, and community groups promoting themselves. These were all typical street fair booths, but I enjoyed seeing what the community had to offer.
Now on to the best part of any street fair… the food!
All of the usual players were there… Incrediballs, Taco Truck, Legal Beans, Hard Grove, Over the Moo, etc. These are regulars at the downtown events. There were also some new comers that I hadn’t seen at Groove on Grove or other events.
here is the breakdown of what I tried:
Oishi Teriyaki Balls: 2 stars
We tried the shrimp balls. The batter was runny and tasted raw on the inside. We showed it to them, and they said it’s supposed to look that way, they are meant to be gooey (to me it still tasted raw!).
Livestock: 1 Star
I am not a fan of Pâté, but my girlfriend likes it, so I try it every so often, hoping to find one I’ll like. This was not it. It had a very minerally, metallic, taste. I was also very disappointed with the presentation. They were scraping the last bit from the container (even though they had a whole other one next to it) so instead of combining the two and giving us a nice neat dollop of pâté in the middle of the plate, he scraped the spoon against the edge, leaving a brown smear (use your imagination as to what that looks like) along the edge of our plate.
Koro Koro Rice Balls: 2 Stars
I have heard mixed things about the rice balls from Koro Koro, and was glad to finally get the opportunity to try them for myself. I was not impressed. We tried the spicy salmon ball. The salmon seemed very dry and over cooked, as if it came out of a can. The flavors were nothing special. I would not order this one again.
Then We Found the Good Stuff!
South House: 5 Stars
South House is a new restaurant that will be opening on Newark St. Soon. I will definitely be there! They were serving BBQ Brisket Sandwiches with any choice of beer and potato salad for $ 10.00. The Brisket was tender, with a great BBQ sauce, just the right amount of vinegar, and a nice cool blue cheese slaw on top. There was a lot of food, and it came with a beer. Can’t wait til they open their store.
Downtown Yogurt: 5 Stars
They pineapple yogurt float with fresh pineapples, pineapple juice, pineapple yogurt, and vodka was awesome. We also tried the Watermelon with vodka soaked watermelon and watermelon yogurt. Both were fantastic.
I also got some really good Sangria, but I was feeling pretty good by then and don’t remember exactly where I got it from, but lots of places were selling sangria.

The Downtown Fair, in Jersey City, was the place to be. Where can you go to find all of your favorite food trucks and local shops all in one place? It was surreal.
I loved the Downtown Fair because it brought the whole city together. People, and dogs, from all over came together to support local business, buy goods and meet cool people on a windy but nice Saturday afternoon.
I’m looking forward to next year.

Awesome festival in downtown Jersey city. So many different vendors, so many food trucks! Favourite trucks were taco truck (takes credit cards) and cool hass (half an hour line). There were lots of great vendors selling food from local restaurants, arts/​crafts, teeshirts, and soaps. The soap table had the funniest soaps, my favorite was dirty cock soap and extra dirty cock soap. Also there was a play area for kids with bouncy castles and in general there were a lot of tables at the fair dedicate to stuff for kids.
Great time to connect with my Jeresy city peps!