I have some pleasant memories of Newark from the days I used to go to ESFA (Eastern Science Fiction Association) meetings there. Sam Moskowitz used to attract many luminaries to speak such as Harlan Ellison, etc. The meetings were held at the Robert Treat Hotel and nearby was a second hand bookshop with a prodigious number of old Weird Tales pulps on sale cheap. That was in the 1960’s. The city has declined considerably since those days but I had hoped that it might have begun to pick up the pieces since then. Having found several bookshops listed in Newark on the internet gave me some hope. With bookshops, some cafes and cheap ethnic eats, it might be a good location for another Café FISTFA. It is after all on the Path which is a kind of subway and is thus easily reached. I was disappointed. Except for the Portugese neighborhood, the areas where the bookshops were to be found is one great slum. The bookshops are not worthy of a second glance.
I am led to speculate on the origin of the name Newark. Is it properly New Ark? I can speculate that behind the old Biblical ark, towed at a safe distance, was a second ark, filled with all the fleas, toadstools, murderers and thieves. I am tempted to write another book to the Bible in which God appears to the denizens of the second ark and proclaims “And I shall build you a mighty city in the land called New Jersey where you shall dwell and worship me and prove a source of affliction to the other inhabitants, just to test their faith in me. Harrump. I have spoken.”
The Portugese section of Newark is a different world altogether. There is the extraordinary Fornos of Spain restaurant. Expensive and elegant. From the appetizer menu, Anchovies in pickled sauce (Anchoas En Aceite De Oliva) $12.50. I love anchovies. Brood Baby Eels (Angulas) Market price. Most of the entrees are $25-30. Heavy emphasis on seafood. My eyes settled on Merluza A La Vigo (Whiting in green sauce, clams and shrimp). Market price. The main deserts were sorbets, Apple, lemon, watermelon, pear, blueberry, etc. $6.75 each. I am coming back here to eat. http://www.fornosrestaurant.com. 47 Ferry St, Newark, NJ 07105
Similar pricing is to be found at Iberia Peninsula, 63-69 Ferry St, Newark, NJ 07105, www.iberiarestaurants.com. This restaurant appears to be largely Portugese but it has one item that is Brazillian (I forgot the name) where the waiter brings you spit after spit of barbequed meats and sausages, without limit, until you inform him that you cannot take any more. This costs $20.00.
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