Your trip around the world starts on Lincoln Street in Jersey City. Though DC Travel Bureau holds all the promise of future adventure, it also embodies a nostalgic look back. Even the word “bureau” has a kind of old-country feel to it. We’re talking about life before the Internet, when your corner travel agent held your hand all the way to terra incognita.
On a sultry summer morning, photographer Alyssa Bredin and I find the shop just as we expected. It’s cozy, quiet, and welcoming, with tons of travel brochures around, wonderful pictures of cruise ships on the walls, and a nice school map of the world behind the proprietor’s desk.
Grace Cutri has been minding the store since 1970. An Italian native, she found her way to Jersey City because “I got married to an American guy,” she says.
She acknowledges that there was a blip in travel after 9/11, when terrorists had scared the daylights out of people, and airport security was driving them crazy.
But it was really online booking agents like Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak, and Travelocity that turned every traveler into a homegrown agent.
“Before 9/11, airlines paid us a commission to sell products,” Cutri says. “After 9/11 they cut down on commissions, and the explosion of big internet companies is killing the local travel agent.”
Well, not exactly. DC Travel Bureau offers something online searchers could use more of. “Service and integrity,” Cutri says, noting that she knows her clients and can steer them away from inappropriate destinations, hotels, or flights that are not nonstop. Online customers, she says, may save $50 on a flight but use up that money on the time they spend searching for that cheaper deal. The biggest bugaboo for DIY travel agents, she says, is finding themselves on flights that make two or three stops before their final destinations.
Another advantage of a personal travel agent is demystifying the penalties that airlines impose for changed, cancelled, or missed flights. “Agents can explain all this in advance because there are huge penalties if you change or cancel,” Cutri says. “It’s also a problem if there’s a mistake, and they need to get in touch with someone, and there’s nobody around.”
DC handles travel to any destination. Most of its clients are personal vacationers, though five percent are commercial accounts. Services include bookings on airlines, cruise ships, hotels, and escorted tours. Family trips, she says are very popular, especially to Disneyland and Disney World.
“Families go together and plan a reunion as part of their vacation,” Cutri says.
Cutri owns the building on Lincoln Street where DC is located, which is a big cost saver. She also works on her own, which is another way to save money. She’s very comfortable with Jersey City’s diverse population.
“I have clients coming in who speak Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Arabic,” she says. “I can deal with anybody, and 99 percent speak English.”
Cutri’s last word on doing business in a virtual world? “Anyone who is looking for personalized service should frequent local merchants,” she says. “That’s when they get service.”
DC Travel Bureau
2 Lincoln St.
(201) 205-2805
dctravel.com
GYPSY GRILL
Looking for a little bit of Egypt right on Newark Avenue? Stop in at Gypsy Grill. Now that the car-free pedestrian mall has opened on the avenue, checking out the action is easier than ever. You can order takeout or eat in—there are tables both inside and outside on the sidewalk.
The ambience is bright and friendly, and word about the great food is getting around.
Owner Moudy Razek, an Egyptian native, has been working at and managing restaurants in and around New York City since 1979, including top-of-the-line spots like the Rainbow Room and the Top of the Sixes, as well as the Sphinx Grill in Amsterdam.
He has a big family in Egypt, most of whom are in the restaurant business; he is a third-generation restaurateur. He learned the culinary arts in London, Cairo, and the United States, studying restaurant management at Manhattan Community College.
He’s owned a restaurant in Florida and Doc’s steakhouse in Sparta, N.J., and was the general manager at Lantana, an Italian spot in Secaucus frequented by Frank Sinatra. Razek currently lives in Secaucus.
There’s a Shawarma Mania in Queens, and Razek is planning to open eateries in Greenwich Village and in Dubai. He opened the Newark Avenue location seven years ago.
“Everybody loves simple, tasty food,” he says.
The shop features a Middle Eastern menu in the Egyptian style, including shish kabobs of all kinds and specializes in shawarma—chicken, lamb, or beef marinated and grilled on a skewer. “We do anything on the grill,” Razek says. “All kinds of kebobs and barbecued chicken.”
Customers can order specials, entrees, or a “Gypsy Box,” either vegetarian or with meat. Other offerings include grape leaves, hummus, rice, pita sandwiches; falafel; lentil/vegetable soup; salads that can include grilled items; tahini, garlic or hot sauce; natural Egyptian juices, American sodas, and Snapple; and desserts, such as baklava, kunafa, and basbousa.
Gypsy Grill also does a robust catering business. “We’ll cater anywhere in the county, Long Island, and all the boroughs of New York,” Razek says.
He says Jersey City is getting better and better. He has accounts with large corporations on Washington Boulevard in the Newport area, and Gypsy Grill is attracting customers from Manhattan and Staten Island.
Razek prides himself on the quality of the food, his customer service, and the cleanliness of the restaurant.
“I love different foods,” he says. “I love the food business, and I love dealing with people.”—JCM
Gypsy Grill
187 Newark Ave.
(201) 839-5115
gypsygrillny.com
L’ATELIER DU CHOCOLAT
Wow, you may think you’ve stumbled into a chocolate shop, but it could be an art gallery. These gorgeous confections are truly works of art. Chocolates in every shape and flavor, pastries, and cakes are arrayed in a sumptuous still life. The frosting on one cake is so intense it literally shines.
Every once in a while, the media will report that chocolate is good for you. It raises metabolism! It fends off fat! It lowers stress!
And most of the world goes home happy. The reason, of course, is that chocolate is a magical substance. At the very least, it really does raise your spirits. And if you receive a gift of chocolate, you feel romanced and loved.
L’Atelier du chocolat certainly understands this, judging by the delectable offerings of Master Chocolatier Eric Girerd who is said to “combine the finest selected ingredients and artisan techniques” in creating his chocolate confections. The phrase “haute couture” has been uttered in relation to these chocolates, which use up to 72 percent cocoa beans.
Girerd is vice president of the U.S. chapter of L’Academie Culinaire de France, which works with suppliers and farmers to improve the quality of ingredients that go into making superior chocolates and other food items. An award-winning pastry chef, he has worked at the Tavern on the Green in New York City and many other restaurants in Europe and Asia.
He also has a L’Atelier du chocolat at 59 West 22nd Street in New York.
Now he has added Marin Boulevard in Jersey City to his exceptional resume. How did so distinguished a chocolatier end up in Jersey City? “It’s booming,” he says. “It needs something nice, and I am so happy to be here.”
The shop sells coffee and is a wonderful spot for a café au lait and a sweet. I know from experience that it’s a fun place. When I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon, I tried out my high-school French on Monsieur Girerd. Très drôle.
The chocolates are distinguished by “flavor signatures” in “families,” such as Balsamic, Herbal, Fruity, Floral, Marine, Roasted, Spiced, and Citrus.
Other sweets and products include truffles, pastries, tarts, chocolate-covered fruits and figs, cheesecake, spreads, jams, hot chocolate, snacks, bars, wedding favors, and chocolate art.
The company also specializes in corporate gifts, featuring elegant chocolates in elegant boxes, gift baskets, and samplers.
Visit egchocolates.com, and you’ll find chocolate classes, chocolate facts, events during Chocolate Week, and information about the best techniques for roasting cocoa beans.
L’Atelier du chocolat could have you convinced that chocolate is the new kale.—JCM
L’Atelier du chocolat
321 Marin Blvd., Unit #8
(201) 332-9220
egchocolates.com