South Paterson, NJ
Although architecturally and in terms of layout, South Paterson is very typical of that of many neighborhoods in Northern Jersey. The neighborhood stands out as being a unique Middle Easterm shopping and dining experience. Visitors from as far as Virginia come here to shop. In fact after Dearborn, South Paterson has the second largest concentration of Arabs in the country.
Paterson has a large Muslim population and houses ten mosques, even one for the growing Bangladeshi community.
Paterson has a large Muslim population and houses ten mosques, even one for the growing Bangladeshi community.
Paterson has had a significant Arab population for almost a century.
Syrians were the first Middle Easterners to arrive in Silk City as far back as the 1930s, to work in the mills. Turks, Lebanese, and Palestinians later followed. P alestinians are now the largest Arab group in South Paterson.
The Turks came here in the 1950s but because of an economic crisis in Turkey beginning in the 21st Century, there are more recent waves of Turkish immigrants. Today, Paterson has one of the largest concentrations of Turks in the country.
Store signs here are in Arabic Turkish and a few in Spanish.
A place that serves Texas hot Weiners.
A video of the Turkish Parade, back in 2015.
The Turkish and American flags on display for the annual Turkish Parade.
Shots of Main Street
South Paterson Public Library
A branch of the Paterson Public Library in South Paterson.
It's convenient that this neighborhood has a library of its own because South Paterson already feels like a small town of its own.
Baladna Bakery - I don't know which nationality this bakery pertains to
Nablus Sweets - Along with Fattal's, Nablus is one of the best Middle Eastern bakeries you will find in South Paterson.
A sign to the right announcing the Palestinian Flag Raising Day which takes place in City Hall.
To the bottom right, stands a picture of a local politician running for council at large position.
A picture of the Main and Eagle Triangle Park
South Paterson has been very profitable during recent years. In fact, politicians have considered investing in South Paterson and reconverting this neighborhood into a tourist enclave. In these past five years, a new strip mall was built to accommodate the economic growth of the neighborhood.
To the right is another building in the process of being remodeled.
The stores
A Syrian restaurant next to a Turkish bakery.
Nouri Brothers Shopping Center.
Address: 999 Main Street
Nouri Brothers offers you the best of the Middle East. It is like an Arab department store in that it offers jewelry, handicrafts, traditional Islamic garments, books, and audio. They also have a meat and dairy section as well as a bakery.
Not only is the store authentic with a good selection of different products, you could also find some good deals here. A panini grill here only costs 50 dollars! Good luck finding a better offer on the internet.
Fattal's Bakery
Address: 975 Main Street
Fattal's Bakery. This is a Syrian bakery was established in 1968. It offers more than just sweets, however. It is smaller in size than Nouri's but you can still find jewelry imported from the Middle East, halal meat, and other food items. Fattal's offers a dairy section where you can find products from Turkey and even Bulgaria. The supermarket section also sells Arab rock candy, , and even high end cigarettes imported from Switzerland.
The bakery offers amazing treats. I would recommend the pistacchio almond halwa.
However yesterday I decided to get a Harissa, since it looked interesting.
Harissa.
Imagine a sweet corn bread but ten times better. It has a smooth flaky taste to it, like many Middle Eastern pastries.
The restaurants.
Al Basha
Address 1076 Main Street
Al Basha Al Basha is loosely translated into "The King" in the Arabic language. This Lebanese restaurant is one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in the area. I always stop here whenever I go to South Paterson for a full meal and it never disappoints me. With generous portions and affordable prices, anyone will feel like a king (or a queen).
As you enter, there is a beautiful redbrick wall with Arabic horseshoe arches. The dining room is decorated with Middle Eastern paintings.
This restaurant is often packed. Families and friends socialize and speak to each other in Arabic and there was even an older man flaunting a white keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headscarf.
However non Middle Easterners including some white Americans and one Puerto Rican/Peruvian (I’ll let you guess who that is) dine here as this neighborhood has become a culinary destination for the region.
Before the main course arrives, you get generous portions of pita (they are very good) as well as olives and pickled turnips as appetizers. The pickled turnips taste very good and have a sourish and tangy taste. If you are looking to buy some to eat at home, just go to Nouri's. They have a great collection at a good price as well.
Olives in the forefront. The bright pink strips on the plate right to the olives are pickled turnips.
I would recommend the chicken shish kebab which comes with ample portions of chicken, rice, and vegetables. The chicken or beef shawarma and the lamb shish kebab are also good dishes.
If you are looking for something simple, you could try the falafel. The best falafel in the New York City metropolitan area is found in this restaurant.
Toros Restaurant
Address 1083 Main Street
Toros is possibly the best Turkish restaurant in Paterson, which is saying a lot since Paterson is known for its great and authentic cuisine due to its large Turkish population.
My friend, Inez, ate a chicken platter with rice on the side and tomatoes and Turkish tea. I ordered the baklava. I am a sweets person so I tried the baklava and it tasted as if they had arrived fresh from heaven!
If you are coming here to this restaurant, please do yourself a favor and try the yogurtli sis!
It is a dish consisting of sauteed butter bread topped with yogurt served over sizzling shish kebabs. I really loved this dish. What I liked about this unique Turkish plate was that it was tasty but not too greasy or fatty. Definitely a plus, considering all the fast food options in the area lol jk.
But it is a dish worth trying out whenever you get a chance. aaa
Toros's second location in Clifton. It is diagonally located across from Taskin's Bakery on Hazel Avenue.
For desserts, these are great bakeries to set foot in if you're craving for some sweets.
Taskin Bakery
Address 103 Hazel Street
Address 103 Hazel Street
This is probably one of the best bakeries in all of Paterson, The bakery is definitely worth a visit as it is a lot more pristine than most of the restaurants and eateries in the surrounding area.
I tried Pistachio Kadayif with mixed fruit Flavored Uludag soda Taskin Borek, on the left. Together it was about ten dollars.
Halka!
You might also want to try their simit, A simit is basically a Turkish bagel.
A bag of about four simits isn't too pricey--about two dollars.
Pogaca Cheese meat plain
Clifton, New Jersey.
Even though this is another town, I included Clifton because it is right next door to Paterson and has some Middle Eastern places, as well as Corrado's, a multi-ethnic shopping expereience.
Corrado's Family Affair Supermarket.
Corrados
Okay I know this is technically in Clifton yet this supermarket is only about two blocks away from South Paterson.
This supermarket was started out by an Italian family in Paterson. Now this supermarket has branches in Clifton and Wayne. The products in this store are as varied as the cities of Paterson and Clifton combined. You could find Italian, as well as Caribbean, South American, Polish, Indian, Middle Eastern, Russian, and even Macedonian products.
You don't have to go to any delis that sell Italian imports here, when you can get pastas straight from Italy.
In the supermarket, is also a juice bar, bakery (which sells delicious treats), a wine and liquor store, and even a Dunkin Donuts.
Corrados is probably the most multi ethnic supermarket in Paterson and its surrounding parts.
The Middle Eastern population has grown so much, the stores and restaurants are no longer contained in South Paterson. Clifton, the neighboring town just south of Paterson, has a large Middle Eastern population, as well. The following are some stores and restaurants.
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Istanbul Food Bazar
The decor is a bit rustic. However you can find everything Turkish you need here!
I found Turkish pasta, sweets, dairy products. Istanbul Food Bazaar also offers a meat department. I also saw products that are hard to find in most stores like tahin helva (a dessert) and labne Kefir (a healthy replacement for cream cheese)
Beirut Restaurant a Lebanese restaurant.
It is located across the street from Istanbul Food Bazar.
sources
https://www.northjersey.com/story/life/food/2016/12/07/turkish-food-turkish-restaurants-in-north-jersey-where-do-i-find-turkish-spices-in-new-jersey/94800010/
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