By mantunes There’s an old word game I love to play that challenges you to grasp the slipperiness of the English language. The premise is to identify as many contronyms as you can possibly name. A contronym is basically a word that can mean it’s own opposite, usually depending on the context. Popular contenders include: cleave; sanction; oversight; transparent; refrain. A new word has just … Continue reading Harlem Renaissance Era Commentary on Race Remains Relevant

By Melisa Gerecci No history needed, it tastes that good I saw a bean pie before I knew what it was. A golden-brown disk, about the size of the palm of your hand. Its warm fragrance of cinnamon and vanilla floated over the scented soaps and cut oils for sale downtown. When I picked one up, it had heft—about the weight of a casserole. Finally, … Continue reading Ode to Bean Pies

By Anastasia Bez As a vegetarian, this is a list that I wish existed when I first moved to Newark. While expansive, this is not definitive and may be updated. I have a bias towards vegetable patties instead of imitation meat burgers (i.e. Beyond or Impossible patties). The ‘Boca Burgers’ of my childhood are no longer default! After spending the last year making my own … Continue reading Where to get Veggie Burgers in (and around) Newark

By Sharon Adarlo One day in September, a woman dressed in a nondescript outfit walked out of Yaya Tea in Downtown Newark carrying two icy cold tumblers of bubble milk tea and seaweed-wrapped rice balls. With her college-aged daughter’s help, she unwrapped the plastic film around the rice ball and then proceeded to eat everything inside but the seaweed. Cooked rice bits were all over … Continue reading Yaya Tea

By mantunes I have pretty much eliminated indoor dining from my list of outside-the-apartment activities. When I do indulge, however, I go to Sihana. Comfy in my seat in the back corner, surrounded by a display of vinyl record album covers, a synthetic fire, and art from Newark artists, I feel at home at Newark’s newest place to eat and hang out. Sihana is a … Continue reading Sihana