I grew up there so a lot of places have changed. I would say explore the magical stuff … fat sammiches, Portuguese food, a real pizza with shaved Italian sausage, Italian hot dogs, egg foo young, soul food, diner food, a halal spot, breffus sammiches, White Castle Jersey style, bodega candy, a Caribbean spot, fried fish etc. - it’s just good food all over the city and outer lying places like East Orange and Irvington. There’s a lot of migration since I was there - perhaps try Haitian!

try dickie dees! really great pizza but id say more well known for their italian hot dogs. it was featured on an episode of ‘food paradise’ on food network i think. right across the street is bloomfield ave bbq which does some killer portuguese ribs and chicken. and then also like 100ft from dickie dee’s is calandra’s bakery, which im sure you’ve heard of but is quite literally the best bakery in all of NJ and their original location, their fresh baked bread is insane and so are the rest of their pastries. 3 of some of newark’s best eateries and they’re all off bloomfield ave, within feet of each other, and near the branch brook/stephen adubato park. id say its a safe area too, especially since it’s usually pretty busy, definitely check it out!