I'll be in your state for a few days driving around taking care of business.
Mostly between Farmingdale and Fairfield.
Where would you stay to be in close proximity to good eats and drink?
Thanks in advance.

Umm depends.  Stay away from Patterson.

Lots of Italians up that way so try some of the local mom and pop places.  I visit the Hawthorne area frequently not so much Fairfield

lots of good places to eat in the area. what kind of food do you like?

are you talking farmingdale long island? maybe somewhere in the Rutherford/Secaucus area would be good for you to stay. just far enough away from the warzones.

..........and yes. avoid Paterson at all costs. Newark is another place to avoid, and Passaic has gone to shit too. as a matter of fact, avoid ANY cities in NJ LOL.

Farmingdale Monmouth county was what I was thinking...

If you are going to be utilizing the Garden State Parkway, Nutley exit 150 and Kenilworth exit 136 have great Italian restaurants.  

What ever food you are looking for NJ has it. Just stay out of the cities. Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, East Orange, Irvington. Plainfield, Trenton and Camden.

As for drink, there are many Irish pubs  in the area you can visit.

Close to exit 150 is Cuban Pete's in Montclair http://www.cubanpetesrestaurant.com/index2.html


















 

Great little Cuban deli in Fairfield called La Cocina on Little Falls Rd. (only open for lunch).
You've got Rutt's Hut in Clifton for a great hot dog (open late).
Franklin Steakhouse in Nutley if you're up for a good steak/ribs.
Cloverleaf Irish Pub in Caldwell has a great beer selection and a decent menu. (right next door to Fairfield)
Parsippany is chock full of casual Indian places (Rajni or Dosa Express) or Marakesh for good Moroccan food with belly dancers.
Morristown there's Origin Thai (French/Thai fusion)
Hanover has Billy's Red Room (seafood joint)

Seriously NJ has a lot of good places to eat, even in the forbidden cities that everyone warned you off of. Newark has a nice stretch of Portuguese/Brazilian bbq joints that are probably safe enough to visit as long as you stick to the main roads.

Being an Italian, I generally don't eat out much for Italian, so I can't really recommend an fancy Italian places; but it's probably worth picking up a slice at a local pizza joint if nothing else.

eta: Caldwell also has a fish market that has tables and great seafood. I don't remember the name offhand but you shouldn't have a problem finding it with google.

If you are up toward the Fairfield area (07004), there are a bunch of good eats and bars in Parsippany and Totowa. I work in Fairfield on Thursday and Friday so if you need any good real time reports just hit me up.

Here are a few places which I absolutely love:
Solar do Minho (Dominican Food) - Belleville, NJ (not too bad of a section)
Tillted Kilt - Totowa, NJ (just for drinks and games on the tvs not to mention the eye candy).
Jose Tejas (Fairfield and Edison) - Great food and drinks, however arrive early long ass lines
Park West Diner (Little Falls) - for a quick bite
Nikko Hibachi and Steak House (Fairfield) - Great Sushi and full bar. Turns into a lounge after 10pm
Sushi Laco (Fairfield) - Tiny little sushi joint with great sushi for lunch
Tierney's Copperhouse (Fairfield) - Expensive joint with a tiny bar, mainly for a couples night out
Spice Grill (Parsippany) - Good Indian food if you can deal with the smell of curry
Saigon Pho (Parsippany) - Good Vietnamese food
Parkwood Deli (Midland Park on the boarder of Ridgewood) - MONSTER specialty sandwiches!!! (East Glen Avenue is my Favorite - Hot Pastrami, Corned Beef, Swiss, Kraut, with Russian on rye!!)


Hotels:
Fairfield toTotowa - I can count about 5 hotels on a 5 miles stretch of Route 46 East

Edit: While you are up here go to a bagel joint and order a Taylor Ham (Pork Roll) Egg and Cheese, you wont regret it . Not to mention if you never had a chance to have real White Castle and only had the frozen stuff, there is one in Clifton

Note: Stay clear of Paterson its not as bad in some areas, but really nothing good to see in that town anyway. If you venture down to Newark stick to the main roads, there are some great restaurants in that area.

Hoboken, lots of places now, the yuppies moved in

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