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5 new restaurants to look forward to in 2017

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5 new restaurants to look forward to in 2017 New Year, new restaurants ... to look forward to. Some interesting restaurants have opened in the past few months: The Barrow House in Clifton, T.S. Ma in Wyckoff, Izakaya Hontei in Palisades Park and Viaggio in Wayne. But what's in store for 2017? Here are a few that we're eager to try as soon as their doors officially open. AZÚCAR CUBAN CUISINE AND CIGARS Closter  Chef Nicholas Vasquez expects his restaurant, Azúcar Cuban Cuisine, to open soon, something that he's been saying more or less since August. But he promises that any day now his restaurant, which seats 135, will finally open. What you can expect: a lounge by the bar, with lots of Cuban reading material, a salsa band on the weekends, a man rolling cigars at a special table, a table where dominoes can be played, palm trees with dried fronds, a private dining room and, of course, Cuban food. On the menu: shrimp tapas cooked in garlic ($10); grille...
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Azúcar Cuban Cuisine opens for business

Azúcar Cuban Cuisine opens for business CLOSTER — Azúcar Cuban Cuisine is officially open for business, with a soft opening that began Tuesday and a grand opening slated for Jan. 26. The restaurant, which seats 135 people, is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. during its soft opening and offers a full menu, says Nicholas Vazquez, manager of Azúcar along with his sister, Lauren. Their father, Nicholas Vazquez Sr., is the chef. The grand opening will run from 5 to 8 p.m. in the restaurant’s bar and lounge, with Cuban-inspired drinks and tapas. Before opening in Closter, Azúcar was once located in Edgewater and later in Jersey City for about 10 years. The new Closter location, on Schraalenburgh Road, offers bands and dancing on the weekends and a private dining room for family celebrations. 5 new restaurants to look forward to in 2017 Azúcar tries to emulate the feeling of being in a “tropical getaway,” Vazquez says. “We really...
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Azucar Cuban Cuisine to open in 2 weeks ... maybe

Azucar Cuban Cuisine to open in 2 weeks ... maybe Self-described "humble chef and dishwasher" Nicholas Vasquez says he expects Azúcar Cuban Cuisine on Schraalenburgh Road in Closter to open the second week in January. His daughter, Lauren, is "the proud owner," he says. Of course, Vasquez reminds, he expected the restaurant, which seats 135, to have opened in August. And then September. And then ... When it does finally open, there will be a lounge by the bar, with lots of Cuban reading material, a salsa band on the weekends, a man rolling cigars at a special table, a table where dominoes can be played ("If you don't know how to play, we'll teach you!") palm trees with dried fronds ("I don't have to water them!"), a private dining room and, of course Cuban food, including "El Cubano Grande" ($11.95), a pressed Cuban sandwich, the sandwich with which he beat Bobby Flay in Food Network's "Throwdown." Also o...
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Joining forces at Azucar, a Cuban restaurant in Closter

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Joining forces at Azucar, a Cuban restaurant in Closter Nick Vasquez had it all figured out. The Cuban-born chef and restaurateur had planned to eventually give his 22-year-old business to his son Nicky. "I always thought he would take over," said Vasquez, an outgoing, 56-year-old River Vale resident. Not just because his son, 25, earned a college degree in hospitality management but also because his daughter Lauren, 29, didn't seem to have any interest in going into the family business, dreaming instead of becoming an English teacher. "I loved to read and to write," she said. Today father and daughter work side by side at the 5-month-old Azucar Cuban Cuisine and Cigars in Closter, where she is the owner and general manager, and he is the "chef, dishwasher and toilet cleaner." Nicky is going to college to study medicine.  "It's phenomenal," Lauren said about working so closely with her dad. "I've learned a lot of valu...
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