Notes From The City: An Abundant Life

The first time I heard about Whealth was at the opening celebration for the Kobra David Bowie mural "Ziggy Stardust" that had been painted on a rooftop wall at Cast Iron Lofts. It had been a gloriously golden autumn afternoon, with illustrious speakers and guests at a rooftop party followed by another party in the downstairs artspace where one of the larger group shows for JCAST, the Jersey City Art and Studio Tour, was being held. The passed hors d'oeuvres were so delicious that I asked one of the servers where they came from, and he said, "Whealth," and handed me a business card. When he first said the name, before I read the card, I of course thought that he had said Wealth, and it seemed a fitting name for that glorious day and that glorious art and that glorious food on that glorious rooftop. But of course it was Whealth which was even better, especially for this foodie who also teaches nutrition and health, and so I followed up by email a few days later to see if I could talk to the people involved in creating this wonderful company. At the time I wasn't able to meet with anyone because they were in a transition period of moving into a new space, and then one day I received a direct message through Instagram from someone who I thought was the person I had met that day on the rooftop. The person who messaged me said that they had just come across my blog and that now that the company was in a new space they wanted to invite me to breakfast to try it out. We went back and forth a few times and the breakfast never happened, and as I know that one thing can come up and then another, I waited to see when the timing would finally be right.

On a very cold night last winter, I attended an evening hosted by Ben Yurcisin, the Founder of the Jersey City Tech Meetup, that was a panel discussion with and for people who worked in the food service industry and were small business owners with restaurants and food service businesses. I knew several of the people on the panel, and the Moderator and organizer of the group was none other than the Owner and Founder of Whealth, Chef David Trotta. I had never met him before, but afterward when I introduced myself, he told me that he was the one who had originally sent me that direct message through Instagram and that after that he had gone into another transition phase and had finally ended up in the ground floor of the building we were in. I had noticed his signs on the sidewalk when I walked by, and had thought it was the same person, but I also thought it might be a second location or an outpost that served only some menu items as will sometimes happen with successful restaurants, but it was his new restaurant location and a contact place for the catering he does throughout the area. We arranged that I would stop by one day and then my schedule became very busy, and Chef Trotta's always is, until finally one afternoon I decided to walk in the door when I was on my way walking by.

I'd had no idea what to expect because the building it is in is a new construction high rise, but Whealth is such a lovely hideaway that it feels like a peaceful haven. Though it is in the back of the building with no direct sunlight, somehow it feels light and airy, with plants and an open kitchen and comfortable wood tables and seating. And the food of course is fresh and wholesome, delicious in the way that it can be when it's made by an excellent Chef who loves creating food for people to take time over and enjoy, food that nourishes the soul and feeds every sense. As I started to follow Chef Trotta's adventures on Instagram I saw that he often travels to farms upstate and far into the country to collect the best and at times most unique produce he can find. Heirloom varietals and different types of plants and vegetables than the usual run of the mill shapes and colors and sizes are the bounty of his harvest, and the things he delights in sharing with others. And Chef Trotta himself is a treasure trove of knowledge and expertise as well as being a delightful person to talk to. He's open-hearted, funny and fun, hard working and kind, and you can tell that not only from meeting him as he prepares food for the guests of Whealth, but also from the way that his staff work together and create an environment of friendly warmth for everyone who walks in the door, whether for a meal, a snack or just a cup of coffee.

Having a place like Whealth to stop by and enjoy makes for a lovely part of life in any community. In addition to the restaurant offerings and catering that is available, there are also occasional special dinners and weekly meal plans for home delivery. And to have a Chef like David Trotta creating the menu and selecting the specialty items on it with loving care means that not only will we have glorious food, we'll feel the health and the wealth of the abundance that goes along with it.

Whealth

615 Pavonia Avenue

Jersey City, New Jersey

https://www.whealthandco.com/