Notes From The City: An Abundant Life

I've written about the beautiful restaurant Saku before, as well as the wonderful owner Dan Grey who also owns Grand Vin which is another restaurant I've written about, and just at the beginning of the year I wrote about Melanie Carugan, the gorgeously awesome Mixologist at Saku. When I met with Melanie for the blog post we had such a beautiful afternoon, and I was looking forward to visiting again to try some of the new cocktails on her upcoming menus. Neither of us could have known then that there would be a time when the restaurant was closed to the public. After I heard that the restaurant had closed, I kept following her adventures and Dan's and the restaurant's page itself, and as the restaurant began to open again, first for takeout and delivery of food, I started to see some of their beautifully made sushi rolls and other lovely menu items along Melanie's wonderfully crafted cocktails that began to appear in ingenious sealed containers.

Then one day I saw that they were opening for outdoor dining and building a parklet off the sidewalk where they could have additional seating. I was also seeing posts that Grand Vin was opening, as well as Green Rock, another restaurant owned by Dan Grey, and in addition to those restaurants a new lovely gem of a restaurant, Touch The Heart, was also opening. I have been enjoying watching Hoboken coming back to life after these long months, and when I heard that Saku was opening for outdoor dining and started to see posts about the other restaurants too, I was very happy. These months have been so hard for so many, and it's good to see people doing the things they love and sharing in the feeling of better times ahead. I'll be writing more about Dan Grey's other restaurants as I venture out to return to them, or in the case of Touch The Heart to try it for the first time. But for now I'll give a little taste of Saku, with the name that means to blossom, because that's how I felt when I went back recently with some friends to sit outside on a lovely summer afternoon.

Saku is a beautiful restaurant, with so many lovely details, and though we can't be inside to enjoy it now, the outside is lovely the way they have arranged it. The seats are comfortable and spacious and there are flowers in the flower boxes that reflect beautifully and enhance the colors of the cocktails and food. It's such a lovely place to eat and the staff are wonderful. My only wish is that they didn't have to work so extra hard and could be enjoying themselves as much as we all are. Dan Grey's restaurants always have a way of helping us feel special and at home, a touch of a sunny day even in winter or in difficult times. It takes a very special and talented person, and a very special and talented staff, to create an environment where we can feel uplifted and cared for, welcomed and comfortable, to make us feel at home while still giving us the gift of being guests. It's beautiful days like these with beautiful people like this who help us remember that the sun does shine and brighter days are on the way.

Saku

936 Park Avenue

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://sakuhoboken.com/