Visiting Lambertville New Jersey
Crossing the New Hope–Lambertville Bridge is my daily meditation. It’s a practical thing—connecting my home in New Jersey with the errands I run on the other side of the Delaware River—but those few minutes it takes to cross the small, sturdy bridge by foot or by car have become a practice in observing. From this vantage, I watch the grand and subtle changes of the seasons. In spring, the trees that line the river start unfurling their leaves, fresh and chartreuse. As summer deepens, so do those greens. The traffic on the river ramps up—small motorboats joined by dragon boats and crewing sculls, as well as tubers drifting south. I always stop to count the turtles sunning themselves on the concrete bases of the bridge (my record is 36, plus a snake digesting a fish).
Come fall, the bridge is completely shrouded in fog many mornings, and walking across is like entering a sensory deprivation tank. Other days, the sky is as blue as a crisp Oxford shirt, with bands of white clouds puffing along in the north. In winter, the riverbanks are a Wyeth-esque palette of grays and browns, and after a string of very cold days, the surface of the river starts forming rafts of ice, which bump into each other and link up like glittering puzzle pieces. The level of the river is constantly changing, depending on storms or snowmelt. There’s just so much to see.
My family and I moved to Lambertville nine years ago, after a year of living in Sicily. We had grown accustomed to being part of a community that lived close to the land—where the changing of the seasons really meant something—and we were looking for a similar experience. Lambertville has fewer than 4,000 people living in an area that measures just about a mile, end to end, and while I am still surprised some days that we ended up in such a small town, we are able to live a very local life here. My husband and I share a studio that is a 10-minute walk from our house; our son attended the local elementary school on North Main Street; we’re able to get most of our fruits, veg and meat from small local farms and our neighbors have become our best friends. If it sounds rather idyllic, it is.
No wonder people love to visit this area. Lambertville is ideally located, just an hour and a half from Manhattan and half that time from Philadelphia. You can easily while away a long weekend here, strolling along the tidy grid of streets lined with Federal and Victorian homes, taking advantage of the towpath sandwiched between the river and the canal, and treasure seeking, from the Golden Nugget Flea Market just south of town to the numerous shops and galleries that dot downtown. Although locals and visitors alike travel freely between Lambertville and New Hope, a very full day can be had in Lambertville alone, on foot no less. So park your car and get ready to explore.
Liv & Charlie’s
9am
A BRIGHT AND EARLY START
Eileen Hawk and Nicole DiLanza opened Liv & Charlie’s just over a year ago, and this cozy spot has quickly become a neighborhood favorite. When you peek through the glass doors, a row of two-tops filled with folks fueling up over the morning paper and conversation beckons you in, but Hawk’s scratch cooking keeps the locals coming back week after week: thick-cut bacon, challah French toast drizzled with maple syrup, omelets made from eggs delivered weekly from nearby H+H Farm and freshly squeezed orange juice. Named for DiLanza’s nieces, Liv & Charlie’s is modern Mayberry at its best.
10:30am
PACK A PICNIC & TAKE A HIKE
After breakfast, pop down the block and into Savour, Shawn Robbins’ cheese and provisions shop. She’ll guide you through the 50 or so pre-packed cheeses she carries, so that you can pick out a couple for lunch. Round things out with some bread—delivered daily from Le Bus in Philadelphia—a boon for locals who know how hard it is to get a decent loaf, cured meat and a jar or two of chutney or marmalade. Some of my favorites come from Le Bon Magot, a Lawrenceville-based company that makes the most surprising conserves, like cardamom-scented white pumpkin and almond murabba.
Toss all your goodies in a knapsack and start walking south. One of the very best things about living in Lambertville is that you don’t need to get in your car to find a beautiful hike or start a 30-mile bike ride; trails are readily accessible right from town. Of course, there’s the towpath, which follows the Delaware and Raritan Canal from Frenchtown through Lambertville and all the way down to Trenton before winging east through Princeton and on to New Brunswick. But if you want something with a bit more elevation, head to Goat Hill Overlook, an easy 3-mile round-trip walk from downtown. Carefully cross Route 29 at Swan Street, and then make a right onto South Franklin Street, the steepest part of this endeavor. You’ll walk past Mount Hope Cemetery, worth a detour to see some of the names that helped build Lambertville: Holcombe, Coryell and Lambert, as well as the many Irish and Italian immigrants who dug the canal and worked in the town’s bygone factories churning out rubber bands and underwear. Continue on South Franklin to a paved fire road that swings down to a gravel lane. Hang a left and continue up to George Washington Road. Through the gate, it’s an easy half-mile ramble up to a wide lawn that looks out over all of Lambertville and far into the hills of Pennsylvania. Even in the winter, it’s a spectacular choice for a picnic, as hawks soundlessly surf the air currents above and the Delaware flows far below. It’s not hard to step back in time and imagine being one of Washington’s troops scouting the valley below.
Once you’re done, make your way back into town and warm up with a hand-pulled espresso at Metá Café, one of the newest additions to town. Amanda Lentine opened the airy, white-washed spot at the end of the summer and gets her coffee and espresso beans from Fieldstone, a small-batch roaster in Hunterdon County. She also offers a concise menu of avocado toasts and neat Italian-style sandwiches (I’m partial to the mortadella, shaved paper thin, served with soppressata and a bright tapenade), as well as sweet treats from Factory Girl Bakeshop across the river.
Metá Café
2pm
MAKE A BID
If you’ve always wanted to see (or participate in!) a live auction, check the schedule for Rago Arts. The venerable auction house, whose appraisers often appear on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, offer the best bang for your buck in town, auctioning off world-class art, furniture, jewelry and more for record prices. For the week or so before every auction, both Rago’s main auction house and its annex are set up and open to the public for previews— and it’s like visiting a world-class museum, with Nakashima tables set up under Warhol prints and fabulous, modernist chandeliers. I try to see every “show.”
If auctions aren’t your thing, there is still plenty of shopping to do. Lambertville’s central business district falls roughly between Ferry Street and York Street, but many daytrippers walking over from New Hope rarely make it beyond Bridge Street. They’re missing out. Long known as an antiquer’s paradise, Lambertville still offers plenty of treasures. On a rainy day, I love to poke around both The People’s Store, a collection of 50-some dealers and artists, as well as the beautifully arranged galleries next door known collectively as A Touch of the Past (one corner is filled with beautifully cared for copper cookware—yes, please!). For a truly curated experience, step into Good Company, a precise, minimalist shop that features state-of-the-art crystal-clear kayaks next to delicate bone china. Zinc is Lambertville’s original homage to reclaimed industrial chic, and it’s been joined more recently by shops at 8 and 10 Church Street, which offer an eclectic mix of salvaged ephemera, mid-century furniture, art, vintage denim, leather goods and much more. Imagine a millennial Brooklynite’s fantasy, and you’ll get an idea of all that you can find between these artfully arranged rooms.
One of my favorite newcomers for lovely women’s clothing and jewelry, like the organic shapes of Uno de 50, is Foxy Red’s, which recently opened a second location in town where you can also find well-chosen children’s wear. Snug against the canal, Blue Raccoon offers more than just beautiful furniture and rugs. I love this shop for its concise selection of cookbooks, linen dish towels and cheeky cards. Starting in late fall, they sell loose paperwhite bulbs that I buy by the sackful to give away to friends. Union Jack, an Anglophile’s haven, offers everything from food goods imported from England (Hobnobs, mini Marmites and Bird’s Custard powder), as well as nesting sets of iconic Mason Cash mixing bowls. I love owner Clare Barrett’s still lifes of food, painted in oil—she often has a few tucked in the corner. Finally, when it’s time to find a last-minute birthday or housewarming gift, I almost always end up in A Mano, located in the old 5 and Dime building. Whether I come out with a pair of crazy socks, a rainbow umbrella or one of owner Ana Leyland’s handmade ceramic coffee cups or salt bowls, I always have a smile on my face. Good, clean fun.
Foxy Red’s
A Mano
Manon
6pm
TIME TO THINK ABOUT DINNER
As evening approaches and bellies start rumbling, it’s worth noting that most restaurants in Lambertville are BYOB. If you want to pick up a bottle or a six-pack to take to dinner, step into Wonderful World of Wines, whose two large rooms offer a wide selection of craft beers, wines and mixers. They’ll also deliver to your restaurant of choice if you call ahead.
Chef Chris Bryan’s wood-fired pizza place Liberty Hall is still going strong five years in, and it’s our number-one spot to meet up with friends or have a family dinner. There’s always a good buzz in the room; we usually run into someone we know, and we know we can rely on Chris’s chewy-crusted creations. There are always a few specials (if a broccoli rabe pie is on offer, snag it), but we almost always order the Italian fennel sausage pizza with red onions and roasted red peppers.
For a slightly more refined evening, we often choose Manon, a colorful Provençal bistro where sharing a bowl of mussels and a classic watercress and Roquefort salad makes us très heureux. Everything in the restaurant is served in one-of-a-kind ceramics made by the chef, Jean-Michel Dumas, in his home’s backyard studio, just down the street. The starry, starry sky mural on the ceiling only adds to the feeling of being transported to another world.
Lambertville is home to a small but vibrant Latin-American community, and Aztlan Mexican Grill features the dishes and flavors of longtime resident Edgar Castro’s Mexico City birthplace. The guacamole is fresh and creamy and the tacos vibrant. The restaurant is connected to Mitchell’s Cafe, a so-old-it’s-hip-again bar, where you can order a Corona or margarita to go with your meal.
Liberty Hall Pizza
8pm
WINDING DOWN
If you want a nightcap before turning in, duck into the Swan Bar, dark and cozy. Like its sister, the Boat House, its walls are decorated end to end with old paintings and prints, and its bathrooms are a hoot.
From there, it’s a short walk around the corner to Bridge Street House, a boutique inn that boasts five comfortable guestrooms in a beautifully renovated 1850 townhouse. Art by local artists always hangs in the common spaces, and the inn hosts a biergarten several times a year in its postage stamp–sized hidden garden, a locals’ favorite. Time to sleep; you’ve earned it.
WINTER EVENTS
- The Lambertville–New Hope 5K Turkey Trot has quickly become a tradition on Thanksgiving morning. The race is organized by the Delaware River Towns Chamber of Commerce and partially supports Fisherman’s Mark, a Lambertville-based nonprofit that provides crucial social services to area residents. See delawarerivertowns.com for more info.
- Music Mountain Theater, just a mile outside of town, puts on amateur shows full of incredible talent. This holiday season, see A Christmas Carol on the main stage and two different shows just for children. A full schedule can be found at musicmountaintheatre.org.
- The annual Lambertville–New Hope Winter Festival takes place Jan. 18–26 and features pub crawls, ice sculptures, art shows, chili cookoffs and much more. It’s a great way to keep the holiday fun rolling. Check in at winterfest.net.
LAMBERTVILLE LOCATIONS
FOOD & DRINK
Aztlan Mexican Grill
11½ Church St.
609.397.7272
The Boat House
8½ Coryell St.
609.397.2244
Bridge Street House
75 Bridge St.
609.397.5900
bridgestreethouse.com
Liberty Hall Pizza
243 N. Union St.
609.397.8400
libertyhallpizza.com
Liv & Charlie’s
5 N. Union St.
609.397.0009
livandcharlies.com
Manon
19 N. Union St.
609.397.2596
Metá Café
15 Kline’s Ct.
609.483.2257
Mitchell’s Café
11 Church St.
609.397.9853
Savour
37 N. Union St.
609.397.1930
Swan Bar
43 S. Main St.
609.397.3552
antons-at-the-swan.com
Wonderful World of Wines
8 S. Union St.
609.397.0273
wonderfulworldofwines.net
SHOPPING & ATTRACTIONS
8 Church Street
646.420.0619
10 Church Street
609.613.0682
Instagram: @tenchurchatlambertville
A Mano Galleries
40/42 N. Union St.
609.397.0063
amanogalleries.com
Blue Raccoon
6 Coryell St.
609.397.5500
blueraccoon.com
Foxy Red’s
32 Bridge St. and 24 N. Union St.
609.397.1000
foxyreds.com
Golden Nugget Flea Market
1850 River Rd.
609.397.0811
gnflea.com
Good Company
36 N. Union St.
609.460.4147
The People’s Store
28 N. Union St.
609.397.9808
peoplesstore.net
Rago Arts and Auction
333 and 243 N. Main St.
609.397.9374
ragoarts.com
A Touch of the Past
32 N. Union St.
609.460.4638
atouchofthepastantiques.net
Union Jack
52 N. Union St.
unionjacklambertville.com
Zinc
74 Bridge St.
609.397.5800
