>the ironbound district in newark is a portugese neighborhood full of
>bars and restaurants; ...

We did this last March when we had a 4 hr. layover at Newark. We found a place to store our carry-on luggage downstairs near luggage carousels. Hopped a cab ($10 fare) to Ferry St., the main street in the Ironbound. Our destination was the Mediterranean Manor, a portuguese restaurant at 255-269 Jefferson St (Tel. (973) 465-1966/67). We found it, after asking several locals, a long couple of blocks to the south. Here's an excerpt from a travelogue of this trip:

We arrived in Newark at 4:00pm and faced a 4½ hour layover. Some prior research on the http://www.chowhound.com site had revealed a Portuguese neighborhood (called the Ironbound) with interesting restaurants not far from the airport and adjacent to Penn Station. We dropped our bags at a left luggage office ($10.00) and grabbed a cab ($11.00) to Ferry St. We strolled up Ferry St. noticing the Portuguese and Spanish being spoken on the street and in shops. We passed a variety of bakeries and restaurants but none that had been suggested at the chowhound site. Asking directions we were pointed in the correct direction and found our goal The Mediterranean Manor eight blocks south of where we'd been dropped off.

Mediterranean Manor (255 Jefferson St. 973.465.1966) was quite an operation. A restaurant with several banquet rooms which were catering three different wedding parties that evening. Still early we had no problem getting a table alongside the window looking out on the working-class neighborhood. The Manor specialized in rodizio, meats skewered on a spit and charcoal broiled. Sara ordered feijoada and sangria while I selected the rodizio. What an event! We opted to skip the salad bar and munched on the tasty bread while waiting for our entrees. Soon Sara's huge plate of feijoada(black beans, pork, sausage) and my plate of side dishes(onion rings, fried plaintains, fried collared greens, etc.) arrived. Next came the parade of meats. The servers brought the meats, on the skewer, from the kitchen and carved them directly onto my plate. These meats included beef tenderloin, pork loin, chicken, spareribs, shortribs, roast beef, a variety of sausages and other meats that I simply lost track of their names. It was a carnivore's delight. All were succulent, juicy, and tender but much too much food and I finally had to throw in the towel.

We asked the hostess to call us a cab and watched the wedding parties arrive in their limos while we waited. After about 20 minutes we decided to strike out on our own in search of a taxi. We ended up walking back to the main street, Ferry St.. and still couldn't find a cab. In the meantime evening had fallen and the streets were full of traffic and Saturday night revelers on foot. Finally, I asked a mounted police officer where we might find a cab and he replied the safest bet would be at Penn Station and gave us directions. It was only a short two blocks to the station where we found the taxi stand and we were back at the airport gathered our bags and at the gate with a little less than an hour to spare. So, we managed to see a little of Newark, get an interesting meal, and kill a substantial part of our layover in the process.

John Rule San Diego, CA