Among the many American and Italian restaurants dotting the map of Jersey City sat a unicorn in Paulus Hook called Bistro La Source. This French homestyle cooking spot subverts the common misconceptions about French cuisine. The restaurant’s warm, homestyle dishes harken not to fancy restaurants, but something learned from mother. This past summer, we found out that this beloved French restaurant would be moving from its 85 Morris Street location to a new locale on Marin Boulevard in Jersey City. Now, Bistro La Source has officially reopened at 299 Marin Boulevard, in the former Latham House location. Read on to learn more about Bistro La Source’s move to Marin Boulevard in Jersey City, as well as more from our conversation with owner Bill Spitz from 2021.
^ Bistro La Source’s former location at 85 Morris Street in Jersey City.
The Move
The Bistro La Source team shared with The Hoboken Girl back in July that the restaurant had taken a lease at 299 Marin Boulevard in Jersey City, formerly home to Latham House, and looked to open the new location “sometime this summer.” The team said they would be installing equipment and painting over the next few weeks and would also be transferring the liquor license to the Marin Boulevard location.
The Morris Street location remained open until early October, and Bistro La Source officially reopened at 299 Marin Boulevard on Friday, October 11th, per owner Bill Spitz.
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The Foundation
Owner Bill Spitz was born in New York but grew up in New Jersey. He has worked in the restaurant industry since 1983, most notably as a renowned chef in Manhattan restaurants up until 2008 when he opened the Jersey City locale.
“I have a background in French bistros, and when I saw the space, I thought it lent itself to that,” Bill told HG in 2021.
“Everyone else around here is doing either Italian or American, nobody was really paying attention to classic bistro.”
Spitz says that while a lot of places call themselves bistros, most of them are taverns. Traditional French restaurants, according to Bill, should pay homage to classic French cooking like beef bourguignon, coq au vin, cassoulet, and desserts — all dishes served at Bistro La Source. Burgers, said Bill, do not make one.
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Bill has a background in French cuisine. As a prominent Manhattan chef at famed restaurants such as Voulez Vous, Virage, and Man Ray, Bill got quite the crash course in French cuisine.
“Most of them had French owners so I was tasked with cooking French food for French people,” Bill told HG. “I was pretty much told and shown how everything should taste, and I just brought that experience with me here.”
But why open a French restaurant?
“Competition,” Bill said. “There’s like 300 Italian restaurants probably within a 10-mile radius, but nobody was doing French. So, as a result, I got a very international clientele here.”
Bill trains the cooking staff himself, regularly introducing them to new recipes and giving demonstrations. After all, Bill’s trial by fire in Manhattan French-owned locales makes him an invaluable resource to his staff.
The Food
Bill likes seasonal cuisine and trying new things. For example, the restaurant’s fall and winter menu heavily features warm and hearty stews, which they call braises, and are perfect cold-weather comfort food.
The locale is well known for mussels, which are more of a Belgian dish than French. In the restaurants that he previously cooked at, Bill had mussels on the menu. The previous restaurant in the space also served mussels, so Bill wanted to keep that up and apply his expertise. Fortunately, mussels are easy and profitable.
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“Once you learn how, it’s very easy to do and very easy to do a good job on them,” Bill said.
Bill adores French-style cuisine. The restaurant’s style, which Bill said is referred to as the “cuisine of the mothers,” is homestyle cooking, not haute cuisine.
“It’s not food that’s cooked for aristocrats, [where] everything’s been carved into little diamonds and precious little shapes, and there’s a little dab of sauce here, a little dab of sauce there. This is food that usually takes hours to prepare, it’s cooked slowly and it sort of creates its own sauces as it cooks,” Bill told HG.
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While Bill worked in several well-known French restaurants in Manhattan, French cuisine is quite underrepresented in Jersey City. But just what is it about traditional French cuisine Bill finds so endearing?
“There’s a reason why people love this sort of food, and why these recipes and things have endured not just for decades, but centuries. You look at all the other trendy food that’s come and gone, all the things that become the latest trend and then it just disappears; French bistro cooking just doesn’t. French bistro cooking endures and the reason is it’s good,” Bill said.
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The beef short rib bourguignon has an over 24-hour preparation, hence its depth of flavor. The cassoulet is also a daylong preparation, which Bill attributes to knowledge and patience.
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New Cafe, Just Friends, Soft Opens on Monmouth Street in Jersey City
The Jersey City food scene is always growing, and the Hamilton Park area of town just welcomed its newest addition. Meet Just Friends: a new Italian-American cafe that is currently in its soft opening stage, with a grand opening planned for next week at 500 Monmouth Street. Read on for more about Just Friends in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Photo Credit: Just Friends
The Details
Just Friends is located at 500 Monmouth Street in the Hamilton Park neighborhood of Jersey City. The Italian-American cafe is currently soft open, and the team shared with The Hoboken Girl that a grand opening celebration is set for Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025.
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Buzz about Just Friends first started in the Jersey City subreddit about 10 months ago, when several locals noticed signage for what looked to be a new bar/restaurant.
The post read: "Drove by and noticed a sign up for what looks like to be a new bar/restaurant on Monmouth St next to the Thirsty Quaker. It looks like it's called "Just Friends". Anyone know anything about this new potential spot?"
Months later, "Just Friends" is confirmed. The team told HG that the new cafe is BYO, and serves up Italian-American eats. HG is currently awaiting more info about specific menu items and will update this post with any additional details.
Locals can keep up with Just Friends on Instagram @justfriendsccafe_jc. While there are no posts as of this writing, the account has garnered just over 3,000 followers already.
The cafe is open 4PM-10PM daily, except Tuesdays.
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