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Food Around the Pru
Garlic fries with a tequila & tonic in the Goal Bar
It’s only May, but I already miss being at The Prudential Center with my friends, watching my favorite team take the ice. Silly as it sounds, thinking of hockey got me thinking of my game day rituals, which got me thinking about my favorite food and treats inside the Prudential Center. It also reminded me of some of the great places that surround The Rock that my friends and I would meet prior to or after games and hang out.
On game days, it’s hard for me to resist the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, which comes with fresh, home made chips, cole slaw and a pickle. It’s my absolute favorite thing to treat myself to at Prudential Center. As for places to hang out, I’ve occasionally met friends at the Edison Ale House, located just behind Championship Plaza. The last time I was there, I enjoyed a plate of their Chili Cheese Fries, which I definitely recommend sharing with a friend! The portion was gigantic (and delicious).
To spice things up and show the great variety surrounding our home arena, I asked my fellow Generals to share their favorite treats and meeting places, too. I’ve learned about a few new places from them that I think I have to go visit. This is what they had to say:
Read the rest of this entry
Taking My Time – Edison Ale House
“I’m late / I’m late / For a very important date. / No time to say “Hello, Goodbye”. / I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.” Lately, I cannot seem to get the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland out of my head. Every day I rush; to get here-to get there. Well, that was the case until I had in my hands two lower level tickets to the first Devils vs Rangers game since the infamous call of, “Henrique!!! It’s Over.”
I made it a priority to arrive at the Prudential Center early and arrived around 4:00 p.m., yep, even got there before the Devil Dancers. To my surprise the parking lot was already half-full, and the party seemed to have already started without me. In a parked car were Ranger fans relishing in libations of the hoppy kind (little did they know they would be drowning their sorrows later). First, on my pre-game itinerary was to hit the Devils Den and enjoy shopping without the crowds. I was able to check out each section of the store at my own pace and happily paid for my items without wait.
This is Our Team, Our Town Devils Army
Photo Credit: New Jersey Devils
For the fifth time in franchise history the New Jersey Devils will be playing in the Stanley Cup Finals. I was fortunate enough to be at Game 7 of 2003 when the Devils won their most recent championship. I stood next to my Dad as the seconds ticked down and Gary Bettman walked out, grabbed Lord Stanley’s Cup and handed it off to Scott Stevens. If you ask me what my best Devils’ memory is, well without a doubt, it’s that game. Now, when you ask my father, he’s often quick to say watching me watching the Devils win the Cup. That always resonated with me.
State Of The Devils Army Generals – One Year
Mr. Vanderbeek, Mr. Lamoriello, Mr. Krezwick, members of the third floor, my fellow Generals.
Today, I have the honor (which I gave myself) of reporting to you on the State of the Generals.
It’s hard to believe that the Devils Generals program has been around for over a year now. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all in a room, not quite sure of what we were doing there or what to expect from the awesome opportunity that was being given to us. As the Generals program was something no other sports franchise had done, we were all new to this. However, every person in that room was excited.
It was no surprise (okay, maybe it was a bit surprising) that the team, after a 9-22-5 start to last season, began a 22-5 run on the day our Generals Twitter account was created and finished the season 27-13. They were as excited about this as we were!
From the launch of Mission Control on February 16th of last year, right up to our latest giveaway on Twitter and everything we have done in between, it has all been a tremendous, and sometimes surprising, success.
My fellow Devils fans, I blog before you today to report that the state of our program is strong.
I’d like to briefly review our first year and then talk a little bit about what can be expected from us going forward.
As with any great, original idea, there have been some bumps in the road during our first year. We don’t always see eye to eye on every issue. We have seen some people go, and there have been some new people added.
What we all agree on is that we are all fans, and we want to be the voice of other fans who can’t be in Mission Control with us. We all bring the voice of the fan, as a whole, to the team.
Make no mistake, if you ever bring an idea to us, whether it’s through Twitter, Facebook, this blog, or in person, it will be brought to the team. We are always listening and are always looking for new ways to improve the fan experience.
Our first successful project was the start of the #Devils1stGoal guesses on Twitter (something I can proudly say I started… with a little help from the Islanders and their first goal guess idea).
Through the first goal guess contest on Twitter, we have gone from a handful of guesses a game to over 200 guesses for each game. The correct guessers have gone from receiving shoutouts, to getting some cool prizes, including game tickets!
We’ve sent prizes out to all corners of the US. It’s only a matter of time before we send out prizes to some members of the Devils Army overseas, fans that interact with us on a daily basis.
We have put together and hosted quite a few viewing parties throughout New Jersey during our first year, the latest one being at Simko’s Grill in Brielle last weekend. They have all been quite successful, with each one growing as we’ve gone along. Special guests have included Ken Daneyko, Jim Dowd, Grant Marshall and others.
We’ve had some great giveaways at these events and as they grow, so to will the giveaways, prizes, and guests.
Our next viewing party will take place on February 7th at Texas-Arizona in Hoboken. We then return to Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Edison on February 27th for our second viewing party at that location this season.
These viewing parties are only successful if fans attend and enjoy them. Everyone is welcome to attend any of the viewing parties and, as always, is free to suggest a location and bring ideas and suggestions to us.
This blog has grown tremendously since our first post. You can find game previews, recaps, player profiles, and stories on breaking news. We have conducted interviews with WFAN statistician JohnCarl Ziegler, the Zam Crew, the Diablos 122, Ken Daneyko and others. Oh, I almost forgot… there was also the time General Chrissy Baptista got to interview Zach Parise.
Our Devils Generals Facebook page has also grown quickly, with 618 likes as of today.
We have set up Satellite Mission Control at the Digital Zone behind section 17 at The Rock. At every home game, you can find a few of the Generals manning the Twitter and Facebook accounts from there. Anyone is welcome to come and see what we do at any time.
During our first year, we have been written about in ESPN, Huffington Post, ClickZ, Simply Zesty, NY Times, USA Today and many others. A recent article in the Sports Business Journal highlighted how Mission Control has brought in a new kind of revenue for the team.
Mission Control was also selected as a finalist for the PRWeek “Arts, Entertainment & Media Campaign of the Year” award.
Now, what we have planned going forward.
Besides our planned and yet-to-be-planned viewing parties (we’ll be setting up playoff ones, of course), our next big event is our road trip to Long Island. This will be the first time the Generals get a group of the Devils Army together for a road game. If it’s as successful as we think it will be (there are only a few tickets left!), then others will definitely be planned.
We have some other exclusive interviews lined up. As our JohnCarl Ziegler and Zam Crew interviews have shown, we’ll be bringing you some things you’re not likely to find anywhere else. We enjoy giving you a look at some of the people who may be overlooked, but make game day a great experience.
We will also be at the AHL All-Star weekend for some updates!
Being at the AHL All-Star game, along with bringing some of our viewing parties to south Jersey, are some of the ways the Generals are bringing an awareness to everything our state, along with our hockey team, has to offer.
The Generals come from all over the state (and some from out-of-state). While we are all New Jersey Devils fans and this program concentrates on the team and what we can do to bring all of the fans closer together, we’re also committed to highlighting the great things the organization does throughout New Jersey.
You’ll find us talking about other events at Prudential Center. You’ll probably also find us posting about events that we feel are important to the city of Newark and the State of New Jersey.
We look forward to many more years of interacting with the best fans in the world and, more importantly, we look forward to hearing from you as to what we can do to make things even better!
LET’S GO DEVILS!
New Jersey Devils Host “Try Hockey for Free Day”
On Saturday November 5, the New Jersey Devils took part in “Try Hockey for Free Day” hosted by USA Hockey. The mission of the day was to let children ages four to nine to put on the pads and learn how to play hockey. Over 430 rinks across the United States took part in the initiative.
The event was held at the AmeriHealth Pavillion in Newark, right next to Prudential Center. Devils alumni Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver and Grant Marshall were on hand to teach kids the necessities in order to play hockey like a pro.
Also at the event was Willie O’Ree, the league’s first African-American player. O’Ree is now the ambassador of “Hockey is for Everyone.” He stated that he was pleased with the outcome of inner-city youth coming to the rink to try and play a sport that they don’t usually have the opportunity to play.
This event further shows the Devils involvement in New Jersey Youth Hockey. Last month, the Devils announced that they would be hosting Youth Hockey stats on their website.
Here are some highlights from the day:
http://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/embed.swf
Viewing Party: Thursday, Nov 3rd @ Edison Ale House – Devils vs. Flyers
The Devils and the Flyers share one of the most brutal rivalries in the NHL. On Thursday November 3rd, come out to Edison Ale House as the New Jersey Devils travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers for the second time this season.
Join other members of the Devils Army for hockey and festivities, including great giveaways and a silent auction that you won’t want to miss. Be sure to break out your black and red, because rocking your best Devils gear will get you 10% off all food! To wash that down, $15 pitchers will be offered to all of-age, thirsty Devils fans.
Just because the action stops, doesn’t mean the fun does. During intermission, show off your knowledge of all things Devils by taking part in some trivia hosted by the Devils Generals. Of course there’s always a chance that some great Devils alumni may show up to cheer on our hometown boys alongside the greatest fans in the world, but you’ll have to be there to find out!
So Get Your Jersey On and be sure to come out and root for your New Jersey Devils!
Click on over to Facebook to RSVP.
Feeding An Army: Hell’s Kitchen Lounge
Alright Devils Army – here’s the first installment of Feeding an Army, a series of posts where “Cowbell” Steve and “Crazy” Jaime (me!) give you the breakdown on the various restaurants located around the Prudential Center area for your pre-game and post-game meals!
Our first adventure began on Saturday, October 8th which was the night of the Devils home opener, when we hit up Hell’s Kitchen Lounge for some pre-game festivities. Our group started arriving around 3PM and there was already a decent showing, but by 4PM the place was packed with Devils fans – inside and out! As will always be the case, Hell’s Kitchen was not aware of what we were doing, and we received no special treatment whatsoever and paid for our food and drinks out of our own pockets.
But enough about the fans, what about the food? Well, we started off with appetizers of course, Steve ordered the hummus with flat bread (we recommend the extra flat bread option… you’ll thank us later!) and I ordered some buffalo wings that were, as you would expect, HOT! These are two of our favorite dishes at Hell’s and there is usually not a night that goes by where we don’t order them. It’s a nice little “hold me over” before your dinner and enough to share for a whole group.
Moving on to dinner, we’ve both eaten a lot of burgers in our lives, but I always say that Hell’s Kitchen has some of the best I’ve ever tasted. The Brick City Burger is my personal favorite, and how can you go wrong with a half pound of beef, cheese, chorizo, onion rings & their signature meat spackle? It definitely hits home with that “Taste of Newark” feel, but that’s just one of their many burgers and sandwiches. In addition to the Brick City burger, they also offer the Guinness Burger with marbled Guinness bacon and cheddar (YUMMY!) and the Taylor Ham & Cheese Burger… talk about the New Jersey attitude! Let’s not start the taylor ham versus pork roll debate though (we all know it’s TAYLOR HAM)!
Steve decided to choose one of Hell’s Kitchen other options and ordered the Chorizo Sandwich, which gives you great big slices of grilled chorizo on a locally baked Portuguese roll along with peppers and onions and a side of fries. You can also substitute sweet potato fries on any of their dishes, which we both have a preference for. You cannot go wrong with any of these choices, as neither of us has ever had a bad burger or sandwich at Hell’s Kitchen. In fact, I think that each is better than the previous. I know your mouth is now watering and you’re trying to figure out just how fast you can get down there!
Hell’s Kitchen offers beer towers and as well as a variety of bottled beer and beer on tap. They also have other alcoholic beverages available, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. Don’t forget their specialty drinks either, my two personal favorites being “Lucifer’s Lemonade” and “Angels and Demons”. Please just remember to drink responsibly!
Hell’s Kitchen has an eclectic atmosphere and 1950’s era style where Las Vegas meets the traditional pub. On game nights they open up their doors to a couple hundred hockey fans of all ages, but on non-game nights they’re a little more adventurous. Check out their website for more details!
Where: 150 Lafayette Street
Distance from The Rock: .3 miles (6 min – walking)
Distance from Newark Penn Station: .3 miles
Recommendation: Make Reservations on Game Nights, Check their schedule for fun on Devils’ off-nights.
Don’t forget to tell us about YOUR favorite spot: @DevilsGenerals, @CowbellSteve, @cj225devs
Keeping the NBA in New Jersey
If you Devils fans are anything like us Devils Army Generals (and I bet you are), you may not be huge NBA fans. Or if you’re like me, you see the possible lack of an NBA season as nothing more than a great opportunity for the mass media to step up their hockey coverage. That being said, I think few can deny that our Great State of New Jersey could benefit from having an NBA team. The economic benefit is a great boast, and who doesn’t want another team to bring a championship to the state? With the NJ Nets leaving Newark when their new arena is completed, that would leave us with one major league team to call our own.
That being said, basketball star Shaquille O’Neal (you may have heard of him) is looking to bring basketball to Newark. Shaq was actually born in 1970′s Newark, so needless to say he has an emotional connection to the city that many of us have come to call our second home. Shaq recently had a chat with the folks behind The New York Times NBA blog, Off The Dribble. It’s a small portion of a much bigger interview, but here are the basics: Shaq knows that Newark can support an NBA team, and he wants to be one of the guys to bring it there. Knowing how excited Mayor Booker was about having the NCAA Basketball Tournament in Newark this past season, I bet he would be interested in this as well.
Personally, I’m all in. I love New Jersey and traveling into Newark for Devils games more and more recently has shown me a lot of the city. I want to see Newark be the best it can be, and I feel that having an NBA that’s there to stay could be a huge benefit. It would also be pretty cool to have the best arena in the NHL become the best arena in the NBA. Tell us what you think. Do you want to see pro basketball back in Newark ASAP, or do you think three teams in one market is asking too much. Comment away!
Special thanks and credit to The New York Times and Off The Dribble writer Joe Brescia for posting the interview.
Game Preview – Game 4: Your New Jersey Devils @ That Team With Carrie Underwood’s Husband
After a great victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils (2-1-0) travel down to Nashville for their one matchup against the Predators (2-1-0) this season.
Thursday’s game against the Kings was a game that every hockey fan dreams of. Drama, great action, overtime. The Devils were able to pull out the victory in the shootout, but they didn’t win quite the way they had hoped.
Martin Brodeur left Thursday’s game after the first period with “upper body soreness.” We now know he tweaked his right shoulder while making back-to-back game saving saves. Johan Hedberg stepped in and stopped everything that was thrown at him to collect his second win of the season.
Hedberg is expected to start tonight in Nashville. Brodeur made the trip with the team but will not be dressed as backup. Instead, the Devils called up rookie goaltender Keith Kinkaid from Albany. Devils GM Lou Lamiorello stated it’s for precautionary measures and Kinkaid will be back in Albany for their game tomorrow. The Devils have off until next Friday (10/21), so it makes sense to give Brodeur some extra rest.
The Devils are currently on a two-game winning streak after being blanked in their home opener last Saturday. The Predators are looking to bounce back after losing their home opener on Thursday.
Some lineup changes tonight as Adam Henrique was sent down to Albany. Lamiorello says it’s only because of the five days off the Devils have in-between games and he wants Henrique to play in Albany’s upcoming games to keep him in shape. Also, Rod Pelley is expected to be scratched, and Eric Boulton is expected to be back in after being scratched on Thursday.
Here are the projected lineups for tonight’s game:
Devils:
Parise-Elias-Sykora
Kovalchuk-Josefson-Palmieri
Tedenby-Zubrus-Clarkson
Boulton-Mills-Janssen
Greene-Larsson
Tallinder-Fayne
Salvador-Volchenkov
Hedberg
Kinkaid
—————————
Predators:
Wilson-Legwand-Smith
Erat-Spaling-Kostitsyn
Tootoo-O’Reilly-Halischuk
Smithson-Geoffion-Hornqvist
Weber-Suter
Klein-Blum
Laakso-Hillen
Rinne
Lindback
Two of our Generals have made it out to Nashville for the game tonight: General Jaime and General Kim. Be sure to follow them on Twitter to get inside coverage of their trip. If you didn’t make it out to Nashville for the game, don’t worry. There is a viewing party tonight in Newark at Edison Ale House, located right across the street from the Prudential Center.
Follow the Devils Army Generals on Facebook and on Twitter for more in-depth coverage of Jersey’s Team.
Feeding An Army: Stay tuned!
You’re getting ready to go to a Devils game and you’re wondering, “Where can I go eat or have a drink before the game?” Well, look no further than the Devils Army Blog!
With the new season just around the corner, we’re going to tour the city of Newark and blog about local spots that you can visit before heading over to the game. We’re going to feature one or two a month, maybe more depending on how many we can come up with. We have a few ideas of our own, but we’d love to hear from the fans on places we should visit. If you have a place in mind let us know through the blog, Twitter, Facebook or even email us!
First stop, Hell’s Kitchen Lounge!
When: October 8th, 2011 (Opening Night!)
Where: 150 Lafayette Street
Distance from The Rock: .3 miles
*We’re doing this out of the goodness of our hearts and our bellies. We are not advertising for, being sponsored by or accepting free meals from any of these locations.
