Highlight of an early Sunday lunch for three: monkfish (special, $24) in a mushroom-laden garlic sauce. (Pass the rice, please.) Not shown: bread basket, caldo gallego, chorizo, octupus (with potatoes), cabrito (and more rice), sangria.
It's good that we did most of our reconnaissance in the morning; with empty bellies we could walk at a respectable speed. For a future visit to the Ironbound we've identified two bakeries with a wide assortment of Brazilian pizzas (one even offers a weekly "pizza buffet") and a live poultry market with a sideline in cuyes viveros.
Casa Vasca
141 Elm St. (at Prospect St.), Newark, New Jersey
973-465-1350