Pudsters brings a retro yet hi-tech family friendly spot to West Essex

The Future is here and it looks bright: Pudsters opens in West Caldwell

Better than the Jetsons, and as vintage as the old fashioned soda fountains

Lilli
The kids loved it - and so did their parents. From left to right are happy burger and also frozen yogurt foodies Justin Maya and Brendan Haas.
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Last night, I had the pleasure of visiting a new restaurant in West Caldwell that is guaranteed to become the hottest spot in West Essex as fast as you can say Ipad. Yes, I did write guaranteed.

Pudsters, a high end retro yet modern burger/hot dog/shake/ and frozen yogurt shop, had a soft opening in their dazzling, earth-tone friendly new restaurant.

This place has all the modern bells and whistles yet still manages to be extremely family friendly and very, very affordable.

The menu is simple, and will take you back to your childhood comfort foods with Angus beef burgers, offered with all kinds of toppings; great high quality hot dogs and wonderful skinny french fries - also with some cool touches. There are shakes, naturally, and your entire meal will set you back less than $10.

Moms: there is great coffee, so if your kids want to hang out awhile to play on the free Ipads (very cool) or play some tunes on the new Rockbot, or even fool around with the Pudsters twitter or Facebook giant screens, you will be happy.

These guys thought of everything. As part of any review, I always vsit the bathrooms and imagine my delight to see a flat screen television in both the women's and men's room.

Every detail, from the soft retro plaid stools to the cool collage wallpaper featuring none other than the adorable dog Pudster, to the

runners who are dressed like newsboys, complete with caps and bowties, has been well thought out.

The food comes out fast - but it is cooked to order. This spot also offers curb side delivery, which means if you are feeling lazy, you can Facebook or twitter your order, and have their young local runners bring it to your car - complete with change.

The burger, which I ordered plain, was a simple yet hearty patty, and was not greasy. The fries, which we ordered both plain and with their cool truffle oil/parm cheese version, were addictive.

But the fun really began when it came to desert. Pudsters offers their Let's Yo frozen yogurt, which has become a big hit in Montclair. And, not only can you dress up your treat with fresh fruit or chocolate or any number of decadent candies, you can also look up the nutritional information on a giant screen.

When Friendly's, a local institution in these parts closed, families were upset.

Well, now you can take a big sigh of relief. This place is light years beyond Friendly's, and will offer a comforting yet hi-tech spot for the entire family.

The official opening is today - so try to stop in and check out the decor, the food, and all the great hi-tech toys.

As one little girl said, in between bites of her oreo, hot fudge, marshmellow frozen yogurt, who needs ice cream?

Expect this spot to be the first of many, and the model for an exciting new franchise that will have long, profitable legs.

Congratulations to these creative visionaries, who were kind enough to bring this new concept to West Essex.

I will see you all there. You can count on it.