Some folks like to say that Montclair, the winsome New Jersey township 12 miles west of Manhattan, is the optimal spot for urbanites ready for more bang for their real estate buck.

“I think it’s the only town in New Jersey that’s a real mix of urban and suburbs,” says local restaurateur and Food Network personality Meny Vaknin, 36, of “Chopped” fame, who recently opened grab-and-go café Luisa, his third Montclair-based eatery.

Vaknin and his wife, Sarah Kanter, 37, left the Upper East Side for Montclair more than six years ago, shortly after opening his first eatery in the town of 40,000: tasty Mediterranean spot Mish Mish. Now Vaknin, Kanter and kids Mayaan, 7, and Leo, 4, are firmly rooted within Montclair’s charming streets, which display an alluring combo of vintage homes and small businesses.

“Everyone here has done the same direction,” says Vaknin. “They came from New York, or they came from Brooklyn, and they want a quieter corner but still want to be close to the city, work in the city and keep ties to the city.”