Grits & Grace
Today’s Restaurant Revue column posts with hope in our hearts and faith in the folks who have created this welcoming eatery in Bayville that’s aimed at feeding locals the kinds of lovingly prepared and warmly served foods every community would be honored to have in their midst. For late Monday night, an accidental fire caused damage and partial collapse of its building, leaving an extended family of diners firm in the conviction that their gathering place will rise again to serve its hearty and heartfelt dishes. In the meantime, this column posts exactly as written soon after eating lunch last week at Grits & Grace.
Aleppo Lavash Crackers
Unadorned crackers may have their place in the eating world, but one speckled with a flaky red pepper that’s fruity, tangy, smoky and packs a bit of heat is a cracker that merits contemplation. It’s new in the bakery at Windy Brow Farms in Fredon.
Sunchokes
Don’t hesitate if you come across this tuber that looks a little bit like ginger and will taste, after roasting, like a nutty version of a potato. It’s a vegetable that looks more difficult than it is to prepare and offers major rewards in the taste department.
Short and Sweet
Maple-sugaring season in the Garden State comes as the last of winter stretches into the start of spring. At Happy Day Farm in Manalapan, the Stockel family makes the most of those weeks by showing the public how sap from maple trees is turned into syrup at their very own Sugar Shack.
Lady and the Shallot
Long shoehorned into a high-traffic space inside Trenton Farmers’ Market, this vegan eatery now makes its home in a brighter, bigger space on the edge of the campus of The College of New Jersey. It’s still dishing out lessons in cheerful plant-based fare.
The Problem with Pickiness
A new book about how America’s kids became history’s all-time fussiest eaters raises questions about what we need to do to reverse course. Give that mission a jump-start by permitting “picky” a graceful, but certain exit and allowing a sobriquet with a different attitude a seat at the table.
Complex Simplicity
They all sound simple enough, this round’s crowning achievements, but nothing’s simple about the preparations that lead to such stimulating and spectacular results for a cake, dumplings, clams, noodles and a ragu.
Contemplating Grapefruit
Celebrated chef André deWaal has delighted and educated diners in the Garden State’s Northwest Kingdom for decades. Today he shares his knowledge and love of all things culinary with readers of TPW in special edition of our weekly cooking column by squeezing juicy truths out of a common citrus fruit.
Zarov Kitchen
Details with a difference matter to Katie Yegiazarov, a baker who brings a scientist’s precision, an educator’s devotion to nourishing minds, and a cook’s passion for expanding the scope of flavor to classics marked her one-of-a-kind voice.
Kurobuta White Charcoal Grille
Labels play a major role at this pork-focused Japanese restaurant that also zeroes in on seafood in non-sushi ways. Despite the name games, there’s fine fare to be had – a hat-tip to a mostly conscientious kitchen.
Playing Hooky (Not)
Best intentions aside, taking a meal off from work isn’t possible when the intended meal is at a restaurant where there’s always something that absolutely must be written about.
Dalida’s Dad’s Olives
At Bocadillo in Moonachie, the local way of preparing a standard small bite sends it into a stratosphere of other-worldliness. We have the how-to for you.