Brandon Heim, Buoy’s
The newest inductee into TPW’s chef-picks-chef society of top toques claims “food is the only thing” he thinks about. That devotion manifests itself on his menu at Buoy’s in Manasquan, where reservations to his fixed-priced dinners are claimed in a matter of minutes. Ed Sherry profiles this rising star on the Shore scene.
A Baker’s Dozen from 2024
Only 13? Three times that number initially rose from the roughly 1,000 dishes eaten and considered for this annual list of restaurant favorites from the year coming to a close. Several times that number could have made the final cut; it was a very, very good year of eating. That makes these 13 all the more winning.
The First Day: An Argument for Lobster
Fit for a New Year’s Day supper (and amenable as well to a New Year’s Eve tete-a-tete far from those madding crowds) is the granddaddy of malacostraca, which is at its flavor peak now.
On New Year’s Eve, ’24
For those who most enjoy going out and reveling the night and early morning away in the company of both intimates and not-so-intimates, there’s a place to convene with food that will be worth the effort and even the expense. Today, some suggestions to consider, with fair warning: Don’t tarry a minute more in making a reservation.
The Fab 5 of ’24
Selecting the best eats every other week involves excruciating editing that too often leaves very-much-loved foods not making a most unkind cut. To follow that formula to come up with a Final 5 from a year’s worth of F5s can sting. (Though it’s made reasonably bearable by eliminating F5’s favorite restaurant dishes of 2024, which will get their own due this Friday, Dec. 27.) So without any further ado: The quintet of this year’s super winners!
The Adaptable Pancake
With Hanukkah starting this year at sundown on Christmas Day and Kwanzaa the very next day, there might be reason to come up with a base dish that could be customized for all three holidays and their food-focused celebrations. Let that dish be an old reliable: the versatile, beloved potato pancake – with a twist or three, of course.
The Farm for All Seasons
A couple in Hammonton set out to create a homestead for their family. But at Thin Place Farm, where a veritable rainbow of fruits thrives, they are growing for a larger community in ways that nourish and educate well beyond the norm.
Summit House
Forever a rising star, chef AJ Capella does right by a landmark that’s needed, wanted and used by its community. His food is articulate, his techniques polished, his imagination boundless. While all’s very well at this tony, clubby meeting place now, think of the possibilities if diners could join him on even more explorations.
A Bounty of Food Gifts
Whether you want to give a primo ingredient, bring a more-than-respectable prepared dish to a party, or make something heartfelt from scratch for a host, here are three dozen sources for gifts that will be well received and just as well used.
et al fine food
Down the street from Seastreak’s terminal in this Bayshore borough is a stylish home for contemporary classics served in a setting expanded from its original quarters a hop-skip away. Mostly reliable and always amiable, it’s a locals’ retreat.
Pumpkin Soup, Pumped Up
While pie is a fine finale for a non-decorative cultivated winter squash, a warming bowl that stems from its puree has possibilities for embellishments just about as wide-ranging as a prankish, carved jack-o-lantern.
Gadgets & Tools
When our pros want a helpful hand in the kitchen, on the farm, down in the wine cellar or at the pastry-rolling table, they count on select gizmos, devices and organizational aids. We asked a handful of the Garden State's top culinary pros to tell us what tools assist them in plying their trades.