A Baker’s Dozen from 2025
Culling 13 favorite dishes from 100 times that number eaten in the year now winding down is one heck of a challenging task. But once accomplished, it allows you to rest assured this selection of top eats is worth the effort to experience yourself.
New West Orange Diner
It looks and acts more like a chef-driven café than any roadside iteration of a Garden State cultural hallmark might. That’s because it is chef-driven and offers a sizable selection of well-crafted Peruvian classics in addition to the breakfast-lunch-dinner staples its moniker implies. It’s a new diner for New Jersey – and it’s terrific now and brimming with potential for a new generation.
The Fab 5 of ’25
Selecting the best eats every other week involves excruciating editing that too often leaves very-much-loved foods not making the final cut in what seems to be a most unkind way. It’s only made bearable by the fact that eliminated from contention are the restaurant dishes selected for F5, since those dishes will get their own due this Friday, Dec. 26. So without any further ado: The quintet of this year’s super winners!
Tinned Fishes to the Rescue
If you’re short a fish or two or three for a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner on Christmas Eve, don’t panic. Snap up a few tins of fishes, whip some chilies right into a good butter and use both to top crackers, breads and sliced vegetables. Garnishes optional. No cooking necessary.
Ora
A splashy and frenetic restaurant in Bergen County has become something of a Selfie Central even though it purports to be a model for high-style Italian cookery. In the end, it stumbles too often with both its food and its service.
On New Year’s Eve, ’25
Welcome to TPW’s annual guide to dining out on the last night of the year! It’s for those who love stepping out and reveling the night (and even the early morning) away, and it features restaurants we’ve reviewed in the last 12 months. So take a hop-skip through, then don’t dawdle: Reserve while tables remain available and look forward to 2025’s rollicking farewell party.
Whipping Feta into Seasonal Shape
For Hanukkah, put together a spread that can segue into a topping for latkes, one made from the salty cheese and a late-autumn partner. Together, they’re jaunty and very Jersey.
Matt’s Red Rooster Grill
A reliable all-American that’s been a staple in Flemington for more than two decades isn’t about drastic change – and loyalists want it to stay that way. But change in the kitchen's processes and execution is warranted to correct problems of overcooking, careless plating and misuse of ingredients.
Bocadillo
The most celebrated tapas trails of Spain are reflected on the menu at this neighbor to – and relative of – stalwart Segovia in this Bergen County town. The love and passion owners Dalida and Anthony Treus have for the ingredients of the mother country are on buoyant display. It’s an edible education fit for holidays and everyday.
Support Systems
Sometimes a standout isn’t a spotlight entrée on a menu, but a riveting side show or starter or something refreshing to sip. Or even, not surprisingly at this time of year, a stuffing.
The Pink Pineapple
It’s a gimmick of a fruit that, since it hit the marketplace five years ago, has found its way into the host-gifting arena. What can you do with it?
Boom Boom Chicken, Meet Fresh and HeyTea
Korean fried chicken and its mates followed by a Taiwanese dessert and a cap-it-off beverage at a place that’s become a worldwide phenomenon: It’s all in an afternoon’s eat-around at Festival Plaza. But nothing’s finer than bumping into a favorite food pro behind a counter once again.