Good Earth Organic Eatery
The name may suggest an all-out hippie bill of fare. But while the food divined by a couple from Italy is much about vegan and vegetarian, fish gets its own listing and local roots and homey styles prevail. It’s the place to plant yourself on Cape Island when trendiness isn’t your groove. Er, jam.
Up with Down-to-Earth
To be loved, a food doesn’t have to be earth-shattering or served in posh surroundings or sport pricey, luxe ingredients. It can be as down-to-earth as vegetables, fruit, bread, fish and beans can be and still rise to the top of our charts.
Zuke Cups
One of the season’s most prolific crops gets a new look and a new use with minimal effort. Sporty and cute, these little vessels offer smooth sailing in the kitchen on a summer night.
Finch
Disconnects to communities clip the wings of a restaurant designed to provide a high-toned dining experience at a remade landmark in the smallest of Hunterdon County’s River Towns. With too little respect afforded the region’s farmers and food artisans and lack of proper attention in the kitchen, flawed dishes dominate a menu designed by a chef with an impressive pedigree.
Kanpachi Sushi
Much loved and resolutely patronized by its fans, this johnny-on-the-spot for all things sushi is the definition of what a local is in 21st-century New Jersey.
AwesomeYo’s Spiced Potato Chips
A chip that can make a snack into a meal is found at an eatery in Metuchen that sports savory fare and baked goods, as well as pure-gold finds such as these brashly seasoned homemade crisps.
Oasis
Moroccan classics may get the respect they’re due at this downtown storefront in a restaurant-rich town. Or they may not. Poor handling of what could be, what should be satisfying signature dishes results in failures too ignoble to dismiss.
Fajji’s Ice Cream
A fixture in Perth Amboy is this ice cream stand where the churner in charge pushes butterfat content to its limit even as he fully respects the flavor quotient. And there are quenching helados tropicales on board. Salud!
Flavor, Forward March
What’s ripe and ready at this moment of harvest and what comes from well-honed skills following tradition or riffing on old ways rise to the top in this round of favorites from the two weeks just past.
Colorful, Creamy and Crunchy
Watts Organic Farm’s Adirondack Blue and Pink potatoes inspire a salad built on unexpected textures and zesty elements.
Cap’n Cat Clam Bar
A stalwart for seafood in Gloucester County’s Franklin Township is this old-school spot with a lively bar and throwback vibes that vindicate those who favor the basics, particularly when it comes to shellfish.
In Good Company
Should beans of all stripes find their way into your kitchen, there’s a tie that can bind them into an entrée fit for right now.