Hot Lettuce Summer
Lovely leaves of the season deserve more than a nominal toss in dressing. Chef Andre de Waal paves a path for these wavy, curly, crunchy or simply undulating sheaths to have more than a moment as the “It Vegetable.”
LBI North End Options
Pit-stopping at Birdy’s, Viking Fresh Off the Hook and Mustache Bill’s yields one clear winner in the daytime eats department. And for a bonus: An ice cream flight, at the island’s center.
Season Opener
The Pizza Kitchen at Windy Brow Farms in Fredon is open for a new season of hits under a pergola that sits astride a bakeshop/market, ice creamery and an expanse of orchards.
Shoti Bread House
Georgian food is on the menu and will be on the mind of anyone who experiences the classics of the republic’s culinary repertoire at this hub in Bergen County. Focus on the famous breads but don’t leave out pkhali, brothy garlic chicken and a goulash of a veal stew.
Spicing Strawberries
A strong and long season for everyone’s favorite red berry is extending our time with them this spring and giving us cause and plentiful crop to experiment. Let savory spices show their affinity for the fruit.
Gaamthi
Get with the new programs in exhilarating Indian food eating at this renamed and rejuvenated spot in the emerging Little India on Route 46 in Morris County. It’s veg-centric and a detour off routes tried-and-tired.
Melick’s Beverage Program
What started with sweet cider and expanded to hard cider now includes wines made from classic grapes as well as the heritage farm family’s apples and peaches. Sample all at a festival Saturday, May 30, at the Cider Mill in Oldwick.
The Farm and Fisherman Tavern
The most populous town in Camden County is home to one of its most deservedly popular eating and drinking establishments, a restaurant that may have originated across the Delaware, but found its quintessence here.
When the Excitement Builds
Each favorite in this quintet of best eats thrills thanks to layered-in flavors that show no fear of overwhelming. That’s because the maestros in these kitchens know exactly what they’re doing.
Puri Plus: An Hors d’Oeuvres Idea
These lovely spherical shells are the exact-right vessels for party-starting light bites. Stuff them fancy – as here, with smoked salmon, chive sour cream and caviar – or with everyday leftovers. Cheers!
Stockton Inn
The rebranding of a multipronged restaurant into an establishment with one menu for all dining spaces fails to address issues of imprecise cooking, poor sourcing and inadequately trained service. Money, and PR, isn’t buying needed improvement for this historic spot in one of Hunterdon County’s River Towns.
Salt and Clover Cheeses
There’s terroir to be experienced in the various fromages made at a sheep farm in Cape May County, a sense of place achieved by cheesemaker George Castle.