Personal Passions
Chefs at restaurants that touch bases around the world might be anchored in the Garden State, but they stay true to their roots with dishes both poignant and powerful.
Known Quantities Revisited: 2-5-24
It might be a classic given a fresh look or perhaps simply the ultimate in respect. Either way, the favorite eats of the past two weeks more than pass the endurance test.
Cold-weather Comforts: 1-22-24
Sweet potatoes, peaches, The Pepito, plump shrimp wontons and puffy beans and cod are the stars of the eating shows of the two weeks just past. Review here, then plan to consume.
Winter Fresh: 1-8-24
The official Jersey Fresh seasonality chart may give short-shrift to our four-season farmers in these winter months, but you don’t have to. Their crops, and some top-notch right-for-now specialty foods, show what’s peak at this brrrr time of year.
The Fab 5 of ’23
Selecting the best eats every other week involves painful editing that too often leaves very-much-loved foods not making what suddenly becomes an unkind cut. To follow that formula to glean a Final 5 from a year’s worth of F5s positively stings. (Though it’s made bearable by eliminating F5’s favorite restaurant dishes of 2023, which will get their own due this Friday, Dec. 29.) So without any further ado, we spring to our feet and applaud the quintet of super winners!
Very High-Fives: 12-11-23
What a list of lovables! Recognizable, yet offering that zip of something extra-special. What a lead-up to the final F5 of 2023 – the top 5 of all our top 5s, coming on Christmas Day.
Familiar Yet Uncommon: 11-27-23
Unexpected but hardly alien, the favorites of the two weeks just past offer connections beyond the customary.
Touching All Bases: 11-13-23
A sandwich, sweet potatoes, sashimi, a curry and a new rice for a risotto take the lead in another U.N. of eats from the two weeks just past.
Flavor Range: 10-30-23
The favorites of this go-round take on every taste bud and treat each to quite the workout.
Striking Gold: 10-16-23
Color is the commonality in our rundown of foods that capture the heart. Pretty, they are, but these dishes are about much more than greets the eye.
Around the World, in Two Weeks: 09-25-23
No matter where you are in the Garden State, there's a veritable U.N. of exceptional foods. The fortnight just past proves that true.
Only a Trio: 09-11-23
It’s not been the best of eating times, these last 14 days. Bad luck? Tired kitchens? End-of-summer slump? Hard to say. But nothing will be elevated as a “favorite” unless it truly is. So for this stretch, we’re talking about a Top 3.