The Case of the Annual Bowl Food
Sometimes, if you don’t think too hard, plan too much and worry it all to death, you come to a most satisfying conclusion – be it readable or edible.
American Melts
Think it’s easy, don’t you? That you can make a terrific toasty sandwich of cheeses and bread, something creamy, crusty and utterly satisfying, huh? Well, sample what Rick Brams turns out at his beyond-modest shack and think again.
Delaware Avenue Oyster House
The marquee bivalve gets the respect it’s due at this year-rounder on LBI. But so do other fishes – raw and preserved in tins, seared, fried, blackened and jumbled with accents equally feisty and fresh.
Soup’s On-Target
To be expected at this time of year, might you say, that soup is at peak? Maybe, but never take excellence for granted. These varied incarnations are worth marking on your dine card for a purposeful trip.
Market Meals, from Ramsey
One of the Garden State’s busiest winter farmers’ markets offers Ella inspiration for both quick put-together suppers and easy-cooking dinners.
Elias Bitar: Norma’s
The newest inductee into TPW’s elite chef-picks-chef club of top Garden State toques “does it all” at his family’s Eastern Mediterranean mecca in Cherry Hill, his selector Danny Childs notes, “from making his own pita, pickles and labneh to donating thousands of meals to refugees to “uniting community” through a very special farm partnership.
Seabra’s Marisqueira
What’s signature is special here at this seafood-strong anchor in the Ironbound rooted in authenticity.
Coniglio’s Old-Fashioned
There’s a new pizza king in town and his crowning achievements are not only to be found in his lineup of pies. P.S. He’s got a cohort in the kitchen who’s a major talent – and maybe more.
Napoleon of Grilled Vegetables
If you read TPW’s recent Restaurant Revue column on Zoe’s Emilio’s Kitchen, you ought to remember its platter of grilled vegetables with mole verde. That was one of the dishes our avid food upcycler wanted to try. What Sue didn’t finish provided inspiration for a most transformative Take Two.
Purple Yams
TPW’s ever-intrepid Ella, intrigued by the idea of learning more about a member of the potato family put into the spotlight through its uses in Filipino sweets, heads into the kitchen to experiment and emerges with something far more than just dessert.
Soup Dumplings
At Authentic Shanghai Dumpling in Edison you’ll find a real-deal, properly made, properly served version of a classic.
B2J Fish
Maybe “Chinese Sauerkraut Fish” doesn’t sound like a dish you’d put on your must-try list. But you should. Soon. And then eat it for the rest of your life. There’s now a place in New Jersey where it’s the specialty. We are the lucky ones, once again.