Always Summer
No need to crowd into the old saws to eat during the season that’s on deck. Our Lucky-13 list of restaurants with that certain special something will make memories with foods you can reprise year-round.
Farmed, Foraged, Fortified: 5-23-22
It’s not surprising that tapping sources closest to our lands yields the best-tasting eats. That’s the way it’s been the past two weeks, with favorites showing direct ties to people, place and process.
Spring Garlic: Memories of a Calcotada
River Lea’s new crop is a very worthy substitute for the calcots grown in Catalonia, Spain, so get it while it’s available and bring something new to your Memorial Day cookout menu.
Mambo Nando’s
Find baseball, a boardwalk, amusements, redevelopment and, now, a Puerto Rican eatery with classics spiced to outshine the sun this summer in a Bayshore borough that’s on the rise.
Folklore Artisanal Taco
The costra de queso at this Mexican specialist with siblings in West Orange and Chatham needs to be inked on your dine card. But don’t ignore the more familiar foods: Freshness and mindful cooking elevate everything at these BYOBs.
The Big Dipper
Why not a little luxury in a dip, something that’s a sure step up from the game-watching rotation of guac, salsa, hummus and French onion?
Origin
On the pedestrian-only blocks of Division Street in the downtown district of this restaurant-friendly county seat is a BYOB that started out decades ago as French-Thai and now tilts Pan Asian – particularly at lunchtime, when big salads reign.
Christine’s House of Kingfish Barbecue
Smoke and sauce. The smoke you expect and a sauce like no other. And those ribs. They’re the hallmarks of a 45-year-old pitstop on South Jersey’s circuit.
Bumping It Up: 5-9-22
That something extra is behind every favorite bite taken in the two weeks just past. From Mexican to chippies, from chocolate with a whisper of peanut and a cupcake strong on produce department ingredients to a seductive salad dressing, these foods got it going on.
A Pot O’ Luck
What to take to a collaborative supper at the new Peach Laroo in Egg Harbor City? Or to make for a community gathering? Or on a rainy day, any time of the year? Old friends: clams and chicken.
Oldwick General Store
Chef Sam Freund’s famous sandwiches are back and being served in a space that’s served its community since the 1700s. But there’s more – including primo baked goods and house-made preserves that convey the best of yesteryear while doing right by today.
Carol’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cups
To eat one of these chocolates is to leave Earth. Temporarily, but oh so happily.