Full-throttle Flavors: 8-30-21
Nothing shy here: Fried squid shooting juices; birria bursting from a torta; wild boar ragu fit for sweater weather, but bright enough for summer’s end; dried shrimp powder that’s oomph in a jar; milk with true terroir. All in our every-other-week favorites report.
Grape Achievement
Even if baking isn’t your raison d’etre, the tart-sweet table grapes grown at Bonacorsi Family Farm in Franklin Township might motivate you to fire up the oven for an old-school grape cake.
Chefs Rory and Aaron Philipson of The Blue Bottle Café
A caring community has built up around this innovative café in Hopewell, the next stop on the Chef Train.
Harvey Cedars Shellfish Company
The fish is local, the plates unfussy yet creative when called for, the setting on Long Beach Island beachy-keen. No wonder this landmark is edging towards its 50th birthday.
Spring Run Dairy
The milks from the creamery at this farm in Pittstown certainly can do justice as accompaniments to the best cookies and cakes, to cereals and coffees, to sauces and puddings. But more importantly they stand on their own as a beverage to savor.
Stirling Tavern
There’s a well-edited menu of neighborhood joint favorites and outside-the-norm specialties at this downtown destination with an enlightened view of what’s possible. A tip: Don’t play it safe.
Come Together, Right Now
No need for a list of ingredients and a recipe. At McCormack Farms, where high summer produce is peaking, just take home what catches your eye and dinner will follow.
Misses & Hits
Where’s the crackling crunch? MIA at a new Korean fried chicken eatery in Edison. But there’s a good KFC sandwich – and, down the shopping center apace, a Taiwanese bakery with a guilty-pleasure of a green onion bun.
Kim Sum
A new dim sum champ handles the morsels served forth from its piled-high carts with grace. Make a day of it on a Saturday by taking a morning’s jaunt through the nearby Collingswood Farmers’ Market and, post-dim sum, shopping at Sun Seng supermarket, at the opposite end of Saigon Plaza.
Blue Bottle Café
Some 15 years ago, a pair of chefs looking to make a commitment to a community opened a little place with big-hearted food. Their culinary style? Well, it’s something like a roasted chicken.
Twists to Shout About: 8-16-21
Tomatoes with Asian noodles? A soup for summer’s dog days? Roasted chicken with uncommon accompaniments? Ah, the unexpected edible highs of high summer.
Chilling with Italian Cukes
There’s satisfying depth to a light main-dish meal inspired by a less-common variety of the cylindrical green(ish) fruit.