Tsujita, Santouka, Omusubi Gombei
The food court inside Mitsuwa, the Japanese marketplace in a Hudson-hugging borough in Bergen County, offers a river view as well as a collection of quality eateries sporting savories or sweets. Consider three that’ll do right for lunch, dinner or snack time, fueling both shoppers and mealtime drop-ins.
Count on Beans
Wonderful flying solo and wonderful in partnerships, legumes in their dried form are a year-round staple. Pizza Beans? Greens-’n’-Beans? Let them be just the start of a new season of bean cookery.
tacoshop
Much more than tacos, this year-round newcomer from the James Beard Award-nominated chef Lucas Manteca is where a ceviche gets a re-charge, an empanada a revival – and an old-new sandwich cookie makes its debut.
Fresh Kitchen
“Healthy” fare, quickly assembled for both takeout and eat-in diners, is the mission of this fast-casual spot that aims to serve “fuel for the body.”
Playing Dress-Up: 12-6-21
Sometimes it takes a lot of tinkering to add pizzazz to a familiar food. Other times, it takes very little. However it happens, the magic is there in these top eats of the two weeks just past.
Winter Farmers’ Markets
Good cooking and good eating are predicated on good shopping. Fact. Don’t expect miracles in the kitchen if your ingredients are lousy. Your best bet? Buy directly from the Garden State’s best sources.
KAI SWEETS
A confectionary in the food court at Mitsuwa offers exceptional renditions of two favorites at neighboring stalls in the busy marketplace in Edgewater.
Pickwickian Tavern & Smokery
A jolly character in a novel by Charles Dickens lends a roadhouse in South Jersey its name. But it’s the “smokery” component that gives this swell spot its soul.
Jammin’ Jars
Buy now and eat now – and later. Just remember to buy these top-notch preserves in bulk for gift-giving this holiday season.
Canton Palace
Just do it: Mark your calendar for an evening sharing with family and friends one of the 10-course menus served forth in banquet fashion – and eat like royalty.
Latkes: Top Toppings
There’s a wide world of foods we routinely partner with potatoes. Why restrict serving seasonal spud ’cakes with applesauce and sour cream when there are options galore?
Meghan Cattani: Cattani Catering & Kitchen
In the case of the chef who is always at the stoves of her eponymous restaurant in Ewing, learning how to cook at the knees of her grandmothers is no cliché, no empty claim. It’s all about heart and soul and recipes “from my grandmothers’ handwriting to your table.”