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.
El Matador
Break out of your same-old, same-old rut at this Mexican stalwart, where the less-common shines and a spirit of adventure is rewarded.
The Butter Chicken Factory
While the marquee-billed star at this modest storefront does its part, the supporting cast doesn’t let it steal the whole show. Nope, not with forceful, focused flavors chewing scenery at every turn.
Cheers for Yellow Wax Beans!
Bring on the brine to add flavor and longer life to these at-peak string beans.
Tomato Salad, Kimchi’d
Don’t want to fridge tomatoes? With you on that. But what if you’ve sliced and chopped up too many to eat today and want to eat them in slightly different form tomorrow?
Lorena’s
In new and expanded quarters, with a bar to boot, chef Humberto Campos still pledges his troth to beloved French classics. But he’s got a knack for finding the shake of nuance that can ratchet up familiar to fabulous.
Bao Dumplings & Bao Tea
Made-in-house noodles with tomato and egg aren’t the headliner at this just-opened storefront a few steps from the DMV in Hazlet. But they mesmerize.