Los Tres Hermanos
While the usual suspects are on board at this downtown Mexican favorite, so are specials that prove its kitchen is about across-the-board mindful cookery and thoughtful presentations. Slow down, and don’t eat too fast.
La Fe Pupuseria
Start with the marquee item at this Salvadoran newcomer and proceed with the rest of the splendid classics from the Central American country. There’s more than griddled, stuffed cakes that rule at a smash-hit dine-card must.
Mauli
The powerhouse kitchen at this Indian specialist in Somerset trains its keen eye on Maharashtrian, Indochinese and North Indian dishes. There’s much to tempt. But if you let yourself fall prey to the usual, you’ll be missing out on some of the most delicious and emotionally exhilarating dishes in the subcontinent’s vernacular.
Rayaki
Japanese street fare takes charge of the menu at this storefront covered in images of anime and populated by students, parents with kids and remote workers skilled at not dripping on their laptops as they eat. It delivers in short order robatakayi, ramen and rice platters that only rarely rise above rudimentary and often fail due to incompetence in the kitchen.
Pide 28
The distinctive stuffed flatbreads from Turkey are the main attraction at a modest, yet comfortable storefront in the Eastern Med district of this food-centric city. With more than 20 various fillings and a skilled pideci at the oven, it’s the place to go for your bachelor’s degree in pide.
Famous Sgt. Bob Smoke BBQ & Grill
Filipino-accented barbecue takes a stand in the town that sits at the far-westernmost point of the Garden State, a couple blocks in from the Delaware River. It’s where Southeast Asia and America’s best ’cue pits converge in border-free pleasure. P.S. Stop for dessert at Pennsville Custard.
Avora Mediterranean
There are a couple of standout dishes on the menu at this new downtowner with a focus on Turkish cuisine. But there’s also a kitchen that shows a careless streak and service that can tilt surly. On a ledger of negatives and positives, what wins out?
Pied Out
A café in a waterside community in Burlington County may be known for its marquee pies both sweet and savory, but draws locals for sandwiches and such fit for breakfast and lunch.
Jasmine: Desi Asian Grill
Come with patience enough to read a lengthy menu, earmark dishes meant for diners eager to explore, and dive into those that go beyond what’s found at ho-hum Indian eateries. For here is a suburban-swanky spot with a kitchen that aims to soar – and does.
Sweet Jamaica Cafe
Explore the highest potential of jerk, curried goat, deeply burnished oxtails, black cake and coconut-charged coco bread at this charmer of a storefront eatery where both the cooking and the service reflect the warmth of the island from which inspiration is drawn.
Grits & Grace
Today’s Restaurant Revue column posts with hope in our hearts and faith in the folks who have created this welcoming eatery in Bayville that’s aimed at feeding locals the kinds of lovingly prepared and warmly served foods every community would be honored to have in their midst. For late Monday night, an accidental fire caused damage and partial collapse of its building, leaving an extended family of diners firm in the conviction that their gathering place will rise again to serve its hearty and heartfelt dishes. In the meantime, this column posts exactly as written soon after eating lunch last week at Grits & Grace.
Juniper Hill Restaurant and Bar
In the middle of no-man’s-land season, when so little actually is in season, a chef plows the possibilities of a fine-dining lunch menu that’s resolute in its mission to spotlight local farms and rhapsodic in its appreciation of what farmers are growing, raising and producing at this moment. For Craig Polignano, every micro-season is high season.