Carnitas Taco Factory
Come armed with an appetite and maybe even an army of sturdy flatware when you visit this fast-casual Mexican in a storefront that barely contains the gargantuan quesurritos made right in front of you.
Bread & Culture
Breads and pastries deserving of praise fly out of this popular downtown eatery. But sandwiches with promising concepts falter due to lack of focus in the assembly.
S&Y Mini Hot Pot
An eminently pleasant, casually covert eatery run by a couple steeped in on-point cooking and hospitality might be the leader of a most respectable pack of hot-pot specialists now raising the bar on the genre in the Garden State.
Sushi on Fleek
Brazilian sushi is at the core of the menu at an off-the-coast specialist located near the center of this Shore city. While its kitchen’s knife skills are vastly improved, it now has another key technique that needs work.
Casa de Masala
Take classics from culinary canons Indian and Latin, pair thoughtfully and cook just right, and the result can be a menu of long-term, lovable partnerships. Like the ones found at a newcomer to the Bayshore.
Tiam Tiam
Thrillingly flavorful foods mark the menus at this modest, but mighty storefront piloted from original market to destination restaurant by an extraordinary and idiosyncratic wife-husband team of chefs, Jennifer Cheng and Jesse Kim. It’s a dine card must.
Ideal Eating
Call this a U.O.U. and take a few minutes to plan for some pleasurable dining-out time while summer’s still in its prime. It’s a personal process, one that involves a bit of ruminating and selecting, so we’ve got some recommendations to get your thinking off and running.
Casdeluna
In the ‘Burg of today, all eats Latin are hotter than asphalt in July. This Venezulean arepas specialist, which also makes a mean cachapa, is exactly where you ought to go, with the latest Stephanie Plum mystery in hand, to read and catch the food beat as orchestrated by restaurateur Mirna Castellanos.
Al-Hara Shawarma
Follow the scents of spit-roasting meats to this darling of a yearling in a restaurant-proud downtown filled with ethnic options. It’s where sincerity meets the most satisfying of authentic eats.
Green Olive
The fundamentals of one of the prized cuisines in the Mediterranean vernacular are disgraced at a new Greek restaurant in a charming town that deserves much, much better.
Keyport Fishery
A landmark in the Bayshore borough for 90 years in its present form, this steadfast seafood shack may best strut its famous fried fishes as part of a twosome with neighbor 3BR Distillery, a couple blocks away and welcoming those bearing takeout from Keyport eateries with not only a place to sit and eat, but 20 percent off cocktails. Now that’s synergy!
Lucky Star Tasty Food
The foods of Fuzhou in China’s Fujian Province are the marquee dishes at this minuscule storefront that takes its comforting classics seriously.