Pardis Persian Grill
Take the time to travel to another mind-set at a stalwart that may offer familiar Middle Eastern staples but also stews, kabobs and starters that have the ring of authenticity and aren’t of the supermarket-stylized variety. Go for ghormehsabzi, not another falafel.
Xina
A new version of a reliable Shore sushi/Pan Asian standby seriously shortchanges quality by allowing poor habits at every level to go unchecked. The result is flawed sushi that ranges from dreadful to disastrous.
LBI North End Options
Pit-stopping at Birdy’s, Viking Fresh Off the Hook and Mustache Bill’s yields one clear winner in the daytime eats department. And for a bonus: An ice cream flight, at the island’s center.
Shoti Bread House
Georgian food is on the menu and will be on the mind of anyone who experiences the classics of the republic’s culinary repertoire at this hub in Bergen County. Focus on the famous breads but don’t leave out pkhali, brothy garlic chicken and a goulash of a veal stew.
Gaamthi
Get with the new programs in exhilarating Indian food eating at this renamed and rejuvenated spot in the emerging Little India on Route 46 in Morris County. It’s veg-centric and a detour off routes tried-and-tired.
The Farm and Fisherman Tavern
The most populous town in Camden County is home to one of its most deservedly popular eating and drinking establishments, a restaurant that may have originated across the Delaware, but found its quintessence here.
Stockton Inn
The rebranding of a multipronged restaurant into an establishment with one menu for all dining spaces fails to address issues of imprecise cooking, poor sourcing and inadequately trained service. Money, and PR, isn’t buying needed improvement for this historic spot in one of Hunterdon County’s River Towns.
EggMania
What’s new at a one-time upstart that’s made a fundamental food its base and spawned not only a chain of its own but imitators nationwide? Some specials well worth a look – but also a change that doesn’t do right by its core.
Toscano
If you’re of the mind that an atmosphere of gentility and a menu highlighting dry-aged steaks and thoughtful pastas are passe and that fine-dining on classics seems snoozy, Zack Melker will snap you out of it at his sophisticated and welcoming spot in Burlington County.
Heated
A new sourdough café in the Somerset Hills is catching on with locals and catching the drift of these times, too. As it feels its way forward, it’s bound to gain needed confidence with accenting and experience with craft.
Little Gem
All too soon, the charms of this bistro’s calming space, its thoughtful service and its kitchen’s precision and dedication to following the seasons will be well-known. So pop in now for a two-hour lunch before you’ll have to wait two hours to get in.
Daphne’s Diner
Led by a chef-owner who has woven her personal and personable style of cooking into a menu of expected diner staples, this landmark in Mercer County has developed into a community hub that’s very wise to the times. It’s a credit to hands-on operator Daphne Kent-Wilczynski.