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.
Lady and the Shallot
Long shoehorned into a high-traffic space inside Trenton Farmers’ Market, this vegan eatery now makes its home in a brighter, bigger space on the edge of the campus of The College of New Jersey. It’s still dishing out lessons in cheerful plant-based fare.
MOGO Korean Fusion Tacos
The second brick-and-mortar offshoot of the Boardwalk phenomenon in Asbury Park tackles most of the blended-culture street fare as its older siblings. Thirteen years hence, has the concept mellowed with age? Are we just accustomed to its ways and flavors? Is familiarity breeding acceptable pleasantness?
Kurobuta White Charcoal Grille
Labels play a major role at this pork-focused Japanese restaurant that also zeroes in on seafood in non-sushi ways. Despite the name games, there’s fine fare to be had – a hat-tip to a mostly conscientious kitchen.
Mazar Kabab
Classic Afghani fare is served with bountiful hospitality at a downtown storefront in Central Somerset County. It’s family-style, and designed to bring comforts and joy in resolutely respectful ways.
Lucia and Gretel’s Latin Cuisine
Classics from Guatemala as translated by siblings with polished techniques and an understanding of their native country’s foodways are on display at a busy storefront where laughter ripples both from the open kitchen and at the tables of diners discovering the wonders of tapado, loroco and groaning platters of churrasco steak-and-sevens.
Oasis Farm Social Graces Tea
A farmhouse on a spread of land both cultivated and pastured is tended to by individuals with autism who also practice the arts and crafts of baking and cooking – and, at appointed times, host teas that put their hospitality on full display.
Yaraku Ramen
At this old-school practitioner of a now-ubiquitous craft, there are bowls that shine and bowls that stumble, with options other than noodles that do much the same. Find your favorites, sip and slurp – and then feel relaxed about the end-game reasonable tabs.
Libelula Bakery + Kitchen
A wife-and-husband team of chefs revives and even glamorizes standards from the repertoires of both Peru and the Dominican Republic with lots of TLC and no shortage of kitchen skills. Mark it on your dine card for breakfast, lunch and weekend dinners.
Celebrating Lunar New Year
Festivities that toast Lunar New Year this year begin February 17 and end March 3, giving us plenty of time to visit restaurants and usher in the Year of the Horse in style.
La Braise African Grill
The bold and bodacious foods of West Africa come to the Garden State courtesy of chef Karen Koblan, who brings dishes she grew up on – including fiercely authentic versions of choukouya and kedjenous – to the tables of her welcoming storefront eatery.
A Counter-to-Culture Valentine’s Day
Highlighted in this roundup of eateries to consider for dining out on the day of hearts-and-flowers are 10 places that defy the usual. We’re pointing out the trad-restaurants, but also offering alternatives to the expected.