Donkey’s Place
Get the best cheesesteaks here, at this 80-year-young bar with a broad range of beers that suits its home-grown of way of bringing together beef, cheese, roll, onions and a just-right hit of seasonings.
Roti Plus
Trinidad takes its rightful place as the inspiration for fare that concurrently thrills and comforts at a family-run strip mall storefront. A few dishes into a meal also may have you wondering if there’s a new breadstuffs sheriff in town.
Kiko’s Peruvian Kitchen
All is homey and bright at a new cubby-size spot that brings an underrepresented cuisine and its riveting eats to a restaurant-rich town.
Cultivate
Dishes that cut to the chase of plant-based eating and reveal unassailable splendors is what this revelation in Union County is about. For many, it will be an unforgettable introduction to a chef who nails, and hails, vegan cookery.
The Spot
Times are a-changing at this day café with a casual, globe-trotting menu. But chances are you still will be able to find that dish that brings you back.
Yamagata
We live in an age of the local sushi joint. So where does a stalwart with legions of loyal regulars and skilled chefs stand?
Hu Tieu Mien Tay
A pioneer in Atlantic County is this old-school Vietnamese that makes up in sincerity what it lacks in any sort of a scene. Unless, that is, your scene of choice is much about the serious, focused eating of classics.
European Homemade Provisions
When a throwback is as heartwarming as this circa-1955 deli is, classic mid-century fare doesn’t need a style shake-up. Just a slot in your own take-out routine.
Spring Lake Seafood
A span of styles often confounds kitchens. Yet at this wide-ranging BYOB in one of the Garden State’s classiest beach towns, its chef-owner strums merrily along on a menu at once contemporary and respectful of tradition.
Cambo Box
Sandwiches reminiscent of banh mi and rice boxes are the headliners at a downtown share space that offers one of the Garden State’s few glimpses into the cuisines of Cambodia. Fair warning: Miss the fries and you’ll be missing something very special.
Kurry & Naan
As slip-size South Asian eateries proliferate in the Garden State, offering “express” dine-in and take-out, new favorites are bound to emerge. Just watch onion bhajia fly.
Varka Estiatorio
The seafood’s still sublime at this bastion for classic Greek fare, but the menu needs to freshen its aging lineup of stalwarts with seasonal ingredients.