La Barca
Right in a special way, gnocchi take the lead at this bayside newcomer with a pedigreed past. But there’s more to learn how to love across the bills of food and drink fare.
IndeBlue
Rakesh Ramola’s often playful, mostly modern Indian dishes return to the Garden State in a dressed-up shopping center storefront. The chef is at his best when he successfully furthers the influence of every spice in the republic’s culinary vernacular.
Josie Kelly’s Public House
Evolving Irish food traditions are reflected on the menu of a South Shore chef whose talents smile upon elevated pub classics. That some of the best cocktails in Atlantic County also are served at this colossus keeps diners happy out.
Tacowala
Amish Shah’s very personal street fare has its roots in both Mexican and Indian cookery. That it’s all gluten-free and, at turns, vegan or vegetarian, is a challenge the chef meets with ingenuity and, very often, finesse. P.S. A bonus nearby is the ice cream parlor called Summer Ville.
Zaitooni
At a buffed-up side-street storefront, Lebanese classics remain the focus. The menu, and the hours, may be truncated these days, but whatever chef-owner Fred Messihi cooks up is never short on flavor.
The Lookout
The drama unfolds at Ferry Park, where an old restaurant hand on the peninsula with a new concept competes with entertainment courtesy of both Mother Nature and humans. Is there a clear winner?
Tsuki
Purist sushi doesn’t dominate at this neighborhood BYOB where chef-owner Ginn Huang spins out rolls that reveal an Expressionistic spirit. All that riffing is balanced by service that’s invariably personalized and welcoming.
Thisilldous Eatery
Oh, what a wondrous thing Mike Moyer’s Sausage Gravy Bowl is! And his sweet-hot omelette. And especially his Cowboy Brisket Sandwich. But these days there’s a bittersweet ending to a meal at this beloved luncheonette, and it has nothing to do with the desserts.
Sky Café
Far from the roar and congestion of EWR, JFK and PHL is a little airport in a sprawling, agrarian municipality in Hunterdon County where modernized classics take its café’s diners on a vacation spanning breakfast or lunch. Or, perhaps, both.
True Salvage Café
What Signe Heffernan cooks at this day café whose name aptly describes its décor isn’t anything new. It’s just that she gives favorites a little twist and makes them even more lovable.
Summer Salt
With a hybrid fixed-price menu that showcases Jersey seafood and produce from local farms, this seasonal BYOB is a dunes buddy with breezy, inviting energy and a magical setting. The cooking, however, ebbs and flows.
Fork Is Over
We may not be seeing the death of the fork in our dining-out lives, but we certainly are witnessing a dearth of its use as hand-held foods surge on menus.