Umile Trattoria
Today’s Americanized version of a trattoria is expressed at a casually elegant storefront in a restaurant-strong downtown that offers a couple of astoundingly fine dishes and also a few in need of refinement and more care in the kitchen. It’s a work in progress from a team with the experience needed to make necessary adjustments.
Sapore
Sandwiches reign these days at an old-school Italian deli with 55 years of plying its craft under its belt. Know it for ravioli, too? Read about its favorite layerings now and come back soon for more on its stuffed pasta specialty.
Ahjae Gookbap
A specialist in Korea’s supreme comfort food aces the genre but also excels in complex preparations with rather luxurious elements, such as blue crab and wild red shrimp. Do it all, and feast in an intimate storefront primed to create community.
Zara’s Restaurant
The lure of Pakistani specialties may beckon, but it’s the estimable ways of a kitchen backing a splashy celebratory space that keeps diners returning to this capacious storefront.
Shirin Café
Classic dishes from Uzbekistan charm with authenticity and technical precision at a homey storefront run by a couple devoted to serving locals with ties to Central Asia and Eastern Europe as well as diners interested in experiencing another world of cookery without need of a passport.
Lutong Bahay and Phil-Am Bakery
There is a Little Manila in the small borough in Somerset County that could and should evolve into a winsome destination for home-style Filipino foods. Two stops on the would-be trail offer specialties well worth a segue from downtowns more traveled.
China Chalet
Star dishes than shun the norm separate this long-timer in Morris County from the pack. Learn its menu, commit to its strengths and please sub it for the places with standard-issue menus currently inked on your dine card.
Blair Mountain Biscuit Co.
Chef Ted Miller serves a staple of the South with twists on tradition at his snug storefront in Blackwood. It’s where you just might want to risk it for a biscuit.
Chatpati Delhi
A strip mall storefront along the Garden State’s own Spice Route is where Chef Hema Singh leads a 14-person kitchen and her husband Jimmy Poonawalla runs the floor show. It’s not the Taj Mahal, but it’s a wonder of tastes and right now is New Jersey’s finest South Asian restaurant.
The Floor Show
Traditional front-of-house team members might benefit from learning a few tricks of an updated model of the service trade. The discourse on “The New Counter Culture” continues.
Sergeantsville Inn
Another chef who once led a big-name, big-city kitchen has taken charge of the stoves at an iconic restaurant in Hunterdon County. Is the multi-tiered menu serving its mission and community?
K-Towne Kitchen
A mom-and-pop shop lets well-turned-out staples of Korean street fare such as kim bop, kup bop, wings and ramen share menu space with American standards overplayed everywhere. Time to let the K in the name truly rule.