The Blue Bears
Vive la France in a tucked-away café where the cooking is technically precise and the flavors pure, authentic and vivid.
Home Rule
We’ve come to know, respect and advocate for the locavore way of eating. It’s more important than ever before that we patronize the restaurants that all-out believe in sourcing ingredients from the Garden State.
Anstuna Grill
When heat hits spice and mingles with beans, meats and grains, as it does in fine Middle Eastern cuisines, the sensory experience is unrelenting. And heavenly.
Pho 420 Saigon
No guesswork needed here: Pho is the specialty at a Vietnamese newcomer planted in the heart of a Korean cuisine stronghold.
Red Onion
Old favorites and new go-to dishes keep a Taiwanese-accented Chinese destination both relevant and gratifying in pandemic times.
Hail to the Chef’s Scallops!
Two award-winning chef-restaurateurs who follow the seasons are celebrating this time of peak scallops with created-for-the-moment specials.
Merey
Irresistible empanadas, sweet corn pancakes known as cachapas and a sandwich thrill called patacones are found at a Venezuelan BYOB with charm to spare.
Home Made
The name is no misnomer: There must be a coterie of babcia in the kitchen of this destination for Polish specialties making magic with everything from sauerkraut to pierogies to kielbasa.
Reviewing Revues
If there’s one thing we can be certain of in this pandemic era, it’s that our restaurants know how to change on a dime. In fact, several of the spots we’ve highlighted in the past few months already are introducing new dishes, planning special dinners and even expanding. Here’s a quick look at what’s happening as we celebrate early spring.
Drew’s Bayshore Bistro
Can a restaurant bring vitality to a town, change culture and maybe even solidify community? Can a chef spark joy, educate and stimulate? Can a favorite dish not wear out its welcome, but actually improve with a little age? Yes; yes to all.
Ai Sushi
Front-row seats to the show of sushi chef knife skills aren’t available right now. But what is turned out by the masters are primo rolls and masterful sushi and sashimi. Eat, enjoy – and respect.
Nettie’s House of Spaghetti
Find classics respected, revered and fashioned with craftsmanship at once time-honored and modern at a restaurant that relies on the familiar without resorting to cliché. It’s amore.