Wu’s Crab House (Xie Bao Crab)
The delicacy that is crab roe from China is the franchise player at a specialist restaurant in beyond-bustling Festival Plaza. It’s where you best can explore crab eggs’ interactions with less-showy staples such as noodles, tofu and rice.
Yuan
A new and celebration-ready Chinese restaurant in the Newport neighborhood has the right idea for upscale dining that focuses on razzle-dazzle marquee dishes without leaving authentic family-style fare on the sidelines. It’s a happy new year spot year-round.
Byrd
A new restaurant from one of the Garden State's elite chefs aims to be relaxed and casual even as its menu stretches far and wide to reflect a worldly view. The concept's admirable, but the execution fraught with puzzling flaws.
Simply Sofrito
A year-old storefront that specializes in classics from Puerto Rico isn’t shy about wearing its soul on its sleeve. That’s thanks to its chef-owner, who knows a good base makes for great food.
Wu’s Fish House
In a setting serene and calming, with white on grays and greenery toppling from pots affixed to the rafters, Homer Wu’s ode to Chinese fish dishes delivers a range of thrills for the senses.
Naoki Sushi
In Naoki Tashiro's world, every millimeter makes a difference. See, and understand, why and how during an omakase dinner at this master's refuge from big-city and hyper-hipster places.
Sad Boyz
Come right now for The Frenchy, New Jersey’s best smashburger, available only in January at this chill, cozy roadhouse. Come back for the burgers to follow, primo breakfast sandwiches and a milkshake that might make you shake your head as you finish every last crumb. (Seriously.)
Crew
English muffins take center stage at a breakfast-lunch spot in the borough’s downtown. Billed as artisan and the base for myriad sandwiches, they fall short in flavor, lacking tang, toasty notes and, ultimately, satisfying ties to their companions. How is it that the best dish at a breadstuff specialist is a salad?
Community Café
It’s a warm-hearted gathering place born of the disparate, yet like-minded cultural sensibilities possessed by a collective of women who love to nurture their neighbors with food and drink. Good eats? Yes. But more that’s also important.
Resolutions for 2025
What can diners and restaurant owners and chefs do to strengthen our culinary community? Make a resolution that works to that end. We offer several for both populaces – and hope y’all come up with some of your own to show mutual support for those at table and those working behind the scenes.
A Baker’s Dozen from 2024
Only 13? Three times that number initially rose from the roughly 1,000 dishes eaten and considered for this annual list of restaurant favorites from the year coming to a close. Several times that number could have made the final cut; it was a very, very good year of eating. That makes these 13 all the more winning.
On New Year’s Eve, ’24
For those who most enjoy going out and reveling the night and early morning away in the company of both intimates and not-so-intimates, there’s a place to convene with food that will be worth the effort and even the expense. Today, some suggestions to consider, with fair warning: Don’t tarry a minute more in making a reservation.