Eggholic
The egg dishes have it at this hyper-focused Indian street food spot on the main drag for all things South Asian in a municipality with ever-stronger choices for ethnic eats.
Bhan Thai
Bigger and better dressed than your average neighborhood joint Thai, this busy standby is ready for parties, tete-a-tetes for twosomes and pack-ups for tailgates. Wing it, for sure, with a side of dumplings of a different stripe.
Windy Brow Farms: Wood-fired Kitchen
Farm country is home to the best not-a-restaurant in New Jersey, a place where a farmer-chef with extraordinary talent and vision is taking glorious local ingredients to deserved heights. It’s Jake Hunt’s dream, and it’s pinch-me real.
Aoi
On some levels, this Japanese restaurant inside the APA Hotel in Iselin confounds. On others, it can be a salve to overwrought senses. In most ways, it’s in need of clearer messaging.
Roasted Breadfruit Smokehouse & Grill
The menu at this roadhouse on Route 15 is a symbiotic jumble of Caribbean and Southern, with a barbecue bent. It’s all executed with technical precision and skill, so get the marquee item, but don’t stop there.
Dumplings Discourse
Something’s happening in the dumpling/wonton realm and it’s good, very good. Today, a short reflection on experiences of the very recent past.
Inhouse Restaurant and Bar
Given a little help from what’s grown on neighboring farms, this roadhouse with an eclectic menu suited to its affable scene could up its game. Right now, baked goods and a solid ribeye cheesesteak are best bets.
12 Farms
A mainstay in a historic downtown belies its mere nine years of existence with hands-on knowledge – and use – of Garden State produce and products. Its casual attitude adds to its come-as-you-are charm.
LaZeez by Dhaba
With momos, chaat bowls, kathi rolls and sultry legumes in very fine form, there's no need to go for mishmashes of fusion at this casual-food entry into a restaurant group's expanding collection in North Jersey.
Ice Cream: It’s What’s for Dinner
Because, why not? It’s summer, you’ve got your favorite place and you ought to do more than merely pop in post-supper for a bob of the stuff.
Georgian Chef
Plant-based dishes are big stars at a new storefront spot that showcases the cuisine of a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia. It’s where familiar ingredients are shown in their ages-old, yet remarkably refreshing element.
Turtle Gut
Its name inspired by an inlet long gone, the chef-owners of a café with a water-view perch choose not to count on advantageous location to draw diners. No, the lure here are intriguing sandwiches, breakfast fare and pastries.