Patidar Supermarket, Bridgewater
The new flagship store of this small chain of Indian markets is not just a stock-up spot for South Asian ingredients, but a place for shoppers less-versed in the region’s cuisines to be educated – and entertained by the excitement of the unfamiliar.
Markets Valued
Where the strawberries, the asparagus, the spinach, the gloriously decorated cookies, intriguing preserves, meats and fishes and cheeses, babkas and salad mixes are – that’s where you need to be. A gaggle of major farmers’ markets, including those in Asbury Park, Brick Township, Collingswood and Hunterdon County, just reopened for the season. Herewith, a report from the frontlines.
Kasia Market
Korean-dominated Pan Asian groceries and prepared foods give this expansive locally owned marketplace in the Belle Mead section of Montgomery Township its name and its soul. While Korean fare dominates, there are provisions from India, China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries in the East, South, Southeast and Far East of Asia. Bring your culinary passport and idle through its aisles.
The Flying Pig Market
In downtown Asbury Park, a new food market stocks necessities and specialties that meet the needs of a neighborhood that both year-rounders and part-timers call home. It’s where you can find selections that speak to mindful sourcing and a love of highly flavorful eats.
Bakers Going Roadie
The downtown bakery is alive and well and sometimes even a hub for its community. But these days, those who work with flour, water, butter and sugar also might be setting up temporary shops at our farmers’ markets in order to reach crowds of folks who seek the stories behind those scones, fruit tarts, boules and puffs of brioche.
Winter’s Wonder Lands
Now is the season for winter farmers’ markets, the prime places to go for stock-ups, meet-ups and a spirit of true Garden State community. Here’s an idea particularly suitable to a food-centric outing: Tack onto the gathering of comestibles at the stalls of our farmers, bakers and food artisans a post-shop stop at a nearby restaurant and make the day a fine food-intensive adventure.
Baked Goodies
What should be your final last-minute grab for the twosome of the Eve and the Day of Christmas? Sweet and savory bakes from your local independent bakeshop, that place that has evolved in professionalism, presence in community and quality of product in the last decade and stands today as a point of pride throughout New Jersey. So: Bypass the chains and scorn the mass-produced! Stop today at your neighborhood bakeshop and share the love tonight and tomorrow.
The Gifting Conundrum, Solved
The days are dwindling down to a precious few for shopping for that just-right present for those food-centric souls in your life. We’ve edited the options to sure-bet selections. Read on, be inspired and then relax.
Bocadillo’s Market
Within a new restaurant in Moonachie is a section of shelves holding some of Spain’s most desirable ingredients. It’s supplemented with jamon, cheeses and other perishables at a frontside ordering counter and curated by a couple who well know their Iberian specialties. It's a collection designed to help you host an easy and authentic tapas party at home.
Antoinette Boulangerie
If the mood strikes on Halloween, it’s fine to think of certain pastries as substitutes for candies. Treat yourself to a sampling, for instance, at this French-accented bakeshop in Red Bank, which is the right kind of confectionary for indulgence when our annual sweet-and-scary holiday rolls around.
Shoppers’ Paradises
We all know about High Summer in the Garden State and how its produce shapes our meals during that season. Now comes the time to employ a different kind of procurement plan, one that feeds our needs for a succession of holiday dinners and get-togethers and aids in neighborly gift-giving and family stocking-stuffing. It’s officially High Food-Shopping Season and we’re offering recommendations on where to score favored eats from authorities throughout New Jersey.
At Mitsuwa, It’s Hokkaido Crab Time
Once again, Garden Staters are in for a worldly treat, one available at America’s finest Japanese uber-market, located along the Hudson River in Edgewater.