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Special Report

Day Eight: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

It’s three for the end of the road, which comes in western Warren County: Hot Dog Johnny’s, founded 1944 in White Township; Log Cabin Inn, opened in 1938 in Knowlton Township; and Marshall’s Farm Market, born in 1920, also in Knowlton. One’s a nationally recognized roadside stand, lionized and loved for its hot dogs; another is a destination for bikers and folks looking for a rural respite with honest eats and drinks; and the third is a 103-year-old country food market run by descendants of George Amer Marshall, who opened its doors as the great urban migration was starting in America.

Day Seven: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

Hackettstown without James on Main, elite chef Bill Van Pelt’s love song to the ingredients of the Garden State’s plush Northwest, seems a distant memory. Did it ever not anchor the downtown that Route 46 runs through, its actual Main Street? Seems unfathomable, though true, as the intimate storefront with its energetic, yet elegant plates was born only in 2016.

Day Six: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

The new jewel in the growing Dhaba empire is the recently opened Social Hub by Dhaba in Parsippany, where upscale Indian fare sparkles in a restaurant/bar/lounge setting. In Ledgewood, Cliff’s Homemade Ice Cream has been in the hot-flavor scoops business for almost 50 years, and it remains the coolest game in town.

Day Five: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

Family affairs happen in the food world. Not surprisingly so, since gathering ’round a dining table is inherent in family life everywhere. Small storefronts fueled by a love of cooking one’s birthright dishes don’t just charm, they educate in culture – as the members of the Baran family at Rosa-Ly Pierogi in Fairfield and the Andrade clan at Garibaldi Peru-Mex in Parsippany do so well. Chief Photographer Mike Peters' special pictorial report continues today.

Day Four: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

Hand-pulled noodles draw constant crowds to Shan Shan Noodles in Parsippany, where a post-savories stop at Sweet Shansations, the related bakery in the same strip small, is de rigueur. And delightful.

Day Three: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

If the American flag had been designed in 21st-century New Jersey, instead of stars and stripes the symbols we salute may well have been burgers and pizza. We do honor those cherished eats daily, at Steve’s Burgers in Garfield and at Pizza Town in Elmwood Park.

Day Two: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

Start any day at Roast’d in Fort Lee. Head west several miles, till the planes in and out of Teeterboro are directly overhead, and touch-down for breakfast, lunch, dinner and those hours in-between at Runway Diner in South Hackensack.

Day One: Get Your Culinary Kicks on Route 46

A kaleidoscope of eats awaits along a formidable byway that’s unique in America and has much to say about the people who live and work in its midst.

Dan Richer: A Man and His Pizza

Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City is Carnegie Hall for the pizzaiolo who has fused place and process to create distinctive and distinguished pies. It’s the definitive voice of a generation, and it expresses the Garden State at its diverse, dynamic best. It’s the dawn of spring and Razza is reopening its doors – its new doors. While we were taking out, hiding out, vegging out, Dan Richer was beyond busy, writing, editing, proofing and promoting his new book, “The Joy of Pizza” (a New York Times best-seller, no less); debuting his Razza Crushed Red Peppers blend, a collaboration with esteemed spice merchant Burlap & Barrel; building and decorating his new space next door to Papa Razza; testing, testing, testing recipes for a new menu, winnowing them down to the winners and expanding his reach into the Garden State’s world of top-shelf farmers and food artisans. The Peasant Wife’s Mike Peters was at Razza the first night of its opening/reopening to make images of the scene, the chef and his team, the folks who took their new seats, and the food, including some seriously glorious new foods. Lots new. LOTS. Take a look.

Wine + Brine

In a first-of-its-kind celebration of Garden State terroir, members of the Winemakers’ Co-Op and Sweet Amalia oyster farm team join forces for an afternoon feast. Take a look here, through exclusive images made by The Peasant Wife’s Mike Peters, as six dozen lucky diners kick back with farmers of the land and farmers of the sea to dispatch dozens of oysters in myriad forms and very fine estate-grown wines.

Dan Richer: A Man and His Pizza

Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City is Carnegie Hall for the pizzaiolo who has fused place and process to create distinctive and distinguished pies. It’s the definitive voice of a generation, and it expresses the Garden State at its diverse, dynamic best. It's early November 2021, and much is happening at Razza Pizza Artigianale, a decidedly different breed of pizza restaurant whose chef-owner Dan Richer has changed the way we in New Jersey view and eat pizza and influenced both pizzaioli and home-based pizza makers nationwide. Today, in our ongoing series, we take a look at what's new: Richer’s first cookery book, “The Joy of Pizza,” has just been published, with a launch party set for Tuesday, Nov. 9 at Razza; the chef’s red peppers blend, in collaboration with esteemed spice merchant Burlap & Barrel, is on the market; and Razza’s expansion is taking shape. The Peasant Wife’s Mike Peters is keeping tabs on it all.

Dan Richer: A Man and His Pizza

Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City is Carnegie Hall for the pizzaiolo who has fused place and process to create distinctive and distinguished pies. It’s the definitive voice of a generation, and it expresses the Garden State at its diverse, dynamic best. Today we begin an ongoing series focusing on the chef Dan Richer and his  Razza Pizza Artigianale, a decidedly different breed of pizza restaurant that has changed the way we in New Jersey view and eat pizza and influenced both pizzaioli and home-based pizza makers nationwide. The Peasant Wife’s Richer/Razza stories will appear periodically in the months to come as Razza expands its space on Grove Street in Jersey City, introduces new menu items while tweaking existing staples, and Richer’s first cookery book, “The Joy of Pizza,” is published.


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