Restaurant Reviews

Falafel Hut 213 Bellevue Avenue, Montclair 973-746-7730, falafelhut1.com Hours: Mon-Sat, 11 am-10 pm; Sun, 11 am-8 pm Price: $ Style:… Read the rest

The Red Rooster, a four-and-a-half-year-old restaurant in a converted Victorian in Flemington, is trying hard to bring big city sophistication to Hunterdon’s county seat.

Oh! Calamares

May 13, 2009

Long before Miami chefs dreamed up Nuevo Latino fusion in the late 1980s, Peruvians had fashioned their own enduring fusion.

Blu

May 7, 2009

Zod Arifai serves great food at prices that are simply unfair (to other restaurants that charge more for less).

Mis Amigos Mexican Restaurant 12 Hamilton Street, Bound Brook 732-627-9599 Hours: Daily, 10 am-10 pm Price: $ Style: Brightly lit… Read the rest

Shut Up and Eat 290 W. Water Street, Toms River 732-349-4544 Hours: Sun-Fri 7 am to 2 pm Price: $… Read the rest

Harvest Moon Brewery & Cafe 392 George Street, New Brunswick 732-249-6666, harvestmoonbrewery.com Hours: Lunch: Mon–Sat, 11:30 am–5 pm; Sun, 11:30… Read the rest

The Wood Pit 108-110 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair 973-866-0128 Hours: Tues and Wed, 11:30 am–8:30 pm; Thur–Sat, 11:30 am–10 pm; Sun,… Read the rest

Max’s Seafood Cafe

April 28, 2009

One thing that never flusters a 97-year-old restaurant is a culinary fad. So at Max’s—a handsome tavern founded by German immigrant Joseph Fred Leisinger in 1912—you won’t find sous-vide duck breast, tapas, or powdered olive oil.

La Fusta

April 23, 2009

Beef cattle are so plentiful in Argentina, the legend goes, that gauchos barely have to reach out to carve a steak from a passing animal. As gruesome as that sounds, it illustrates the point that beef is an even bigger part of the Argentine diet than it is of ours.

Nisi Estiatorio

April 16, 2009

The Mourkakos brothers lured chef John Piliouras from Molyvos, the New York restaurant he made famous, to Englewood, where he’s raising Greek cuisine to Olympian heights.

Turning Point 1420 Frank Sinatra Dr, Hoboken 201-222-3797, theturningpoint.biz Hours: Daily, 8 am–3 pm Price: $ Style: Serving breakfast, brunch,… Read the rest

Oliver A Bistro

March 31, 2009

Like the European bistros this cozy restaurant seeks to emulate, Oliver has an identity that can be linked directly to its owners.

The Orange Squirrel

March 18, 2009

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. That describes chef Francesco Palmieri and his enthusiasm for his new restaurant. But in the kitchen his passionate and serious side comes to the fore.

Blue2O

March 4, 2009

Is Cherry Hill’s swank new seafood house part of a (gasp) chain? Let’s see.

Treno

Quick Bite

March 2, 2009

Treno 233 Haddon Ave, Westmont 856-833-9233, trenopizzabar.com Hours: 4–10 pm. Bar, 4 pm to midnight. Price: $ Style: Platter-style dining… Read the rest

Wasabi Asian Plates & Sushi Bar 12 West Main St, Somerville 908-203-8881 Hours: Mon–Thurs, 11:30 am–10 pm; Fri, 11:30 am–11… Read the rest

Tortuga’s Mexican Village 44 Leigh Ave, Princeton 609-924-5143, tortugasmv.com Hours: Lunch: Daily, 11:30 am-2 pm; Dinner: Mon 5-9 pm, Tues-Thurs,… Read the rest

JL Ivy

February 24, 2009

Few mourned the 2004 closing of the Rusty Scupper, a seafood spot that offered Red Lobster-like fare at higher prices. But last May, when the vaulted post-and-beam space reopened as JL Ivy—“Serving French bistro fare and Princeton’s freshest sushi,” according to the website—many wondered if things had gone from bad to worse.

Lobianco

February 19, 2009

If a restaurant is going to defy conventional wisdom and tuck itself away in some obscure spot, it had better be good.