The owners of Sona Thirteen redesigned and reopened the place as South Street Social to become worthy exemplars of Morristown’s booming craft beer scene.

An offshoot of a venerable and beloved bakery in Brooklyn, this bustling restaurant offers a large selection of Italian favorites.

At Kabab Paradise in Lake Hiawatha, the Saleh family serves a variety of tasty Afghan-inspired dishes as well as indulgences like the Mars Burger.

Cambo Box in New Brunswick has found a devoted following among Rutgers students for its small but highly customizable menu of modern Cambodian dishes. It's also a convenient quick lunch spot if you’re on jury duty at the nearby courthouse.

At Holy Tomato in Blackwood, customers sit at close-set tables under ornamental lights and quippy signs to enjoy whole pizzas (no slices) and novelties like cheesecake in warm butter-rum sauce.

You’ll taste the South in virtually everything from chicken, meat and seafood to mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas at this down-home eatery.

Owners Cory and Natalie Reuss met in Austin, Texas before moving to Collingswood. The couple opened Macona BBQ over the summer in the space that once held Sweet Freedom Bakery.

That, more or less, is what noted chef James Avery (of the Bonney Read in Asbury Park) set out to create with his “neighborhood kitchen” Farmly.

Giovanna Germinario and her family run Giovanna’s Cafe. As Sabrina Bush writes, it's a small, homey place for breakfast and lunch with an Italian-American accent.

Try Division Cafe in Somerville, where there are about half a dozen different varieties of empanadas. While you’re there, try some of the other Latin-American specialties.

The menu is vast at Pho 9 Vietnamese in Cherry Hill, but servers will help you find your way. And psst: portions are huge.

The Salty Whale & Guesthouse has been fully refurbished and renamed by new owners. The Guesthouse is still in the works, but the restaurant features appealing wings, mussels in Thai green curry and coconut milk and a host of burgers and sandwiches. At dinner, there’s a bone-in pork chop for $26.

The recently opened Dolce & Salato is a cozy Hoboken storefront—part café, part takeout shop—celebrating the foods of southern Italy and Sicily.

Hên Vietnamese Eatery in Cherry Hill offers six types of the classic bánh mi sandwich. There’s also four pho soups, plus many other dishes at this "stylish eatery…in a clean and modern space" that opened in June.

Biagio Iuliano and his wife, Carmela Arale, have run Trattoria Biagio since 2003. They renovated and expanded the Stirling establishment in 2016. It offers “polished cuisine in an elegant setting,” for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Shan Shan Lu, originally from northwest China, opened Shan Shan Noodles in Parsippany in 2014. Asian noodles in all forms, with all sorts of accompaniments, are its specialty.

Disco fries, pork-roll waffle sandwiches and boozy milkshakes are on the menu at Asbury Lanes Diner.

Tapas-style appetizers are abundant and easy to share at this sleek, diner-like spot.

In Neptune City, you will see a Philippine flag—red and blue with a golden sun—flying outside Kamayan Grill. “Kamayan” is a Filipino style of eating food by hand, but no worries, utensils are supplied.

Surf Taco has 13 Jersey locations, but only the one in Jackson has a liquor license. The full bar, she says, stocks a number of craft beers on tap, and the seafood tacos are a smart choice.