the road | the food | a new direction
Gotta agree with the name of the blog: New Jersey Isn’t Boring! (exclamation point theirs). They paid a visit to our local favorite Daphne’s Diner in Robbinsville and proclaimed it “a great diner experience with excellent food.” We always take houseguests to Daphne’s for breakfast (Cap’n Crunch French toast, anyone?). It seems dinner can, as well, be recommended. Have a look.
Breakfast out for us has, for years, meant Mastoris Diner in Bordentown. We’ve moved on from Mastoris and now do our morning dining out at Daphne’s of Robbinsville and another choice breakfast spot nearby: Woody’s Towne Cafe in Allentown (that’s the small town in New Jersey, not the city in PA). Continue reading
We have nothing against modern, chefly dim sum restaurants, any more than we object to fancy-pants chefs’ takes on Italian cuisine, say, or beachside cuisine. We often enjoy the upscale, pricier stuff made from carefully sourced ingredients, artfully plated. But sometimes we want a perfect plate of simple, homey lasagna, or an overflowing basket of fried belly clams with o-rings. Or, more to the matter at hand, old-school dim sum served from rolling carts in a frantic, bustling, hyperventilating weekend morning scene. And there are none in the North Jersey area (and few, for that matter, in Manhattan’s Chinatown, across the river) the equal of Edison’s Wonder Seafood. Continue reading
Sue places a breakfast order for a Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. She does not like runny yolks.
SUE: How do you do your eggs?
COUNTERMAN: Well… when I get here in the morning I turn on the grill and let it heat up. Then I get the eggs out…
(Laughter from the working men dining at the counter, almost to a man with work pants riding down low enough to expose butt cleavage)
SUE: I get enough smart-ass answers from my husband.
(More chuckles)
BRUCE (to counterman): I think she’s falling in love with you.
(Further laughter from the pew)
COUNTERMAN: It happens that quick, does it? Continue reading
For most of the 20th century, Hoboken, NJ was primarily an Italian-American enclave. Like many other Northeast industrial cities, Hoboken fell on hard times from the 1950s forward, losing over half its population, until late-century gentrification took root. Throughout it all, some of the classic Italian bakeries and delis, such as Fiore’s, survived, and others, like Dom’s bakery, sprouted with the city’s rebirth, carrying on this Hudson River city’s Italian heritage. In the latter category is Vito’s Deli, one of Hoboken’s premier sandwich makers. Continue reading
North Jersey is well known for its great hot dogs, but the fine Italian sausage of the region should not be ignored. We present as example Tommy’s Italian Sausage in Elizabeth, a take-out only storefront that makes its own sausage and serves it up in the same classic configuration as an Italian hot dog, in a split loaf of what’s called pizza bread (like a cross between pita and Italian bread) with fried potatoes, onions, and peppers. The sausage is sliced open and grilled to crustiness, then slipped into the fresh bread. The predominant flavor of this sausage is pork rather than spice, with a satisfying coarse-ground meaty texture. Continue reading
The Little King is the quintessential Central New Jersey sandwich shop, whose motto is, “Where a Sandwich Is a Full Meal.” Walk in to the strip mall eatery and head to the counter to place your order. It is there you’ll be confronted by dozens of signs touting special sandwiches, as well as a few dozen more to be found on the menu board on the wall. If you suffer from menu panic syndrome, simply step out of line and read to your heart’s content. Continue reading
We’re always on the lookout for great root beer (our current favorite bottled RB includes Virgil’s and Hank’s). Even more thrilling are drive-in root beer stands, like the small NJ-based chain called Stewart’s Drive-In. Frank Stewart opened the first Stewart’s drive-in, selling his specially formulated root beer and salty, thirst-inducing popcorn, in Ohio in 1924. Over the years, the chain expanded and contracted, and ownership changed and changed again. Today, the chain is based in New Jersey, and most of the drive-ins are in the Garden State, too. Continue reading
There’s a scene in an old Woody Allen movie, Love and Death. Woody, playing a Russian peasant, is pointing a gun at Napoleon:
Woody: You’re a tyrant and a dictator and you start wars.
Napoleon: Why is he reciting my credits?
That’s how we feel about the Midway Steak House on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights: they use knockoff Cheez Whiz, the meat’s chewy, and there’s not much of it. And those are Midway’s credits! Continue reading
Everyone seems to have done their best to keep this fact hush-hush but Mastoris was sold a couple of years ago to Jimmy Manetas, owner of their neighboring diner, Town & Country. Unfortunately, the new ownership has not, in our experience, been good for Mastoris. The most readily visible sign of change is in those cinnamon and cheese breads at the start of the meal. One, they don’t always arrive if you don’t ask for them and, two, they have been made smaller. More importantly, we’ve had some problems with the food since the transfer, serious enough that we have stopped going to Mastoris, at least for the time being. Here’s hoping that they straighten things out and return to their former glory. What follows is our review of the pre-sale version of Mastoris: Continue reading
There are still many Trenton-area tomato pie aficionados who get misty-eyed at the mention of the long-departed Maruca’s. De Lorenzo on Hudson Street (now in Robbinsville), De Lorenzo on Hamilton Avenue (now in Hamilton Township), Papa’s (also now in Robbinsville), Joe’s (closed), Maruca’s: those were the Big Five. Maruca’s opened a branch at the Jersey shore and eventually closed up shop entirely in the city. Today, Maruca’s shore reputation may surpass its capital city rep. Many people claim that Maruca’s serves the best slices on the shore. We tend to agree with them. Continue reading
Many folks who grew up in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut have fond memories of heading to the local Carvel stand for Brown Bonnets and Cherry Bonnets, Flying Saucers and twin peaks cones. Carvel is still around but most of the iconic stand-alone stores are not, at least not as Carvel stores. Pre-made ice cream cakes and supermarket novelties seem to be Carvel’s main focus today. Continue reading
We’d have to say that one of the great culinary developments of the new century has to be the ubiquity of the roasted supermarket chicken. Supermarkets upscale and pedestrian alike have found it makes sense to offer hot roasted chickens at a price not all that much more than the uncooked bird. It’s an incredible convenience for families without a dedicated homemaker. The one downside, as we see it, is that they often overdo the seasonings, and the result is a bird that tastes more of herbs or garlic or lemon than roasted chicken. Continue reading
On April 11th, a fermenter over-pressurized overnight and exploded, rupturing a gas line and blowing through the wall to the outside of the restaurant. Thankfully nobody was injured, and the fire department arrived in time to shut off the gas before it had a chance to ignite. Trap Rock managed to reopen for dinner that night but they have not been able to brew beer since. Repairs to the brewing system are ongoing. This was our first visit to Trap Rock since the accident, and everything seemed as it always was. Continue reading
Harold’s Deli is a large, brash restaurant that serves enormous portions of food. Don’t be fooled by those comically large servings; quantity is not all at Harold’s. Owner Harold Jaffe, once of the legendary Carnegie Deli in New York, sells some of the finest Jewish deli dishes to be found in the New York City area. Continue reading
We (meaning Bruce, along with Chris and Amy of ayersian fame) made our way up to Fiore’s counter, where we asked for the special hero of the day: house-roasted beef and gravy with house-made mozzarella on Hoboken bread. Anything else? We eyed gorgeous mozzarella braids directly in front of us, both regular and smoked. Half a braid, please. The gentleman at the counter informed us that it would be just a few minutes — the new batch was almost finished, and it needs to cool down a bit in order to “set.” Continue reading
How has this escaped our notice through the decades of living in The Garden State? Here in Camden is one of the great cheesesteaks to be found anywhere, in a soulfully satisfying setting to boot. Continue reading
Hoagies and heroes: regional terms for the same food item, yet so very different. The Philadelphia hoagie is served on a long roll, just like a hero, but the distinguishing feature is the lettuce/tomato/onion garnish, along with some combination of oil and/or vinegar and/or Italian spices. Lettuce/tomato/onion is so integral to a hoagie that it’s practically the definition. If you order a cheesesteak hoagie, it means you want your cheesesteak topped with LTO. If you want a hoagie without one of the three vegetables you have to specify that explicitly, i.e., Italian hoagie no onion. Continue reading
Almost anyone who eats pizza knows the difference between reheated frozen pies and the freshly baked pizzas that emerge from the oven of their favorite local pizzeria. They might be aware of something called “New York pizza” that’s supposed to be something special, and maybe Chicago deep-dish pizza. Can you name 11 styles of pizza? If you’re reading this you might well be able to rattle off many more than 11! For those who do not yet consider themselves regional pizza masters, here’s a rundown of 11 important American takes on pizza, from The Daily Meal.
Start with one of America’s finest pizza makers: De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies on Hudson Street in Trenton, NJ. Add a selection of salads and a bathroom (there was none on Hudson). What do you get? The finest pizzeria in New Jersey, and one of the top ten in America, De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, NJ. Yes, Robbinsville may be the suburbs, and the new restaurant sure is spacious and modern, but the pizzas that emerge from those ovens are identical to the ones formerly served on Hudson Street. Continue reading
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