Ethiopian, Texas-style barbecue, a speakeasy, Italian in Atlantic City, a fusion food truck, and lucha libre loving Mexican top this month's hottest restaurants in New Jersey
NJ.com has launched a new regular feature, "Where to eat now in N.J.," highlighting the most exciting restaurants of the moment -- including places both new to the scene and ones that have been here for awhile but are still firing on all burners. If you'd like to recommend a restaurant to be considered for a spot on a future "Where to eat now in N.J." list, let us know in the comments section below.
The culinary and nightlife scene in Asbury Park continues to thrive, and the new Asbury Ale House is at its forefront. The Ale House, located on Cookman Avenue (and standing where Prohibition and Old Man Rafferty's once did), has an infectious energy to it -- you just can't help but enjoy yourself here. You've got games going on a plethora of TVs and there's games all around the restaurant, including foosball, darts, basketball, air hockey and shuffleboard. And while this might sound great for a bar, you're here to find out about the food.
Check out the yummiest dishes from restaurants across New Jersey
Luckily, the guys behind the Ale House decided to make their food as big and bold as the fun they've created. The wings ($12) are a must. You could go with sticky Thai or spicy garlic, but it's the Ale House wings, smothered in a mixed Buffalo and barbecue sauce, that are the champions. This creamy, subtly spicy sauce is bursting with flavor and complements the meaty wing perfectly. As for entrees, you can always go with the juicy Rise & Shine burger ($12), two burger patties covered in bacon and a messy fried egg. This is a big meal, so come hungry. But the best meal on the menu is the Drunken Chicken ($17), an impeccably breaded chicken cutlet smothered in an extremely creamy vodka sauce and copious amounts of mozzarella. Every bite is rich and sumptuous. Sticking with Italian, don't sleep on the ravioli and meatballs ($15), served with a hunk of garlic bread. The desserts here are absolutely divine. The bread pudding tastes like the Ale House stole your grandmother's secret recipe -- it's like eating a rich piece of French toast with ice cream on top. 531 Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park, 732-455-3808.
The Asbury Ale House, located on Cookman Avenue, is known for its fun vibe but also excellent dishes like the Drunken Chicken. The void of Ethiopian cuisine in New Brunswick was deliciously filled this fall by Dashen Ethiopian Cuisine. The restaurant, located on Albany Street between Due Mari and Old Man Rafferty's, opened under the name Desta but has recently undergone a name change. According to the owners, the menu and culinary experience has not changed with the name. Dashen serves all meals on injera, a sour and spongy round bread made from teff flour, which is vegan and gluten-free. There's an ample amount of menu items for both vegetarians and meat eaters alike ranging in price from $9.95 to $45 (for a sampler for several people). Standout menu items include the yebeg alicha ($20), a lamb stew medley with onions, garlic ginger, peppers, turmeric and flavored with nit'ir qibe (spiced butter), and afiza ($10), whole brown lentils with onions, mustard, garlic, jalapenos, lemon juice, and olive old (served cold). Coffee lovers can cap their dinner off with some fresh roasted Ethiopian coffee ($10), or experience a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. 88 Albany Street, New Brunswick, 732-249-0494.
We take pizza seriously in New Jersey -- we even have power rankings for the best pies and slices. In South Amboy, a city known for its pizzerias, Don Giovanni has emerged as a the new "it" spot for a pie. The restaurant and bar is a bit off the beaten path, tucked away in the residential side of Main Street. The pizza served here is New York-style thin crust, and they do not skimp on ingredients. You're getting ample amounts of cheese, sauce, and toppings -- but somehow your slice never turns into a sloppy, floppy mess that reduces you to eating everything with a fork. Now, we know that certain places "known" for their pizza just do pizza right, and their entrees are wildly disappointing. Don Giovanni is not one of these places. Their entrees seem to be ripped straight from an Italian grandma's kitchen. Their "parm" dishes -- eggplant, veal and chicken are all thinly pounded, perfectly breaded, and have the correct sauce-to-cheese ratio. 276 Main Street, South Amboy, 732-727-0733.
The chicken parm pizza at Don Giovanni's on Main Street in South Amboy. There's something to be said about a restaurant that plays Led Zeppelin during brunch. The South House brings an Austin-inspired vibe (right down to serving Lone Star beer) to the heart of the pedestrian plaza in downtown Jersey City. As we just mentioned, brunch at South House is serious business. Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and all sorts of rip-roaring electric blues and rock score your meal. You cannot go wrong with the delicious steak and egg breakfast taco ($12), Southern style-grits ($10), stuffed French toast ($11), or southwest eggs Benedict ($11) complete with chorizo and chipotle hollandaise. You need to wash it down Willie Nelson bloody (made with tequila) or South House michelada (Dos Equis lager, fresh lime juice and chile lime salt). If you miss brunch, then you can easily fill up on barbecue ribs ($23, $31), chopped brisket mac and cheese ($13), or country fried steak ($22). 149 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, 201-209-1316.
MY FOUR SUNS KOREAN FUSION FOOD TRUCK
Cold weather doesn't stop food trucks. My Four Suns Korean Fusion is chef/owner Kim Watson's homage to her mother's "passion for family, food and traditional Korean fare." She does this by taking traditional Korean delicacies and infusing cuisine from other cultures into them. This process has helped create such highly unique menu items as the Mac 'n Chi (traditional mac & cheese topped with marinated pork belly), the K Town Hero (bulgogi -- marinated thinly sliced beef -- with fried kimch and a special three-cheese blend served on a fresh baked roll topped with a mildy spicy mayo Yum Yum sauce), Totzilla (tater tots covered in cheese and fried kimchi), and the Suki roll (a mac & cheese-stuffed egg roll served with Yum Yum sauce and bacon). You can follow the food truck on Twitter or Facebook to find out its next location. Truck is based out of Hamilton, 609-635-5777.
Some of the unique fusion of Korean and American cuisine served up at My Four Suns food truck. Since the inception of this column, readers have brought up Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen to us, and upon investigation it is apparent why. Jockey Hollow is singlehandedly one of the most impressive restaurants you'll ever experience in New Jersey. Located in the historic Vail Mansion in Morristown, Jockey Hollow is divided into four distinct atmospheres with distinct menus. The Oyster & Wine Bar has everything from $3 oysters from New Jersey to California to a $120 "triple tier" of seafood featuring oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp and lobster salad, a crudo selection, and colossal shrimp. All of these can be paired with Jockey Hollow's extensive wine list. The Vail Bar is for the lover of libations as it has a crazy mixology program going on here. This 1930s New Orleans/New York City-inspired bar serves the same menu as the Oyster Bar, but one might opt for a burger ($19) or a 16-ounce sirloin ($42) here. The Dining Room is the main event, of course. This is where chef Kevin Sippel serves regional, sustainable farm-to-table dinners. One can do a four-course prix fixe for $78 or a seasonal $105 chef's tasting menu. Finally, there's the modern day Brooklyn-meets-classic Munich beer bar known as The Rathskeller. Here you can dine on curry wurst ($14), catfish sliders ($14), or pork shank ($32) while sipping on a cold lager. 110 South Street, Morristown, 973-644-3180.
A must for Mexican food lovers. 10th Avenue Burrito Company is located on the bustling West Front Street in Red Bank, and occupies the space that was formerly Chubby's nightclub. The restaurant celebrates all things lucha libre, with murals and posters dedicated to Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon, masks of Rey Mysterio and Psychosis adorning the bar, and El Santo B-Movies playing on TV. Dig into the nachos as an appetizer and make sure you order the flour chips. These chips are puffed up like wontons, and are just out of this world. The burritos here will have you screaming "O, dios mio!," as they are packed with meat, rice, and smothered in bold sauces. The quesadillas, particularly the steak, are muy muy bueno, grilled and seasoned to perfection. The desserts are straight loco -- try the fried brownie topped with ice cream and a strip of bacon. It's like a hurricane for the tastebuds (and that's a good thing). Tequila lovers, you will be in heaven, as 10th Avenue serves up high quality sipping tequilas in both shot and mixed form. 26 West Front Street, Red Bank, 732-383-5664.
10th Avenue Burrito Company in Red Bank serves up packed burritos bursting with flavor. Grotto is located in Atlantic City's Golden Nugget Casino, which has recently brought in a new chef, Carmine Favuzzi, to revamp its menu. The focus of the new menu is a balance between old world and contemporary Northeastern Italian dishes. New menu items include pepperoni arrostiti Siciliani (marinated roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant, toasted pine nuts, aged balsamic vinegar, $10), fileto di branzino (Mediterranean sea bass, Swiss chard, tomato-fennel broth with fennel salad - $38), scarpariello di pollo (chicken breast, Italian sausage, cherry peppers, onions, pepperoncini and peppers, topped with a butter sauce, $24) and wood-fired oven pizza ($13-$17). Huron and Brigantine Blvds., Atlantic City, 609-441-8475.
Finally, a bar that feels like a legit speakeasy. Amendment 21 is located next to the absolutely delicious Spanish and Portuguese restaurant and tapas bar Europa South, in the heart of downtown Point Pleasant Beach. Once you head in, you'll find a slew of New Jersey-based craft beers (Carton, Kane, Spellbound) rubbing necks with the likes of Kona, Saranac, Yards, Curious Travel, and Duvel. There are also cleverly named cocktails like The Blinker, Rosemary's Last Word, and the Chicago Bramble. But just because this place knows how to serve a libation doesn't mean they don't know food. If you're looking to share with friends, you can order up P.E.I. mussels, New Orleans-style barbecue ribs, garlic steak skewers or homemade chorizo. If you're looking for more of a handheld experience, there's outside-the-box sandwiches such as grilled New York strip po' boys, IPA-battered fish and chips, and the signature A21 burger, a blend of black Angus and pork belly with bacon and a fried egg on top. 521 Arnold Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, 732-295-9619.
The Fileto di Branzino is another new menu item that The Golden Nugget's Northeastern Italian restaurant, Grotto, has added to the menu. Somerville is one of the most culinarily diverse towns in Central Jersey. So it makes perfect sense that Tapastre would call it home. This bar and restaurant subscribes to the spirit of tapas dining -- a menu that inspires a table of family members or friends to share their food with one another, thus inspiring lively conversation over a perfectly poured libation. The spirit of tapas is laughter, camaraderie and community brought about by food and drink. This is what happens at Tapastre. If you're into small plates, the Long Island duck crepes ($8), drunken clams on fire ($10) or maple-glazed slab bacon ($9) may tickle your epicurean fancy. Tapastre's sandwiches such as the Hot Elvis (peanut butter, bacon, banana, sriracha sauce on grilled brioche, $8) or its kicked-up plays on cheesesteak ($12) and grilled cheese ($9) are strong options to complement their wide array of craft beer. 1 West High Street, Somerville, 908-526-0505.
Bill Bodkin can be reached at bodkinwrites@gmail.com. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.