cranrob

We tried Aroma Royal Thai Cuisine, 3175 Route 27, in Franklin Park this past weekend. Best we've tried in the Princeton Area... small menu, mostly Thai classics with a few Malaysian-type dishes. Beautiful decor. A bit more expensive than your average Thai Restaurant.

Update: As a result of my posting above, I received the following reply from John Davison, owner of Hannah & Masons... Enjoy.

I always try to stop at Bagel Supreme at 252 Mountain Ave. in Springfield (not to be confused with the inferior Bagel Chateau a few doors away) for a Freshly-Made, Hot, Hand-Rolled, Delicious Bagel or Bagel Stick. Now, I need to find a place even half as good in the Princeton/Hightstown area...

Don't forget Silver Decoy Winery in Robbinsville (Hamilton Township). Nice guys.

Blue Point Grill is great, but doesn't take reservations, so you'll have a very long wait unless you go very early. Ferry House is getting better & better, but it's not exactly cheap.

Ganges Restaurant, which opened in the last few months in West Windsor (Princeton Junction) is awesome. Southern Indian.

Most good asian markets stock them. (due to Hong Kong/UK connections).

I'm lucky enough to live in the middle of a farm area (actually on a farm, but not a sweetcorn farm) There's a couple of great farmstands here (in Cranbury) that actually go out and pick corn in small batches so that the corn you're buying has been picked within the last hour or so. Stults Farm (near the corner of Cranbury Neck Rd. and George Davison Rd.) and Protinick's (on Dey Rd.) are both great (Protinick's is a bit better than Stults this year, but it's usually the other way around). Corn starts converting sugar to starch as soon as it's picked, so in general, the more recently it's picked, the sweeter it is. Mrs. Stults told me they are actually having trouble this year because of all the rain. The corn just grew too fast, so it's a little more mature than they usually like it. We shuck it, sometimes brush it with a little olive oil, and put it right on the grill, turning very often. The kernels get a bit of color this way, and it brings out a whole new level of flavor. However, it's very easy to burn since there's nothing protecting the kernels from the heat. Try it... you'll like it!

I have to agree with GoodGrub above. Delorenzo's on Hamilton is one of the best pizzas I've had anywhere in the world. The depth of flavor is amazing. The crust contains just a bit of cornmeal, which gives it an extra bit of crunchyness and tons of extra flavor. The sauce is perfect -- not acidic, just the right sweet/savory balance. The right amount of high-quality cheese, and great toppings. It really is in a class by itself. I would have to call it "Trenton Style" pizza, because there really isn't anything else like it outside of Trenton that I've had. Now, outside NJ, my faves include Lombardi's on Spring Street in NYC, who uses real San Marzano Tomatoes from Italy, and cooks their pizzas in a 110-year-old coal-fired oven at 800F. Then there's the "real thing" in Naples, and "roman-style" in Rome, which are really different animals altogether. (If you're in rome, try Da Baffetto for roman-style or Pizza Ré for neopolitan).

There's a great gelato place in Westfield, NJ on Quimby St. (Off Central). Just like Italy! However, nothing I've had beats Giolitti in Rome. The fruit flavors, such as Grapefruit and Pear, tast better than the fruit they're made from (if that's possible).

Hannah & Masons is owned by the same people that ran the Corner Cafe down the street, which mainly did catering after several failed attempts to turn it into a restaurant. The owner is John Davidson, who was also the chef at the Corner Cafe. He teamed up with Chris Posner to open the new place. The "locals" here (Cranburians) are not enamoured with Mr. Davidson after he published a letter to the editor in the local paper basically blaming the townspeople for not patronizing the Corner Cafe. In truth, the place was a mess, which scared alot of people off, the service was surley, and the food sub-par. I personally haven't had the urge to try his new place yet, but I probably will in the near future. As for other new area restaurants, we're lucky enough that a couple of winners have opened up nearby. "Ganges", a Southern Indian Restaurant at 33 Princeton-Hightstown Rd., serves some of the best Indian food I've had outside of India. An interesting thing to note is that it's often filled with Indian Families, which you rarely see in Indian Restaurants since Indian Cooking is considered something to be prepared at home. "BYOB Asian Restaurant" is almost next door at 44 Princeton-Hightstown Rd., Run by the former owner of the Sushi Consession at the McCaffrey's chain of Supermarkets. The menu is mainly Cantonese, with a separate Japanese Menu (and separate Japanese Cook). There is also a sushi bar. Some non-chinese and non-japanese classics also appear on the menu. There are some truly inspired dishes here. For example, "Scallion Pancake with Aromatic Beef" is like a beef version of Peking Duck. Served with Hoison Sauce and Scallion, it's heaven on on a Pancake.