Another "Best Places in Jersey"

[Rail Paul]

Pete Genovese, writing in the Star Ledger, identifies his twenty best places in NJ.

Pete's Other Gig

A*S Pork Store on Browertown Road in West Paterson

Beach Haven Fishery

Broadway Bar & Grill in Point Pleasant

Church's Kitchen 2117 Springfield Avenue in Union. This place has great chicken

Clam Bar in Somers Point

Charlie's Pool Room in Alpha with just one item of the menu, hot dogs!

Circus Drive In on Route 35 in Wall. A "BozoBurger" sounds wonderful, and they have fried crab.

Dale's Market on Route 206 in Culver's Lake.

David's County Roasters on 202/206 in Pluckemin

El Sol de Cuba in Passaic, for empanadas of chicken

Emery's Berry Patch in New Egypt for peach, blue berry and cherry pies.

Freshwater's in Plainfield barbecued pork baby back ribs

La Fonda in Highland Park for its chicken and garlic

Mara's Country Desserts in Morristown Cheesecakes are fabulous. We've had these at work

Passage to India on old route 1 Lawrenceville. southern Indian.

Pizza Cake, Parsippany-Troy Hills. Focaccia pizza

Red's Lobster Pot, Point Pleasant Beach linguine in white clam sauce.

Shell Pile Restaurant, Port Norris. crab cake sandwich, described in almost erotic detail

Solar do Minho, Belleville for octopus.

White House Subs, Atlantic City He says the customers have included The Beatles, Joe DiMaggio, Tiny Tim, and The Osmonds. Sounds like an interesting group. Wonder what they discussed?

[Rosie]

Pete Genovese is very knowledgeable about NJ restaurants and specializes in the lower end eateries in the state. I always enjoy his columns. Has anyone been to any of the places that he has listed?

[John]

I've been to Church's Chicken. This is not the same as the Church's chain that you can find in some White Castles (Rahway). The owner's name is Judy Church. It is the best fried chicked I've tasted. Even though I live in Union, I did not hear of them until the original Munchmobile article 2 years ago. A little place (takeout only) on Springfield Ave. near Maplewood. Be prepared to wait. I would call ahead and wait awhile depending on where you're coming from. Side dishes are good also.

As for Charlies Pool Room, the hot dogs are Kunzler brand beef and pork and are fried in a skillet. Ok; nothing special. What draws people here is the Hungarian sauce made from a special recipe handed down by the owner's mother or grandmother. I will not try it as it contains onions.

[tautog]

Pete Genovese is very knowledgeable about NJ restaurants and specializes in the lower end eateries in the state. I always enjoy his columns. Has anyone been to any of the places that he has listed?

White House Subs is very good for subs. Good cold cuts and excellent fresh rolls. Worth getting some take-out if you're in AC. The Broadway is a pretty nice place, but I can't figure out how it would make a top 20. Good bar food and a mix of patrons, but I only go there because it is close. Red's has nice lobster and fixings, but not spectacular. Never had the linguini w/ clam sauce though. Circus Drive In has pretty good food, but wouldn't travel either, burgers and softshells are merely good.

[Rail Paul]

Circus Drive In has pretty good food, but wouldn't travel either, burgers and softshells are merely good.

Circus may have gotten a nod because he considers it to be an excellent example of the Jersey drive in.

In the context of soft-shells and burgers in Monmouth and Ocean, are there other places you would add to the "best of" list?

[lamb]

Red's Lobster Pot in PPB gets 0 points for decor, but 10 points for food. You can't get fresher than they do, the fishing boats deliver directly to them from the Manasquan Inlet. I often go in the late mornings to take out fresh deliveries, and we grill later on that evening at home. One of the best local places in PPB, and they are still open after Labor Day. Can't ask for more than that!

[tautog]

For burgers I favor Barnacle Bills in Rumson. Don't eat them out that much as mine fresh from the grill beat 99% of those in restaurants. For softshells I tend to favor the better sit down type restaurants than seafood shacks. Most of the cheaper places use too much coating and the crab comes out a bit soggy. Zelbys in Belmar and Pete's at the Atlantic Highlands do it pretty well for cheaper places.

[newguy]

The A&S Pork Store is outstanding. There is a team of butchers in the back that sends out all kinds and varieties of meats. Veal, chicken, sausages, steaks. Prosciutto, cheeses, home made mozzarella etc...They also have some pretty decent prepared foods and a variety of dry ingredients from olive oil to risotto rice.

[tommy]

You can't get fresher than they do, the fishing boats deliver directly to them from the Manasquan Inlet.

not to be a downer, but are you sure they do? i grew up near there, and it was always my impression that the stories of "right off-the-boat fresh" were greatly exaggerated.

[=Mark]

In the context of soft-shells and burgers in Monmouth and Ocean, are there other places you would add to the "best of" list?

Navesink Cafe at the Marina in Red Bank has great burgers and soft shells when on special. They also have the best battered onion rings in the area. Only downside is that the place is seasonal and only open May thru September.

[Rosie]

The A&S Pork Store is outstanding.  There is a team of butchers in the back that sends out all kinds and varieties of meats.  Veal, chicken, sausages, steaks.  Prosciutto, cheeses, home made mozzarella etc...They also have some pretty decent prepared foods and a variety of dry ingredients from olive oil to risotto rice.

Is that the pork store that will be coming to Bloomfield Ave and Prospect in Verona? It used to be Celentano's.

[erie1]

The chicken at Davids Roasters is ok at best, but they do offer a great variety of sides. Kind of an independent Boston Market.

[menton1]

How could Genovese leave out Fink's in River Edge? He probably hasn't been there-- this is qualified as a list of the "Best Places in Central Jersey". I don't think Pete ever gets into Bergen, they consider it Record territory. But Finks is just the type of place Genovese would love. We should email him about it.

[pete ganz]

Has anyone been to that Portuguese place in Belleville he mentioned? I'll probably go soon and report back on it.

[rozrapp]

We had dinner at La Fonda a very, very, very long time ago, right after it opened. I guess we didn't find it appealing since we've never gone back. I had not even thought they were still in business until a couple of months ago when we were in Highland Park to have dinner at Seven Hills of Istanbul. As we were driving out of town, I noticed La Fonda and commented to my husband how surprised I was that it was still around. It appears others found something in it over the years that we missed way back when. I suppose Pete Genovese would say it's the chicken and garlic!

I have not been to Passage to India, but I have the NY Times review of Feb. 11, 2001, in my NJ restaurants file. Karla Cook rated it "Very Good." She says "the menu parallels that of its sibling restaurant in New York, Salaam Bombay," offering tastes from various culinary regions of India. Reading the review again, the food does sound very tempting.

Edited March 30, 2003 by rozrapp (log)

[Rosie]

We were at La Fonda over ten years ago. I also was surprised that they were still in business. Have had very good meals at Seven Hills of Istanbul.

[lamb]

You can't get fresher than they do, the fishing boats deliver directly to them from the Manasquan Inlet.

not to be a downer, but are you sure they do? i grew up near there, and it was always my impression that the stories of "right off-the-boat fresh" were greatly exaggerated.

I've seen it with my very own baby blues. Right off the boat, I tell ya.

[tautog]

Many of the places down the shore get fresh fish. Fewer know how to cook it. Mostly they cook the sh** out of it, so freshness doesn't really matter.

[=Mark]

Many of the places down the shore get fresh fish.  Fewer know how to cook it.  Mostly they cook the sh** out of it, so freshness doesn't really matter.

I've said it before, but with the exception of Doris & Eds in Highlands you pretty much have to avoid proximity to water when trying to get good seafood down on the central Jersey shore. Navesink Fishery in Highlands on Rt. 36, Rays Seafood in Little Silver and Two if by Sea in Red Bank.

[rozrapp]

I've said it before, but with the exception of Doris & Eds in Highlands you pretty much have to avoid proximity to water when trying to get good seafood down on the central Jersey shore. 

Frankly, I've never quite understood the tremendous popularity of Doris & Ed's. We have been there a number of times over the years, and each time we've come away disappointed. We never found the food to be more than just average, particularly considering the extremely high prices. You may ask, then, why we kept going back. Well, we kept thinking that maybe the next time, the food would shine. However, no such luck, and we finally gave up.

[newguy]

Rosie,

I am not sure if A&S is opening another location. Apparently they have another location already, and it isn't as good (nor is it as clean looking as the one on Browertown Road). Their products are really top quality though.

[dbrociner]

White House Subs is very good for subs.  Good cold cuts and excellent fresh rolls.  Worth getting some take-out if you're in AC.

I can't understand the popularity of the white house. IMO, you can get better subs at any number of italian deli's in NJ. They also make a very mediocre cheese steak. Go only to see if they still have the autographed picture of OJ up on their wall of fame. You can get a better meal from the hotdog vendor outside of the Trump Plaza.

Edited April 4, 2003 by dbrociner (log)

[tautog]

The popularity isn't all that surprising. They make a very good sub, and even a good cheesesteak. Don't think it deserves a 26 or whatever from Zagat, but it is one of the better places to get a sandwich in the state. I would agree that some Italian delis are superior, but then again they serve sandwiches that aren't available at the White House. The fact that it is in AC obviousy heps as Italian delis aren't present in any great numbers in SJersey. My recommendation is go if you are in AC, but don't take a long drive or anything.

[babyluck]

Pete Genovese, writing in the Star Ledger, identifies his twenty best places in NJ.

Pete's Other Gig

...

Dale's Market on Route 206 in Culver's Lake.

I just caught this. I've been in Dale's Market a hundred times and I like it fine, but I must be missing something. What is their secret specialty that puts them in the top 20?

[Rosie]

I have always enjoyed reading Pete Genovese and find him to be a very talented and knowledgable writer. He signs his columns with the following so you can always ask him your question.

"Where should Pete eat next? Call him at (973) 392-1765 or e-mail to pgenovese@starledger.com."