Who does ONE thing really well?

[Cook456]

Ditto On Applegate Farms. Right now they have the absolute BEST Pumpkin Ice Cream!!!!!!! and Denville Dairy....for their Ice Cream Cakes...wow!

My high school days were spent hanging out with Rolando Policastro, in the room behind the kitchen of Policastro's Bakery, better known as Marie's Bakery in Hoboken...Boy was I spoiled! Fresh Marie's bread right out of the oven..anytime I wanted it! Foccacia on Saturday mornings, while they lasted...

BTW. Antique Bakery is owned by Dominick, their Son in Law.

[Curlz]

Yes, let's revisit the topic of Applegate Farms...I just (urp) finished what they call a small cup of ice cream. Graham Central Station ice cream. DELECTABLE!!! Dare I say...SCRUMCHULESCENT!!

Run, don't walk...it's graham cracker ice cream, alright...with that graham crackery-almost maple-SO autumnal flavor AND flecks of chocolate flakes. I say flakes b/c they're not quite chips, and I loved the fact that they just melted in my mouth along with the ice cream. Not need to bite in to them, 'tho you certainly could.

The (equally not) small cup of pumpkin is safely in my freezer.

[Rich Pawlak]

The Bent Spoon in Princeton has the best gelato around

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And while you're in Princeton:

Chuck's for legendary hot wings;

Conte's for pizza;

The Ferry House, a hip BYOB with an obsession with mushrooms;

PJ's Pancake House, for, well, pancakes

Qetzal, in Trenton's Chambersburg section for Guatamalan cuisine;

Rossi's Tavern, also in Chambersburg, for its legendary burgers and homemade potato chips;

Top Road Tavern, in Trenton, for its odd retro vibe and excellent tomato pies (see PA Forum, Pizza Club, pg 13).

[hitmanoo]

Personally, I think Applegate Farms is a bit overrated when it comes to ice cream. I much prefer the Ice Cream at Holsten's on Broad St in Bloomfield.

Maybe Holsten's doesn't have the flavor variety that Applegate's has, but what they do serve, to me, is a superior ice cream.

[jhlurie]

I know from Jason that part of the intent here is to discover places where it wouldn't be obvious that this gem of an item is available in this place.

This grew out of a discussion he and I had about how ineffective almost every reviewing system is at covering/pinpointing places like this. We're talking about the dumpy little restaurant in a strip mall where maybe a single item is SO off-the-scale compared to everything else you just leave blinking in surprise. Or some take-out shack somewhere where you've never suspect that they churn out something stellar. Or even a fading once great place where something is SO bullet-proof that its survived the decline.

It's an interesting question too. Let's say you know a chinese restaurant that literally has the best spareribs in the state, and yet everything else is mostly mediocre? Do you tell people about it? How do you even discover it?

Ideally we could start a topic like this on EVERY regional board.

[lamb]

I'm interested in places that specialize in something and excel exceedingly well at it -- could be dump/shacky type place or a restaurant specializing in a particular dish. Could be any particular food or drink item. Any ethnicity.

Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Morris County, you name it.

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I'll go outside of the area you designated above, all the way down to Ocean County. Joe Leone's in Point Pleasant Beach bakes the best breads. Good enough to throw me off any no-carb diet that comes my way.

See Joe's Breads

[Msk]

Millburn Deli: Sloppy Joes

This is the NJ version which is a triple decker deli sandwich of meat, cheese, cole slaw, russian dressing on Rye.

They use homemade russian, homemade cole slaw, and slice fresh baked rye very thin on a slicer.

I love Taylor Ham, and am embarrased it was brought up in the same sentence as Spam.

Msk

[Curlz]

Good call, Msk...you're right--Millburn Deli DOES make great Sloppys!!! As does Town Hall Deli in South Orange for that matter...and J&M in Madison.

Frightening that I know this, but I do.