#24 hour restaurants new jersey series#

The restaurant also puts on special dinners and experiences, such as a recent five-course Portuguese tasting menu and wine pairing meal, designed by the restaurant’s Portuguese sous chef.ĭining at the restaurant: The Frog and The Peach is open for limited indoor dining and, when weather permits, dining in the restaurant’s heated, partially open garden room. He’s since doubled down on ingredient-driven American cuisine, with a penchant for wild game evident in dishes such as elk carpaccio, served with a preserved egg yolk and a dressing of cassis, juniper, and maple topped with pickled shallots. The Frog & The Peach has been operating continuously since 1983, a legacy that the restaurant’s most recent owner, chef Bruce Lefebvre, takes very seriously: His first job out of culinary school was with the restaurant, and in 2012, he had the chance to buy it. Beyond a la carte dishes, the restaurant also creates a “steak night” package with four courses of steakhouse classics such as shrimp cocktail, prime bone-in sirloin, truffle twice-baked potato, and chocolate mousse. Takeout: Serenade offers takeout and delivery, available for order via the restaurant’s website. Here, diners can find timeless dishes such as clams casino alongside creative preparations such as braised short ribs with an Asian-inspired glaze, roasted apples, and sticky rice.ĭining at the restaurant: The restaurant is open for limited indoor dining and outdoor seating in the restaurant’s parking lot, where heaters are provided and the space is tented when weather permits. Run by husband-and-wife team Nancy and James Laird, the restaurant’s marriage of traditional dishes and modern techniques are the key to its longevity, serving updated American fare in a handsome grey dining room appointed with bright yellow chairs.

North Jersey The Saddle River Inn (Saddle River)Ĭhatham fine dining destination Serenade has been topping best-of lists in New Jersey throughout the restaurant’s 20-plus years of existence. These are the restaurants that define what it means to dine in New Jersey right now.

It all makes for a rich restaurant scene that rivals those neighboring giants, whether it’s via NJ stereotypes - yes, classic red sauce Italian is alive and well - or through the more unexpected - Aghan food in a casino town, anyone? To the uninitiated, NJ dining is as surprising as the fact that not everything is about gym, tan, and laundry, and for residents - well, they’re just eating well. Often overshadowed by the cities that bookend it - New York City and Philadelphia - the state’s dining scene flies under the radar, but those who pay attention are richly rewarded.Īs you’d expect from the “Garden State,” chefs here have a lot to work with, sourcing pristine vegetables from nearby farms and fresh fish from the state’s 130 miles of coastline. Here now, a guide to the New Jersey Greats.įrom rolling farms to quaint seaside towns to dense suburbs, New Jersey is as varied geographically as it is demographically.

#24 hour restaurants new jersey series#

Editor’s Note: Welcome to The Greats, a series on the restaurants that define their cities.