The aforementioned Makarounes are what he specifically talked about; it’s a total peasant dish and looks like nothing–wheat pasta with a ton of caramelized onions and grated Greek cheese on top. DELICIOUS.
Then I got hooked on their loukanikos (sausage), the gigantes (beans), and octopus. I haven’t found anyone w gigantes as good as Stamna’s; they’re often too salty.
We took the kids there as well. From looking at a picture from that day, I’d say The Sprout was about 4 or 5, so about 15 years ago.
You could only exit through the gift shop.
I’m sorry, looks like that didn’t come off the way I intended. The extremist bit wasn’t directed towards you at all. It was a general statement but better addressed the “people coming out of the woodwork to bash restaurants and recipes” comment parmesan made. I got my posts crossed. I’m absolutely positive you’re not extremist based on all your responses. If anything, that last bit on my post made me look extremist. Again, my apologies.
Willing to travel throughout the state. =)
But I’m in New Providence
Awesome!! Thank you for the recommendations!!
Have you tried Kimchi hana? Joon is a lot more versed in Korean food than I am, but I really like this spot. Very little English is spoken here. I LOVE the fact that you cook over charcoal. I don’t get up that far north frequently, so I can’t recommend too many places. However, this place is about as authentic as you get imo.
I’ve been meaning to try this trini place in the oranges. I have to dig up the name but I hear it is awesome!
If you are ever going to visit Monmouth County, a few of us can elaborate on other spots. That is my home and a few other well known members reside here too.
I tend to bookmark everything on yelp so if I happen to be in an area I’m not familiar with I open yelp bookmarks and find a place nearby. This is why I’m open to anywhere in the state. I’m Korean American and wifey is Japanese so we have most Korean and Japanese food (among others) covered at home. we only look for things not easily made at home when it comes to Korean and Japanese like mool neng myun. Yuchun used to be my go-to but that was 10 years ago
I’ve been to “from scratch” in Ridgewood from a ch recommendation and it was really good. A couple from Rome opened a small place there and have brought their tradition with them. Had the tripe special. Very tender almost like calamari in marinara sauce. Sliced grilled eggplant wrapped in mozzarella was really good as well. She makes ask the desert there. Had the cherry tart and it was excellent. Good balance of sweetness. Only downside are the prices.
Tried yedang in Ridgefield next to the h mart there. My god… The no nonsense Korean traditional rice cakes there are among the best I’ve had. Had the tri color round rice cakes (gotta order it a day in advance) and it’s the best rice cake I’ve had.
When first entering mitsuwa (front) there’s a sit down restaurant directly to the left. They have the best Japanese curry rice. I usually get that and the taiyaki at the booth. The others are ok.
Shanghai dumpling house has the Shanghainese soup dumplings I’ve had in nj so far. Their shengjianbao didn’t look so good though. Haven’t tried their other Shanghainese dishes there.
Lan Sheng (sichuan) from Manhattan fame has a sister restaurant in nj. If it’s anything like their Manhattan location they should have plenty of mala (numbing pepper and spicy pepper).
Just looked up kimchi hana pictures on yelp. It looks like they do Korean, Japanese, and Korean Chinese? Generally all in one Asian restaurants are jack of all trades where everything is ok without a standout. Good to know one of these things exist outside of fort lee/pal park if we’re looking for Korean in the area.
I would think Edison has far more authentic Indian food than East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean…etc) foods.
Based on Andy Weir’s book, I would say authentic Martian food would mean just baked potatoes. 
I’ve been to Lan Sheng in Wallington–it was very good. If you’re a true Szechuan fan, you must go to Chengdu 23 in Wayne (in the West Belt mall behind Willowbrook) and to Chengdu 1 Palace in Green Brook. They’re unrelated both both are the real deal!
There’s a very strong Chinese presence there. Korean is not as strong but it’s still the third highest concentration behind Pal Park and Cherry Hill areas I think. Japanese is nonexistent as it is in the rest of the state, but there’s a good ramen shop in the area which is nice.
I haven’t been to Kimchi Hana in years because it adds a few minutes to my trip so I end up sticking with the Edison spot. They are a typical big menu Korean restaurant that tries to do everything. I’ve only had the BBQ there and it has been great every time though.
Never really enjoyed yuchun personally, I always thought their broth was way too sweet. That seems to be the general trend though.
I wasn’t too impressed with the Shenjianbao at Shanghai Dumpling House personally. Not enough filling and not enough juiciness inside. But that place is freaking awesome overall. It’d be a great spot to get together and eat everything!
Better than lan sheng?? What are the differences between those two and lan sheng? LS was considered the best in ny (or one if the best). Surprised there are others that are better in NJ?
Japanese ramen? What’s it called?
Are you referring to the xiao long bao or the sheng jian bao? I’ve had the xiao long bao which were very good (can’t imagine there being better in nj) and a saw someone get the sheng jian bao but that looked disappointing so didn’t bother.
Problem with this place is that it’s so tiny. We ended up ordering to go and eating it in the car while parked. The wait was very long.
Yes I mean SJB, the bready stuff with the crispy bottom. The good ones I’ve had have been incredibly juicy inside. This one was lacking juice and filling, too much outside compared to inside.
The ramen place is Rai Rai Ramen. Chinese run but legit. Get the fried chicken too!
Ah. Yes, the SJB looked pretty sad.
was it a lanzhou style la mian place? Or is it a Chinese place trying to do Japanese ramen instead? It’d be interesting to know if they do Chinese (original) zha jiang mian as la mian is used in that dish. Cool!
Edit: Just checked out the pictures on yelp. Definitely Chinese run Japanese restaurant. See mostly Japanese items here. Should be interesting to check out. Have you tried hidechan ramen or misoya in the city? Zundoya was another newcomer I was impressed with. Is rai rai on par with those? I’ll likely try it if in the area
LS is more refined and more expensive, iirc… C1P used to be C1 in Cedar Grove and it was avg decor and 85% of the clientele was Chinese, 10% people like us (I so hate the foodie term) and 5% people ordering Lo mein and General Tso ( NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT 
). It’s where I learned about real Szechuan and I’ve been hooked ever since.
The profile at C23 is about the same and it became my go-to after C1 moved to Green Brook. A bit more refined in presentation but damn if their food isn’t fantastic!
Never been to Misoya but hit up Hide Chan, and enjoyed it very much, not quite up to the level of hype it enjoyed at some point but hey it’s good ramen. I haven’t gotten ramen in NYC in a while but my favorite is probably Minca. Great standard ramen - nothing overly fancy or complicated - and the right ambiance I want in a ramen shop (something doesn’t feel right eating ramen in places that look like Ippudo). Sounds like you know your NYC joints so I’m sure you’re aware, but if you aren’t, Hakata Tonton is a fun place with a unique menu. Pigs feet galore.
I’d say Rai Rai is at least as good or better than your average NYC place. I had absolutely nothing negative to say about the food there. The chashu is really nicely done too.
A few of the noodle shops in the Edison area have Chinese JJM. I’ve gotten it a lot at Shanghai Bun. Not quite the same as the Korean experience but good in its own way.
