What is a Michelin star? What it means for restaurants
Here is a brief introduction to the Michelin star, the highest award for culinary excellence a restaurant can ever receive.
Kara VanDooijeweert and Michael V. Pettigano, NorthJersey.com
Happy Saturday, North Jersey!
I come to you exhausted and lethargic after a late night debate with a friend about whether Taco Bell is any good. While I was watching The Bachelorette, the commercials for the store were overwhelming. Every eight minutes, the show would cut to a commercial that alternated between a verbal information packet for an antidepressant and an advertisement for a $5 chalupa box.
Both were boring.
One sparked a conversation.
“Taco Bell used to be good,” my friend said. “The grilled cheese burrito was awesome.” He also mentioned some kind of crispy steak burrito.
However, I think his argument was general because people always say, “I liked ‘X’ better when ‘X’ was.” People love “the good old days.”
On the other hand, I argued that if we were to visit Taco Bell’s food graveyard today and try the Double Decker Taco or the Half-Pound Cheesy Potato Burrito from the past, they would still be bad – because Taco Bell was never good.
We were still children.
Here are four dishes that, unlike anything on the menu at America’s most popular “Mexican” chain, will last a long time.
These are the best dishes I ate in North Jersey this week.
Lobster rolls, Shaka Kitchen
Do you like your Maine-style lobster roll with mayo? Or with warm, melted butter like the Connecticut ones?
Good news! At Shaka Kitchen, a fast-casual island restaurant (in Hoboken and Morristown), you don’t have to choose—because chef Kiersten Gormeley makes her sandwich with both ingredients in a fantastic regional hybrid sandwich.
At the start “Chopped“Champion takes a soft potato bun, spreads butter on it, and grills the bread until it reaches the consistency of Texas toast. While it’s still hot, Gormeley tops the bun with a cool scoop of fresh lobster salad with scallions and other fresh herbs.
The double sauce sandwich is doubly packed with richness and incredibly flavorful and juicy, especially when the two fats mingle on the soft bun.
Go: Three locations (two in Hoboken, one in Morristown); shakakitchen.com.
Masala Quail, Essence of Kesar
They may look like headless chickens, but the masala quail at Essence of Kesar (a new modern Indian restaurant in Englewood) is the best dish on Chef Surja Puwar’s contemporary menu. Since this protein source is unfamiliar to many, I suspect most of you will shy away from this particular appetizer, but I urge you not to.
Two whole quails are marinated in masala spices for eight hours before being stuffed with more spices and deep fried. This innovative main dish is packed with the most delicious flavors of Southeast Asia. The slow cooking time keeps the meat juicy and tender, and the high heat of the fryer gives the outer skin the crispy texture of Korean chicken wings.
Served with a side of tadka mayonnaise, this multisensory (and utterly delicious) dish is a bold, hearty showstopper.
Go: 34 E Palisade Ave., Englewood; 201-300-0331, essenceofkesar.com.
“The Pizzi”, cyber pizza truck (owned by the Columbia Inn)
Does pizza taste better when served from the trunk of Tesla’s ugliest vehicle? Now it’s time to find out – because a handful of local entrepreneurs have officially unveiled the Cyber Pizza Truck.
As the pizza-only food truck subsidiary of the Columbia Inn (a comfort food restaurant in Montville that claims to have the “thinnest crust pizza in the state”), the young carb company offers a plethora of cheesy and innovative pizzas. During my visit, I tried several varieties from basic cheese to garlic shrimp scampi, but the “pizzi” with pepperoni, vodka and burrata was my favorite.
I don’t know if it was the drizzle of local spicy honey—or the fact that the sexy aesthetic was even more irresistible against such a homey backdrop—but the beautiful cake was moist, squishy, and addictive.
Go: Food truck based in North Jersey (follow @cyberpizzatruck on IG), but you can also get The Pizzi at the Columbia Inn (29 Main Rd., Montville); thecolumbiainn.com.
Pull apart garlic knots, hold my knots
Like monkey bread – or a damn onion – but made from garlic knots.
You’re welcome.
Go: 134 Broadway, Hillsdale; 201-666-0706, holdmyknots.com.
Hungry for more?
Want to read more of this week’s latest food news? Check out some of my best articles at NorthJersey.com/food.
And if you disagree with Taco Bell? DM me at @northjerseyeats.
I will respond with pictures of TB Spain’s incredible “Guac Burrito”.
Kara VanDooijeweert is a food writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you can’t find her at Jersey’s best restaurants, she’s probably racing at a mountain race track. Find her on Instagram: @karanicolev and @northjerseyeatsand sign up for their North Jersey Eats Newsletter.
