NJ restaurants: Where to go for comfort food
What does comfort food mean to you?
The foods that warm us, both inside and out, often come with a story.
Sometimes, the most comforting dish is whatever we need at a particular moment. A steamy bowl of soup, a warm chocolate chip cookie, a big slice of lasagna – whatever does the trick.
And it doesn't have to be homemade. These restaurant dishes will warm you right up.
Grilled cheese at The Cheese Cave, Red Bank
Doesn't an ooey, gooey grilled cheese sound good right about now?
And if you're going to do it, do it right. In September, The Cheese Cave, a specialty shop offering imported and domestic artisan cheeses, meats and condiments, was named as one of USA Today's best places for grilled cheese in the country.
When asked which of his "sandwiCHEESES" is his favorite, owner Stephen Catania couldn't choose. "It's just too hard to pick just one as each of them are created to be uniquely different from each other."
There's the four-cheese melt, with Asiago, provolone, Gouda, cheddar and roasted red tomatoes on sourdough bread; a sandwich of Brie, Gouda, apple butter and caramelized onions on sourdough; one with Gruyere, Camembert, ham and cornichons; and even grilled mac and cheese with tomato-basil confit ($5.95 to $9.95).
Go: 14 Monmouth St.; 732-842-0796; http://thecheesecave.com
Warm sticky toffee cake at 618, Freehold Borough
Warm. Sticky. Toffee. Cake. This is the epitome of comfort food, no?
This dessert, which has been on the menu since 618 Restaurant opened two years ago, is Executive Chef Christopher Dutka's version of the quintessential British dessert, sticky toffee pudding. It is decadent, for sure: A warm, rich, moist cake with caramel sauce, buttered pecans and whipped mascarpone ($11).
"People freak out about it," Executive Chef Christopher Dutka said with a smile. "Everyone who gets it says it's amazing – it's buttery, the brown sugar, a little salty. They order it and they love it.”
Go: 618 Park Ave.; 732-577-0001; http://618nj.com
Stuffed rigatoni at Fusaro Pizza, Stafford
Pasta, in any form, makes for perfect comfort food. Stuffing rigatoni with ricotta cheese and topping it off with vodka sauce makes for perfect anytime food.
Other options – and there are plenty – include stuffed shells, meat and cheese lasagna, and ravioli parmesan ($11.95 to $13.95); sausage, pepperoni, and broccoli-stuffed breads ($9.95 to $10.95), and pan pizzas topped with everything from ravioli and mac and cheese to deep-dish Chicago pie. Fusaro also makes a stuffed pizza (dough on the bottom and the top) filled with pepperoni, meatball, ham, salami, cappicola, mozzarella and ricotta ($24.95).
Go: 31 North Main St. in the Manahawkin section of Stafford; 609-978-3888; https:/fusaronj.com
"I Love Thanksgiving" sandwich at Taylor Sam's, Brick and Red Bank
The menu at Scott and Dawn Spivak's breakfast and lunch restaurants is packed with scratch-made, homestyle dishes, which means plenty of choices for comfort food. Honestly, it's hard to choose just one (Meatloaf with brown mushroom gravy! Buttermilk fried chicken with spicy maple sauce on a waffle!)
But if your Turkey Day leftovers are long gone and you're still craving those homey flavors, this sandwich will hit the spot. It has been on the menu since the Brick restaurant opened five years ago, Dawn Spivak said. The Red Bank location followed in 2016.
The "I Love Thanksgiving" sandwich is made with house-roasted turkey, cranberry mayo, sage stuffing and gravy on grilled sourdough (around $10).
Go: 1563 Route 88 in Brick and 20 Broad St. in Red Bank; 732-458-7267 or 732-383-5541; http://taylorsams.com
Red Hen Burger at The Red Hen, Swedesboro
The Red Hen, the more casual side of Tavro 13 in historic Swedesboro, is a haven. Everything about it is cozy, from the mini general store at the entrance to the Colonial building to the red banquettes and hen décor. You could say that it was hygge before most of us knew what hygge was.
If you’re a craft beer fan – or a fan of a good cocktail – then settle in and indulge in a Red Hen burger. The eponymous burger ($13), an Angus beef patty, arrives topped with beer cheese sauce, a fried egg and thick strips of bacon.
Burgers aren’t your thing? There’s plenty of other comfort food on the Red Hen menu including warm pretzels, gravy fries, chicken and waffles and much more.
Go: 1301 Kings Highway; 856-467-3058; theredhen.biz
Matzoh ball soup at Kibitz Room, Cherry Hill
First of all, how can you not love a place with the website www.greatpastrami.com ?
The Kibitz Room is a deli, and you can get that pastrami piled high on a sandwich. You can also take the Kibitz Room Challenge: “In 55 minutes or less, one person has to eat one G.B.M.F., one order of potato salad, one order of coleslaw and one of each pickle. The entire meal has to be eaten by one person. If this it done, it is free, and you get your name on our wall of shame. If one person cannot finish it, take it home or call a few friends to help and there is a 75 dollar charge.’’
A G.B.M.F. is a massive pile-on of pastrami, turkey, roast beef, brisket and corned beef with Russian dressing, coleslaw, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion meant for at least four individual folks with big appetites, so … good luck with all that.
It may be comfort food going in, but if you take the challenge, we’re thinking maybe not so comfortable later on …
Meanwhile, when it’s cold outside and the weather calls for soup, you can’t go wrong with Kibitz Room’s homemade matzoh ball soup. The deli also serves tons of other comfort foods: blintzes, kugel, potato pancakes, knish, Reubens and hot, open-faced sandwiches. Don’t forget the pickles!
Go: 100 Springdale Road; 856-428-7878; visit www.greatpastrami.com
The BYO Mac 'n' Cheese at Braddock’s Tavern, Medford
Don’t know about you, but when we seek out winter comfort food, we also seek out fireplaces. And that’s not always easy to find, but find it you will at Braddock’s Tavern in Medford.
This Main Street favorite is a historic inn with fine dining options, but it also serves the mightiest mac ‘n’ cheese this side of the Rancocas.
Yes, we know. There’s lot of good mac out there. But even when Braddock’s offers its mac ‘n’ cheese to mac ‘n’ cheese events, where it stands up to lots of other mighty mac, it still gets raves. The regular mac ‘n’ cheese is $13, but why stop there when you can have it your way? BYO Mac (we’re not sure why it’s not DIY Mac …) offers add-ons such as short rib, jalapenos, grilled chicken, duck confit, sweet peas, pork belly, broccoli, bacon, andouille sausage or lobster, from between $3 and $13 extra.
Braddock’s is just down the street from Medford’s two craft breweries, so that’s another reason to visit this cute downtown in rural Burlington County.
You’ll also find crocks of steaming French onion soup, crab cakes, meatloaf, chicken and waffles and more comforting faves.
Go: 39 S. Main St.; 609-654-1604; braddocks.com
The ribs at Corinne’s Place, Camden
Soul Food is comfort food, through and through, and this Camden culinary treasure serves some of the best you will find.
Owner Corinne Bradley-Powers has some culinary superpowers, and her regulars swear by her smothered chicken and pork chops, meatloaf, salmon croquettes, candied yams, mac ‘n’ cheese, collards and all the other Southern-inspired dishes on the generous menu.
But it’s hard to pay a visit and skip the barbecue beef ribs ($13).
South Jersey is lucky to have Corinne’s Place, as well as nearby Miss Nancy’s and Aunt Berta’s Kitchen, in Merchantville and Oaklyn respectively, for comfort food a’ plenty.
Go: 1254 Haddon Ave.; 856-541-4894; https://www.facebook.com/corrinesplace
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ restaurants: Where to go for comfort food
