Help! Where is the good food?!?!

Submitted by jde0503 t3_yi66tq in newjersey

I recently moved to the Princeton area from San Diego and am really struggling to find good restaurants. Before the move, I convinced my partner that we'd be able to find good food, but so far we've walked away from most of our dinner outings pretty disappointed, especially considering the bills have tended toward the higher side for seemingly mediocre meals. Overall, it seems like the food served here isn't very flavorful. There also seems to be a lack of diversity.

I have to be here for a minimum of 4 years for my job and am seriously considering making this place home. But I don't know if I (or my relationship) can survive without a reliable source of tasty grub.

Since Yelp keeps letting me down, I am begging you all, please tell me where I should be eating (hopefully without breaking the bank too badly). Recommendations for the following would be especially appreciated:

  1. Lao - Help me find good khao piek! My partner is Lao / Thai so finding a good spot would make me a hero.
  2. Thai - For the same reasons above. The Thai places we've tried so far seem bland / unauthentic, like they've altered recipes to cater to a whiter palate. Where's the stank?
  3. Vietnamese - Need to find good Pho
  4. Mexican - Bonus points if they have fish tacos, carne asada fries, and /or birria :)
  5. Seafood Boil
  6. Hawaiian
  7. Greek / Mediterranean - Whatever is the opposite of Halal Guys, which seems like the Taco Bell of Mediterranean food
  8. Korean BBQ
  9. Korean Fried Chicken
  10. Burgers - Someplace that actually seasons the patty!
  11. Dim Sum
  12. Soul Food
  13. BBQ
  14. Italian - There's a lot of Italian restaurants, but which ones are the best?
  15. "Elevated Brunch" - Someplace with good (boozy) drinks and super tasty food. Bonus points if they make donuts in-house
  16. Pizza - Something better than Nomad or De Lorenzo's
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jde0503 OP t1_iuha27i wrote

I have noticed that food seems to get better the further away from Princeton we get. So is all the good food just far away?

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Groady_Wang t1_iuhci57 wrote

Most Princeton spots will be over priced and mediocre. Anything Asian wise for food I'd head into Edison.

Most places that do birria in NJ use beef not Goat.

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Smilyg13 t1_iuhcn3t wrote

Soo not Princeton but I suggest you go to New Brunswick. Everything you mentioned you can find downtown/Easton Ave In New Brunswick.

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johnny5ive t1_iuhexxy wrote

  1. Thai is Kunya Siam in Atlantic Highlands
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yhb8r4 t1_iuhfjs5 wrote

Edison is the spot. One of NJ’s cultural gems.

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deanjohn20 t1_iuhg854 wrote

What kind of partner? Business, tennis?

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steelers4days t1_iuhv8p8 wrote

Edit* Go back to Cali tbh, NJ doesn’t seem to be good enough for you. See comment above - eat some Italian food

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stevenfrijoles t1_iuihth1 wrote

...There may need to be a bit of tempering of expectations for central jersey. You're not in San Diego anymore.

Carne asada fries or birria? How about getting Italian?

Hawaiian? Why not try Italian instead?

BBQ? Plan on getting Italian.

Seafood boil? There's a place down the street that makes a decent meatball sub.

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SquirrelEnthusiast t1_iuikhhy wrote

Aside from the fact that NJ food, in some aspects, is not going to live up to San Diego food, how far outside of Princeton have you actually travelled? You can find any really REALLY good spots for any of that all over NJ, you just have to work for it. And to find what you think is "good", you're gonna have to do what the rest of us do and go find what you like the most.

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mjrkwerty t1_iuisezb wrote

Replying to jde0503 (#376,270)

I think a challenge you may be facing is you're looking for food that isn't characteristically NJ in some cases.

Simply put, you'll be hard pressed to find the caliber of Mexican cuisine that you might readily find in San Diego. It doesn't mean there's not good spots, it's just not as abundant so you may have to drive a bit to find one that really hits all the right notes.

Additionally, while Princeton does draw some level of ethnically diverse restaurants due largely do the university there, it is by no means the best place for any of those cuisine types. You can technically get most of what you're looking for - but I'd hesitate to say it'd be really authentic or really good.

As others have mentioned - New Brunswick has a lot of more authentic Mexican options, Edison is great for Indian and certain Asian cuisines. The Korean food hotspot is really all the way up in Fort Lee, that said, KPot in East Brunswick is not terribly far off from what you can get at your average KBBQ place in Ktown in NYC and a pretty good value. Korean Fried Chicken has become a lot more common than it used to be, if you want the absolute best, you might be heading up to Bergen County, there used to be a spot there called Chicken and Beer that I was a big fan of, but you can likely find something that scratches the itch a lot closer.

Back to my original comment, while there may be a decent spot for BBQ and Soul Food, this isn't the south. Again, you're looking for "good food" that in some cases is not at all NJ's forte. There's been a number of BBQ joints on route 22 in the Union area that have made a good effort, but proven to be unsuccessful. BBQ just isn't as culturally part of life in NJ as elsewhere.

Finally, you can think of NJ as 2 states in one. There's South Jersey which is more in line with Philadelphia and North Jersey which is a bit more diverse and in line with NYC (see Fort Lee example). You're kind of in the middle of mythical "central" Jersey that some claim does not exist (it does).

So yeah, you'll probably have a better time if you head to points north just based on the cuisine types listed.

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jde0503 OP t1_iuitlaw wrote

Replying to SquirrelEnthusiast (#389,945)

Most of my dining has been in Princeton, Lawrenceville, South Brunswick, West Windsor, and Hopewell. Had a disappointing dinner last night in Bordentown (flavorless burgers). I've been going up to Somerville more often and did find a good brunch spot there and a good café.

Thai - Tried all the places in Princeton and Lawrenceville. Also tried Diamond Thai in Somerset.

Pizza - Tried Conte's, De Lorenzo's, and Nomad

Most of the food hasn't been "bad" per se. Just nothing I'd want to repeat and certainly not worth the money.

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SquirrelEnthusiast t1_iuiw02k wrote

Replying to jde0503 (#392,868)

You're gonna have to learn where to go to get the best kind of food for everything you're looking for.

If you thought DeLorenzo's was just ok pizza I can't help you. But then again you are from Cali so I don't even know what you consider pizza out there.

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NjMel7 t1_iujnklt wrote

I’m sorry that I cant help (too far South), but this is good info for me. My son and DIL are moving back east from Denver. They’re not that happy w the food in Denver, especially after living in DC for almost 20 years.

I would say the closer to you to a city or diverse area (Philly, NYC, NewBrunswick, etc), the better chance you have for yummy food. Princeton seems like a dead zone to me.

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