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.

Thanks for the insight!

I commented the 14 pro max battery has been meh at best and the dynamic island needs work to be worthwhile and got downvoted to hell. Do you think you got a bad 14 pro unit?

Did you talk to apple/ your carrier about it and did they have a response?

I'm curious to know as well - not sure why I'm being downvoted to hell because my 14 pro max is having issues with battery and touch response....

Thanks - that's helpful. I thought the touch screen issue was in my head and never said anything. So yesterday when my wife asked me if I was having the same problem - my response was "You too?!"

It's most noticeable near the edges of the screen. Like in the reddit app, if I launch and article and try to hit "done" in the upper left it's hard to hit.

Sometimes the touch feels "off" - like a pop up add will have an "x" for me to close it, but if I hit the "x" directly it doesn't respond, I have to do it a couple times or hit around the "x"

Seems like this is not normal so we'll be going to the Apple Store this week.

I appreciate that this response is constructive. What has been your experience with the touch screen on the 14 plus / plus max relative to your last iphone?

My wife traded in her 11 plus for the 14 plus. She seems to have the same responsiveness issue - could it be something to do with iOS 16?

Worth noting her device has been overheating to the point it stops itself from charging in normal scenarios - so we will be going back to apple about that. Perhaps we both ended up with defective units?

The iOS diagnostics say my battery health is 100%. Maybe 5G/5G UWB is draining it? I didn't have that with the 8+.

Thanks.

12 pro max plus notoriously has a shit battery life with 5G. So no surprise there.

See my comment above, there are big differences between the 8+ which is a fairly legacy phone topping out at 4G LTE with a relatively smaller display and lower quality display than then models that came after. My 8+'s battery health was 88% when I traded it for the 14pm and would last a day and a half which is excellent. My 14pm is fine - but I am confused by all the hype about the battery because I'm not experiencing any difference.

Did you read my post? With regards to the 14 pro max it is a better screen, better camera. The dynamic island is a new feature, which like all things apple, will evolve, it's not awesome enough for me to tell anyone it's a must have. I obviously ponied up $1k+ for the phone so clearly I WANT change.

The battery and touch issues are real with my device. The 8+ has a much smaller, less bright screen. It's not unreasonable to question if my 14pm unit is defective, or if the 8+ had a smaller battery but less relative power consumption due to way less features.

As an example, the 8+ was 4G LTE only, 5G and 5G UWB do consume more power. Plus the screen on the 14pm is bigger. brighter, smoother, etc.

Case in point - the 12 pro max is notorious for a shit battery esp with 5G. So I am wondering - is the 14pm battery life being compare to the 12pm or other next gen phones that had early issues with battery performance? It surely may be leaps and bounds better for a next gen phone and I may be comparing apples and oranges with the 8+. For the record, I recognize the 8+ is old but I had great battery life on it when I traded it in at 88% battery health.

Also, I am not saying the battery is awful, it's just not stunning me. It is fine, and compared to all the features you get in return, likely a fair trade. My comment is for those hoping for one more year out of their 8+. Not the fanboys who trade up every year or trade in every 2.

I am also just stating my experience. I am open to perspectives to know if I should think about exchanging the device or not.

I’ll be honest I switched to the iPhone 14 pro max from the 8+ and not thrilled.

I’m not finding the battery life to be as great as everyone is saying, I feel like my 8+ lasted just as long if not longer. I feel like the touch screen is not as sensitive and I find myself banging on the screen. I thought it was just me but my wife mentioned it about her 14 plus as well.

The dynamic island is good in concept though I think could be better executed. That pill def gets in the way in a number of apps that I’m sure won’t redesign around it given it’s a feature in only one device. Feel like they could have done something similar with a riff on the notch that would still be cool but not in the way.

Camera is better than 8+ and the screen looks great. I’ve had some issues with CarPlay but I’m not sure if that’s the device or one of the updates that came after iOS 16.

All in all - my 8+ was fine for me and I was going to upgrade this cycle or next just due to age and support. I was kind of sold on the gimmicky dynamic island. The thing that cinched it was I have a 1 year old son and wanted a better camera sooner than later to capture memories with him.

As someone that tries to own a phone as long as possible - I’d consider taking the L trading for the 15 or I guess 16 if it solves some of those issues most notably the distracting island and touch sensitivity.