Whether it’s your go-to corner deli or that tiny spot where you order Chinese takeout every Friday night, everyone has their favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
To be clear: “Hole in the wall” is not a derogatory term. It just means overlooked and under-appreciated. These food establishments are usually small, with limited seating, but offer quality food at affordable prices.
These hidden gems are often family-owned food spots that have been serving their community for years.
Here’s our updated list of New Jersey’s 59 best hole-in-the-wall restaurants. So before you pull up to your favorite fast food drive-thru this weekend, check these little local legends.
Note: each food spot is listed in alphabetically by town.
READ MORE: N.J.’s 41 best old-school restaurants
Panchos Mexican Taqueria, Atlantic CityPG
Pancho’s, next to legendary White House Subs, is one of those stark, spare eateries that often outshine fancier, more heralded spots. The tacos al pastor, on homemade tortillas, are the best I’ve had anywhere in New Jersey. Simply made, and simply great. (Peter Genovese)
This is my new favorite A.C. boardwalk hangout. I had walked past Bill’s Gyro and Souvlaki scores of times over the years, but didn’t stop in until several summers ago. It’s been open since 1967. Call it a Greek diner — long counter, stools — with flags of many countries and what is surely the biggest liquor selection of any gyro joint in the world (you can drink there, or get packaged goods to go). The chicken souvlaki is a standout; the Greek salad is better than most any Greek diner’s version. Is this fancy Greek food, or a fancy restaurant? Absolutely not. But it’s solid, and the atmosphere can’t be beat. (PG)
Chicken dish, Rincon Catracho, Atlanttic City
Rincon Catracho is a small if not cramped Honduran eatery with down-home dishes. “Delicious Honduran foods that send me on a trip with every single bite baleadas reminded me of the ones that my family made me back in Honduras, el pollo con tajadas was even better. savory sweet with a little kick of spice is what everyone needs in their life,” gushed an admirer on Facebook. There’s good eating in Atlantic City away from the casinos. (PG)
Charlie Benanti, owner of Benanti’s Italian Delicatessen, slices some salami for a sandwich in Bayonne, New Jersey on Thursday, July 9, 2026.Ian Peters | For NJ.com
First thing you do at Benanti’s is select your bread — rolls of all shapes and sizes — from the cardboard boxes just inside the door. Then take it to Charlie Benanti (photo) or one of his staff and let them know what you want on it. Menu? What, are you kidding? Tables and chairs? They’re outside, on the sidewalk. (PG)
Interior, Holiday Snack Bar, Beach Haven
From the outside, the venerable Holiday Snack Bar looks more like a beach bungalow than cake shop or luncheonette, with several bikes lashed in unlikely fashion to the roof. Inside is an old-time funky curved counter, chalk menu board and chairs that look like they came from your great-grandma’s attic. It’s a charmingly old-school alternative to Beach Haven’s spiffier restaurants. The snack bar is known for its cakes; the best-known are the Lady Lord cake, with its yellow and chocolate cake blend, and the chocolate white cake, although my favorite is the angel food cake. Pies include lemon meringue, pecan, apple crisp and Key lime. Holiday Snack Bar made my list of LBI’s 11 best restaurants, ranked. (PG)
Old-school to the core, Beckman’s is one of those small-town luncheonettes you hope lasts forever. Their logo features a pig, a roll, an egg and cheese, so you know what they’re good at. The meat, pleasantly charred, is the star of the pork roll, egg and cheese. Get out of the way, it’s telling the egg and cheese. This is my show. (PG)
San Pedro Tierra Mexican, Bellmawr
San Pedro Tierra Mexican, squeezed into a strip mall, is a funky little taco joint; what it lacks in atmosphere it more than makes up in two things: cheap and good. Tacos are $2.50, quesadillas from $3-$3.50, tortas $6.50-$7, and the salsas are maybe the most distinctive at any taqueria in New Jersey. The salsa rojo and salsa verde are mildly spicy and majorly addictive. (PG)
It looks unremarkable from the outside, but inside is a small seafood market and even smaller restaurant, with crabs scuttling in baskets on the counter and various maritime-themed charts and photos on the walls. “We’re not fancy,” the owner once told me. Recommended: the soft shell crabs. (PG)
cheesesteaks on grill, Donkey’s Place, CamdenPG
Dive bar, cheesesteak heaven, sports memorabilia museum: Donkey’s Place is a Jersey original; ignore the bullet hole in the window. Anthony Bourdain proclaimed Donkey’s Place the best Philly cheesesteak in 2015, but Donkey’s was on the cheesesteak radar well before that. Leon Lucas, a former Olympic boxer, bought the business in 1947; fans likened his punch to a mule’s or donkey’s, thus the name. Order at the register or sit down and smell the steaks sizzling and popping on the grill. The meat is not chopped but served in big hunky slabs. And the bread? Not your usual sub roll but a poppy seed roll. Top it with a thick pile of onions, and you have a cheesesteak bully, one that dares you to call it out. Donkey’s is high on our list of the state’s best cheesesteak joints. (PG)
Cubano, Fresdy Restaurant, CamdenPG
Buffet line to the left, counter in the middle, tables to the right. Freddy Restaurant isn’t much to look at, but the lunchtime crowd of locals attests to its down-home popularity. The pernil (roast pork) sandwich will happily fill you up, and the Cubano (photo) is a standout — excellent toasted bread, and juicy ham and pork inside. I sampled it in my car and ate the rest for dinner when I got home. (PG)
Latin American Restaurant, CamdenPG
The Latin American Restaurant, steps from City Hall, offers the standard lunchtime buffet — roast pork (pernil), roast chicken, seafood, veggies and more, but you can also get tacos, and they’re good ones, maybe the fattest ones you’ll find anywhere. The pork tacos are 3 for $9. Good luck fitting these bad boys in your mouth. (PG)
Call Camden the center of the N.J. Cheesesteak Universe. Donkey’s Place may get all the publicity, but Rocco’s Steaks is an old-school delight — screen door, several stools, pleasantly grungy. I asked the lady behind the counter if there was a restroom, and she gave me a look that would have instantly melted the snow on your sidewalk. Rocco’s cheesesteaks are monstrously meaty. Ignore the low-rent exterior, step inside, and chow down. (PG)
Hot Dog Tommy’s really is a hole-in-the-wall. You order at the window of the vest-pocket stand, and take your hot dog elsewhere; there’s no seating. Tommy was Tommy Snyder, who always served a side order of shtick with his hot dogs. His nonstop nutty chatter and patter was hilarious. Snyder sold the business in 2016; the new owners are Bruce and Deena Carlino. (PG)
Cheesesteak from Chick’s Deli in Cherry Hill.Christopher Burch
The longstanding deli is tucked away in an alley just off of Route 70 — a difficult find for the uninitiated. But it’s so beloved in the area that foodies from Cherry Hill and beyond know how to find this place without GPS. Chick’s is best known for its hoagies and cheesesteaks, which are often featured in best of the bests lists. The championed cheesesteak soars above its Cherry Hill challengers because of its incredibly soft roll and meat-to-cheese ratio. This spot is the epitome of a traditional sandwich shop — nostalgic, vintage signage, a wall lined with bags of potato chips, tight-quartered eating area and amazing food. (Chris Burch)
Rutt’s Hut, CliftonPeter Genovese
Rutt’s Hut is the quintessential hot dog hole-in-the-wall: no chairs, just tables and windowsill perches, which only add to the charm (there is a dining room out back). The guys behind the counter are charmingly gruff, and the tile-floored dining room out back seems frozen in the ‘40s. Abe Rutt opened the brick-walled roadhouse in 1928; bacon and eggs back then cost 80 cents. Rutt’s signature dog is the Ripper — the deep frying causes the hot dog to crack and split, or rip. A Weller is a well-done Ripper, and a Cremator is a burnt Ripper. You really don’t want to go there unless you crave what the co-owner once described as “petrified” hot dogs. Wonder who ended #1 on my best hot dog joint list? (PG)
Staff, Chicken Coop, Columbus Farmers Market
Flea market or farmers market food is totally underappreciated; don’t laugh. The Columbus Farmers Market, one of the three biggest in the state, features two top-flight pizzerias — Kate & Al’s and Pete’s — and the Chicken Coop. Grab a ticket and wait for your number to be called. The chicken is supremely crispy/crunchy. It’s the state’s best fried chicken. (PG)
Pepe’s, Egg Harbor CityPGPepe’s, Egg Harbor City
Pepe’s, in a big white house in Egg Harbor City, may offer the state’s biggest empanadas. They’re not just huge, they’re mighty good. The beef empanada is spry and spicy, the chicken and cheese empanada make for a great combo, and the pizza empanada really does taste like pizza. Egg Harbor City, not to be confused with Egg Harbor Township or Little Egg Harbor, is also home to Hammerbacher, which made my N.J.’s best bakeries list. (PG)
Shang Hai Dumpling, Edison
Tile floors, spare but comfortable tables and chairs, brick walls, neon-lit exterior, drinks written in Chinese and English — Wu’s Shang Hai Dumpling isn’t fancy, and it’s tiny, and your order may take a while, but the food is fine and filling. Recommended: the crab meat and pork steam dumplings, and the Lion’s Head Soup. (PG)
El Riconcito, Elizabeth
El Riconcito is a colorful, cramped hole-in-the-wall with a handful of seats at the counter and an endless flow of foot traffic. The empanadas are uber-crispy; try the chicken or beef. You can’t go wrong at a place that proclaims itself “El Palacio de las Empanadas.” (PG)
Hot dogs, Jerry’s Famous FrankfurtersPG
The “dirty water dog” — a boiled hot dog — is a North Jersey tradition, and Jerry’s Famous Frankfurters offers an interesting twist: a boiled water dog (in this case, from Best’s in Newark) finished off in a pan. The original owner started selling dogs from a cart at the Peterstown market and the storefront opened in the 1950s. Steps away is Tommy’s Italian Sausage & Hot Dogs, winner of our statewide best hot dog joint showdown in 2018. (PG)
Seagraves Steak & Sub Shop, Elsinboro
Elsinboro, Salem County, is one of the state’s least-known towns; it’s minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Don’t go looking for store signs at Seagraves; there aren’t any. Pull up in front of the white-walled building. The business was recently sold and the owners have promised not to change a thing. They sure do love their pickles here (see photo). (PG)
El Tex-Mex Burrito Cafe serves up “famous burritos” and other Mexican standards, plus breakfast dishes, in a spare fluorescent-lit space. (PG)
The curtain separates the kitchen from dining room and front counter at Steve’s Burgers: I remember when this was Bob’s Pit Stop and, before that, Linda’s Fried Chicken. Steve Chrisomalis is a Johnson & Wales graduate who opened his roadside burger joint about 10 years ago. “Special sauce” is a burger cliche, but his is edgy, with mayo, peppers, relish, celery seed and both Frank’s Red Hot and sriracha. Recommended: the Willy Burger, with Swiss cheese and mushrooms. (PG)
Lorenza and Cosmo, Cosmo’s Salumeria, Hackensack
A scattering of pastas, cookies and canned goods on the shelves, a limited menu, and a down-home atmosphere no money could ever buy or duplicate: that’s Cosmo’s Salumeria, run by Cosmo and Lorenza DePinto (in photo), open since 1996. You’ve got to try Lorenza’s meatballs, and the eggplant (Fridays only), or the porchetta sub (a special). The menu is in sandwich code — the #1 is ham salami sopp capp mozz sharp prov sweet peppers. If you can’t figure out what “sopp” and “capp” are, you’re in the wrong place. (PG)
Highlands Cafe, HighlandsPG
Highlands Cafe is a hole-in-the-wall wonder improbably wedged next to a bar in a strip mall on Bay Avenue. There’s a small sign out front, but the entrance is around the side. The kitchen is bigger than the dining area, and it stays busy. They specialize in breakfast — omelets, oatmeal, pancakes, French toast, and a brekky burrito (pork belly, scrambled eggs, home fries, cheddar, pico de gallo and pickled jalapeños). Plus breakfast empanadas, stuffed with egg, cheese and meat. With an excellent crispy shell. Different, and pretty darn good. (PG)
Pietro and Teresa Biancamano have lived and worked together for 43 years.Karim Shamsi-Basha
Style-conscious Hoboken has three holes-in-the-wall on this list. Fiore’s may be top dog in town when it comes to delis, but M&P Biancamano’s fresh mozzarella may be the best for miles around. There are just a handful of tables inside and out, and the subs are loaded. (PG)
Check out the photo; if Piccolo’s doesn’t qualify for hole-in-the-wall, nothing does. On Facebook, a regular suggested that owner “Patty Boy” Spaccavento consider a commercial so he could get his menu “out there.” Patty’s response: “And have a whole new crop of maniacs and nincompoops walk through my door?” Your cheesesteak comes with a side order of humor and attitude at this old-school shop, open since 1955. (PG)
Fiore’s Deli, HobokenPeter Genovese
Leave the cash, take the roast beef sandwich. Fiore’s Deli, which opened in 1913, wasn’t a location in The Godfather, but should have been. Red-stenciled window, tin ceiling, fluorescent lighting; a display case filled with olives, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and other specialties. There’s no printed sandwich menu—- just tell whomever’s behind the counter what you want, and be sure to ask about the specials. There’s no website or official Facebook page — no surprise there. Their legendary roast beef and mozzarella sub, available Thursdays and Saturdays only, ended up #1 on our list of the state’s best sandwiches, ranked. Fiore’s is an essential Jersey food experience. (PG)
Boulevard Drinks, Jersey City
Boulevard Drinks, Jersey City (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for nj.com)
New Jersey is the center of the hot dog universe, and Boulevard Drinks, short stroll from the Journal Square PATH station in Jersey City, may be its coolest hot dog hangout, with its uber-bright yellow counter (you don’t want to be here with a hangover) and some of the state’s best grilled hot dogs. The staff is no-nonsense, which somehow adds to the charm. (PG)
Pork roll egg and cheese, Edie’s Luncheonette
Edie’s, located in a tidy narrow home, is one of those lovable luncheonettes that should be in every town. There are stools at the diner-like counter, a scattering of tables and a mere 25 omelets on the menu board. The ultimate Jersey Shore omelet? The garbage omelet here, with bacon, mushrooms, ham, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and Swiss and American cheese. The building dates to 1849; it once housed a general store and post office. (PG)
La TiTi Dominican Restaurant’s slow-cooked beef platter with rice and pinto beans, at 110 S Main St., in Manville.Vashti Harris
Pass the psychic shop and stumble into this family-owned restaurant that serves up authentic Dominican food. The staff was so friendly and I ended up ordering their slow-cooked sliced beef—seasoned with sofrito—placed on top of a generous portion of rice and savory pinto beans. To pair with my meal, I ordered the restaurant’s homemade mango juice, which tasted like I was sipping straight from a fresh, juicy mango. (Vashti Harris)
Pizzerias can be holes-in-the-wall, too. Bims, which opened in 1972, fits into a space only slightly larger than a shoebox. The pizza is perfectly fine; the charm of this place is its small-town, charmingly divey atmosphere. (PG)
Manila Cafe and Asian Mart, located at 200 Larchmont Blvd., in Mount Laurel.Chris Burch
Manila Cafe in Mount Laurel is situated in a quiet corner of a plaza that makes it feel like a secret find. Its unassuming exterior might easily be overlooked, but stepping inside reveals a cozy eatery rich in Filipino culture and flavors. Known for its authentic dishes like lumpia, meat skewers and sinigang, each plate is crafted with care and bursting with flavor. The delicious food offerings are enhanced by the homey atmosphere. With generous portions and affordable prices, Manila Cafe is a perfect spot for those seeking a true taste of the Philippines. (CB)
Pita Pocket and More’s seasoned grilled beef platter with rice and toppings, located at 921 Rt. 73, in Mount Laurel.Vashti Harris
Never sleep on gas station food! Inside a Lukoil you’ll find Pita Pocket and More, a small spot that serves fresh halal Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food. The restaurant’s menu features a variety of platters ranging from beef to lamb kebabs for only $15 each. I tried their seasoned grilled beef platter, served with a generous amount of yellow rice. As part of the platter, I was able to choose three add-ons and a sauce of my choice. So, I paired my tender sliced beef with lettuce, red onions, and cucumbers topped with garlic and hot sauce. I also ordered a side of their crispy falafel with a side of their homemade tangy tahini sauce. (VH)
fried chicken, Jefferson’s Cafe, MontclairPG
Dining room in back, counter and stools in front, and don’t go looking for a website or official Facebook page for Jefferson’s Cafe; there are none. Soul food standards are on the menu, plus breakfast, burgers and grilled cheese. The last time I was there, I had a four-piece all-white-meat fried chicken. It was no-frills and unfussy, just like Jefferson’s, and pretty close to perfect chicken. (PG)
Sub, Caffe Espresso Italia, Newark
Caffe Espresso Italia is an unassuming deli/luncheonette with no website or official Facebook page, but Newark cops and firefighters, FBI, DEA, and port workers know it well. The espresso’s good, but you come here for the ample, Italian-grandma-worthy sandwiches and entrees (the latter about $8). Hungry? The immense sausage sandwich, loaded with meat, peppers and onions, may be the state’s biggest. (PG)
Open since 1958, Dickie Dee’s, with its orange and powder-blue chairs, is busy, cramped, noisy — and priceless. It drives me crazy when people says the No. 1 reason you hit Dickie Dee’s is the pizza. No, you silly clueless people, it’s the Italian hot dogs, acknowledged as among the state’s best. Yes, there was a guy named Dickie Dee; he and his wife, Toni Dee, were former owners. Just across the way is bread legend Calandra’s. (PG)
Soup with beef stomach, at Oaxaqueno #2 Restaurant in New BrunswickSL
Good, cheap, small and often crowded, Oaxaqueno #2 really lives up to the “authentic Mexican” tag. You can get huevos, tacos, burritos, soup, seafood, plus dishes you surely won’t find at Mexican chain restaurants. Fried rabbit, anyone? The shakes are recommended, and for something different, order the vampiros, a shake made with oranges, beets and carrots. It’s bloody good. The photo shows soup with beef stomach. (PG)
Pizzaland, North Arlington
Pizzaland appeared in the opening credits of “The Sopranos,” and the sightseers and tour buses started rolling in. From the beginning, the pizzeria sounded worthy of its own sitcom. The story goes that the original owner won the building in a card game, opening Pizzaland in April 1965. (PG)
Joshua Muhammed, owner of Amazing Taste, started with a food truck in Plainfield; he bought it for $15,000 on Craigslist. The truck is parked outside the storefront, on Route 22 East in North Plainfield. The jerk chicken platter features plenty of tender, spicy meat, plus two sides and cornbread. There is another location in South Bound Brook. (PG)
Chicken wings, Crunchick’n
It’s tiny, so you’ll do takeout at Crunchik’n, on the boardwalk in Ocean City. It ranked high on my boardwalk food list, mostly because of the cheesesteak, made with with bulgogi (beef), sauteed vegetables, provolone and cilantro. The Korean fried chicken wings are stellar. (PG)
Salsiccia pie, Bakeria 1010, Ocean CityPG
It was a sad pizza day when Bakeria 1010 closed down in Linwood in 2022; after all, the pizzeria made our list of New Jersey’s 99 greatest pizzas. It was a happy pizza day when Bakeria 1010 opened in a compact Ocean City storefront in time for the 2024 summer season. A recent visit revealed owner Michael Fitzick has not lost his magic touch. Dough is naturally fermented using a starter culture sourced from Naples, Italy. The long, slow fermentation results in a light yet crispy product. Forget the science — the pizzas remain top-notch. The tomato pie is a worthy tribute to the Trenton pizza icon, while the salsiccia, with fior di latte (a semi-soft cheese), sweet sausage, fried peppers, Gaeta olives and extra virgin olive oil, is hall-of-fame-worthy pizza. Welcome back, Bakeria 1010. (PG)
“Best street tacos in New Jersey” is how one patron tweeted about Internacional Mexican Grocery. “This place is as real as it gets,” another added on Yelp. “There is very limited seating so you may have to stand and wait for your food.” Sure sounds like a hole-in-the-wall. This one has tile floors and a wraparound counter. The tacos are loaded, and inexpensive. (PG)
Guernsey Crest looks somewhat sketchy from the outside: graffiti-splattered exterior, cracked sidewalk, and inside it looks more like a check-cashing service than ice cream stand. But their ice cream, and especially their milkshakes, are really good. It’s a local hangout; you don’t stumble on the Crest by accident. “Taste Tells” is the motto. (PG)
Torres Cafe is a homey, spare little place, down the street from the Middlesex County Vo-Tech. They have good, cheap empanadas. The ham and cheese empanada is a tasty alternative to the usual beef and chicken. (PG)
Hoagie Haven is the Princeton University equivalent of the late great Rutgers grease trucks; your Princeton education is not complete without a stop at this legendary late-night hangout, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. The decor is spare, it’s cash only, there are just four stools, which is why you’ll often see customers chow down outside, on a bench. Best-selling sandwich: the Body Bag, a cheesesteak with hash browns, egg, ketchup and hot sauce. It’s a great way to, uh, go out. (PG)
A deer head look down over the beer cooler at Gyp’s Tavern. Sandyston,NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Gyp’s is a dive bar and hunter’s hangout; during their deer-hunting contests, you can drop off your deer out back and get it weighed. There are hundreds of police, fire and service badges and insignia on the walls and ceilings. Babe Ruth once drank, and hunted, here. (There are photos to prove it.) “Gyp” was the nickname of previous owner Bill Miller. The wings are pretty good, and when it gets warm out you’ll want to grab one of the chairs outside on the back lawn to drink in the gorgeous lakefront setting. (PG)
Three piece fried chicken meal with a roll and french fries from US Fried Chicken, at 781 Somerset St., in Somerset.Vashti Harris
This halal takeout spot, with large food signs planted along their exterior walls, offers a large menu that features dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You won’t find seating but instead see a variety of weathered food platter photos. I went with their three-piece fried chicken meal that came with a roll and a large portion of crispy fries for under $10. The chicken was juicy on the inside and the skin was perfectly crunchy and not overly salty. A great affordable gem. (VH)
Clam Bar, Somers Point
The Clam Bar (also known as Smitty’s) is an old-time seafood shack with a great backdrop — boats bobbing in the marina, Ocean City in the shimmering distance. If it’s busy inside, just order takeout and eat outside. My favorite thing here: the grouper burger. (PG)
Customer Phil Lipschitz picks up his pizza order at BLVD Pizza in Surf City on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.Jim Lowney | For NJ Advance Media
There are hole-in-wall restaurants, but hole-in-the-wall pizzerias? BLVD Pizza — it’s located on Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City — opened in 2022. There is seating for exactly two, on windowsill ledge chairs, so plan on takeout. Classic LPs line the shelves. I love my saucy pizzas, and the Brooklyn’s finest here, with mozzarella, sauce and pecorino Romano, would have cracked the top 20 in our 101 Greatest Pizzas list if I had tried it earlier. The white pizza, with impossibly fresh, creamy ricotta, would have made the top 10. “Thank you for an awesome first year,” read a Facebook post last October. They keep making pizzas like this, they’ll have many more awesome years to come. This was the Jersey Shore’s best pizzeria until as newcomer knocked it off its top perch this summer. (PG)
On mild-mannered Long Beach Island, Boulevard Clams comes as a surprise, a pleasantly divey seafood restaurant with about a dozen tables and the words “Clam Up” written across a countertop. Order the hot and dirty crabs — jumbo spiced Maryland crabs, messy and marvelous. (PG)
Korean fried chicken, Peck Peck, TeaneckPG
Peck Peck is a charming little hole-in-the-wall, with a handful of tables, compact menu and an older couple at the helm. Korean fried chicken takes a bit longer to prepare, but your patience will be rewarded. Peck Peck is my favorite Korean fried chicken joint, with Mama Chicken in Palisades Park a close second. I picked Peck Peck as my favorite restaurant of 2013. (PG)
Taqueria El Mariachi in Trenton
Appearances can be deceiving. Taqueria El Mariachi is squeezed into an unremarkable if not dreary stretch of South Olden Avenue in Trenton, but inside it’s homey and friendly, with the World Cup on TV, good food and first-rate salsas. Three hefty, tasty al pastor tacos are $12, and there are five kinds of pupusas (thick corn tortillas stuffed with meat, cheese and other fillings). Recommended: the pork rind pupusas. Yum. (PG)
That Chefski Dymski (formerly Chefski’s), a Polish eatery, is in Wallington comes as no surprise; the population of the Bergen County town, after all, is 50 percent Polish. The small, deli-like eatery, next door to a 7-Eleven, is all about Polish home cooking; there are no burgers, hot dogs, salads or even sandwiches on the menu. But you can get borsch, dill soup, potato pancakes, sauerkraut and mushrooms, breaded pork chops, goulash, beef stroganoff and other Eastern European favorites. My favorite dish: the roast pork, tender meat slathered in hearty gravy. Call it comfort food heaven, Polish style. (PG)
Simple and spare describes Lorenzo’s Cabana, but there’s some excellent food coming out of that kitchen. Their tacos made our best tacos list, and the empanadas are equally worthy. And they’re cheap — $3-$5 for most tacos and empanadas, $10.99-$15.99 for the “big quesadillas” (and they are). The chicken cheesesteak empanada is better than half the regular cheesesteaks I’ve eaten, the chicken empanada is loaded with fresh-tasting meat, and the Cuban empanada is highlighted with a big slab of juicy pork. (PG)
The Dock, West WildwoodPG
Outdoor seating only, with a prime waterfront view? That’s The Dock, my favorite new hangout in any of the Wildwoods, well away from the beach and crowds in often-overlooked West Wildwood. The menu is streamlined to say the least: raw bar, tacos and ceviche. And one burger. The lime, orange and jalapeño ceviche, with tomato, red onion, charred corn, avocado, roasted garlic and cilantro, is highly recommended. Equally tasty: the shrimp and blackened tuna tacos. The spicy tuna ponzu is a great introduction for ceviche novices, with its sweet spicy mix of red onions, radish, avocado, fermented chile, sesame and a spicy mayo drizzle. (PG)
Guilli’s Authentic Mexican Cuisine Pizza, Willingboro
“True hole in the walls with great food” is how @queenmotherblog described Guilli’s and two other South Jersey spots on Twitter. Guilli’s is a homey little hangout with menu board above the counter, specials written in Magic Marker on a board and a full lineup of Jarritos soda (mmm, grapefruit). Tacos, quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas and tortas are on the menu, and so are nine kinds of pizzas. (PG)
Chicken Galore,. Woodbridge
Fried chicken joints don’t get any more bare-bones (sorry) than Chicken Galore (“If There’s a Better Piece of Chicken, the Rooster Got It!”), located next to the former Cookie Jar in downtown Woodbridge. As you can see by the photo, it’s charmingly divey. Opened in 1967, Chicken Galore offers the bird several ways — fried, roasted, BBQ, regular wings, buffalo wings, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets. The chicken’s nice and juicy. (PG)
