Website: http://www.princetonshanghaibun.com

Despaña Foods (of NYC) is opening a store in Princeton on June 15th, in the same building as Efe's Mediterranean Grill. Looks great!

http://despanabrandfoods.com

We did a large birthday party at Fernandes in Newark. We had the entire upstairs dining room (even though we didn't fill it). We opted for Ala Carte over the set menu.

For Mexican, we love Taqueria El Poblano (202 New Street). Their Pozole is terrific (available weekends only I think).

Brother Jimmy's BBQ (right next to the station) is quite good, but not exactly quiet.

Don't worry, you'll be fine there.

If it's not too far for you, I would try Food Bazaar in Trenton. It's a huge supermarket specializing in Latin American, Caribbean, and African foods. Lots of great stuff to try there - we bought some fresh Peruvian Chorizo there last week, and it was wonderful.

They have their own parking lot, and is in a reasonably safe area.

http://www.myfoodbazaar.com

Gone. Sign now says "Chinese, BBQ, Fried Chicken" (!!)

There are 2 Peruvian Restaurants in Jamesburg:

http://donpepeperuvianrestaurant.com - Very good
http://peruviantexmexnj.com - haven't been there yet

We've been going here pretty often. The pizza is great. However, we just had dinner there and I'm not going back.

I don't know what has happened there (haven't been there in a few weeks), but it was like walking into an episode of "Jersey Shore". The guys behind the counter (one with tattoos all over his arms and another with generous "product" in his hair) were beyond rude to us and other customers.
The bathrooms were filthy and had no soap. The pizza was still great through.

Some details: due to some sort of misunderstanding we ended up waiting almost an hour for our "Grandma Pie" despite ordering it via phone before we left home. No big deal. We have 2 kids, and they were getting a bit hungry, bored, and cranky. I asked for a piece of paper for them to draw on. One of the guys gave me a guest check along with some major attitude. About half an hour later, I asked if I could buy a garlic knot they could share. Again, major attitude "You have to by 3!". Another family walked in and went to a table in the back since there were no tables for four up front. They got yelled at.

The counter guys were arguing with each other while we were there. The TV was blasting a football game. It was just all-in-all an EXTREMELY unpleasant experience. However, as I said, the pie was great.

Such a shame. If they don't get their act together fast, they're not going to make it.

The Alps Bistro in Allentown is very good.

I haven't been in awhile, but this Portuguese place was quite good and very close to EWR: http://www.algarverestaurant.net

Just saw this - looks promising. Has anyone been?

http://southbrunswick.patch.com/artic...

This place opened a few months ago, and we visited for lunch yesterday.

We had: Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken, Yuca Frita con Huancaina, and a Pork Tamale.

We were there around 11:30AM, and the Chicken was just coming off the Rotisserie, and it was juicy and flavorful. The tamale was outstanding. We're big fans of Huancaina sauce (an Aji Amarillo Pepper & Cheese sauce), and the version they served on the Yuca Frita was good, but not great.

We also picked up a couple of excellent homemade Alfajores (a shortbread / dulce de leche sandwich cookie).

The menu is pretty extensive (it even includes Cuy - Guinea Pig!) and we're looking forward to going back to try more items.

Interestingly, right down the street in the former Maria's Mexican restaurant is another newish Peruvian place, which we haven't tried yet.

Don Pepe Restaurant
200 Buckelew Ave.
Jamesburg NJ
(In the Dunkin' Donuts Plaza)

It's actually just west of Salute. Google maps has it wrong - here is the building: http://goo.gl/maps/w2iS

Oops. I forgot to mention the address:

51 Dayton Rd.
Monroe, NJ

We noticed this place last week while driving by - it was formerly the "Country Deli". Just stopped in for lunch, and behind the counter was none other than Maria formerly of Maria's Mexican Restaurant in Jamesburg. She sold the Jamesburg restaurant awhile back, and opened this small place, and is offering authentic Mexico City-style Tacos, Tortas, Chilaquiles, etc.

We started with Beef Soup, which was sublime. Also available was Pozole and Chicken soups.
We also had a few tacos, which were excellent. Today she had Al Pastor, Carne Asada, Tripa, Lengua, and others.

The place is small (2 tables inside and some picnic tables out front).

I'm very, very happy to have this place nearby.

The Blue Rooster is closed Mondays and Tuesdays... you'll probably want to reschedule.

Thank you Jethro... I went back to take out some of their grilled chicken. When I arrived to pick it up, they were just getting the charcoal grill going, and I saw them reheating my chicken, which I guess was cooked earlier, in the microwave (!!!). It was still very good (and still moist), but I can imagine how much better it would have been if it was grilled-to-order.

So, I suggest calling first to make sure their grill is fired up before heading over.

Another (small) nit: They have Tabasco on the tables, but in the kitchen they have the more traditional "Piri-Piri" sauce, which the places in Newark serve with their meals, and is so much better on the grilled items. When we asked, they gladly gave us some for our table.

Went here last night - this place is a winner. It's Portuguese-style BBQ, like the places on Ferry Street in Newark. We had a rack of pork ribs, which were delicious. They were marinated in Brown Sugar, Cumin, and other spices before cooking. These aren't fall-off-the-bone-style low-and-slow ribs (which is a good thing in this case). We also had a Skirt Steak, which was perfectly seasoned and cooked. Desserts (coconut cake and homemade flan) were surprisingly good.

Update: The Blue Rooster is reopening Wednesday, October 12.

Blue Rooster - Cranbury. http://www.blueroosterbakery.com/ Flood damage to cellar storage area and mechanical systems.

There was a guy at the Princeton Junction Farmer's Market that sold Potted Kaffir Lime Trees (among other culinary plants). Not sure if he's still there though.

Mixed Greens & Grill (related to and in the same plaza as Mo Greens Roast House) has real Frogurt.

We were here over the weekend. This place is a find. The food was great and we felt extremely welcome there.

We had:

- Hummus (Served with Turkish Bread)
- Chicken Combination, which consisted of:
Chicken Adana - Ground spiced chicken
Chicken Shish - Cubes of marinated breast meat
Chicken Chops - Marinated thigh meat
- Kusbasili Pide - Turkish "Pizza" topped with chopped meat
- Gyro Sandwich
- Baklava
- Fistikli Kadayif (Shredded phyllo dough w/ pistachio)

The standouts were the Chicken Adana and the Pide. The food really was wonderful and we can't wait to go back.

Their website ( http://www.fernandessteakhouse.com/ ) says:

We are currently closed!
Due to the recent fire we are temporarily closed for renovations.
Fernandes Night club is still operating on our regular schedule.
We will reopen soon.
Thank you for your patience.

Italian Peoples Bakery makes a pretty good one. (multiple locations) http://www.bakeryfresh.com/

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Italian Peoples Bakery
63 Butler St, Trenton, NJ 08611

I haven't been to Saravana Bhavan in years, but have been to Chowpatty in Iselin recently, as well as Udipi Cafe a couple of weeks ago. I only tried the Dosa at Cake Walk so far, and it compares reasonably well. Maybe not quite as good, but perfectly acceptable (especially since it's only a few minutes from where I live!)

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Udipi Cafe Restaurant
3029 State Highway 27 N, Somerset, NJ 08873

Chowpatty Restaurant
1351 Oak Tree Rd, Iselin, NJ 08830

Cake Walk
660 Plainsboro Rd, Plainsboro, NJ 08536

Masala Grill (Indian) is within easy walking distance. Mehek (also Indian) is a bit farther, but also will suit you.

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Mehek
164 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ 08542

Masala Grill
15 Chambers St, Princeton, NJ

I just stopped for lunch at the new-ish "Cake Walk" on Plainsboro Road, in the same shopping plaza as the Asian Food Markets. This is the place that was formerly "Hot Breads" (which burned down a couple of years ago, taking a big chunk of the plaza with it).

It's a combination bakery and Indian Street Food restaurant. A few tables, plastic utensils, and styrofoam plates. I had a Masala Dosa (Picture attached) which was top-notch. It was served with the traditional Coconut Chutney and Sambar (both of which were also terrific). The menu is great - Chaats, indian-style sandwiches, Dosas, Idli, etc.

Can't wait to go back.

Menu and details at: http://www.cakewalkonline.com/

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Cake Walk
660 Plainsboro Rd, Plainsboro, NJ 08536

We stopped by this past friday for dinner. We enjoyed it, and we'll be back. Service issues seem to have been solved - we had a great, attentive waitress named Erin.

We had a burger, a pizza, and a soup (Lobster Bisque). Burger was well-seasoned and done medium-rare as ordered. Pizza was surprisingly good with a Neopolitan-style chewy/crispy crust, however the sauce was nothing special. The Bisque was a bit too thick, but had good flavor and a generous amount of Lobster meat. My 5-year-old daughter loved it.