While the skill of a Szechuan chef may be assessed through their ability to balance four primary flavor components—ma (numbing), la (hot), xian (fresh) and xiang (fragrant)–it is in their chili oil that one detects their passion. Chili oil is personal. It leaves its mark both figuratively and in an ombre ring of red on the plate. Chili oil is alchemical. It expresses more than the sum of the peppers, spices and oil of which it’s made. At Taste of […]

Categories: food & drink

The wild ride that is Baked by Buki began as a fluke. Newark resident Buki Elegbede’s older sister, Anu, asked him to bake cookies for her holiday party, circa five or six years back. She was well aware that he knew his way around a bake tray. “I did, and they were delicious,” Buki recounts. “Then . . . she called again.” In short order, he was her go-to boutique baker for all things sweet and festive, from spooky Halloween […]

Categories: food & drink

At Bürbelmaiers, one might be forgiven for thinking that teleportation has become a reality. Every bit the proper British pie shop, the cozy space would be as at home in London or Leicester as it is in its column-lined storefront in Ocean Grove. As it happens, science fiction plays a role in the shop’s origin story. The experience of a “Star Trek moment,” to be exact. Well before pies became his culinary muse, Chef Peter Burbela worked as an NJIT-trained […]

Categories: food & drink

Jersey is no stranger to destination sandwiches. Think White House Subs in Atlantic City. The Fat Cat in New Brunswick. Pork roll, egg and cheese anywhere else. To that pantheon of portable meals, we can now add Elsie’s Pickle Sandwich—only hold the bread. This sandwich is all about its pickle bun, an innovation so ingenious that it has rapidly launched this family-run Haddon Township sandwich shop into viral sensation territory. “Is this the golden age of the pickle?” – Michael […]

Categories: food & drink

The first time I went to Tacconelli’s Pizzeria in Maple Shade, the woman seated behind us was celebrating her 95th birthday. Generations were gathered to honor her: the birthday girl, her daughter, her grandson. Crisp pizzas steamed on tray stands, and the soundtrack was one of familiar conversation and laughter in the black, red, and wood-toned dining room. At some point, the chatter spilled over to the next table. A pair of Italian aunties wished grandma happy birthday. Then, they […]

Categories: food & drink

When Chef Greg Vernick turned 14, his summer vacation began with an announcement. That year, rather than attending camp or lazing on the beach, he would work. Each summer, the Vernicks ventured from their home in Cherry Hill to Margate, seeking salt breezes and a respite from inland heat. “My family and I decided that I could live down in Margate for the summer and get a job,” Vernick says. “So, we mocked up a fake resume and drove down […]

Categories: food & drink

When the Mount Laurel location of Rai Rai Ramen opened this summer, it had a decidedly big ladle to fill. Broths simmering, it set up shop in the former strip-mall home of Chulicious. There, Sheri Chu and her father/chef, Chun J. Chu, had developed a cult following with regional Taiwanese and Sichuan classics, before the restaurant was briefly sold and then closed. In the dining room, the healing scent of Chu’s chicken soup had perfumed the air: pure comfort. Fortunately, […]

Categories: food & drink