A restaurant where an ovo-lacto vegetarian can readily order an enjoyable meal.
Trenton is the home of tomato pie. So why would Hidden Trenton bother covering an out-of-town pizza place that doesn’t serve tomato pie? Because Osteria Procaccini offers something you can’t get anywhere in town–artisanal Neapolitan-Style pizzas using locally sourced organic ingredients, gourmet salads, and service that can’t be beat. It isn’t a Trenton tomato pie, but it’s absolutely worth a a visit.
Mauceri’s is an “old line” Chambersburg pizza joint now under Latino management (as most are). In our limited sample, the pizza is pretty good… the ingredients taste fine but the crust is disappointing. But it’s not a place to make a special trip for. So why are we reviewing? In a word: pupusas! The chef is from El Salvador, the traditional home of these wonderful, stuffed tortillas, which may be the best in town.
This is one of those unlikely Trenton places that serves great food from a hole in the wall. Literally. Justin’s Crab Shack serves fresh, fabulous home-made seafood (plus a selection of other foods suitable for carnivores and vegetarians) at the Regal I Bar on North Clinton Ave. You order in the back and eat in … Continue reading Crabs ‘n Coltrane
Bamboo Grill serves up, to my palate, the best West Indian food in town. And that’s saying something in Trenton, which has seen several good West Indian restaurants pop up in recent years.
El Potrillo (Spanish for a foal, or newborn horse) is a pleasant Mexican restaurant in the heart of Chambersburg. The food at El Potrillo is authentic, home-made Mexican. It’s not gourmet or even particularly subtle, but most of it is pretty tasty, and the portions are huge. Prices are competitive with other Trenton Latino joints, and cheap compared to anywhere else in the greater Mercer County area.
Good Thai food is worth a drive. And you’ll be happy to drive to Ploy Siam, a breath-taking Thai restaurant in Robbinsville, NJ (quite close to the new Papa’s Tomato Pies location), about 15 minutes from downtown Trenton. Inside this unprepossessing strip mall restaurant you’ll find an oasis of relaxation and elegance. The restaurant’s decor is simply stunning; nicely trimmed walls with elegant art surround a central skylight which shines down on a small fountain leading to an orchid-lined stream. If you sit in the center of the restaurant (and I’d encourage you to do so), it’s like stepping into an elegant botanical garden with a Thai theme. Only instead of admiring the horticultural delights, you’ll be savoring the authentic flavors of Thailand.
For years, Princeton’s high-end restaurants were stuffy affairs with old-fashioned menus; they were hardly worth the trip and certainly not worth the price. That all changed with the opening of Agricola, Princeton’s venture into the farm-to-table movement. A partnership with Great Road Farm (a 112 acre farm in Skillman, NJ), Agricola offers an ever-changing, inventive gourmet menu using fresh, seasonal ingredients. With formal service in a relaxed atmosphere, this is the perfect place for a dinner before the theater in Princeton, or a nice date. Or, if you’d like something more casual, their bar area is a spectacular addition to the Princeton options.
If you’re looking for a friendly diner to have a leisurely breakfast in downtown Trenton, look no further than Sunrise Luncheonette. This modest cafe has humble decor and decent food, but its chief selling point is the relaxed atmosphere. Step inside, and you’ll instantly feel like you’re a regular returning to a favorite joint, welcomed by the owner and greeted by your (new) friends.
Gyro Express is a small, immaculately clean take-out joint with a straight-forward menu: chicken or lamb gyros, or felafel, which you can have prepared as a salad platter or a sandwich. You can also get Samosas (which aren’t homemade, but are quite good despite that), and baklava pastry for dessert.
If Roots has a guiding philosophy in their cuisine, it seems to be delicious, elegant, comfort. They serve food you want to eat, cooked to perfection and served exquisitely. Their ramen warms the soul, the vegetarian version served with a spectacularly poached egg, soft and pliable white with an oozing yolk, filling the bowl with tongue-coating richness. The dim sum and greens are astonishing little bowls of flavor and delight–with care and precision even in the plating of the smallest items. We’ve sampled many of the noodles (including the street noodles, the drunken noodle, and the pad thai) and they are superb. The sushi is served with perfectly seasoned rice and elegant care. The soups are rich and belly-warming, with waves of flavor that wash over your tongue. Even the house-made kimchi is astonishing. The only disappointments so far have been in the dim sum section of the menu–we loved the Shanghai buns, but the bean curd and vegetable dumplings were only middling, as were the soup dumplings (good, but we expect more layers in the flavor of a soup dumpling).
For most of the second half of the twentieth century, and for a few years post-millennium, there were two DeLorenzo’s in Trenton. One established a national reputation… that was the one on Hudson Street, which closed in 2012. The other DeLorenzo’s was on Hamilton Avenue, founded by two brothers of the Hudson Street founder. This DeLorenzo’s is THAT DeLorenzo’s. While not quite the transcendent confection that used to be found on Hudson Street, it’s still a more than adequate tomato pie, with a crispy crust with a little bit of char, and high quality ingredients.
Little more than a stone’s throw from the Princeton Junction train station, asianbistro was one of the original Asian fusion restaurants in this area, and still one of the best. My sushi-eating friends claim that the bistro serves up some of the best sushi in Mercer County, and the Korean and Japanese cooking, in particular, are quite good.
In the heart of Lawrenceville (about 15 minutes from downtown Trenton), you’ll find WildFlour, an utterly charming bakery/cafe. Set in a beautiful old house, the bakery features a small service area for ordering pastries, cookies, breads, cakes, scones, etc, as well as a simply gorgeous cafe dining area, tastefully decorated and with beautiful natural light. They have everything that you could possibly want from a bakery (from gorgeous cakes to brazilian cheese puffs), and the cafe boasts a menu of crepes, salads, and sandwiches that’ll make you feel like you’re in Paris. What’s the catch? Everything, absolutely everything, is 100% gluten-free (and vegetarian).
But here’s the trick… depending on what you order, you might not notice that it’s gluten-free. I would put their danishes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and knishes (oh, the knishes!) against any other bakery’s–they are simply among the best I’ve ever had. The danishes are flaky and decadent, I particularly recommend the nutella danish which is so lush it ought to be illegal. The cookies have just the right blend of browned crumble and buttery softness. The cinnamon rolls are unforgettable, delightfully dense, not too sweet, and with a nutty caramelization on top. And the knishes… you will swoon over these knishes! Light and airy, they are the perfect bite with an exquisite flavor that’ll transport you to a bygone era. They come in two flavors (potato and spinach with caramelized onion) and are only served on weekends or by special order.
The revived Warren Street–Trenton’s own “restaurant row”– used to host a wonderful coffee shop, Cafe Ole. This year, Cafe Ole shut down their walk-in restaurant, functioning solely as a catering business now. Ever since that closing, we’ve been lacking a place to go for a quiet morning cup of coffee downtown–somewhere that wasn’t a diner or a restaurant, but had a coffee shop feel to it. Now there’s a new kid on the block, the E. Front Cafe. Technically not on Warren Street, E. Front Cafe is is right around the corner (appropriately on East Front Street). The cafe provides a humble and cozy coffee shop vibe, a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of downtown life. With a remarkably friendly staff, and an eclectic menu at “Trenton prices” (i.e., significantly less inexpensive than comparable joints in our neighboring towns), it’s a welcome addition to the Warren Street family.
E Front Street 2The best thing about E. Front Cafe is the atmosphere. It’s an quirky mix of tables and booths and odd little trays on wheels, along with scattered phrases written on the walls, a giant American flag, and a hand-written menu on white board. But there’s something delightful about it, and if you find yourself sitting by the window, you’ll enjoy your breakfast or lunch by a warm (though artificial) fireplace. It’s a nice touch.
What’s one of Princeton’s high-end restaurants doing on Hidden Trenton? Mediterra is a pricey restaurant where a single entree can easily set you back $20-$35, and it’s customary to order some starters and at least a few glasses of wine (each priced above $10). Sure, their Mediterranean cuisine (with both Italian and Spanish specialties) is delicious–but it’s hardly hidden, and it’s certainly not a bargain.
But walk into the restaurant on a Monday-Thursday between 4:30pm-6:30 (or better yet, after 9PM), and bypass the hostess for the large communal tables to your right. There, you’ll be greeted with a “tavern menu,” featuring a delightful array of tapas. And during those wonderful hours, all of those tapas are only $2 each. After 9PM, many of their wines (typically priced between $10-$15) are only $7 per glass. It’s a terrific deal, and well worth a visit if you happen to be in Princeton at the right moment.
Dedicated Hidden Trenton readers have known for years about our enthusiasm for Papa’s Tomato Pies, a Chambersburg icon that recently joined the Italian flight to the suburbs (you can now find them in Robbinsville, NJ). But…much like the branches of the famed DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pie family, Dom (great-grandson of the original Papas founder) has finally founded his own independent branch of Papa’s Tomato Pies. And he’s picked a most unusual location–inside the cafe and food court of a Risoldi’s supermarket.
The modest shop is run by Abdul, an Afghan native who has had restaurants in Pennsylvania for the last 30 years. He previously operated his Jahan across the street, in what is now a tobacco shop, he later moved to Langhorne, and now he’s back. It’s a clean but very casual place, and in my visits they’ve seemed to cater to a reasonably large take-out crowd. There are a handful of stools by the window and maybe 6 small tables that seat 3-4. In the back, underneath a giant TV that is on too often and too loud is a traditional floor rug and pillows. You order at the counter, but if you’re eating in, Abdul or one of his relatives will bring out your meal for you and bus the table appropriately. Sure, the plates have chips in them and the atmosphere couldn’t be more casual. But once you take a bite, you won’t care.
It’s only a thirty minute drive from Trenton to this tiny vegetarian restaurant in Bucks County, PA. The decor is unimpressive, but the place is packed (on a recent Saturday we were unable to get a reservation until 8:45pm). Why? This joint has some of the best vegetarian food in the greater Philadelphia and Trenton areas. This is hearty, rib-sticking vegetarian cuisine, and it’s absolutely worth the trip.
The pupusas are outstanding. They come in 3 varieties: Cheese, cheese and black beans, or cheese and pork. The first two are vegetarian, the last obviously not. In particular, the black bean filling is superb, and the pupusas arrive with nary a glimmer of excess oil on their perfectly grilled exteriors.
Set in an unassuming shopping complex just a few blocks away from historic downtown New Hope, this casual restaurant is a vegetarian’s heaven, and an omnivore’s delight. With a 100% vegan menu (that means nothing that had a mother, and no dairy or eggs either!), Sprig &Vine offers a wide-ranging menu of gourmet delights, and for prices far superior to what you would find for comparable food in NYC or Philly.
Walt Czajkowsi is on a mission to bring top quality pies, artisan breads, and pastries to the Trenton area. Where many of the old-line Trenton bakeries have dumbed-down their offerings to make them more affordable, the Pie’d Piper is achieving a nice balance between top quality and reasonable price.
Ila Mae’s is a neo-soul restaurant that opened in the winter of 2013 in a charming storefront on the 300 block of Market Street. The menu is eclectic and slightly quirky. Sandwiches are generally featured: most come on a whole wheat torpedo roll or a wrap. There are many vegetarian options, and many meat sandwiches that feature vegetable fillings as well. There is an fairly extensive selection of fish (flounder, tilapia, salmon, whiting) served in sandwiches or dinner entrees.
Roti comes from Trinidad: the cuisine of residents of South Asian descent. It refers to the bread, yes, but also the curried meal that comes with it (and often stuffed inside like a giant burrito).
Sometimes you want a basic Italian meal: tasty, not too expensive, not too fancy. Mamma Rosa’s, only a few minutes out of town on Klockner Road in Hamilton fills the need.
The menu is a mix of old-line “red-sauce” Italian dishes, with a fair number of more ambitious items (and specials) mixed in. The quality is good. Prices are higher than the typical Trenton-area Italian eatery, though not exorbitant (e.g. $19 for chicken; $27 for a veal chop).
Trenton Social is the sort of hip, slightly upscale bar and restaurant that attracts a diverse crowd of Trenton’s movers and shakers. White, black, straight, gay, artists, artisans, performers, brokers and bankers… you’ll find them all hanging out at Trenton Social having a good time.
La Villa is a nondescript pizza restaurant in Morrisville, just over the bridge from Trenton. In addition to conventional pizza and a host of Italian cooking, La Villa features a “Chambersburg Style Tomato Pie”. And darned if it isn’t.
This is the kind of restaurant you can take your mother to, and still get outstanding, home cooked Guatemalan food at unbelievably low prices.
El Chapin is a new Guatemalan restaurant at the corner of Cass and Lamberton Streets, within spitting distance of Waterfront Park. The specialty of the house is charcoal grilled rotisserie chicken, and it’s really, really, really good.
Most Indian restaurants have good food and indifferent decor. Few, today, are particularly expensive. But the Palace – despite being located in a strip mall off of Quakerbridge Rd – is absolutely gorgeous inside, reasonable for lunch, and a small fortune for dinner. Palace does a very nice buffet every afternoon. That’s probably the best way to get exposed to the restaurant and to decide if you’re ready to spring for the full dinner menu.
With so much great tomato pie in Trenton, why does Dominick’s deserve a place on Hidden Trenton? A few reasons. First, the pies are genuinely good, made with fresh ingredients. While the tomato pie doesn’t quite match the sublime heights of Papa’s or DeLorenzo’s, it’s darn good. Second, it’s open when those other places aren’t. Want a pie for a Tuesday lunch? You’re out of luck with either of the classic Trenton establishments, which are basically open only for dinner.
Mastoris is one of those places that doesn’t seem possible when you first go there. First of all, it’s impossibly huge… the website claims they serve up to 2,800 people per day, and certainly the facility is large enough. Second, when you sit down, your waitress will bring you a plate piled high with two loaves of sweet bread, one each of cinnamon and cheese. Don’t eat too much bread, though, since the portions on your order, when it arrives, will be huge.
Hong Kong Restaurant, located where Hamilton and S. Clinton intersect is probably the best, true Chinese take-out in town. This is a family-run restaurant, with an extensive menu cooked in front of you while you wait.
Everyone has a yearning for simple, cheap Chinese food from time to time, and you don’t want to have to drive to get it. In a town where there are some truly dreadful take out Chinese joints….listing a few that are pretty good is a useful service. Kam Buffet is a post millenium buffet joint, with a large dining room and a huge array of steam tables. The food is good, and management takes better care to keep it fresh and turning over quickly than many establishments of this type.
From the outside, Lucy’s looks like many other downtown Trenton lunch joints. But the food isn’t what you’d expect. Lucy’s appeals to the alternative eating crowd. There are always has a bunch of specials…for example the other day salmon burgers were on the menu. You get a choice of grilled vegetables with most sandwiches or wraps, where you can select from a lovely platter of freshly parboiled veggies ready to be grilled to order, including broccoli, onions, carrots, zucchini, peppers, and more. Of course, you don’t HAVE to go veggie. You can get a pretty mean cheese steak with all the grease and none of the greens, if that’s what you want.
A decent Pan-Asian restaurant across from the Dairy Queen in Morrisville? Believe it or not… And the food’s the thing. With an extensive menu serving up Chinese, Japanese, and Thai dishes, no one should go hungry or want for choice. There’s plenty of seafood and vegetarian dishes (which you’d expect), one of the best sushi bars in the area, and even several dishes that will satisfy the unrepentant carnivores in your party.
Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of great breakfast in Trenton. Sure there are some diners and other assorted options, but finding a place that goes beyond the breakfast basics (eggs, pancakes, omelettes, bacon) is rare. That’s what makes Cafe 72 unique. Despite it’s casual luncheonette atmosphere and bargain prices, it is aiming to higher culinary heights (if not always achieving them). What are we talking about? Think Belgian waffles filled with sun-dried figs and topped with blueberry chutney and cannoli cream, “cajun” shrimp and grits with onions and an egg, or portobello mushroom towers with sliced tomato, poached eggs, provolone, and basil hollandaise (pictured here). The menu is supplemented by a variety of specials; on a recent visit we sampled the fresh ricotta donuts with blueberry chutney (and boy were they fresh).
From the outside, Szechuan House looks like a pretty standard suburban Chinese restauarant, and at first glance, so does the menu. All of the standard Americanized items can be found. But look a little closer, and you’ll see a number of items that you never see on a “standard ” menu. Some frankly, sound pretty disgusting…but my rule is that if you don’t find at least a half dozen things that sound disgusting on a Chinese menu, you’re going to the wrong restaurant. As it turns out, there’s plenty on the menu that’s both authentic and delicious.
Mi Tierra is another of the many outstanding Guatemalan restaurants in the City of Trenton, serving its burgeoning Latino population. Mi Tierra stands apart because: 1) the food is well prepared, a notch better than typical and 2) the decor is better than most. While not fancy by any means, it’s a pleasant place to eat, and the service is friendly.
Water Ice is a Philly confection: a slush (like a slurpee) made from water, sugar, and flavorings. In Rita’s case, the flavorings are generally fruit (my favorites: mango, wild-cherry, and lemon) with chunks of fruit mixed-in. Rita’s is a chain started in a suburb of Philly in 1984, that has been aggressively expanding in the mid-Atlantic states with some 400 stores.
