Chicken wings, toasts, ramen and smoked meats: 9 new restaurants to try in North Jersey
Summer is a slow season for restaurants. So many Garden State residents are either sunning at the shore or traipsing through foreign shores, or doing something in-between. It is vacation time. But that hasn't stopped restaurateurs from opening restaurants in our region.
Here are some of the most recent batch of restaurants that now call North Jersey home.
BSO Wings Express, Dumont
For eight years, George Nwokocha, a Nigerian native, would sell his chicken wings — not breaded ("Naked," Nowokocha said) and cooked in canola oil — at the Fourth of July festivities in Hackensack. He was the most popular vendor at the celebrations, he claimed.
Fans begged him to open a brick-and-mortar spot, and so Nwokocha, who has been tending bar in New York City for 15 years (and still is), finally did ... during the pandemic. Called Brown Sugar & Okra, it was at a 3,000-square-foot-space in a century-old building at 215 Main Street in Hackensack.
"I invested all my money," he said. However, it closed after three years.
Enter BSO Wings Express, a small, primarily take-out joint which shares an entrance with Brookside Tavern in Dumont. "If people want a drink, they can get one at the tavern," he said.
At BSO, they can get eight varieties of chicken wings; the most popular are the sweet and spicy brown sugar and the lemon pepper. Also on the menu: sliders. The most popular is the Sweet Blue glazed with brown sugar and topped with blue cheese crumble. The sliders are served with hand-cut French fries.
"I'm hoping to franchise it nationwide," Nwokocha said.
The shop is open Wednesday through Sunday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Go: 44 E. Madison Ave., Dumont; 201-267-0029, bsowings.com
Menya Ramen House, Ridgewood
After four years in Metuchen, Menya Ramen House has opened an outpost in Ridgewood. It replaces China King.
Ryan Park, one of the owners, calls the food served "Japanese soul food."
Feed yours with spicy miso tonkotsu in a pork broth that has been cooked for 20 hours and then topped with roasted pork (the shop's bestseller). Or, perhaps, spicy kaisen in a chicken broth topped with prawns and clams. Or maybe you'd prefer classic shio topped with roasted pork and fried garlic and ginger chips. And to drink? No alcohol is served (you can bring your own), or enjoy a glass of cold unsweetened tea.
Open every day from noon to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday.
Go: 76 N. Maple Ave,, Ridgewood; 551-588-2288, menyaramenhouse.com.
Kanoon Restaurant, Clifton
Kanoon in Clifton is New Jersey's only halal smokehouse, according to Saed Washah, a retired professor, who co-owns the restaurant with Gus Yousef, a butcher who owns Al-Quds Halal Meat Market in Paterson. Yousef's brother, Sari, is the chef, who, said Washah, cooked for the royal family in Jordan.
The restaurant, which offers both smoked and grilled meats, opened seven months ago and is now poised to open another in Methuchen. "That's how successful we are," Washah said.
Washah said he and the Yousef brothers spent time in Turkey to learn all about smoking meat and to purchase special smokers. The meats — lamb, beef and chicken — are rubbed with Middle East spices and smoked using cherry wood for at least 16 hours. The meats are sold by the pound — $29.99/pound — and accompanied by salad and rice or bulgur wheat and bread. Smoked beef ribs, Washah reports, are the bestselling item.
You can start your meal with such appetizers as baba ganouj, hummus or fattoush salad and end it with baklava or rice pudding.
Open every day from noon to 11 p.m.
Go: 349 Hazel St., Clifton; 862-238-8383 kanoonrestaurants.com.
Toastique, Westwood
Don't know about you, but I'm still not close to being bored with avocado toast. If you, too, are smitten, consider Toastique, a toast and juice bar franchise that began life in D.C. and just opened in Chatham. This is the chain's third location in New Jersey; the other two are in Stone Harbor and Hoboken.
Michele Wardius is the owner, her daughter, Macey, the manager.
Probably to no one's surprise, the No. 1 bestselling toast is the avocado smash, a slice of toasted multigrain bread loaded with mashed avocado, marinated tomatoes, sliced watermelon radish and drizzled with chili oil. Macey's favorite, however, is the tomato burrata, rustic bread slathered with a ricotta spread and dressed with tomatoes and basil with a ball of creamy burrata at its center. "It's amazing," she said.
There is a large selection of fresh juices and smoothies as well, including a pineapple-apple-spinach juice and a ginger-berry with mango and strawberries smoothie.
Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
Go: 11 S. Passaic Ave., Chatham; 973-630-9171, toastique.com.
Effin Egg, Morristown
From the name alone, you can surmise that this breakfast and lunch franchise, founded in Florida in 2019, has a sense of humor. For sure, it's not stuffy. The Morristown location, which opened in April by three brothers — Jeffrey, Nick and Taylor Rossi — is the first in New Jersey (New York City recently opened one, too). If you're an egg lover, Effin Egg shouldn't disappoint.
"Nearly everything has eggs in it," said Danielle Rossi, wife of Nick. Even the Hans Solo cheeseburger, two patties topped with caramelized onions, gooey cheddar cheese and, of course, a fried egg, that is served on a warm brioche bun. "Everything" includes pancakes, tacos, "munchies," sandwiches and bowls.
Unique to the N.J., franchise, is a "Dirty Jersey," a breakfast sandwich made with Taylor ham, cheddar cheese and over-medium egg, spread with ketchup. It is the shop's bestseller.
Other sandwiches include house-made spicy brisket, turkey sausage with housemade chipotle sauce and scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese.
For "potheads" (that is, coffee lovers), specialty coffees are offered from cappuccino to latte to iced coffee, "which is very popular right now," Rossi said.
Open every day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Go: 30 Morris St., Morristown; 973-944-2849, effinegg.com/location/morristown-nj/.
Wholly Cow, Rahway
Terra Guaba, 31, and her husband, Adonis, 32, noticed that there wasn't anywhere to go after dinner for dessert or coffee in their town, Rahway. A community place, a social place, a place where folks can just hang out and enjoy a treat and meet up with friends and neighbors just didn't exist.
So, they decided to open one.
Enter, Wholly Cow, a 1300-square foot spot on the ground floor of The Mint, a luxury apartment complex in downtown Rahway, in which the couple happens to live.
"It's fantastic," said Terra. "We've only been open for a few days and at night the place is packed."
The spot can accommodate 30, and in the future the couple hopes to offer outdoor seating as well.
Featuring plush sofa, comfortable chairs and work stations, Wholly Cow offers a wide array of gelato as well as fresh-brewed, locally roasted coffee. The No. 1 gelato flavor thus far is banana dulce de leche. "Banana and dulce de leche is not a combination I've ever seen in other display cases," said Terra.
The couple hopes to offer breakfast pastries soon as well.
The cafe is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
In addition:
Le Purple, Palisades Park. This newly opened lounge and bar is located on the fourth floor, from which you can peek at the New York City skyline. Enjoy cocktails until the wee hours of the morning. Open every day from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., except Sunday. 7 Broad Ave., Palisades Park; 201-366-4237, instagram.com/le_purple_nj/.
Lulu, Englewood. Lulu Lounge & Bistro, which opened in Edgewater three years ago, now has a sister restaurant in Englewood. Lulu is a Mediterranean restaurant offering the typical cuisine of the region. On the menu: hummus, muhamarra, manti, chicken shish kebab, falafel, kibbeh and grilled halloumi. Also on the menu are American eats such as chicken wings, burrata salad and fried calamari with tartar sauce. 63 Nathaniel Place, Englewood; 201 347-3571, lululoungejersey.com.
Country Cafe, Wyckoff. After 20 years of serving hot breakfasts and hearty lunches in her 40-seat restaurant Country Cafe in Franklin Lakes, Gail Corbo lost her lease. Corbo considered calling it quits but then realized that she just couldn't let down the many people who have supported her for the past two decades.
"The easy thing would have been to walk away," she said. "But I just don't want to let people down." So she plans to open a similarly cozy spot in Wyckoff, probably in September. "We'll have the same menu, with some additions," she said. Expect pancakes, eggs Benedict, egg platters, breakfast burritos, omelets and egg sandwiches.
The lunch menu may have fewer deli sandwiches but such new items as bowls as well as "other more healthy items," Corbo said. The Franklin Lakes location (436 Pulis Ave., 201-891-4464) will be open until the end of July. The new place will be at 637 Wyckoff Ave., Wyckoff.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New restaurants in North Jersey: Wings, ramen and more to try
