These are the North Jersey restaurant openings we're most excited about this fall

Like all forms of art and entertainment — theater, art shows, movies, music, podcasts — restaurants, too, reawaken in the fall, and some are born. And, yes, cooking is an art, and eating out is certainly entertaining.

Fall is the time to rise from summer's lazy, hazy, crazy days and jump into the cool, energetic, hearty time of autumn. A time for new dining rooms, new menus and new eats. A time to put away the flip flops, dig out the sweaters and start looking forward to what autumn will have to offer, eating-wise.

And there's quite a bit to look forward to.

This fall's restaurant forecast for North Jersey is looking promising. Not only do award-winning chefs with bold-faced names like Robbie Felice and Jamie Knott have major projects in the works but a number of talented, skilled chefs whose names may not be familiar — yet — do as well. Among them: Matt Borgersen of Eighty-Twenty Smash in Westwood and KC Gonzalez of Tenmomi in Nutley.

From funky ramen and Korean fried chicken to unconventional tacos, here are the restaurants we are most looking forward to opening in North Jersey this fall.

Ladyfingers Bakery & Bar, Bloomfield. Opening Sept. 25

Does your bakery serve cocktails? Didn't think so. Ladyfingers Bakery, which was scheduled to open months ago but got derailed by permit delays, construction woes and supply issues, is not your typical bakery.

Lauren Kavourakis — wife of chef Jonathan Kavourakis of The Brookdale and recently opened Fanny's — and her business partner, Samara Sulin, are planning to offer cocktails as well as at least one flavor of boozy ice cream (four new flavors every month) along with non-alcohol milk shakes, hot chocolate and traditional desserts. Well, kind of traditional.

Among the familiar but tweaked treats are the white-red-and-green Italian rainbow cookie that at Ladyfingers sport marzipan and are stuffed with cannoli cream and topped with chocolate chips, as well as cheesecake pops. Not the typical round pops — but long, like mini-popsicles, and offered in a variety of flavors, including espresso and peanut butter and jelly.

Enjoy your cheesecake pop with a dessert cocktail, perhaps a dessert Mimosa, a scoop of housemade sorbet dropped into a glass with Champagne. Stop in for a croissant, a doughnut, a Danish and enjoy it with a cup of espresso or latte in the morning. Come in the evening for a slice of cake and an orange creamsicle cocktail. The bakery also creates custom cakes.

The bakery seats 18 indoors and 65 outdoors.

1109 Broad St., Bloomfield; instagram.com/ladyfingersbakeryandbar.

1950 Originals, Westwood. Opening late September

Callahan's, the near three-quarter-century-old, Fort Lee hot dog institution, is no more, according to Daniel DeMiglio, the founder's grandson. DeMiglio had revived his grandfather's business nine years ago, first as a food truck, then as a brick and-mortar shop in Norwood; the latter closed three years ago.

The Callahan's brand, however, is being kept alive by DeMiglio's uncle, Lenny Castrianni, who sells Callahan's T-shirts and hats at a kiosk in the Paramus Park Mall. Castrianni, along with his younger brother and his sister, DeMiglio's mother, own the Callahan trademark.

Which may be why DeMiglio is opening 1950 Originals, a hot-dog spot in Westwood, in the space that had housed Jack's Cafe. for 16 years.

"I am opening a brand new business," said DeMiglio, adding that he will be serving proprietary hot dogs, called the Original (pork and beef) and Signature (all beef), created just for his new business by meat wholesaler Thumann's. The hot dogs will be deep fried and grilled as well as sold in packages at the shop and at grocery stores in the near future.

DeMiglio has assembled a staff for his new venture that includes his previous chef, Daniel Fabian (his new title, chief product officer) and chief marketing officer and president Melissa Ibarra, formerly a digital producer for Conde Nast with a robust social media presence (check out her Mel_vs_Food Instagram account). They, along with chief financial officer Michael Materasso and chief operating officer Keith Sacco, are partners in the business, DeMiglio said.

"Everything is going to be different," Ibarra said, "The new place is a nice, fresh start."

325 Broadway, Westwood.

Kinjo, Newark. Opening early November

Kinjo, a modern Japanese dumpling spot, will be celebrated-chef Jamie Knott's fifth restaurant. All are different. The Saddle River Inn is his multiple award-winning French-American, fine-dine restaurant that is BYOB; his Cellar 335 is a basement tiki bar with wild cocktails in Jersey City; the Saddle River Cafe is his casual lunch and dinner BYOB; and his 10-month-old Madame is his dimly lit modern French bistro.

Now Knott is poised to open still another different restaurant, Kinjo, serving ramen, dumplings, temaki rolls, bao buns and, yes, cocktails. "I will never ever again open a restaurant without a liquor license," said Knott.

"The menu is fun," Knott said. Adding, "I love Asian flavors." He notes that he used to be the executive chef of China Grill, an upmarket Asian fusion restaurant in Manhattan that closed six years ago after 29 years of business.

Bill Sanders, who was the sous chef at Seven Doors Down in Bloomfield, is Kinjo's executive chef. The restaurant will be open every day and seat up to 100.

A heads up: Knott is set to open a sixth restaurant as well as a seventh and eighth. Knott said he plans to open 15 restaurants in the next two years. Asked what his title is in all these new ventures, Knott quipped, "I don't know anymore. Talent acquisition manager maybe." Stay tuned.

155 Washington St., Newark; 973-944-2828, .instagram.com/kinjo_nj/?hl=en

Craft Taco Co., Westwood. Opening November

Chef and restaurateur Michael Merida, a River Vale resident who has traveled extensively around the globe and cooked at some of the world's most lauded restaurants, is set to open a fast-casual tacos restaurant where he will bring his fine-dine chops to bear.

"I'm a chef," he said when asked whether his tacos will be home made.

Merida's tacos will represent the many cuisines of the world. Among his taco offerings: chicken tikka masala, ahi tuna with wasabi aioli; sautéed garlic shrimp with bacon-tomato jam; Korean beef bulgogi with kimchi slaw; and a steakhouse grilled skirt skirt with creamed spinach and hash browns. Sixteen varieties of tacos in all.

Merida is currently the chef and owner of Rockin' Roots, a mostly vegetarian restaurant in Hillsdale that he opened four years ago after heading the kitchen at now shuttered Montclair Social Club. He has worked at three-star Michelin restaurants such as The Fat Duck (UK), El Bulli (Spain), Le Bernardin (New York City) and Nihonryori RyuGin (Tokyo).

FYI: Merida is planning to open two more restaurants in Westwood next year. We will keep you posted.

328 Kinderkamack, Westwood.

Fatto Con Amore, Montclair. Opening late November to mid-December

Remember nearly six months ago when we told you that multiple award-winning chef Robbie Felice was set to open Fatto con Amore, a high-end Italian sandwich shop right next door to Pasta Ramen, his wildly popular Wafu-Italian restaurant in Montclair. Right, it didn't happen.

But Felice, who has been busy running Pasta Ramen pop-ups across the nation and overseeing his divine Italian restaurants, Viaggio in Wayne and Osteria Crescendo in Westwood, assures that he is opening Fatto con Amore, but not at 4 South Fullerton Street as first planned (Felice is planning another restaurant there but is mum about it — for now). Felice will be slinging gourmet sandwiches stuffed with imported Italian ingredients at 349 Bloomfield Avenue, the spot that until recently had housed Mochinut.

"I'm super excited about it," said Felice.

Felice plans to offer sandwiches made with imported high-end Italian meats and artisan cheeses on custom-made breads as well as sell Italian oils, honey, cured meats and artisan cheeses at the shop, which, like an old-school Italian deli, will have cured meats hanging from its ceiling. "Think of it as a salumeria," Felice said, that is, an authentic Italian deli, but one with some 30 seats indoors. He also likened it to "Eataly," an Italian marketplace chain with locations all over the world, but a much smaller version.

"You can buy ingredients that I like to cook with and take them home to cook," he said.

Among the sandwiches Fatto con Amore will offer: mortadella and stracciatella on a Sullivan Street focaccia slathered with pistachio crema; pepperoni and mozzarella on an Italian baguette smeared with basil pesto; and house-made porchetta with broccolini and parmesan on a ciabatta.

349 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair.

Panda Mack, Westwood. Opening late December

First a few caveats: Panda Mack may or may not be the new name of the funky Asian-fusion restaurant that Matt Borgensen of hamburger restaurant pop-up Eighty Twenty Smash and KC Gonzalez of ramen ghost kitchen Tenmomi will open. It will be on Westwood Avenue — but exactly where, well, that's still being worked out, though apparently two spots have been secured.

Borgensen, who for a decade worked at upscale Italian Restaurant Caffe Anello in Westwood, hopes that sometime in late December, his and Gonzalez's "awesome Asian restaurant" will open. Gonzales, whose social media handle is Salty Chef, was chef de cuisine at Cafe Matisse, a fine-dine New American restaurant in Rutherford.

No burgers — smashed or traditional — will be on the menu, but instead approachable Asian dishes that, Borgensen said, "both of us are dying to cook." Dishes like spicy miso and tonkotsu ramen, Korean fried chicken, steamed and fried dumplings, Crab Rangoon and more. "Fried chicken ramen will be happening," said Borgensen. "Any East Asian cuisine is in play."

The duo plans to open the restaurant five days a week, late into the night. "We are going after the late-night crowd." No reservations will be taken. There will be seating indoors and outdoors. Takeout available, too. And the tab? "About $20 per person," Borgensen said.

The two met two and a half years ago through social media. They got along famously. They even did a pop-up together. One dish — Borgensen's burger topped by Gonzalez's pork belly — was such a success, it is on Tenmomi's menu today; it's called Porkys.

For some time, Borgensen said, they knew that they wanted to work together "some day." That day has come.

Westwood Avenue, Westwood.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New North Jersey restaurants 2023: Our most anticipated fall openings