The N.J. food bucket list: 50 items to eat before you die

By Peter Genovese | Originally appeared in NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | Posted on April 21, 2016
[Excerpt with honorable mention of Chengdu 23]

Talk about mission impossible.

Pick 50 great foods and/or dishes to represent the entire state, from casual to high-end fare; breakfast, lunch and dinner; appetizers, main courses and desserts, and not just restaurants, but markets, stands, specialty stores and food trucks?

Yikes.

I’ve sampled thousands of dishes, sandwiches, plates, etc., for work in the past two years alone, so picking a mere 50 was tough.

But when the going gets tough, the tough start eating, and get to thinking about what they’ve eaten. Here is my list of the 50 Jersey foods you must try before you die. It’s not necessarily a list of the state’s 50 best dishes, just the must-tries before you go to that great skillet pan in the sky. I skew to more casual restaurants — it’s what I do — but there are quite a few fancy-pants places in my fab 50.

Call it the ultimate N.J. foodie bucket list. Every county is represented. The list also reflects the state’s incomparable ethnic and dining diversity. There’s mainstream American, Italian, Indian, Spanish/Portuguese, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Korean, Greek and many other cuisines represented here. It’s a good jumping-off point for all you food adventurers out there, a tasty guide for a summer road trip. Food aside, many of these spots are great Jersey experiences on their own.

Spicy cabbage, Chengdu 23, Wayne, my favorite Chinese restaurant in New Jersey. Start with the cabbage, then order either the Szechuan seafood delight or volcano chicken (Jerry McCrea | The Star-Ledger)

Spicy cabbage/Szechuan seafood delight, Chengdu 23, Wayne

[The full article can be found here.]