Food Talk  Discussion Forum

Hi Friends

I have just started living in Edison, NJ
Can anyone please let me know any good italian or cuban resturants

Thanks

Fiza kevin replied. hi fiza,
well, i am a long way from new jersey, but no one has answered you yet, so i will try. i did used to go to new jersey a lot a few years ago.

for italian restaurants, to tell you the truth, i Never found a bad one in new jersey. nj has a very large italian immigrant population and you can usually find italian restaurants there from almost all regions of italy. you can especially find typical italian food from 100 years ago, though you can also find modern italian food.
the italian delis that i have gone to in new jersey have been outstanding for lunches, too. don't pass over them.
is there a certain style of italian food that your are looking for?...sicilian, tuscan, roman, venetian, neopolitan (naples), bari-brindisi, milanesa, or even italian-swiss? if so, you might want to call a few places in the phone book to see which style they serve. if they have no idea, it is probably sicilian or neopolitan from 100 years ago.

now, if you REALLY want a good italian meal in nj, get to know an italian-american family and get invited to their family dinner on sundays at their grandmother's house. this is in the afternoon and goes on for hours. there could be 20 to 30 people there, or more counting all the kids (hey, what's one more?) don't forget to take something....a few bottles of wine (chianti, prosecco, etc) or a nice dessert, etc. a bottle of limoncello would be a good thing to take, too. (after dinner drink made w/zest of lemon (peels), alcohol, & sugar.) my (unsolicited) advice is to stay away from taking a pasta dish or other italian main dish, as it is very hard to compete w/the italian food that the grandmothers make. you might be able to take an indian main dish or side dish. for this i would say to make/take something not too terribly spicy and with spices that blend well with italian food. saffron is one of these spices. cardamom, too. methi in small amounts might work well, too, since it is an herb and used in the eastern mediterranean (greek hay = fenugreek). o, and garlic.

as for cuban restaurants in nj, i have no idea, but i am sure there are some. years ago i was in brazil talking to a friend that just got back from a month in new jersey. i asked how it was. he replied 'i went to nj to learn to speak english like an american and instead i learned to speak spanish like a cuban.' you might need to go to the suburbs across from manhattan, as that is where he was.

good luck
kevin