Short and to the point

If you want to eat at Jose Tejas in Woodbridge, pull up a comfortable chair.  This nonstop Mexican establishment is a major attraction for regional fans of tasty, affordable food and margaritas, and as such has monstrous waits during peak times.  On one Saturday, we arrived at 4:45 and weren’t seated until 5:30; a second time we endured a near two-hour wait, with the manager begging people to step outside to avoid fire code violations.  It was a ZOO, and we blame the hordes of New York plates in the parking lot–surely Staten Island escapees visiting the Woodbridge Mall.

That said, the food is some of the best Mexican we’ve encountered, with lots of vegetarian options and even a Cajun menu section, and the service (once seated) is swift, friendly and efficient.  Ambience is noisy, but warm and sociable.  Prices are fair, as are portions. Although in many ways it is worth the wait, going for lunch or a weekday dinner is probably a better bet.  You can’t miss the place–just get on Rte. 1 and look for the giant neon sign that says “EAT.”

The readers of New Jersey Monthly are polled every year about the “best” of New Jersey in a bunch of categories.  Inevitably, due to the readership profile, the results are skewed to include more winners from the northern part of the state.  The comments section on the Best Of piece are sometimes more useful than the actual article, because apparently there is no better motivation for people south of Rte. 78 to sound off their opinions than to have their favorite pizza joint slighted. It’s expressing it roughly, but you get the drift.

An unassuming storefront for bread that makes you go mmm

Anyhow, in the Bread category for 2011, Calandra’s Bakery of Newark took the top honors.  The comments poured in online.  How could you overlook DeMarco’s in Aberdeen?  Well, we’d never heard of, nor been to DeMarco’s, but were intrigued and it was close by.  Stopping in on a chilly Saturday, we perused the soso selection of Italian specialties, and plunked down the cash for a few samples of the yeasty goodness:  a fruit and nut round, two onion rolls and an Italian loaf.  We were not disappointed.  The rolls and half of the fruit/nut round were gone before we left the parking lot, and we gobbled the rest by the next day. Balanced flavors, perfect texture and crust.  Very recommended.

Post-mine, we ate at an Irish pub in Dover called The Quiet Man, named for the eponymous John Wayne movie.  Rave reviews from two vegetarians, a meat-eating he-man and a sullen teenager—no easy feat.  The definitely-not-Irish waitress brought us a lovely bread board as well as our scrumptious food selections.  Winner.

Our table included:
Cajun chicken/smoked sausage soup
Scalloped potatoes
Sliced roasted portabello mushroom over mashed potatoes with Madeira sauce
Roasted cauliflower ravioli with curry cream sauce
Opened faced burger with fried eggs, prosciutto and apples
Iced tea
Hot apple cider