Almost New Year in New Jersey (Edison/Iselin)

The parents & I made a trek to the Oak Tree area between Xmas & NY, figuring (rightly) it would be crowded, but not the zoo it was last year on New Year's weekend. We visit maybe every six months, for a dose of desi culture & an excuse to eat mithai, dosas etc.

Dinner on our arrival was at Swagath Gourmet. My mother & I have eaten here several times before, though Dad has not - he was as impressed as we were on our first visit by spotless kitchen, attentive service & excellent food.

On being seated we were immediately offered a bowl of piping hot "tomato soup" - ignore the server's insistance that this is very mild! it's actually fresh rasam, properly spiced & with a subtle heat that kicks in slowly (this was offered by the only non-indian staff person, who was clearly less knowledgable about the menu!). We had plain idli & vada with sambar to start, together with tomato-flavored potato cutlets. I'm not an idli fan usually, at their worse they are like hockey pucks, but these were excellent, delicate & light; vada & cutlet were also freshly cooked. Dosas to follow were tasty & filing, particularly the accompanying coconut chutney which is made with fresh coconut. The potato masala lacked chilis (unless requested) & had a higher than usual (though more authentic) amount of chana dal mixed in. We devoured the entire dosa, they were large, but not the monstrosities offered here in Chicago & sat back with no space for desert. Prices are a little higher than other places on OTR but well worth it for the quality of the food and peaceful setting. The restaurant was almost full on a Wednesday night, mostly with families, and quiet instrumental music in the background.

Late night snack was sticks of mango kulfi from the freezers at Apna Bazaar, a sweet was to end the day!

Lunch the next day was at a new location for us, Sher e Punjab. We'd been shopping, filing up the car with fresh & frozen vegetables to take back home at Apna Bazaar & needed fueling before the drive home. We shared a platter of okay, but not great, chicken tikka. This was tandoor chicken, cut off the legs & mixed with a little masala, butter & onions in a pan before plating. It was clear that the meat was reheated from being cooked earlier, but it was acceptable. However, the saag paneer & naan that we also ordered were excellent, light naan hot & fresh from the tandoor and exquisite buttery saag with delicate paneer. Even my mother said the saag was as good, if not better than her's (which was just as well, as I didn't want to tell her I thought it was better - & my mom's a superb cook). A bowl of boondi raitha & chopped salad were also provided as accompaniments.

Samosas & jalebi from Rajbhog were take alongs for the drive, but all in all, a fun day of eating at two locations I highly recommend. We'll definately be back to sample more of the veg dishes at Sher-e Punjabi (menu was clearly hindu punjabi, with baingan bhurtha, makki roti & other homespun favs on the menu), and Swagath has never failed us for excellent south indian food.

Sher e Punjab, Edison
1734 Oak Tree Road New Jersey (NJ) Phone: (732) 548 6155

Swagath Gourmet, Edison
1700 Oak Tree Road New Jersey (NJ) Phone: (732) 549 2626