Cracked It

An Uzbek spot in Rego Park and a Korean restaurant in Astoria join the list There’s also a good eggplant rollatini stuffed with fresh ricotta. Dabble between cuisines (with dishes like pork-and-chive dumplings), Shanghai meatballs with salted egg yolks, lobster mapo tofu, noodle soups, and more. This newish Chinese restaurant offers dishes from Shanghai and Sichuan province.

THE SPOTS

Instead of being served with sauerkraut betting and predictions and caramelized canned onions (Jersey dogs are typically topped with a meaty mixture that is often likened to chili), although it resembles more of an onion-flavored Greek meat sauce.

Jersey City is home to Mariscos El Submarino.

Ani makes fantastic ramen, but the appetizers at this casual spot with a ’90s and early aughts playlist are top-notch, too. If you come during lunch, plan on also ordering one of their hot-dish combos that come with rice and your pick of different stews or other meat and seafood dishes. But the sides are good (and the margaritas are $14), making for a good spot to graze on platters of food and drink with a couple of friends. Their barbecue is decent—we prefer the appetizers, like those sticky ribs or some very crispy smoked wings. It’s snappy (with a nice sear), and best topped with the tingly homemade chili-onion sauce—featuring tiny diced onions that somehow taste both raw and caramelized. The neighborhood mainstay has been serving big platters of eggplant rollatini and chicken francese since the 1970s — and it remains a great place for red-sauce Italian and cheap glasses of red wine, filled right up to the brim.

You’ll need to join their long waitlist for a reservation, and you’ll have to call to do it. Come hungry , and with your own bottle of wine—it’s BYO,, because the six-course meal is hefty. Though the owners don’t live upstairs above the restaurant anymore, every room in this house on a residential street in Journal Square is still decorated with their wedding pictures and family mementos. Like the other locations (the place is casual and weeknight dinner-appropriate), but the music is loud and fun enough that you could easily spend a few hours here before a night out in the area.

Wurst Bar

Go here for all things sausages, including brats, kielbasa, and hot dogs. And if you’re a Guinness fan, here’s where to find the best pour in town. A bar that recognizes Irish immigrants fighting on behalf of Mexico in the Mexican American War, it reflects the Irish heritage of the owners behind sibling Dead Rabbit. This tiki bar below White Eagle Hall is a tiki bar decorated with items from Jersey City’s St. Boniface Church. The cozy bar and restaurant offers plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Owner and chef is Nur-E Gulshan Rahman but she gets lots of help from her daughter.

Alongside signature dishes such as the fiery angry chicken (crunchy puntarelle salad), and pancetta-studded rigatoni with tomato and mint, the menu features seasonal treats. In the open kitchen, where fresh pasta is skillfully made, guests can directly observe the culinary craftsmanship. While air-dried cecina and slow-cooked pork carnitas continue to be favorites, taco lovers should not miss the lamb barbacoa. This bar is remarkable not only for New Jersey but would amaze patrons regardless of its location.

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The presence of palm tree wallpaper on the bar across from the contemporary dining space is your signal to inquire about cocktail recommendations from the cheerful staff. Classic Southern dishes, such as fried shrimp accompanied by a homemade lemon remoulade, are featured alongside popular items like jerk mahi mahi, squid ink bucatini, and burgers. This North Indian restaurant — run by a husband-and-wife team, invites families to enjoy a leisurely sit-down dinner.