When dining at Café Paris, do as the Parisians do: bring your own bottle of wine, sit at one of the sidewalk tables (weather permitting, of course, as no one ever says New Jersey is more beautiful in the rain), and pretend you can pronounce the menu items written in French. Whether you’re dining inside or outside, this little café on Main Street in Metuchen will transport you to Paris and put you in the Parisian mindset. Café Paris has been nestled between a Chinese restaurant and a nail salon for eight years now. Owner Marie-Therese Fuller first opened the café in Cranford to pay homage to …

Many people think they know Thai food because it shares many of the same ingredients used in both Chinese and Indian cuisines. They assume that Thai curry is the same as Indian curry or that Thai fried rice and noodle dishes are the same as Chinese, when Thai cuisine has its own flavors, ingredients, and textures. Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish that is synonymous with Thai food, and most people who think they know and love Thai food think they also know Pad Thai. Pad Thai and other stir-fried rice noodle dishes are what most customers order on a regular basis at Mie Thai restaurant…

On a warm summer evening nothing hits the spot like…kulfi? Kulfi is a traditional Indian frozen treat that is similar to ice cream but has a denser and creamier texture. It also doesn’t melt as fast as ice cream because it isn’t whipped during the freezing process, so you never have to worry about racing to lick a dripping cone. Kwality Ice Cream on Oak Tree Road in Edison is not your typical ice cream parlor. It specializes in making quality ethnic ice cream and was the first Indian ice cream parlor to open in the United States. Food scientist and co-founder Dr. Kanti Parekh, Ph.D., designed…

Maxwell’s 35 is a little bistro on St. George’s Avenue that serves modernized versions of classic dishes from around the globe. This intimate, casual-meets-fine-dining family owned bistro just opened two months ago, and already it has acquired a following of familiar faces—regulars—who frequent the bistro six or seven times a week. Some regulars even come for both lunch and dinner, bringing a different guest with them each time. Needless to say, the word about Maxwell’s 35 is spreading quickly to the point where reservations for weekend dining are highly recommended. The staff is very warm …

It’s summer time and the rising heat index makes the thought of a heavy meal that’s been fried and covered with cheese almost unappetizing. But anyone who says the last thing they want for dinner is a rich pasta and meatball dish clearly has not sampled the new Applebee’s Stacked, Stuffed, and Topped menu. Applebee’s is known for recreating classic dishes and flavors. The new menu has taken meals like Mama used to make to the next level. All items on the menu are stacked or topped with similar flavors and ingredients so that they overlap and form a kind of saucy, cheesy story. The Provolone …