New Jersey Guide and Deals

The rigorous standards at New Dodge's Market require that as many local, organic, and pesticide- and chemical-free products stock the historic grocery store’s shelves as possible. Farm-to-table veggies please both local agriculturists and local bellies, and an onsite kitchen stacks baguettes and paninis with Italian-style pork, bacon, brie, and pickle-flavored Jenga blocks. While scents from the market’s coffee bar tickle nostrils, peepers peruse giftables including treat baskets packed with jams and fresh flower bouquets—available for same-day hand delivery. Special events ranging from author readings to performances by local musicians liven things up inside the Victorian-style building, which has stood as a fresh grocer market since the invention of groceries, markets, and the concept of "freshness" in 1886.

Green Symphony's chefs cull zesty ingredients to craft body-nourishing platters and Korean cuisine. Appetites arise from slumber with breakfast offerings such as organic oatmeal splashed with açai fruit purée. Sandwich sages construct breadstacks from South Asian–inspired tempeh, then top their creations with the finest blue, feta, or brie cheese found beyond Mickey Mouse's pantry. A hefty dessert menu gilds sweet teeth with pear-ginger bars and homemade muffins, and bodies find a healthy boost with juice blends including the Cleanser, in which cranberries, carrots, and beets canoodle with barley greens and aloe juice.

The chefs of Mardi Gras Fine Foods reach for pure olive oil and MSG-free recipes to create their Mediterranean-, Cajun-, and German-style deli foods. Freshly made main dishes, such as beef brisket and hot-pepper-jelly tortas, sit in a refrigerated deli case, ready to be packaged up and taken home. Meanwhile, bakers whip up brownies, scones, and muffins, and stack platters high with mini-croissant sandwiches and paninis.

Bent on accommodating guests' desires, the courteous staff also takes special orders to meet specific dietary needs. In addition, custom-designed catering menus feed parties from 5 to 500 atop white table linens or the backs of volunteer ghosts.

In 1973, George Rude took up residence on Griggstown Quail Farm, then a two-acre plot on which he nourished a handful of quail. He purchased the farm outright in 1992, by which point the acreage had expanded to 75 and now housed thousands of pheasants, chickens, and ducks in addition to descendants of the original quail. The farm continues Rude’s concept today, letting poultry raised free of growth hormones, antibiotics, and mandatory gym class live cage free.

Inside a storefront on the farm’s lush grounds, chef Matthew Sytsema stays hard at work in the Griggstown Farm Market’s USDA-certified kitchen. Famed for its chicken pot pie, the shop’s ready-made eats also encompass desserts—from classic apple pie to strawberry-rhubarb pie—and handcrafted soups. Distributed by New York and New Jersey restaurants, seasonal farmers’ markets, and their primary purveyor, D’Artagnan Inc., their poultry also makes mouths water throughout their area.