Brooklyn Bistro, Toms River

Brooklyn has changed a lot in the last few decades, but the borough's authentic, New York-style Italian flavors are still very much alive in Toms River. That's where siblings Vinny and Maria and Vinny's wife, Sandy, run Brooklyn Bistro, making meals from scratch with the fresh ingredients and no-nonsense dedication that made Italian cuisine so special in the first place. The siblings' parents raised them in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn after immigrating from Sicily, and the kids celebrate their family's Italian-American heritage with an impressive array of hearty dishes. Don't miss the linguine with clams, the housemade ricotta gnocchi, or a Bensonhurt burger cloaked in fresh mozzarella.