Ray's Braise: College Towns - Princeton

[Every other week, Ray takes us on a culinary tour of the tri-state area and treats us to some of his favorite recipes. Enjoy! -Max]



Illustration by Donal DeLay

Every University has its own culture, and the towns surrounding them tend to match. Where Rutgers is casual, Princeton is blue-blood. Where New Brunswick is urban, the city of Princeton is touristy. I never attended Princeton, but I've had the pleasure of visiting the city many times and sampling its culinary offerings. While you won't find the same cultural diversity or great cheap eats you'll find in New Brunswick, what you will find is a surprising amount of fine dining and some classic restaurants that can transport you to a bygone era of dining - as well as possibly the finest ice cream parlor in New Jersey.

Ray's Braise: Best Meals of 2009

[Please give a warm welcome to new biweekly columnist Ray Goldfield! Ray, in his column Ray's Braise, will take us on a culinary tour of the tri-state area and treat us to some of his favorite recipes. Enjoy! -Max]

Photo Courtesy Jason Perlow

In many ways, 2009 was the year everything changed for me in the world of food. I grew up in a home where food wasn't a huge part of day-to-day life. My father loved eating out, and he wasn't picky. My mother was certainly a good cook, but her tastes geared more towards salads and vegetarian dishes. In addition, growing up with dairy allergies, my diet was somewhat limited. It was very easy, as an adult, to fall into a routine of eating canned food and meat and potatoes without putting much effort into the food that I ate. Variety mostly came from eating out, and while I did certainly consider myself a food lover, I never had much interest in broadening my horizons. This started changing in 2002, when I won a contest in the Newark Star-Ledger to ride along on the Munchmobile, a yearly review trip that criss-crosses New Jersey visiting eateries of every kind. I was exposed to so many unique places and cuisines on these weekly trips that I came away with a much better understanding of my likes and dislikes. But it wasn't until years later, inspired by my friends (including those posting at this blog), that I really took the initiative in cooking for myself and bringing the things I love to eat when I'm out to my daily life and my kitchen table.