NJ SPICE

Route 27 north of Princeton is such an ethnic food paradise.  I wrote about it for the Packet several years ago, and it’s only gotten more diverse since then.

Yesterday my friend and I tried Think Grill, a place that one of the chefs at Acorn Glen Assisted Living had told me about.  Thank you Kyle!  It’s like a Greek fast food place, with typical American fare too.  But I had my mind on the Greek dishes.  They didn’t have the lamb for souvlaki I thought I wanted, but they did have whole, slow roasted lamb shoulders – amazing!  For about $10 each, we shared half of one of those, they sliced it up and put it on two plates for us.  It came with a choice of two sides, which included things like mac and cheese, slaw, etc, but we stuck with the Greek idea, choosing the lemon potatoes, and green beans stewed with tomatoes.

This lamb was absolutely delicious, they even sprinkled it with dried oregano before serving it to us at the table.  Mind you, this is well done lamb, and a fatty cut, which is what keeps it so moist.  The crispy caramelized bits on the outside are heavenly.  It was so flavorful, we oh-ed and ah-ed through every bite and took home leftovers.  And none of this seemed too salty, which was a huge relief.  And the staff?  So friendly, they seemed genuinely happy to see how pleased we were with the food.

There is a full menu of gyros and other Greek dishes, plus plenty of typical American fast food here too, and many things come family style so you can stop by and pick up rotisserie chicken (bet that’s good too), or ribs, or that gorgeous lamb shoulder ($18.95 for half, $33.95 for a whole), and take it home for dinner.  I’d proudly serve that lamb to company.  Tell them you made it and they’ll think you’re a genius.

After that we went to the Great Wall Supermarket to stock up on some Asian groceries (and European formula chocolate Ovaltine, and remember Pho 99 is in that center too), then drove by the place I mean to try next time (another tip from Kyle), Valerie’s Hungarian Deli (since closed, I noticed in 2014).  By then the heat had gotten to me, so I didn’t go in, but look foward to dinner there soon.  Like Think Grill, they mix American with their ethnic specialties.  Chicken Paprikash with spaetzle?  Crepes?  Be still my heart.  This is in the little plaza in back of the big CVS on the southbound side of 27.   Next door is Bangalore Express (decent Indian takeout), and…about to open, and Afghan Kabob place.