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Garden State Eats: Asparagus, Tripe, and Barbecue

Posted by BrianYarvin, May 23, 2008 at 12:00 PM

Editor's note: We here at Serious Eats:New York are pretty excited to welcome Brian Yarvin as our New Jersey correspondent. Brian is a photographer, educator, and writer, and his book "Farms & Foods of the Garden State" just came out. Every week, he'll tell us about something delicious in New York's sixth borough. —Zach

"There was happiness everywhere as tables full of people tucked into their meals. I think you call such a place 'a find.'"

You´d never know it by what you see in the produce section, but the asparagus season comes and goes quickly. Knowing that May 18th was at the tail end, I dragged my friend Michael away from his home in Manhattan down to South Jersey in an attempt to get a few last bunches. We figured that going on a Sunday would be our best bet; farmers down there put out their best spread on weekends.

At Conte Farms (On Route 206, just north of the Red Lion traffic circle), our first stop, we realized that it was later in the season than we thought. All that was there was a cooler filled with asparagus bunches. Priced at five pounds for nine bucks, the deal seemed okay, but we passed and hoped for better. At the Glossy Fruit Farm Market (also on Route 206, a bit south of Conte in Hammonton) we had almost the same experience, fewer bunches of asparagus than there were at the local supermarket. Driving downstate we just kept seeing the same thing; a few lonely bunches.

Needless to say, during a full day in the car, we had to eat somewhere and as it happens, we struck gold twice. Most people assume that when you are out and about in rural New Jersey, you´d go to a diner, but down south, there are some possibilities beyond the ubiquitous. At the top of my list would be Mexican; in Salem and Gloucester Counties, there are tiny places - often in former custard or burger stands - that cater to the local farm and construction workers with authentic food and low prices.

In Bridgeton we found Tacos Bravos, just as it was opening for lunch. As Spanish-speaking families crowded the room, we studied the Sunday specials menu. Michael went for the tacos, but since I hold the irrational conviction that anything good in a Mexican restaurant is served in a bowl, I skipped the sopes, huaraches and clayudas and went for menudo. Soon a large portion of brick-red stew was placed in front of me, and there was happiness everywhere as tables full of people tucked into their meals. I think you call such a place "a find."

Down south, I always keep my eyes peeled for barbecue. Legend has it that at one time, the main routes between Philadelphia and Atlantic City were lined with roadside pits that would feed beachgoers enroute. There are still a few, but finding them is a trick. So when we reached Uncle Dewey´s, it was cause for celebration. Here, less than one hundred miles from the Big Apple, was a perfectly recreated outdoor southern barbeque.

The place looked like a roadside rest area. All that was there were two shelters; one for cooking and serving, and the other with picnic tables for eating. A parking lot and some chemical toilets rounded out the scene. Despite still being a bit full from my bowl of menudo a couple of hours earlier, Michael and I wound up splitting a plate of brisket, collard greens, and baked beans. I had to pass on the sweet potato pie though.

I had to pass on lots of other things too; the turkey leg, "Kettle-Fried Fish," and the "Ham-Burger" - a burger made from pork. Luckily for Dewey, there were plenty of other customers there, all far more hungry than we were.

Eating at Uncle Dewey´s was best described as transcendent. After just a few minutes, we could no longer believe we were in New Jersey. The smell of the smokers, the surrounding pine forest, and the vinegar tang of the sauce felt more like the Low Country of South Carolina. That dream didn´t last long; thirty minutes later we were moving at five miles-an-hour on the Garden State Parkway.

Tacos Bravos
742 N. Pearl Street, Bridgeton, New Jersey (map)
856-451-8583

Uncle Dewey's
6931 Route 40, Mizpah, New Jersey (map)
609-476-4040

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Tags: asparagus, barbecue, farms, menudo, Mexican, New Jersey, Tacos Bravos, Uncle Dewey's