Create your own ice cream flavor at this New Jersey shop
At Beenie’s Ice Cream in Morristown, guests can customize their own ice cream tubs with mix-ins, swirls and more.
- Chicken “Nugchos,” and other outrageous junk foods, most impressed food writer Kara VanDooijeweert this week.
- This column publishes on Saturdays, and typically features standout eats from Morris, Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and/or Sussex Counties.
At this point in my existence, I’ve lived multiple decades, and — as much as I have to be proud of — I realized I’m ashamed of a few things.
- I’m ashamed that I don’t know my cat’s birthday.
- I’m ashamed that I’ll always run from geese.
- I’m ashamed that, at least three days a week, I wake up confused and forget I’m in my own bedroom (or what my name is).
- I’m ashamed that I got fired from summer camp. Twice.
- I’m ashamed that, for the first 10 years of my life, I thought “filet mignon” was spelt “flaming yawn.”
I’m not ashamed, however, of the fact that I spent the past seven days eating nothing but junk food.
And, since I have the pride to say it, let’s talk about that:
Loaded with sugar and fat (and unabashedly enjoyed by yours truly), these greasy, sloppy creations are the best dishes I ate in North Jersey this week.
Chicken Parm Stracciatella, Casano’s Pizza Parlor
Does chicken parm taste better if you double its size and serve it in a pizza box?
Not necessarily, but if you load it with house-made vodka sauce, house-made stracciatella cheese and imported olive oil (and then do the aforementioned) it definitely does.
Such a preparation method is used on every order of crispy, drippy parm at Casano’s Pizza Parlor in Rutherford, and, when I tried it last Thursday, I was so blown away by its creamy sauce, crunchy breading and fresh cheese — made from imported Italian cream — that I had to go back two days later for another cardboard-enclosed serving.
Go: 8 Highland Cross, Rutherford; instagram.com/casanospizzaparlor.
Peanut Butter Cereal Crunch Ice Cream, Beenie’s Ice Cream
Those who read the closing of this column last week know that I was going to invent another ice cream flavor for the Beenie’s menu, and, now that it’s this week, it’s officially live (for a limited time).
Featuring a Frosted Flake-infused cereal milk base with a peanut butter swirl and white chocolate-coated Frosted Flakes, it’s called “Peanut Butter Cereal Crunch,” and it’s currently one of the hottest selling “One Batch Wonders” the shop has offered to date.
Seeing that the 5 gallons we made are almost gone, though, you’ll only be able to try the sweet-and-salty scoops if you urge the owners to add the flavor to the permanent menu.
Join the cause. DM @beeniesicecream on Instagram and let Tony and Andrea know you want the crunch.
Go: 38 Morris St., Morristown; 862-260-9221, beeniesicecream.com.
‘Boneless Heaven’ (the fried chicken sampler box), Bloom Chicken
Was it a share-size order of chef-crafted chicken; elegantly arranged in five geometrically-pleasing rows?
Or was it a fried chicken sampler box?
Instagram decided it was the latter.
Go: Three locations (Hackensack, Verona, Cliffside Park); bloomchicken.com.
Chocolate Tres Leches, Tres Leches Bakery
Like someone made tres leches, but used Nesquik as the third milk.
Go: 868 Kearny Ave., Kearny; 201-998-0702, treslechesbakerycafe.com.
Chicken ‘Nugchos’, The Nugget Spot
Like nachos, but with chicken nuggets instead of chips.
Go: 641 Shunpike Road, Chatham; 973-995-0007, thenuggetspot.com.
PB&J Doughnut, Guzzo’s BakeHouse
Like a jelly doughnut, but with a layer of gooey, melty peanut butter around the jam.
Go: 149 Terrace St., Haworth; 201-685-5360, guzzobakehouse.com.
Parmesan Mushroom Lasagna, Toba Restaurant
And, like a lasagna — but with béchamel instead of ricotta, spicy vodka instead of red sauce and a triple cheese blend instead of mozzarella.
Go: 250 Center Ave., Westwood; 201-359-8497, tobarestaurant.com.
Hungry for more?
Want more on this week’s latest food news? Check out some of my (and others’) best articles at NorthJersey.com/food.
Until next week, eaters.
Here’s hoping the Memorial Day washout gives you the excuse you need to hop in the car and try every indulgent dish I described above.
(Or a minute to tune into @northjerseyeats, because “dining with your dog,” stuffed cinnamon rolls and Asian-insired smashburgers are all on my weekend video agenda.)
Kara VanDooijeweert is a food writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you can’t find her in Jersey’s best restaurants, she’s probably off running a race course in the mountains. Catch her on Instagram: @karanicolev & @northjerseyeats, and sign up for her North Jersey Eats newsletter.
