New Jersey has a way of surprising you when you’re hungry and not looking for anything fancy. One minute you’re driving past a strip mall in Newark, or cutting through Camden on a gray afternoon, and the next you catch a smell that makes you slow down without thinking.
Fried chicken snapping under the crust. Cornbread warm enough to steam when you break it open.
Mac and cheese that’s not trying to be clever, just rich, silky, and exactly what you hoped it would be…