ABERDEEN, NJ — On Tuesday, Esquire magazine released their list of the "Best New Restaurants in America, 2023."And out of 50 restaurants they named across the U.S., only one in New Jersey made the cut:Lita, in nowhere else but Aberdeen.Lita is a Portuguese/Spanish (fancy people say "Ibe...
ABERDEEN, NJ — On Tuesday, Esquire magazine released their list of the "Best New Restaurants in America, 2023."
And out of 50 restaurants they named across the U.S., only one in New Jersey made the cut:
Lita, in nowhere else but Aberdeen.
Lita is a Portuguese/Spanish (fancy people say "Iberian") restaurant in Aberdeen, and it just opened this past spring. In-the-know locals already knew to expect good things: Lita is the third restaurant from Neilly Robinson and Chef David Viana, the owners of beloved local restaurant Heirloom Kitchen on Rt. 516 in Old Bridge. (Robinson and Viana also own Heirloom at The St Laurent in Asbury Park.)
Here's why Esquire said they love Lita:
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"It is the thing you least expect to see inside a strip mall in central Jersey next to an old bowling alley, but then again, no one expected that a destination-worthy Iberian restaurant would be here. Many things come from this hearth, but the paella beckons. The fire gives it criminally generous amounts of socarrat (the crispy, caramelized bottom part of the paella closest to the fire), the smoky, crunchy, flavor-packed bits of rice that, to many, are the primary reason for the dish’s existence."
But don't just go to Lita for the paella:
"Lightly fried pieces of Manchego will make you rethink how cheese should be fried," writes Esquire. "The tuna tartare, dressed in ajo blanco and jalapeño, topped with roasted almonds, wrapped in a shiso leaf, and served atop a bed of ice? One of the most sublime bites you’ll have this year. The drinks, from Ricardo Rodriguez, have just enough of a culinary touch to swerve along with the food ... By night’s end, as you step out into the parking lot, you half expect the mosaic sidewalks of Lisbon."
Lita is named for Viana's mother, Rosa Lita, and it's a celebration of the food from her native Portugal. Viana's family immigrated from Portugal to Newark in the 1970s and he was born in the bustling Newark Ironbound, a vibrant neighborhood of Portuguese immigrants. He grew up watching his mother and grandmother cook native Portuguese dishes. He learned to cook at their feet, and he replicates those very same dishes at Lita today.
Lita: 1055 NJ-34 Aberdeen Township, NJ 07747 https://www.thelovelylita.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the....
732-483-4611
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