Supreme Kabab & Curry

PAKISTAN
INDIA

While four lanes of Highway 1 blaze straight southwest towards Trenton in an endless sea of strip malls and gas stations, smaller and parallel Route 27 meanders a less direct path through slightly kinder lands of strip malls and gas stations. The more important thing to note in this area though is the abundance of restaurants that grace the side of Route 27, especially those of a South Asian bent.

In a very ugly building veneered with beige-painted bricks lives Supreme, which advertises Indian and Pakastani on a neon sign and Bangladeshi as well on the menu. Regardless, it's all halal, and quite good.

My largest point of contention was the lack of patience they seem to have, regardless of the fact that it was not busy after 2pm on a weekday. The main attraction for non-south Asians seems to be the buffet, and as our group looked through the menu we had to repeatedly decline the proprietor's offer. He seemed unaccustomed to selling anything but this to customers like us, and came off as pushy, hawking goods that were past their prime in mid-afternoon.

Thankfully we all picked made to order items from the tandoor, like the hariyali kabab ($8, below top) and beef bihari kabab ($5, below bottom).

Like all items, they were complemented well with a fresh piece of naan ($1.25). We found all the meats a bit on the dry side, especially the bihari, but the hariyari which is laced with coriander and hara dhania spices was quite delicious enough to overcome this.

The grand daddy of the kabab section of the menu is obviously the supreme kabab platter ($9.99, below), which is a combination of three chicken varieties, and far too much meat for one person alone to eat.

With the thriving region of tech and pharmaceutical companies in this area of New Jersey, a sophisticated and dedicated south Asian cuisine seems to have arisen. For this New Yorker, the surface has only been scratched.

KENDALL PARK New Jersey

3076 NJ Route 27