Fine Dining in Summit, NJ

Summit, NJ has a ton of restaurants. Having lived here for over fifty years, one tends to take it for granted to have such a wide variety of tastes available at such close quarters. Most are clustered across the street from the railway station in the downtown area. Many towns in America have only one diner and a fast-food stop to choose from.

When evaluating the tastes of the various eateries here (which I don’t intend to do), it must be kept in mind that we must already start from a very high bar. All of the restaurants must compete among each other. Bad food simply cannot survive.

Even with the downturn in our economy, the restaurant business has not suffered in Summit. On pleasant evenings one sees them simply packed. Many have set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk for outdoor dining. There are new places still in the planning stage despite the high rents and a town limit on liquor licenses. Most places encourage you to bring your own. As such, all three of the town’s wine sellers stay open late as to accommodate late diners.

I cannot show all of them here. Space does not permit me to do so. This does not mean that ones I have omitted are in any way lesser than the ones I mention. In fact, I haven’t even been to some of them and it would be unfair to compare. But after a while one picks up scuttlebutt about this and that.

There is one place, however, that deserves a special shout-out. This is The Summit Diner. It’s been around at least as long as I have. It does well and it’s difficult to get a seat around lunch time. Every time I’ve been there, the food has been exquisite. It’s hardly a salt lick as are so many establishments of its kind. Also, the portions are more than generous. After having eaten one’s fill, one is certain to still eat well for the rest of the week with what’s been brought home in the ubiquitous doggie bag.

Categories of dining in Summit include, Indian, Chinese, Persian, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Greek, American (steak house) and Mexican. If I've omitted any, let me know.

Peter Koelliker; pkoelliker8@yahoo.com