Fine dining to food truck grub: The best things we ate this week

Double good news, North Jersey: I'm back from Europe, and it's officially summer!

That's right — according to science, the North Pole has reached its maximum tilt towards the sun, meaning the best season of the year is in full swing.

And, in case you need a reminder of why the next few months completely destroy the others? Here are a few reasons:

1. Denville Dairy
2. Curly's
3. Cliff's
4. Francy's
5. Nasto's
6. Conrad's
7. Holsten's
8. Van Dyk's
9. Kohr's
10. Beenie's

In other words; I'm going to be eating a lot of ice cream for the next 104 days.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

I will, however, still have dinner first, because — unlike the cities of my recent vacation — New Jersey offers dishes that are equally as euphoric as a cool vanilla swirl on a hot July day.

These are three of them; AKA, the best things I ate this week.

The Sausage Smash, Culo Grosso Pop-up

Culo Grosso may only be a pop-up restaurant, for now, but that doesn't stop it from consistently turning out some of the most mouthwatering food in Jersey. When I first met the team at a Kinjo collaboration dinner, I was blown away by the chefs' contemporary take on Italian food.

And now — as it moves towards becoming an official brick and mortar — I'm convinced the upcoming spot could be the region's best new restaurant of the year.

Dishes like the Sausage Smash, which I tried at the restaurant's current pop-up inside Ale House Tavern & Tap, support my hypothesis.

Loaded with creative flavors, the sloppy sandwich features two sausage smash patties (one hot, one sweet), provolone, cherry peppers, basil aioli and salt and vinegar chips on a grilled, buttery bun.

From the textures to the fat content (to the salty and sweet spice profile, to the vibrant colors — and I could go on), everything about the greasy handheld was perfect.

Go: 1899 Route 35, Sayreville (inside Ale House Tavern & Tap for the foreseeable future); instagram.com/cg.pizza.

Literally everything, Celebrity Chefs & Friends Golf Tournament

Two days ago, I attended Karlitz & Co.'s Celebrity Chefs & Friends Golf Tournament at Alpine Country Club. With over 60 of Manhattan's most acclaimed chefs on the same patio, it was easy for me to declare the fundraiser North Jersey's culinary event of the year.

What was harder for me to declare, however, was what dish was the best of the night — because the culinary superstars behind the stoves weren't TikTok chefs or television personalities, but rather the Daniel Bouluds and Kwame Onwuachis of the world.

For a second, I thought the grand cru galbi ssam from Michelin-starred COTE was my favorite creation, but then I tried the caviar-topped king crab rolls by chef Marcus Ware. And, when I sunk my teeth into the seared scallops from Grand Banks? Both of those thoughts went out the window.

In my recap article, I named The Restaurant at Kanopi's beef tartare poppers my top bite, but, in hindsight, literally every dish at the event could annihilate 99.9% of the things I eat on a weekly basis.

So, yeah. You should definitely splurge on a ticket next year.

Go: Monitor Karlitz & Co.'s website for next year's event; karlitz.com.

Banoffee Pie, Seasonal Sarah Pie Truck

New Jersey's newest food truck is a mini pie-mobile, and I'm kind of obsessed with it.

Called Seasonal Sarah's Pie Truck, it features rotating flavors of homemade pies by Sarah Deller; a local baker who’s won multiple blue ribbon awards for her tasty desserts. Past varieties have included strawberry rhubarb, coconut cream and honeysuckle crème brûlée, to name a few.

Though any flavor you try will transport your tastebuds to the champions circle of the county fair, my favorite pie on the menu is the banoffee.

With a rich center of cool, gooey toffee (that's almost like pudding in consistency) and smooth globs of banana over a melt-in-your-mouth graham cracker crust, the bite-sized pie is as delicious as it is adorable.

Go: New Jersey-based food truck. Track location on Instagram; @seasonalsarahpietruck.

Hungry for more?

Want more on this week's latest food news? Check out some of my best articles at NorthJersey.com/food.

And, if you haven't been keeping up with me on Instagram? I've recently shared videos of pizza art, romantic lakeside dining and Montclair's hottest new cookie spot — and they're all going viral.

For those clips, and more, @northjerseyeats is the place to be.

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.