If you haven’t heard of Jollibee yet, there’s a good chance you will soon. People are going nuts over this Filipino chain that, up until recently, seemed to be everywhere in the world but here in New Jersey.

And it was pretty accurate. After all, Jolibee has locations in Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, the UK, and many more.

Then, in a huge expansion, the company opened three right here in New Jersey: Two in Jersey City and one in Edison.

And it’s catching on: After an announcement a few months ago, Jollibee has opened a 4th location, this one in American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ.

The newest New Jersey location opened on Feb. 9.

Jollibee, affectionately known as, “the bee,” offers what their website calls “fast food with a Filipino twist” and its menu specializes in casual Filipino fare. Its most popular dish is Chickenjoy, which is what we Americans all know as a hand-breaded, very crispy fried chicken.

People also go crazy for its Filipino-style spaghetti and a lot of New Jerseyans are discovering the traditional Filipino noodle dish called Palabok.

Of course, they also cook up standard fast-food staples like fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, burgers, but we New Jerseyans love a food adventure.

We already know New Jersey is the Italian food capital of the country. And most New Jerseyans have already had their fill of Japanese, Chinese, and Indian food. It’s definitely time to have a new ethnic cuisine to enjoy in a state where we love to give new culinary options a try.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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The Ultimate Guide to New Jersey Brewpubs

From the website that gave you the "Friendliest bars" and places to watch the game, comes the ultimate guide to New Jersey brewpubs.

So what's a "brew pub"?

According to Thompson Island's Article on the differences between a craft brewery, microbrewery, brewpub & gastropub, it says:
 
"A brewpub is a hybrid between a restaurant and a brewery. It sells at least 25% of its beer on-site in combination with significant food services. At a brewpub, the beer is primarily brewed for sale inside the restaurant or bar. Where it's legally allowed, brewpubs may sell beer to go or distribute it to some offsite destinations."

New Jersey has tons of Brewpubs, some of which have been around for years and some that have just opened in the past year.

Here is a full list of the 21 brewpubs in New Jersey according to New Jersey Craft Beer:

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