Middle of nowhere NJ restaurant racks up accolades, now from NYT

Before you even try to understand what Sweet Amalia Market & Kitchen is all about, you need to know about a place called Newfield.

It’s one of those blink-and-you-miss-it places. It’s a tiny borough in Gloucester County that has fewer than 2,000 people. It sits north of beleaguered Vineland. You could say it’s one of those towns in the middle of nowhere.

Yet in this town is an unassuming little place which is both a market as well as a restaurant. Nothing big. Nothing fancy. Sweet Amalia Market & Kitchen has no business winning accolades, yet that’s exactly what it’s doing.

It was delivered a beautiful review by nj.com last year. Also, in 2023, their chef Melissa McGrath was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for best Mid-Atlantic chef.

Now, the New York Times named Sweet Amalia as one of their 50 favorite restaurants in the United States for 2024.

Part of their praise included, “This farm stand, though, has a raw bar, and naturally, the oysters are exceptional. There’s also a counter where you can order casual, colorful plates of whatever happens to have caught the eye of Melissa McGrath, the chef, that week: a towering BLT piled with heirloom tomatoes; falafel over cucumbers and juicy yellow Sungolds; grilled eggplant sandwiches with peperonata.”

I love a good underdog story. It’s like when Jersey City pizza joint Razza was so good it was named the best pizza in NYC despite the fact that it isn’t in NYC. That such a tiny, out-of-the-way place could garner national attention is amazing.

Read more about this little place making big impressions here.