China 46   

Maybe somewhere in the United States, on an unremarkable local highway, in a cleaned-up old diner, there's a Chinese restaurant serving elegant, authentic Chinese cuisine to appreciative crowds of Easterners and Westerners. But, for now, let's just assume that China 46 could only happen in Jersey. Lucky us: China 46's dim sum is arguably the state's best, but their dual a la carte menus reflect an oddball genius. The Chinese/Chinese menu includes a remarkable slow-roasted pork shoulder and numerous other dishes made with such faintly menacing non-Western ingredients as sea cucumber, fish maw, jellyfish and duck tongue. The American/Chinese menu might look more familiar: It's here that you'll be able to find your chicken with cashews or beef and broccoli. China 46 does extraordinarily well by both, although it should come as no surprise that the flavors in the former menu are bigger and hotter than those in the latter. The fact that China 46 does what it does at all is reason to celebrate. Those other 49 states don't know what they're missing. -- D.J. Roth