Leave it NJ.com to put together a list of The 51 NJ restaurants to eat at before you die (Read Full List).

These are “defining” and “essential” chosen by a “handful of fellow Garden State food lovers” while covering across all styles and levels.

As usual with these things, we’ve skimmed through to find the nearby places they chose and perhaps a nugget on their rationale or at the very least what to try.

Those locally that made the list is as follows:

7. Cafe Matisse – Rutherford – Link
8. Cheng Du 23 – Wayne – Link
29. Peck Peck – Teaneck
36. Rutt’s Hut – Clifton – Link
37. Saddle River Inn – Saddle River – Link
47. Toros – Clifton, Paterson, New Milford – Link
50. White Manna – Hackensack

Honorable mention goes to Ninety Acres in Peapack (#27 on the list) as their chef David Felton grew up in Demarest.