[photo source: Let Ideas Compete]

Memorial Day and Labor Day act as summer bookends for many of us. Hot days transform into cooler nights, pumpkin-flavored everything and leaves changing their colors . Expectations are always high for new dining options, this fall appears to be no different.

With burgers, it’s currently up to chains to feed into the excitement sometime before winter — including Secaucus (BurgerFi) and River Edge (Habit Burger). The “chipotle of pizza” is making its way to Paramus (Blaze Pizza) while another Mexican contender expands North to take on Chipotle in Montvale (California Tortilla). The Shops at Nanuet and Garden State Plaza both are adding to their coterie of restaurants with the eventual addition of beer & more (BJs Restaurant and Brewhouse) and pizza from Harlem (Patsy’s Pizzeria) in Nanuet with conveyor belt sushi headed for Paramus (Yo! Sushi).

Washington Township sees itself as the upcoming location of not one, but two new spots including Vietnamese food (Pho Miu) and steak (Prime Steakhouse). Teaneck get’s the area’s first Kosher sports bar (Teaneck Doghouse), Ridgewood adds to it’s coffee options (American Bulldog Coffee Roasters) while a Northvale standby moves a short distance up the road (Greek Village).

Two chefs with some credentials are opening restaurants in Ridgewood sometime this fall, with Christine Nunn (Grange) re-opening an old favorite (Picnic on the Square) and Gordon Ramsay alum Eli Kachlon bringing his take on Mediterranean (Novo).

The biggest news, based on web traffic, is the official storefront return of an iconic Bergen County restaurant (Callahan’s) to Norwood.

…and there’s still no word on the John Piliouras (formerly Nisi)-helmed riverfront restaurant in Edgewater (Orama).