The community-supported agriculture business model is exploding in the suburbs of New York and elsewhere, allowing farmers and consumers to forge a personal relationship.

The Tri-County Cooperative Auction Market in East Windsor, N.J., still serves as a meeting place for farmers, who talk about the weather and the price of gasoline.

The number of people leaving other careers and choosing the simpler life that farming offers is growing.

The Rutgers tomato project is helping to bring back a lost variety that was once virtually the definition of the Jersey tomato.

“Surprisingly decent” was the consensus among nine reviewers who visited chain restaurants in the suburbs around New York City.

New Jersey’s brew pubs — restaurants with breweries on the premises — are thriving after an industry shakeout that has been likened to the dot-com bust.

Outside the cookie-cutter turnpike service areas, it’s a culinary melting pot — from hamburgers to haggis to shoofly pie.