Gaza Ramen and Sushi — Restaurant in Independence Township

Gaza was a post-hike destination last Saturday after my chum and I built up a bit of an appetite climbing up Mt. Tammany. It's a LITTLE out of the way if you're coming to or from the eastern side of NJ, but not too egregious; it's probably five minutes off Route 80 and not even all the way down into Hackettstown proper. One piece of constructive feedback right off the bat - they really need to do something about the signage outside. Gaza is in a strip mall where all of the exteriors look exactly the same, and it took me a solid 10 seconds of intently looking at each business to locate this one; if this restaurant was on Bar Rescue, it would be the first fix.

It is NOT easy to find decent food options in this area. With few exceptions, NJ west of 287 is a total wasteland with very limited fare. I was pretty impressed that we located a sushi restaurant that also boasted a legit menu section for ramen bowls. My chum spent most of our hike announcing that ramen bowls were too heavy for her on this particular day and then of course immediately ordered one upon perusing that part of the menu. We got there around lunchtime so there were some other customers and I think every table had at least one ramen bowl; solid endorsement in my view.

I stuck with sushi though; I recently returned from a trip to Arizona, and I have a rule about ordering sushi in landbound states so I obviously had to make up for lost time. The specialty and regular roll sections were lengthy (I'd say most of the time they are, for what it's worth) but after a few minutes of deliberation I went with three rolls - a regular sweet potato, the Hungry roll and the Best Friends roll. The Hungry roll for sure was the star of the show, super flavorful and fresh despite having minimal ingredients (just spicy tuna and lightly fried salmon). I was also impressed by the gargantuan nature of the sweet potato roll. Not only did it have soy sauce, which is starting to become mandatory for me, but it had these hardcore tempura pieces on the ends. It does not have the appearance of a regular roll at all. The only weak player here was the Best Friends roll, which on paper should have been a lot better - it has three different fish hanging out in it (tuna, salmon and yellowfish), along with my number one sushi chum the avocado. And yet it was incredibly bland; not bad, mind you, but verging on tasteless. It needed chipotle mayo or something to save it, but alas.

The service was very good. Despite ordering a mammoth pile of rolls, everything was out for us fairly quickly, and the waitress demonstrated a strong command of the lengthy menu (when I requested that cucumber not be included in my rolls if it typically was an ingredient, she immediately responded that none of the rolls I ordered had that). And the price points for the specialty rolls specifically were competitive; I think they were both around $14 or so, which is maybe two or three dollars cheaper than I'd expect closer to NYC. The sweet potato roll was around $8, which seems high to me - that was probably $5 or $6 two years ago - but that's the environment we're in these days.

Beggars can't be choosers in Warren County, but thankfully it doesn't really matter here. Very solid option in the...

First time here - will not be the last. The place opened a few months ago and the wife and I were finally brave enough to try. Decor is nicely designed and laid out. One of the Owners/Managers Sunny was there and she was very pleasant and helpful in making a recommendation for a special roll (Crunchy Munchy - excellent!). Our server was also on point.

The food was the highlight - a house sample of Shumai was really special - tasty filling. For an appetizer we ordered Veggie Tempura and their menu description of the batter being very light was spot on. Nice mix of veggies and good dipping sauce.

The highlight was the sushi. The rolls came out quickly and were beautifully crafted and presented. The chef took the time to make art out of several sauces - quite the presentation! The quality of the sushi (cooked and raw) was very good - it's on par with the better sushi I've experienced. I'd say the pricing is excellent for the quality.

This is also a BYOB establishment and there's a large liquor store adjacent to Gaza.

I hope nothing but the best for the owners and staff here as it shows they care about their service and quality.

We'll be back and I would recommend giving this...

TL:DR - Best ramen in the area (meaning Sussex County) & great food.

We've been meaning to try this place for a while, and were pleasantly surprised! We ordered our dinner to go, getting three bowls of ramen, and an order of takoyaki to share.

The tonkatsu ramen was the best we've had in the area. This isn't a hard record to beat, because the other ramen around is disappointing, but Gaza's is really close to authentic ramen, with a few minor flaws. The broth was flavorful and piping hot, served separately so nothing gets soggy on the ride home. The noodles were cooked just right, and a good sized portion. The veggies in the mix were fresh. The eggs (we even ordered extra) were disappointingly just normal hard-boiled eggs. Also, the pork was a little overcooked, and mostly unseasoned. Otherwise, it was a solid, satisfying bowl of ramen.

The takoyaki were wonderful. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and of course the octopus in the middle! The bonito flakes and sauce on the outside were just right. We ate all of them pretty quickly.

Definitely go here if you'd like a good bowl of ramen, and tasty apps to go with it. Will visit again for future...