Belmont Tavern • 1967

When Charles 'Stretch' Verdicchio brought his mother's chicken recipe to this Belleville basement in 1967, he created Chicken Savoy—the vinegar-laced, herb-crusted bone-in dish now imitated across North Jersey but never duplicated. His daughter Annette Wroblewski still guards the family secrets, turning out the original Savoy alongside Shrimp Beeps and ziti with pot cheese in a cash-only dining room where celebrity-signed photos cover dark wood paneling and three generations of locals wait in line for no-reservations tables.