It was barely 11:30 a.m., but the dining room was already packed. Still damp from a morning of cold and misty rain, a lunchtime crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder inside the tiny West Cass Street space.

The fried shrimp at Fiorella’s is a thing of beauty. Each shrimp is perfectly battered and fried to a golden brown, resulting in a crispy exterior that gives way to succulent, tender shrimp inside.

Your taste buds will thank you, your stomach will do a happy dance, and you’ll finally understand why New Jersey is called the Garden State – clearly, it’s been growing some magic in the soil to ...