Edison Desi Roundup: New Bengali Restaurant Opens, Indian Voters Make History, and a Spotlight on 50+ Indian Eateries
From the grand opening of Taste of Bengal on Oak Tree Road to the landmark political mobilization that helped define New Jersey's gubernatorial race, Edison's South Asian community is asserting itself with growing confidence — and earning national recognition for its unmatched culinary corridor in the bargain.
Taste of Bengal Opens First New Jersey Location on Edison's Oak Tree Road
A new Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant, Taste of Bengal, made its New Jersey debut with a grand opening weekend on August 1 and 2, 2026 at 1528 Oak Tree Road — right at the center of Edison's South Asian commercial corridor. Reported by TAPinto Edison, the opening marks the restaurant's third location nationwide and its first brick-and-mortar presence in the state. The two existing locations operate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to opening the Edison storefront, Taste of Bengal had been running regular food drop-offs in several New Jersey communities including Princeton, North Brunswick, Bridgewater, Harrison, and Edison itself, building a loyal customer base before committing to a permanent location. The menu is rooted in authentic Kolkata-style and Bangladeshi cuisine, featuring Kolkata Biryani, Egg Chicken Roll, Mughlai paratha, kachhi biryani, luchi, kochuri, and a variety of chopped cutlets. Grand opening hours ran noon to 11 PM on Saturday and Sunday, and the restaurant will maintain those hours seven days a week. The arrival of a dedicated Bengali-Bangladeshi kitchen on Oak Tree Road adds meaningful new culinary diversity to an already vibrant South Asian restaurant landscape and signals the growing breadth of the community's regional and national origins. [5]
Indian American Voters in Edison Define New Jersey's Governor Race in Historic Shift
In a landmark analysis published by Insider NJ, writer Anjali Mehrotra detailed how the Indian American vote played a decisive and arguably defining role in Mikie Sherrill becoming only the second woman elected governor of New Jersey. In Parsippany, where Indian Americans make up more than a quarter of the population, Sherrill won by a 27-point margin — a critical factor in carrying Morris County. Simultaneously, Diya Patel, a first-time Gen Z candidate of Indian descent, was elected to the Parsippany town council. Middlesex County, home to the highest concentration of Indian Americans anywhere in the United States, saw voter turnout climb 13 percent compared to the 2021 governor's race. Most strikingly, in Edison's own District 78 — the precinct anchored along Oak Tree Road's Indian shopping strip — the vote swung from plus-30 for Trump to plus-76 for Sherrill, a stunning 107-point shift. The Insider NJ analysis credited community organizer Jash Gill and the AAPI outreach program with building authentic trust and driving engagement. The piece argued that for the first time, Indian American voters in New Jersey did not merely participate in an election — they defined its outcome, translating demographic size into real political power on a statewide scale. [6]
New Jersey Monthly Spotlights Edison's 50-Plus Indian Restaurants as a Must-Explore Destination
New Jersey Monthly dedicated a feature in its Eat and Drink section to one of Edison's most celebrated distinctions: its extraordinary concentration of Indian restaurants. The guide to exploring Edison's 50-plus Indian eateries positions the township — and the adjoining stretch through Iselin — as an unrivaled destination for South Asian cuisine in the American northeast. Oak Tree Road, which serves as the spine of one of the country's most concentrated Indian commercial corridors, hosts not only restaurants but grocery stores, sweet shops, jewelers, and sari boutiques catering to a large and multigenerational South Asian clientele. The NJ Monthly feature offers both newcomers and long-time residents a framework for navigating the extraordinary culinary breadth on offer — from North Indian tandoor specialists to South Indian dosa houses, Gujarati thali joints, Bangladeshi street food, and Indo-Chinese fusion kitchens. Edison's restaurant scene reflects three decades of demographic transformation, during which the township has become a preferred landing place for Indian immigrants across technology, healthcare, and finance sectors. For the community, Oak Tree Road is far more than a restaurant row: it is the cultural and social heart of the South Asian diaspora in central New Jersey, and a source of identity and pride that a mainstream state magazine is now celebrating for broader audiences. [3]
Sources: [5] tapinto.net · [6] Insider NJ · [3] New Jersey Monthly Magazine