New Jersey

A trapdoor opens beneath your feet nearly 100 feet above the ground. A few minutes later, you could…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 17

A weathered sign advertising “Hot Dogs Burgers” rises above the traffic on Route 46, pointing toward a little…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 17

At Chef Vola’s, getting through the door can feel like the first course. The Atlantic City legend sits…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 17

A miniature train rolls past a giraffe yard while, only a few minutes away, hikers follow a rocky…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 17

A six-story elephant watches over the Jersey Shore, a silver flying saucer sits in a suburban park, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 17

A 50-foot marine reptile, a Revolutionary-era document, and an 8K journey through the solar system are not usually…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

There is a point on the trail at South Cape May Meadows where the town slips out of…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

A wooden sun marked with notes from “Here Comes the Sun” is not the first thing you expect…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

The best seafood dinner in New Jersey may arrive in a cardboard box with plastic forks, a fistful…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

A purple drink is sitting beside a breakfast sandwich stuffed with French toast, turkey bacon, egg, cheese, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

A blacksmith’s hammer rings through a Cape May County clearing while, deep in the Pine Barrens, an abandoned…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

A bacon-wrapped chile stuffed with cheese and rock shrimp is not the opening move most people expect from…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

A striped box tucked under one arm, a few stubborn wrappers clinging to your fingers, and the unmistakable…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 16

A fork disappears into a mound of creamy mac and cheese, comes back carrying a dark-edged chunk of…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A nearly unmarked door conceals one of New Jersey’s most coveted dinner reservations, while a few blocks away,…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A plate of fried goat cheese arrives with warm blueberry-basil compote and local honey, while a few steps…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A warm soft pretzel twists its way out of the oven in Mullica Hill while, nearly 120 miles…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A purple door glows from the middle of an otherwise ordinary Somers Point shopping center, looking a little…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A coal-blackened crust slides from a century-old oven in Elizabeth. A few counties away, tomato sauce lands on…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A black bird sticker on the bumper can soften even the most aggravating Garden State Parkway encounter. Around…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A French onion pizza arrives beneath a bubbling blanket of Gruyère. A Roman square crackles along the bottom…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 15

A chicken cutlet sandwich at Sapore Ravioli & Cheese does not arrive looking particularly interested in restraint. The…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

A stainless-steel vat of corned beef in Newark, a brick pizza oven glowing in Paterson, and a hand-cranked…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

A burger lands on the table with melted Irish cheddar, sweet-smoky bacon jam, and enough onions to make…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

A gravy-soaked roast beef hero in Hoboken, a cheesesteak folded into a round poppy-seed roll in Camden, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

By late morning on a Tuesday or Friday, the small counter at Cosmo’s Italian Salumeria can feel like…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

A narrow road slips between cranberry bogs, a lighthouse rises beyond the marsh, and the only charge so…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

A chicken cutlet disappears beneath bubbling mozzarella and red sauce, the side of ziti could pass for a…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14

A handwritten farm-stand sign advertising tomatoes can feel like a small miracle after one too many painful supermarket…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 14