New Jersey

There is a particular kind of New Jersey meal that tastes like someone knew the farmer before they…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

At 6:30 in the evening, the fairgrounds start looking less like a county fair and more like a…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

The best seat in the house is not always by the window. Sometimes it is eight inches from…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

A bronze Mary rises above the Warren County hills like she has been keeping watch there forever, her…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

The best barbecue meals in New Jersey tend to announce themselves before you even reach the counter. It…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

The first clue is the smell. Before you even get serious about your order at The German Butcher…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

A great wine dinner does not always announce itself with white gloves and whispered descriptions of soil composition.…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

At 11:30 p.m., when most respectable plans have already turned into pajamas, Paterson still has one very specific…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

A tote bag starts getting heavy fast when Jersey tomatoes are in season. First it is just peaches,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

You turn off Mettlers Road expecting ballfields, picnic shelters, maybe a jogger or two looping through a county…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

The best farm trips start with that tiny, ridiculous thrill of finding the perfect berry hiding under a…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

A painted concrete pipe in the woods is not usually a sign that you have made a good…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

A wagon bumps along a field road, somebody’s kid is proudly holding a cider donut like it is…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 11

The smoke hits before the sign does. Somewhere along Route 33 in Monroe Township, where traffic moves with…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

A rusted furnace wall in the woods. A castle ruin above a mountain lake. A quiet cemetery reached…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

You can hear the splash before you even find your locker. Somewhere under the big retractable roof, a…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

A glass cabinet full of costume jewelry can stop you faster than a traffic light when the right…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

The first clue that Ocean View Resort Campground is not your average pitch-a-tent-and-call-it-a-weekend place is the tram car.…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

A paper-wrapped burger can start an argument in New Jersey faster than almost anything else on the table.…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

A burger that weighs more than a golden retriever is not something you expect to find next to…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

The shoes are damp, the sky has that flat gray look, and someone in the group has already…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 10

A hulking old locomotive shop is not where you expect to find silk looms, submarine prototypes, rare Colt…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

The corner slice is where the argument starts. Somebody reaches for it too casually, somebody else claims they…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

The red diamond-patterned exterior catches your eye before your stomach has time to make a decision. One minute…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

A perfect New Jersey summer meal has a very specific rhythm: the clink of ice in a sweating…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

The fork breaks through the poached egg, the yolk slips into the hollandaise, and suddenly a perfectly respectable…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

A good foraging walk starts with the smallest kind of drama: a flash of blue hiding under glossy…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

Alligator tenderloin, elk medallions, smoked wild boar bacon, yak sirloin steaks, and bison bone broth are not usually…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9

The first clue is usually the smell: garlic hitting hot oil, seafood simmering in wine, grilled meat coming…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 9