New Jersey

A handwritten board near the register can derail an order faster than the smell of fresh coffee. You…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 27

A century-old clock watches over Upper Montclair while commuters hurry toward the train, coffee cups in hand and…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

A plate of fries lands on a Clifton counter under a landslide of brown gravy. In Fort Lee,…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

A row of tiny cakes waits beneath the bright buffet lights, each one looking harmless enough to squeeze…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

The first warning sign is usually a detour. You tell yourself that driving 25 minutes out of the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

Three slices of rye, a generous stack of deli meat, Swiss cheese, creamy coleslaw, and Russian dressing may…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

A hot dog splits open in a Clifton fryer. A cook in Hackensack presses onions into a row…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

The first bite is usually taken before the car door closes. A paper bag crackles in your lap,…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 26

A warm peach pulled straight from the branch behaves nothing like the tidy supermarket version. It leaves juice…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 25

By 10 a.m. on a July Saturday, the transformation is complete. Beach chairs jam the sidewalks, coolers roll…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 25

The first warning is usually the weight. A counter worker slides over a paper-wrapped package that feels less…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 25

A sourdough bread bowl lands on the counter in Beach Haven, its lid tilted sideways and its center…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 25

Wide ribbons of pappardelle arrive tangled in a slow-cooked Bolognese, soaking up a sauce built with beef, veal,…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

The first warning sign is the trail of croissant flakes. They land on black sweaters, car seats, café…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

The yellow-and-green sign catches your eye first, but the smell from the flat-top grill makes the real introduction.…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

A boardwalk slips over a salt marsh near the Parkway. An obelisk rises above the state’s highest ridge.…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

A plate lands on the table carrying thick slices of French toast bronzed from the griddle, soft through…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

A bamboo steamer lands on the table, someone reaches for a soup dumpling too quickly, and the inevitable…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

Fresh basil lands on the pizza in bright green leaves, creamy mozzarella melts into small white pools, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

A steak lands on the table with a hiss loud enough to interrupt the conversation. Butter races toward…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 24

A bright red door and a Union Jack sign are the only clues that one of South Jersey’s…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

The hot dog hits the oil, its casing splits with a snap, and someone at the counter orders…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A bartender flips a 10-ounce burger over a smoking grill just a few feet from someone nursing a…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A shrimp-stuffed chicken wing crowned with caviar is not an everyday New Jersey dinner—and that is precisely the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A plain envelope replaces the check at one Voorhees restaurant, and what goes inside is entirely up to…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A hawk circles above Cape May while, 170 miles north, hikers scramble across a rocky ridge with three…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A steel bridge rumbles overhead while a great blue heron stands perfectly still in the shallows below. That…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A thin ribbon of water slips through a wall of rhododendron in Sussex County, almost invisible until the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 23

A Tiffany clock still keeps watch over rooms lined with Persian rugs, hand-stenciled walls, and furniture chosen before…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 22