New Jersey

A good reading cafe has a very specific magic trick: somehow, your “quick coffee” turns into two chapters,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 6

A blacksmith’s hammer rings out somewhere beyond the trees, and a few minutes later you might pass a…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

There are places in New Jersey where the “menu strategy” is basically inherited. Your uncle orders the same…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

A sofa with carved wooden arms, a stack of old Pyrex, a rack of winter coats, and a…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

A slate roof over a lakeside plaza in Sussex County. A Portuguese bakery window fogged from fresh custard…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

The first surprise is how quickly the road noise drops away. One minute, Route 29 is doing its…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

The best New Jersey beach days do not always start with a boardwalk tram, a fried-food line, or…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

A box marked “home” might hide a stack of small appliances. A “drugstore” lot can mean shelves’ worth…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

There’s a certain kind of New Jersey meal that tastes better when it comes wrapped in wax paper,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 5

That little blue building on Plainfield Avenue does not behave like a landmark, which is probably why it…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

A tiny omakase counter hidden behind a ramen shop. A polished Atlantic City dining room where black cod…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

Palm fronds at the entrance, plates of garlicky shrimp sailing past the tables, and a courtyard that somehow…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

Some breakfasts arrive with a tiny parsley garnish and a lecture about house-made preserves. New Jersey, thankfully, has…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

Before the beach chairs come out and before Bay Head has fully stretched awake, there’s already a good…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

A morning in New Jersey can start with coffee beside a Victorian storefront, turn into a boardwalk stroll…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

The first thing you notice is the roof. Kelly’s Tavern doesn’t look like another highway-side bar on Route…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

The best New Jersey pizza places rarely announce themselves with polished dining rooms or dramatic menu language. More…

By Duncan Edwards · May 4

A red roadside building pops up on Route 539 after long stretches of pines, and that is usually…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

A waterfall taller than you expect is roaring behind a row of old brick mill buildings in Paterson,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

A tiny post office is hiding in the woods of Tenafly, and it is not the kind with…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

There’s a moment on a sandy Pine Barrens road when New Jersey suddenly stops acting like New Jersey.…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

A giraffe looks down from above the dining room, antler chandeliers glow overhead, and a bear appears to…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

The best New Jersey sandwich orders rarely begin with a quiet browse of the menu. They start with…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

There’s a little swagger in ordering octopus at a place where the pizza ovens are doing most of…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

A white tower rising out of dune grass. A red-roofed beacon tucked beside the Delaware Bay. A pair…

By Duncan Edwards · May 3

A giant painted snake waits near a ladder, and for one ridiculous second, your brain believes the whole…

By Duncan Edwards · May 2

The best New Jersey towns are rarely shy. One minute you are walking past a Revolutionary-era building, the…

By Duncan Edwards · May 2

The first thing you notice is not the menu. It is Manhattan, sitting right there across the Hudson…

By Duncan Edwards · May 2

A kid in a hard hat is steering a construction vehicle in South Jersey while, two hours north,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 2