New Jersey

There is a very specific sound that tells you a cheesesteak is about to be good: chopped ribeye…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 14

A tiny jukebox at the table changes the whole mood before the first slice even lands. Suddenly, dinner…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

There’s a particular kind of table in New Jersey where dinner comes with moving scenery: ferries slipping across…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

A plate of cinnamon raisin French toast lands on the table, a bakery case glows a few steps…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

A plate of Hakka noodles can tell you pretty quickly whether a restaurant understands Indo-Chinese food or is…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

A latte arrives under a crown of foam, a croissant flakes apart beside a tiny pot of jam,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

Pull off the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Alpine and the whole mood changes fast. One minute, you are…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

There is a particular kind of New Jersey summer math that makes perfect sense only here: one long…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 13

A quick stop on Route 37 can get dangerous fast when the shelves start pulling you in different…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

A good New Jersey dinner can come with a view, a great sauce, or a parking lot so…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

There is something wonderfully unexpected about walking off Route 38 in Mount Laurel and into a place that…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 12

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