New Jersey

Somewhere between the creak of an old hardwood floor and the first bite of a pork roll, egg,…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 9

A weathered wooden depot, one set of railroad tracks, and a place called Newfoundland. That was enough to…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 9

Imagine climbing a staircase inside a six-story elephant, peering out through its eyes, and realizing the Atlantic Ocean…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 9

A ribbon of tomato sauce spirals across the cheese while a pizza maker sends a round of dough…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 9

A few steps off a wooden platform, the ground suddenly feels very far away. One minute you are…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 9

By lunchtime on a July Saturday, the smell of boardwalk pizza is competing with salt air, the arcade…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

A boulder balanced like it was placed by a giant, a wooden boardwalk stretching toward Barnegat Bay, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

Four enormous globe chandeliers glow above a floor patterned in red, gray, and cream terrazzo, while carved airplanes,…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

There is a certain kind of New Jersey restaurant where the marketing department appears to consist of somebody’s…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

At the crossroads of Routes 532 and 563, a cluster of bright umbrellas appears between the pines like…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

There are places in New Jersey where the biggest decision of the afternoon is whether to keep walking…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

A concrete mile marker still points toward Jersey City, but no train is coming. Instead, footsteps crunch over…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

A fifty-dollar bill can disappear before you reach the checkout at a regular grocery store. At some of…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 8

A steel truss bridge barely wide enough for two careful drivers stretches across the Delaware River, linking New…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

A Friday afternoon escape in New Jersey can go from “we should get out of town” to a…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

“Ramapo Ramble” sounds less like a pleasant Saturday hike and more like something requiring a helmet, a waiver,…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

A good Thai meal can turn on one tiny moment: the first crackle of basil hitting a hot…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

A plate of pasta hits the table just as an NJ Transit train rolls past the window, close…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

A basket of warm cheese bread hits the table in Montclair. A few exits away, charcoal smoke curls…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

Butter runs down the side of the toasted roll before the first bite, which is usually a sign…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

A bowl of pho can be a quiet thing right up until the steam hits your face and…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 7

A goat trots across a narrow bridge overhead while a child below clutches a paper cup of animal…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

A blacksmith’s hammer rings through the trees while bread browns in a beehive oven and a schoolmaster waits…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

The best warning sign at a Middle Eastern restaurant is a server arriving with a platter that makes…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

A thick filet lands at the table still sizzling, but dinner is not finished cooking. At Valença Restaurant…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

A foil takeout tray snaps shut in a Union storefront, doubles disappear before lunch in Jersey City, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

Eighteen inches above the high-water mark is not where most people would build a communications hub capable of…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

The first warning sign is usually the platter. It lands with a thud, somebody moves the bread basket…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 6

An 11,000-year-old mastodon stands in the middle of a Victorian exhibition hall, surrounded by dinosaur tracks, glowing minerals,…

By Duncan Edwards · Sep 5