New Jersey

The first thing that gets you is the color. Not the trees, not the quiet hills around Hardwick,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 6

The best meals in New Jersey are not always waiting under skyline views or beside boardwalks with neon…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 6

There is a moment at Shady Rest Restaurant when the whole thing feels like a trick. You pull…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 6

A knight gallops past your table, someone at the next row is cheering for the red-and-yellow section like…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 6

The first thing you notice is not the chicken. It is the confidence. Dave’s Hot Chicken in Wayne…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

The best lighthouse views in New Jersey usually arrive with a little drama: wind tugging at your jacket,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

You can learn a lot about a diner from the way it handles a cup of coffee at…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

A folding table stacked with old Pyrex, a box of vinyl records marked “$2 each,” and someone three…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

A coffin over dinner should feel like a warning. At The Old Canal Inn in Nutley, it somehow…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

A lighthouse stairwell feels different when the ocean wind starts pressing against the windows. So does an old…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

A staircase, a plain old “BAR” sign, and the feeling that you may have accidentally walked into somebody’s…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

The coffee cup lands with a soft clink, the griddle hisses somewhere behind the counter, and suddenly it…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 5

At the corner of Ocean Avenue and Beacon Boulevard in Sea Girt, there’s a red-brick Victorian house that…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

A tiny fairy door wedged into a tree root. A boardwalk floating over a Vernon marsh. A lighthouse…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

Three masts rise above the play area like somebody accidentally docked a storybook ship in the middle of…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

A plate lands on the table at Bahrs Landing, and suddenly everyone goes quiet for half a second.…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

Stand on the right ridge in New Jersey and the whole state suddenly rearranges itself. The highways shrink…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

The first thing you notice is not the ocean. It is the smell of hot batter hitting oil…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

There is a very specific kind of joy in ordering pizza, pasta, empanadas, tacos, or cake without turning…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 4

A few steps from the Delaware River, where Frenchtown usually looks like it was built for porch-sitting, bridge-walking,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

There is a certain kind of New Jersey restaurant where the first sign of greatness is not a…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

The first clue that 13th Hour is not your average Halloween pop-up is the address. You are not…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

The Statue of Liberty is right there, close enough to feel almost borrowed, while kids chase each other…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

A server in pajama pants drops off a plate of stuffed French toast, somebody nearby is laughing over…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

A whole lobster dinner for under twenty bucks. A polished Italian happy hour with dollar oysters. A dinner-for-two…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

The first clue is the bread. Before you even get to the pork, the pickled vegetables, the jalapeños,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

The thing about an old churchyard at dusk is that it changes faster than you expect. One minute,…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 3

On Secaucus Road, the buildings do not exactly scream “future of civilization.” They look more like the kind…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 2

The best hiking buddy in New Jersey might be the one already waiting by the door, staring at…

By Duncan Edwards · Jul 2