New Jersey

The first hint that Cattus Island is not a typical Jersey Shore stop comes before you even park.…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 4

The route to one of South Jersey’s bluest bodies of water begins in a decidedly ordinary place: behind…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 4

At Harold’s in Edison, a matzo ball arrives with the size and confidence of a small moon. A…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 4

A Cape May–Lewes Ferry moves silently across the horizon while cedar branches scrape together behind you and rusted…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 4

At 9 a.m., you could be eating pancakes beneath a Victorian porch. By noon, you might be bicycling…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 4

The first clue that Jersey Johnny’s takes hot dogs seriously is the way the frank stretches past the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

A corner Sicilian slice lands on the plate looking almost comically sturdy: a crisp, oil-kissed base, a tall…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

A slab of prime rib arrives at the table looking less like dinner and more like a personal…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

Steam rises from a bowl of ramen while shopping carts roll past shelves of Japanese candy. A few…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

The first warning arrives when the tray hits the table. What loy a teetering stack of beef, melted…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

The parking lot rarely tells the whole story. At some New Jersey parks, the first few minutes offer…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

Three slices of rye stand upright on the plate, barely containing layers of meat, Swiss cheese, creamy slaw,…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

The first tear into a still-warm loaf is rarely graceful. The crust crackles across the car seat, flour…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 3

At 7 a.m., the door of a little red building on Gordon Avenue swings open, and the day’s…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

One plate arrives hanging from a miniature clothesline. Another piles lobster, garlic gravy, cheese curds, and fries into…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

The first clue that Nola’s Osteria and Pizza is not running an ordinary neighborhood pizza operation appears before…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

A Jersey City rowhouse with no obvious restaurant entrance. A country inn reached by winding through the Delaware…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

A white paper bag from B&W Bakery rarely stays white for long. By the time it reaches the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

The temperature drops just enough as you climb into the Kittatinny Mountains, while down the Shore, the first…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

A kayak slips away from the gravelly edge of Lake Aeroflex, and within a few paddle strokes, the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

A ten-percent discount does not sound dramatic until it lands on a dinner check with two entrées, an…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 2

Behind a chain-link fence on Sparta Mountain, dark water fills a chasm that once rang with blasting, railcars,…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

The first warning sign comes when a paper-thin bar pie hits the table in North Jersey and disappears…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

A jukebox waits near the entrance, the floor looks like a giant black-and-white checkerboard, and breakfast arrives on…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

The temperature drops just enough as you climb into the Kittatinny Mountains, while down the Shore, the first…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

A row of stone battlements rises above Paterson, looking wonderfully out of place against the highways, rooftops, and…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

On a summer Saturday, the boardwalk can sound like a carnival before you have even unfolded your chair.…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

Before you even park, Chit Chat Diner looks as though it wandered out of a storybook and landed…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1

At 7:30 on a Saturday morning, the biggest decision in Frenchtown might be whether to walk toward the…

By Duncan Edwards · Aug 1