New Jersey

At Lafayette Mill Antiques Center, a perfectly normal Saturday can vanish somewhere between a rack of vintage coats,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 19

The first surprise is the glow. In parts of northern New Jersey, ordinary-looking gray rocks can turn electric…

By Duncan Edwards · May 19

The first clue that Jhopri is not messing around is the buffet line. This is not one lonely…

By Duncan Edwards · May 19

June is when New Jersey gardens stop whispering and start showing off. The tulips have mostly clocked out,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 19

The line outside 414 Adams Street does not need a velvet rope, a flashing sign, or a host…

By Duncan Edwards · May 19

A perfect pork roll sandwich does not need a view, a velvet rope, or a chef’s tasting menu.…

By Duncan Edwards · May 19

The best clue is the smell. Before the plate lands, before someone at the table says, “You have…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

A proper Jersey sandwich does not politely sit on a plate. It leans. It sags at the edges.…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

A 13-by-31-foot room in Kearny once had more authority than most train stations ever get. Hidden inside the…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

New Jersey has a talent for hiding its prettiest places in plain sight. Beyond the famous shore stops…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

At Browns Bargain Barn, the smartest shoppers are not always the ones who show up first. Sometimes they…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

Stand in the right spot in New Jersey and a bridge can feel less like a way across…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

The first thing you notice is the pink. Not a shy pink, not a tasteful “maybe beige if…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

A chair at the bar with a death legend. A bride who never made it down the stairs.…

By Duncan Edwards · May 18

Espo’s does not sit on some glossy restaurant row where everything looks designed for a photo before the…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

A wooden boardwalk floating over cattails. A lighthouse peeking over dune grass. A waterfall tucked into the woods…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

You know you have found the place before you technically arrive. A bright red barn appears along US…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

A tiny wooden door tucked into a tree. A boardwalk floating through tall marsh grass. A cranberry bog…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

You can start the day standing under rows of orchids in Chester, then end it with dirt on…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

The best Italian bakery visits in New Jersey usually start before you even open the door. There is…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

A heron lifting off from Splitrock Reservoir looks almost too calm for New Jersey. No hurry, no drama,…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

The trick to retiring in New Jersey on $1,800 a month is not pretending you are going to…

By Duncan Edwards · May 17

By the time Van Campen Brook starts slipping over dark rock ledges, your shoulders may already be halfway…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16

A dump truck you can actually operate, a SpongeBob-colored roller coaster under a mall roof, and a Wildwood…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16

From the top of Mount Mitchill, the Jersey Shore does a little magic trick. One minute you are…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16

The best free day in New Jersey might start with a waterfall thundering behind old mill buildings, continue…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16

The Atlantic City Boardwalk began with one deeply unglamorous problem: sand. Not romance, not nostalgia, not some grand…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16

A plate of pancakes can tell you where you are in New Jersey faster than a road sign…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16

Walk into the Book Barn in Denville and the first surprise is not the books. It is the…

By Duncan Edwards · May 16