New Jersey

Some families in Cherry Hill have been sliding into the same booths since the 1960s, and they still…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 6

Some places chase trends, and some places simply outlast them. In Fort Lee, New Jersey, a small roadside…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 6

Remember when a road trip meant pulling off the highway for eggs, coffee, and a seat at the…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 6

Every Monmouth County town seems to have that one bakery where the line forms early on Sunday and…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 6

Some pizza places have been around for a while, and then there is one that opened its doors…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 6

When the wind starts biting and the sky goes dark before dinner, a plate of pasta under real…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 5

Some weeks call for a salad, and some weeks call for a plate stacked with snow crab legs.…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 5

Some New Jersey dining rooms have outlasted trends, recessions, and countless menu fads without changing much at all.…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 5

In a lot of New Jersey homes, the holidays do not really start until someone brings home a…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 5

Some people cross a river just for dessert, and in Hoboken that is not even unusual. A little…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 5

Some places along the Jersey Shore come and go faster than a summer weekend. Others stick around long…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 5

Some dinner plans start with a phone call made from the car, halfway down Route 9, with a…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 4

Some towns hide their best tables behind plain doors, but Lambertville puts one right where the water does…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 4

Some buffets make you take a plate. This one sometimes makes you take a number first. In South…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 4

A bag of apple cider donuts from a South Jersey farm market is one of the best small…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 4

When the boardwalk games close and the beach badges go in the drawer, a lot of people assume…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 4

Some beach towns change their restaurants as often as their T-shirt shops. Wildwood has one seafood spot that…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 4

Bergen County has no shortage of pizza, but only a handful of shops were already slinging thin-crust pies…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 3

Some places earn loyalty with fancy decor. Others earn it by knowing your order before you finish saying…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 3

New Jersey has no shortage of shiny new restaurants, but some of the best steak dinners in the…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 3

Some meals call for a menu, and some call for a stack of empty plates. Along a busy…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 3

South Jersey has argued about cheesesteaks for generations, and the loudest debates rarely happen over Philadelphia sandwiches. The…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 3

Some Central Jersey towns keep their history in museums, but one keeps it behind a counter with a…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 3

Some families go to church on Sunday morning, some go to the beach, and a whole lot of…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 2

New Jersey has more diners than almost any place in the country, but the truly old ones are…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 2

Some people drive across New Jersey for a plate of fried chicken, and they do not apologize for…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 2

Some drives end at a parking lot. This one ends at the edge of Sandy Hook Bay, with…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 2

Some people drive across state lines for a sandwich, and in Garfield, New Jersey, that habit makes perfect…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 2

Some restaurants chase trends, and some just keep cooking the same comfort food for decades because people keep…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 2

Some shoppers in Perth Amboy walk out of one small storefront carrying three pounds of tortillas at a…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 1

Some kitchens chase trends, and some kitchens simply cook the same honest food for decades until the whole…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 1

Some diners earn customers, and a few earn regulars who show up three days a week for decades.…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 1

Once the beach crowds thin out and the boardwalk gets quieter, the Jersey Shore switches gears. Sweatshirts come…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 1

Fifty ounces is a lot of anything, and in one Woodbridge dining room, it is a single porterhouse…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 1

Some restaurants earn a following with flashy menus, and others do it one plate of fried chicken at…

By Samantha Russo · Nov 1

Some towns keep their history in museums, and some keep it in a booth with a coffee mug…

By Samantha Russo · Oct 31

Some dinners end when the plate is empty, but at one Matawan restaurant, an empty plate just means…

By Samantha Russo · Oct 31

Plenty of Jersey ice cream stands pull down the shutters once the leaves start turning. The seven on…

By Samantha Russo · Oct 31

Retirement was supposed to be quiet, but in one corner of Jackson Township, nobody seems to have gotten…

By Samantha Russo · Oct 31