Shag’s Crab & Seafood
At this destination in Salem County for seawater-sweet crabs from the Delaware, you can get ’em cleaned and cooked and packed up by the bushel. Absolutely do takeaway for a picnic, but don’t leave this home port without eating a platter of crab cakes on site.
460 Bistro
Turkey’s vegetable-centric specialties are second to none. But too many plates coming out of this kitchen of a swanky restaurant in Essex County need a second look before being served to diners.
Latin Port
A newcomer to a bona-fide restaurant mecca in Middlesex County follows a culinary course through South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. There are dishes most worthy – moqueca!, spinach salad! – and dishes in need of more care and concentration.
Antojitos Guerrero Mx
A high level of Mexican home-cooking marks this family-owned spot where those in the kitchen know how to wield spice and spin classics with skill and panache.
My Father’s Place
Within the Greater Bridgeton Amish Market in Cumberland County is a sit-down restaurant that serves stand-up fare straight out of Lancaster County, PA.
Betty’s Seafood Shack
Be star-struck by Jersey’s top fishes at a newcomer to the South Shore divined in tribute to one who knew and loved its waters. For all the right reasons.
Bayshore Crab House
Just north of the Delaware Bay is a seasonal restaurant that celebrates the great water’s best harvests. It’s the province of a chef who comes from good oystering stock and knows a thing or three about paying respect to local fishes.
Windy Brow Farms
Seasons call and Garden State inspiration guides at a farm whose name describes its setting to a T. It’s also where an ice cream chef practices his craft and produces an oeuvre that speaks to place with reverence, heart and stunning skill.
Tuckers Tavern
A mainstay on Long Beach Island fires on all cylinders – scene, setting, service and, especially, its wide-ranging yet well-edited menu. After, pop in for a scoop at another worthy island stalwart, Skipper Dipper.
L’Acquario Seafood Italiano
Straddling The Sandbox, a bar true to its name at Seastreak Beach, is a small food truck pod with varying vendors. Whether you’re debarking from one of the ferry service’s boats or coming off Sandy Hook, check to see if this seafooder-on-wheels is docked.
Hainesville General Store
Food – and good food, to boot – is the focus at a thoroughly modern reincarnation of an old-school concept.
Now In-Season
Get out your personal dine card and start making a list of where you want to eat this summer. We’re sharing our initial picks with you – and we’ll share lots more as the season meanders its way to leaf-peeping time.