the road | the food | a new direction
Polish Water Ice’s specialty is water ice that’s made in and served from soft-serve machines. It’s a growing chain with two locations on the Seaside Heights boardwalk, where they aggressively offer free samples. The texture really is super-smooth for water ice. All the flavors are based on sweetened, neutral-tasting grape and/or apple juice, with stabilizers and preservatives. There’s no peach in the peach ice or cherry in the cherry ice – the flavors are all artificial. Continue reading
Philadelphia cheesesteaks are traditionally served on long rolls. While it’s rare to encounter one on some other kind of bread, it’s not unheard of. One of the best cheesesteaks in the region is served on a round hard roll, just across the river in Camden’s Donkey’s Place. And here in Seaside Heights, the dueling cheesesteak joints known as The Original Steaks and Steaks Unlimited, across the street from one another, employ pizza bread as the absorbent vessel for the thinly sliced beef, goopy cheese, and well-cooked onions. Continue reading
We’ve loved Maruca’s plain slice for many years. With a little more-than-usual focused attention it became clearer to us that mild cheddar is part of the cheese mix. We don’t know that for a fact but our tongues are telling us. We hadn’t noticed this before (or was this slice atypical) but the crust, under the pie but not at the edge, had a croissant-like flakiness that was very appealing. Maruca’s, with no slow-fermented doughs or wood-fired ovens, is non-artisan pie at its best. Continue reading
There’s something about dining within view of the ocean that stimulates the appetite for some local shellfish. And at Dentato’s Clam Bar on the boardwalk, the shellfish is … well, we don’t have a clue. We’ve never sampled any, and anytime we’ve been there we’ve never seen anyone else sampling any either. We’ve HEARD of people eating clams at Dentato’s, and they may well be wonderful. But as long as they keep delivering one of the best Italian sausage sandwiches at the Jersey shore, those clams will just have to wait. Continue reading
Kohr’s Frozen Custard, The Original… Kohr’s Frozen Custard Inc. … The Original Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard … those are just three of the many Kohr’s custard stands you’ll find up and down the east coast, mostly along boardwalks in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Are they the same company? Are they related in some way? Continue reading
Pizza, cheesesteaks, frozen custard, Italian sausage sandwiches – that’s been our Jersey boardwalk menu for as long as we can remember. And that menu has served us well. Today, however, the honor roll will have to make room for a fifth member of the fat and salt brigade. The pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich at Jersey Roll, towards the north end of the Seaside Heights boardwalk, is not only worth saving precious boardwalk stomach real estate for, but can compete with any in the Garden State. Continue reading
There’s a scene in an old Woody Allen movie, Love and Death. Woody, playing a Russian peasant, is pointing a gun at Napoleon:
Woody: You’re a tyrant and a dictator and you start wars.
Napoleon: Why is he reciting my credits?
That’s how we feel about the Midway Steak House on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights: they use knockoff Cheez Whiz, the meat’s chewy, and there’s not much of it. And those are Midway’s credits! Continue reading
There are still many Trenton-area tomato pie aficionados who get misty-eyed at the mention of the long-departed Maruca’s. De Lorenzo on Hudson Street (now in Robbinsville), De Lorenzo on Hamilton Avenue (now in Hamilton Township), Papa’s (also now in Robbinsville), Joe’s (closed), Maruca’s: those were the Big Five. Maruca’s opened a branch at the Jersey shore and eventually closed up shop entirely in the city. Today, Maruca’s shore reputation may surpass its capital city rep. Many people claim that Maruca’s serves the best slices on the shore. We tend to agree with them. Continue reading
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