Beyond Pizza and Frozen Custard

If you've had enough of the typical Shore fare, and are looking for high-quality cuisine, we've got some tips that will point you to the right exit.

Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City.
Colin Archer & Marc Steiner/Agency New Jersey.

Atlantic City
Exit 38B

Quantity is never the question in Atlantic City; the Boardwalk and beaches stretch four miles. The question, rather, is quality—though not about the beaches, which are broad and clean and patrolled by the oldest lifeguard organization in the country, the Atlantic City Beach Patrol (which coined the term beach patrol in 1891).

When it’s time to put on the feedbag, again, quantity is not the issue. There are more than 60 sit-down restaurants in Atlantic City proper, not counting dozens more in neighboring towns. Yet quality—in the Atlantic City that’s been growing since the Borgata opened in 2003—is not hard to find, though its price can be dear.

Start with the Borgata itself, a bit removed from the ocean beaches in the northwest corner of town. Its six fine-dining restaurants form a kind of murderer’s row unsurpassed by any other casino. Among them are two steakhouses—one classic (Old Homestead Steakhouse), one creative (Bobby Flay Steak)—and a modernist Japanese pub (Izakaya). Then there are seven casual dining spots and a food court.

The other casinos haven’t exactly folded their cards. At Caesars, the well-known Philadelphia restaurateurs Georges Perrier and Chris Scarduzio operate the upscale Mia. Caesars also houses a branch of the excellent Morton’s steakhouse chain. This spring, Caesars opened a 24-hour Italian eatery called Caffe Tazza at a cost of $1.2 million. There is also the Pier Shops at Caesar’s, which has several eateries, including Stephen Starr’s Asian fusion fantasy, Buddakan.

Harrah’s, meanwhile, is trumpeting the return of chef Luke Palladino (formerly of the Borgata) to the casino environment with a 200-seat Italian restaurant called Luke Palladino at Harrah’s Resort. (Palladino will continue to operate his small, eponymous Italian BYO in Northfield. Can it maintain its high standards if its owner is bouncing back and forth? Palladino says, “I have two core chefs who have been with me a long time, and I trust they can maintain our standards. The restaurants are only 15 minutes apart. It’s been great in Northfield, but I have three kids, and 30 seats isn’t going to put them all through college.”)

If the casinos are the 800-pound gorillas of the dining scene, they aren’t the be-all and end-all. The famously secretive (but in fact not-so-hard-to-get-into) red-sauce Italian restaurant Chef Vola’s (BYO, cash only) was certified in March as one of America’s Classics by the James Beard Foundation. The grand Knife & Fork Inn, since its renovation a few years back, has been a primo palace for steaks and seafood, including memorable lobster Newburg. (Evidently cued by the buzz over HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, the restaurant has a new slogan on its website: “Nucky ate here. Shouldn’t you?”) One of the best Italian restaurants in the state is the family-run Girasole, with its resplendent Versace fabrics and faultess braciole.

If you’d rather stuff your face than mind your table manners—and who wouldn’t now and then?—the famous White House Sub Shop beckons, as do a branch of Tony Luke’s cheese steaks in the Borgata food court (the chopped pork, broccoli rabe and provolone is the tout) and the brand new Taste of the Shore food court at Bally’s. Then there is the inlet-style pizza at Tony Boloney’s. Inlet style? “…A bit more messy with cheese and toppings…a bit more well-done…sorry, we won’t undercook!” Tony Boloney’s is proud to have bested the Food Network’s Guy Fieri in a televised cheesesteak battle.

With so much glitz, what of ethnic food? It’s hard to find, but there are two Vietnamese restaurants (Little Saigon and PHO Sydney) and, for soul food, Alabamian Carl Redding’s joint, Redding’s, which opened last fall.

CAPE MAY
Exit 0

Not all the delights of Cape May involve gingerbread. When it comes time to break bread, the quaint and purely decorative give way to a moveable feast modern and varied. More than three dozen restaurants and casual eateries beckon you in Cape May’s 2.5 square miles. On stately Jackson Street in the heart of downtown, for example, you can enjoy up-to-the-minute contemporary American fine dining in the Ebbitt Room at the lovely restored Virginia Hotel, or stroll a few doors toward the beach and go casual at the Mad Batter, a pioneer of Cape May’s fun food-and-drink scene, now in its fourth decade. Just a block away, in the sprawling Congress Hall Hotel, the town’s restoration showpiece, you have the Blue Pig Tavern. Still within walking distance, there’s the upscale Union Park Dining Room in the Hotel Macomber or the affordable, always reliable, George’s Place for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Care to venture a little further? There’s Black Duck on Sunset, the Peter Shields Inn and, uptown, the Washington Inn, rated by NJM as one of the best restaurants in the state.

LONG BRANCH
Exit 105

The dining action in Long Branch is centered on multiuse, upscale Pier Village. The showpiece is Avenue, whose tall French doors open onto the boardwalk and whose French chef, Dominique Filoni, brings sparkling seafood and the style of San Tropez to the table. Next door is Sirena for contemporary Italian and a few steps north is McLoone’s Pier House for seafood. Across the Pier Village plaza is a branch of It’s Greek to Me. Around the corner and down the block is the Wine Loft, a favorite of NJM readers. Or try Sawa Steakhouse and Sushi Bar opposite Avenue.

Into grazing? You can make hay at Pier Village. Options include pizza (Michael Angelo’s); cupcakes (Cake, Bake and Roll); coffee and such (the Turning Point); sandwiches and such (Stewart’s Root Beer); tacos and burritos and such (Shaka); and the self-explanatory Corner Cafe & Bistro and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

If you want to settle, at least for yourself, a long-running dispute (i.e., who makes the better hot dog), the contenders are a pair of Long Branch legends—the WindMill and Max’s Famous. May as well load ‘em up with chili and cheese for a maximal match.

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