A South Seaside Park institution

Beginning today, South Seaside Park will come alive a little earlier than usual with the commencement of live daytime entertainment at the Berkeley Restaurant and Fish Market, located on the corner of Central and 24th Avenues (adjacent to Island Beach State Park), a Seaside area institution since its inception in 1937.

If Island Beach State Park is full (like it is today), turn to Berkeley...

“This weekend will feature our first party of the summer,” said Chris Barulic, 32, who operates the family restaurant along with his mother, Carol, and father, Nick. “We’ll have cover bands every Saturday and Sunday in our parking lot, featuring mellow ‘off the beach’ music.”

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...promises that they "won't suck."

I’ve been in taxi cabs all over the world, from Munich, Germany (late model BMWs) to the deep south of the USA (a pick-up truck with a roll-bar protecting the bed and covered in mud), with experiences that obviously run the gamut, so I rarely have expectations when I hire a cabbie.

Being a talkative person by nature, I usually engage taxi drivers in conversation, even if there is a language barrier, in the hopes that I’ll be asked to sign a waiver after the trip is over for a segment on HBO’s Taxicab Confessions. They’ve seen it all, and I’m always up to hearing compelling stories. Of course, just as the type and condition of taxi cabs vary, so do the interactions with the driver.

Just over a year old, Atlantic Taxi, based in coastal Monmouth County, is a company that aims to please its customers, with clean vehicles, on-time service, and friendly drivers. It has launched a wide-reaching social media campaign to reach potential Jersey Shore customers, with a presence on Twitter and Facebook, which is the reason why I was so interested in learning more about this innovative taxi company. Read the rest of this entry »

Normandy Beach's Kaboodles Ice Cream Parlor serves up scoops, sprinkles and silly names to boot.

The concept of going out for ice cream is absolutely married to summers at the Shore. Sure, there’s FrozFruit bars, Screwballs and novelty character-shaped frozen dessert novelties to be had on the beach during the day, but when the sun goes down, you hanker for a cone. Before any of us could drive, my friends and I found our main source of entertainment in walking up and down Route 35 North in search of ice cream. There was Mrs. Walker’s (now Summer Sweets), Milky Way (now a real estate office) and Salty’s (still the same!) if we felt like trekking. Today the options are just as plentiful, if not more so. Read the rest of this entry »

Even if you’re not a Seaside Park local, if you’ve driven down Central Avenue (Route 35 South) on your way to Island Beach State Park, you know The 3 C’s Luncheonette.

Located on the corner of 10th and Central Avenues, The 3 C’s has been serving up classic breakfast and lunch fare for almost two decades. The owner, Gail, brings a passion for not just food, but for making customers feel welcomed, entertained, and most importantly, full. Read the rest of this entry »

Marcua's, a little... well, ok, a large slice of heaven.

In the June issue of GQ, famed culinary critic Alan Richman lists the best 25 pizza pies from across the country. Nary a mention of our fair state. Not surprising given the follow-up post on his blog, while listing New York City first in the top ten pizza cities in the U.S. (and by extension, the world), Richman states “Pizza, undeniably, is an urban animal…. The big city is where pizza thrives.”

So, the Jerz not only overshadowed by NYC, but possibly not even given a second thought! Well, given just how seriously we take our pie, it seems harsh not to have even been considered. Read the rest of this entry »