By Tami Seymour
My family has called the Jersey Shore home for generations. We know many of the restaurant and shop owners where we frequent, whether they are open year-round or just seasonally. Like the tourists who vacation at the Jersey Shore, we have to wait and wait all winter for the seasonal shops to reopen. So, this time of year at the Jersey Shore is my favorite and in honor of that I thought I would share some of my favorite food spots—some secret and most not so secret!
Yum Yum’s Ice Cream, Sea Isle City
One of the cutest ice cream shops around that will have you dreaming of their ice cream all winter long. Yum Yum’s has an amazing amount of flavors, toppings and cones—and every ice cream cone comes with a gumdrop at the bottom! If you want to sample a wide range of their delicious flavors, you can always share the Pig, which includes an impressive 15 scoops of ice cream with 10 toppings of your choice. Order the Pig and you will also get your picture taken and put up on the wall and Facebook page with all of the other “Pig” eaters. Two sisters run this popular, family-owned shop. It works like a well-oiled machine, so don’t let the lines scare you. Yum Yum’s is in the center of Sea Isle City just a block from the beach—even if you are staying on one of the other islands, it’s worth the drive.
Find Yum Yum’s Ice Cream at 31 John F Kennedy Blvd, Sea Isle City, NJ 08243, 609-264-2345
Smoothie Shack, Stone Harbor
Smoothie Shack is your go-to place for healthy eats, offering a range of all natural healthy smoothies, acai bowls and even shots of wheatgrass. I would go there everyday if I could. I recommend the juices for breakfast, the acai bowl for lunch and the smoothies for a snack and a banana whip in between. Joey, the owner, is super friendly and knowledgeable and can be seen participating in local triathlons when he’s not at the shop. It’s located in Stone Harbor inside of Coffee Talk.
Find Smoothie Shack at 299 97th Street, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247, (609) 368-5282
Peace a Pizza, Stone Harbor
This is our long-day-at-the-beach-I-don’t-want-to-cook-dinner-need-to-eat-now pizza place to go. It’s right on the bay just off of 96th Street in Stone Harbor, so it’s the perfect location after a long day in the ocean. You can sit out on their back deck overlooking the bay to watch the sunset or sit inside and let the kids eat and veg in front of the movie (usually Nemo) that they have set up just for kids. For a great light pizza try the Mediterranean salad pizza or the baked eggplant pizza. The kids will sometimes go for the mac-n-cheese pizza, but their favorite is usually good old plain cheese pizza.
Find Peace a Pizza at 9709 Third Ave, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247, 609-368-3990
Fishing Pier Grill, Avalon
Whenever we travel we search for places like the Fishing Pier Grill—those friendly, family-owned, when you walk in the door they make you feel like a local places. The Fishing Pier Grill checks all of those boxes and they serve a fantastic breakfast to boot from eggs cooked any style and omelettes packed with anything of your liking to pancakes, french toast and fresh squeezed juices. And I have to mention that their home fries are the best on the 7-mile island. Located in Avalon right off the beach on the boardwalk, it’s a perfect place for an early-morning breakfast before hitting the beach.
Find Fishing Pier Grill at 32nd & Boardwalk, Avalon, NJ 08202, 609-967-8144
Hula Grill, Ocean City
My sister turned me on to this restaurant. She met the owner, Chef Rihl, in Hawaii on the North Shore of Oahu when he was running a little food truck just off the beach. Lucky for us, he relocated to Ocean City. They have the freshest fish around, their sticky rice is amazing and all of their desserts are homemade! Primarily a seafood restaurant, it has something for everyone. Like most seasonal restaurants down at the shore, they are open from April through October but, unlike most restaurants, you can get your Hula Grill fix year-round as they sell their sauces in their restaurant and online—my favorite being the salad dressing. Now, if I could just learn how to make their sticky rice I would be set.
Find Hula Grill at 940 Boardwalk Ocean City, NJ 08226, 609-399-2400
Marshalls, Cape May Court House
You read that right—Marshalls. Not only is this one of the most organized Marshalls that I have been to, but it has a great selection of clothing, beach gear and the best pantry food selection around. We usually go there to stock up on those all natural (often non GMO and gluten free) “healthy” chips that you would find at Whole Foods — and you can even get packages of chia seeds. AND it is open year-round.
Find Marshalls at Acme Plaza, 11 Courthouse Rd, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210, 609-463-0901
- Photography: Tami Seymour
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