A food tour of the Jersey Shore with Hailee Catalano, the internet’s favourite cooking teacher
This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to New York
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I would never have imagined myself packing up my life and moving with my partner, Chuck, to his home state of New Jersey. My knowledge of anything New Jersey ended with Newark airport and visions of the Jersey Shore reality TV cast running down a creaky wooden boardwalk, heels in hand.
But that’s not all the Jersey Shore has to offer. And little did I know, there was so much more to New Jersey as a whole. You can live the city life, the farm life, or even the shore life all in one relatively small state, which I think is pretty special.
Chuck and I live on the Jersey Shore now, in Neptune City, near Asbury Park, just about where the Shore begins its 150-mile stretch. This northernmost part is great; with just a breezy hour-long ferry ride I can be in Manhattan and just as easily return home to a bit of beach tranquillity.
While it does get quite busy during the summer, it’s a lovely place to visit year round — especially because of the food! This area is a real destination for food lovers.
Here’s what I recommend: take that Seastreak ferry from New York to Atlantic Highlands, go for a long walk on the beach and then eat. I’ve collected a few of my very favourite places to do the latter, from an old-school butcher to a perfect diner. These places aren’t stuffy, just like the Shore — these are unpretentious, historically working-class beach towns, after all — but they are immensely comforting, often surprising and the very best at what they do.
For a true New Jersey breakfast counter
Frank’s Deli and Restaurant
1406 Main Street, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
Frank’s has the perfect classic Americana breakfast vibe. Walk in and you’ll find all the good stuff: a long counter, some booths, the smell of smoky bacon and a warm welcome from the servers. There’s no music, but the restaurant sounds fill the space with a calming buzz. Forks clank, servers call orders, eggs and hash browns sizzle on the griddle.
Frank’s has been a staple in the Asbury Park area for 65 years, a spot visited by locals and stars alike, from Anthony Bourdain to Jeremy Allen White (who was recently filming a scene there for an upcoming movie about Bruce Springsteen). And all for good reason: restaurants like this just don’t exist anymore.
I love their classic breakfast platters and breakfast sandwiches, but they also have delicious subs, perfect for taking to-go. If I’m an expert in one thing, it’s beach sandwiches, and you can’t go wrong with a classic Frank’s turkey and provolone on a Jersey Shore beach. Pure bliss. Website; Directions
For the best secret cheesesteak
Palmer’s Quality Meats
40 Steiner Avenue, Neptune City, NJ 07753
Palmer’s is everything you could ever want in a local butcher shop. Owned and run by a husband-and-wife duo, they cut fresh, beautiful meat daily. It’s the kind of place where you feel instantly taken care of. No intimidating butchers in leather aprons, just some friendly, skilled people who will cut anything you need and answer any questions you have.
Palmers looks like a butcher shop, but they also use their meats to make amazing sandwiches, with provisions that they source from other local shops and farms. Go there for a cheesesteak, made with the highest-quality meat. It’s served on a perfect semolina sesame roll with melty American cheese, thinly sliced and seared rib-eye, caramelised onions and a hot cherry-pepper spread, which brings some heat and balances out the richness. Website; Directions
For a bakery that truly cares about pastries and bread
Hey Peach Bakery
126 Main Street, Bradley Beach, NJ 07720
Hey Peach Bakery just opened this year, and I’ve already been there more times than I can count. It’s small and quaint, with a sprawling pastry case whose options change daily — often even hourly. The smells are irresistible.
The owners, couple Erin and James Kilker, met working in a café, and they are serious about baked goods: Erin focuses on pastry and James on bread. Everything is baked small-batch on the property. Sometimes you’ll find freshly baked canelé (tiny rum-flavoured pastries that look like two-inch bundt cakes, with a deeply caramelised crackly crust — my favourite pastry) or a beautifully dense rye bread perfect for making lunches throughout the week. Their coffee is also delightful. I often head there just for caffeine, but always end up leaving with a small box of goodies. Website; Directions
For the perfect brunch with guests
Cardinal Provisions
513 Bangs Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
If you’re looking for a fun, creative, and seasonally driven brunch, Cardinal Provisions is my go-to. Whenever I have family in town, I always bring them, and it has become a must-do every time they come back.
Cardinal Provisions is co-owned by chefs Grace Crossman and Laura Brahn. In 2016, they renovated an old deli on a tight budget, and inside they built one of the area’s most beloved brunch spots. The space is cosy, full of beautiful, warm sunlight, with vintage salt and pepper shakers on the tables that always make me smile. I recommend their gravlax bagel and their skillet pancake. Or, for the best of both worlds: get a few fun savoury items and the pancake for the centre of the table to share. Website; Directions
For unforgettable in-season ice cream
Sundaes
2211 NJ-35, Manasquan, NJ 08736 and three other locations
This region is known for its ice cream spots (we’re at the beach after all), but Sundaes holds a special place in my heart for one reason and one reason only: corn ice cream. When summer rolls around, New Jersey has some of the sweetest corn, and Sundaes is doing it right, using that corn to make delightful ice cream. It’s sweet, corn-y and almost nutty, the perfect representation of summer.
Sundaes has been family-owned and operated for more than 30 years, and there are four locations, so you can get your corn fix all the way down the shore. Website; Directions
For an if-you-know-you-know pub
The Grand Tavern
1105 sixth Avenue, Neptune City, NJ 07753
Tucked away on a sleepy street in Neptune City, The Grand Tavern is small, but it lives up to its name. The space looks unassuming from the outside — a white box stamped GRAND in black paint. But inside is a welcoming, upscale but unpretentious restaurant, centred around a gorgeous U-shaped wooden bar.
The Grand Tavern has a concise, elevated American menu that changes seasonally but is consistently good, with plates like oysters au gratin, steamed snapper and braised beef cheek, but also fried wings and crab cake. No matter the season, you’ll always find a lovely salad, a great pasta and the most delicious pub-style burger and fries. Those three items are my dream meal, and keep me coming back. Plus they serve the best dry gin martini with a twist I’ve ever had. Website; Directions
For the ultimate old-school, nothing-fancy Italian joint
Vic’s
60 Main Street, Bradley Beach, NJ 07720
Vic’s on Bradley Beach is a New Jersey institution, and the epitome of the Shore. It’s a classic Italian-American red-sauce restaurant, with green leather booths and knotty pine-panelled walls that take you back in time.
Vic’s makes my favourite bar pie on the Shore: a very thin, no-frills pizza cooked until it’s crisp all over. Vic’s version has barely changed since they perfected it in 1947 — the blend of herbs in the sauce and cheeses on the pie are family secrets.
My grandmother was Italian-American. The dishes at Vic’s remind me of her cooking and what has inspired much of my cookbook: simple, homey, and nostalgic food. Their bar pie is perfectly thin and crisp, and the chopped salad is a cold, crunchy iceberg, vinegary and just right.
My go-to order for two is two pies and a large chopped salad (their pizza is so thin I can easily finish a large pie myself). Pile some of the salad on top of your slice, and you’re in for a treat. They also have a lovely retro bar inside, where I indulge in a dirty martini occasionally. More often, I order an ice-cold can of birch beer. Website; Directions
For an excellent gourmet pizza
Talula’s
550 Cookman Avenue #108, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
New Jersey is known for its pizza, and there are many different styles across the state. Talula’s in Asbury Park makes a killer wood-fired sourdough style, with a perfectly chewy, burnished crust. It has endless fun and unique toppings, from pickled cherry peppers to Meyer lemon to garlic mashed potatoes. And if you don’t believe me, take it from the Boss: like more than one these places, New Jersey icon Bruce Springsteen has been spotted eating there for lunch.
The Talula’s team is constantly adding different seasonal pies to the menu, like a white pizza with sungold tomatoes and squash blossoms in the summer. Their staple soppressata pie with honey is always my go-to. They also offer great vegan options, and the kale Caesar is a must-order. What can I say? I’m a pizza-and-salad kinda gal. Website; Directions
For fish right out of the sea
Atlantic Offshore Fishery
212 Channel Drive, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
A Jersey Shore food tour wouldn’t be complete without mentioning its amazing seafood. There are endless seafood spots to choose from, but a favourite of mine is Atlantic Offshore Fishery. It’s half-seafood market and half-restaurant, which is always a tell-tale sign that the seafood will be fresh. The restaurant is located across the road from their fishing dock, so as you’re enjoying a buttery overstuffed lobster roll, a thick clam chowder or a grilled mahi sandwich, you can literally see the fish they just caught coming into the restaurant. That’s really what it’s all about! It’s also BYOB. Website; Directions
Hailee Catalano’s home recipes can be found on Instagram, TikTok and her website. Her first cookbook, “By Heart”, is available now
Do you go down the Shore? Have you been in recent years to Asbury Park? Share your own favourite food and drink spots in the comments below
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