The 10 best places to stop on the way to the Jersey Shore

My family is notoriously slow to get out the door to start vacation, even when we’re heading somewhere as exciting as the Jersey Shore. But I’ve started to believe that it’s just their devious strategy to assure a good meal. We’ll have barely crossed the Walt Whitman Bridge before the cries of hunger suddenly begin coming from the back seat, as if the mere 90-minute journey from Center City is simply too long to bear without sustenance: “What’s for lunch?!”

And I’ll admit: the options are so tempting, from raw oysters and fried clam rolls to barbecue, pozole, hoagies, and pie, my stomach starts growling, too. If there’s a bigger challenge than hitting the road, it’s deciding where to go.

You can practically taste the ocean at this dreamy yellow roadside stand turned market-cafe, even though it’s only halfway between the city and the Shore, set amid the farmland near Vineland. Chef-partner Melissa McGrath effortlessly channels South Jersey’s best ingredients with inspired dishes featuring Mid-Atlantic oysters, creative sandwiches, and local produce for picnic table feasting. The raw bar is essential, showcasing Sweet Amalias from co-owner Lisa Calvo’s oyster farm on the Cape May Peninsula, along with oysters from other Jersey farms. You can get them fried, baked, or raw in “Sweeties” platters splashed with creative seasonal toppings, including a fennel, ginger beer, and buttermilk dressing for spring; summer versions have ranged from gazpacho to melon salsa.

The stunning sandwiches are also worth the trip — not only the various seafood rolls (the fried clam is a favorite), but the stellar Italian hoagie, superb eggplant cutlet, and arguably the best BLT on the planet when Jersey tomatoes are ripe. I’m also obsessed with McGrath’s latest creation: a shrimp cutlet made from a burger-like patty of ground crustacean bound with sesame oil, mustard, and dill that’s crisped in seeded Sarcone’s bread crumbs, layered with gribiche (a mayo sauce made here with Smith Poultry eggs, mustard, and dill) and gem lettuce on toasted brioche. Finish with the luscious strawberry biscuit and whipped cream for dessert, and you’ll understand why I don’t really even need a trip to the Shore as an excuse for a Sweet Amalia run.

📍 994 Harding Hwy., Newfield, N.J., 08344 📞856-839-2478, 🌐sweetamalia.com/market-kitchen.

Ruthie Henri has kept the smoker fires glowing at arguably South Jersey’s best barbecue joint since her husband and cofounder, Doug Henri, died in 2021, carrying the pit master’s torch at this Black Horse Pike roadhouse in his stead. The St. Louis-cut ribs remain a particular favorite, along with the slow-smoked chicken, tender pulled pork, and corn pudding. But Henri’s is just as well known for its expansive weekend soul food buffet, which showcases some of the region’s best fried chicken.

📍1003 E. Black Horse Pike, Folsom, N.J. 08094 📞 609-270-7268, 🌐 bestbbqsj.com

Sometimes we don’t make it very far at all before lunch. But that’s probably because we took a detour through Gloucester County for some excellent hoagies at this classic Italian deli in Sewell. The sharp Italian hoagie is fantastic, a perfectly layered blend of meats and finely shredded veggies (including pickled peppers) that makes for a hearty sandwich without it feeling overstuffed. I especially love the Chicken Giuseppe, a crisp chicken cutlet hoagie topped with juicy bruschetta tomatoes and provolone.

📍660 Woodbury Glassboro Rd., Sewell, N.J. 08080, 📞856-415-9600 🌐paljoeysdeli.net

On our most ambitious, early-to-rise vacation launch days, my crew can make it the full 35 miles from Center City to Hammonton, or about halfway to our destination in Ocean City. This agricultural town in the Pine Barrens is known widely as the “Blueberry Capital of the World.” But I also regard it as one of the most delicious cities in South Jersey because it has become a hub for great Mexican cuisine to go along with its enduring collection of Italian businesses.

There is great Mexican food up and down the South Jersey Shore thanks to decades of immigration drawn by jobs in the casino industry, agriculture, and tourism. One of my favorites, El Nuevo Mariachi Loco, can be found just a few minutes off exit 28 of the Atlantic City Expressway. Roberto Díaz’s festive Mexican makeover of a Victorian downtown storefront is a reliable destination for soulful red pozole and excellent chicken enchiladas in mole that pay tribute to Díaz’s Poblano roots. Carnitas braised in Coke, fresh huaraches, and quesadillas folded around huitlacoche with Oaxaca cheese are also worthy draws.

📍 101 Bellevue Ave., Hammonton, N.J., 08037 📞 609-270-7224 🌐 elmariachilocorestaurant.com

This institution has been serving Hammonton since 1956, and while the pizzas may look fairly basic, there is something elusively delicious about Bruni’s old-school approach. The airy, hand-pinched crusts topped with bright sauce, freshly cut veggies, and a housemade sausage that comes in hot or sweet all add up to something distinctive — and as close as it gets to a mid-century pizza time capsule. There is a second location in Rio Grande.

📍Original location: 303 12th St., Hammonton, N.J. 08037, 📞609-561-5310

📍Second location: 1613 NJ-47, Rio Grande, N.J. 08424, 📞609-600-1114, 🌐brunispizzanj.com.

I tend to be a ricotta-only purist when it comes to cannoli. Offer to fill my crisp Sicilian pastry tubes with birthday cake or maple bourbon bacon, and I get suspicious. On the other hand, Mannino’s handles the cannoli with proper respect, and since blueberries are a serious thing here, I figured why not give the local favorite cannoli flavor a shot? And, well ... wow. The fruit not only turns the ricotta a vibrant purple hue, the berry’s gentle tartness perfectly balances out the ricotta filling, which can often border on being overly sweet. This is now my favorite cannoli outside of Isgro’s in the Italian Market.

📍220 Bellevue Ave., Hammonton, N.J. 08037, 📞609-481-2033, 🌐 gotcannolinj.com.

A multigenerational specialty grocer that dates to 1959, Bagliani’s isn’t just a cornerstone of the Sicilian community that has deep roots in Hammonton, it’s one of the best Italian import stores in the entire Philly region. It’s the perfect place to stock up on cheeses, salumi, and olives, many of which are imported from Sicily — and Bagliani’s has some of the most competitive prices around on coveted olive oils, balsamico, and dried pasta to boot. Friends rave about the hoagies, which I’ve yet to try. But I’m always loading up on fresh-made Italian sausage to put in my cooler, because these are still some of the best links around — especially the variety stuffed with parsley and provolone.

📍417 12th St., Hammonton, N.J. 08037, 📞609-561-0693, 🌐baglianis.com

The Red Barn is a charming and quirky little cafe for asparagus omelets, quiche, and homemade meatball sandwiches. But the pie paradise of Penza’s retail bakery is the real reason to visit. These bountiful rounds practically explode with the colors of local fruit, from a double-crusted classic American apple pie to crumb-topped beauties brimming with the pride of Hammonton — fresh-picked cranberries, peaches, or Jersey Blues — that make a stunning dessert centerpiece for any picnic by the beach.

📍391 US-206, Hammonton, N.J. 08037, 📞609-567-3412, 🌐penzaspies.com

I’m always happy to fill my tank at the Valero station in the parking lot of this seemingly generic convenience store because West Side Discount Liquors is anything but ordinary: Its shelves are crammed with one of the largest selections of tequila in the region, with more than 600 labels that range from popular brands to coveted producers, like Fortaleza, and hard-to-find novelty bottles shaped as jaguar-man deities, mariachis (with anatomically correct pouring spouts), machine guns, and cowboy boots. Suffice it to say, after a stop here, you will have everything you need to be the life of the Shore party.

📍730 12th St., Hammonton, N.J., 08037 📞609-704-7660

We can almost smell the ocean air by the time the Custard Hut comes into view. Somers Point is our last stop on the mainland, just across the bay from our ultimate destination in Ocean City. But there’s something to be said for one perfect cone of soft-serve before crossing the bridge, unloading the car, and planting chairs in the sand for a couple weeks. It just so happens that this family-owned ice cream stand, started in 1977, makes some of the richest custard around. With this one final pause to get out of the car, stretch our legs, and devour our cones (a chocolate-vanilla swirl for me, please), the final leg of our trip is short and very sweet. There’s another C-Hut location just south in Upper Township, near the causeway to Sea Isle City.

📍710 New Rd., Somers Point, N.J. 08244, 📞609-653-0420

📍109 NJ-50, Ocean View, N.J. 08230, 📞609-390-0361 🌐 on Facebook