Fresh mozzarella at Tony Baloney's

What it is: Admittedly, one might not equate mozzarella cheese directly with the concept of a Jersey Shore food. But mozzarella - a white, semisoft high-water-content cheese - certainly has its place in various menu items often sought by those roaming the shoreline looking for a bite to eat. Upon pizzas, in pasta dishes, or with the heaven-on-a-plate simplicity of sliced Jersey tomatoes tossed with bit of basil and drizzled with a touch of balsamic vinegar. In Italy, mozzarella is traditionally made using milk from the Italian water buffalo under strict certifications in the Campania, Lazio, Apulia, and Molise regions. In the United States, it is mostly made from the pasteurized milk of cows.

Why it's so tasty: Mozzarella is a mild-tasting specialty cheese that melts and browns well during the cooking and baking process. And when shredded and served fresh, it tucks easily into anything from tacos to soups. On the tongue, it is a more sweet cheese than it is sharp. The total U.S. consumption of natural cheeses, including mozzarella, has been increasing steadily since 2010, while the consumption of processed cheeses in this country has dropped during that same period, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. "I think that consumers are just having a better understanding of and a desire for something that is handcrafted," said Michael Hauke, owner of Tony Baloney's, an Atlantic City eatery that opened six years ago as the towering Revel casino was being built. It catered then to the construction worker crowd with typical sub shop fare made from quick-cook frozen foods ingredients.

When it got here: While mozzarella and other cheeses have long been staple along the Jersey Shore, Hauke says his enterprise quickly began to evolve away from the superficial fast-food type offerings to include a more substantive relationship with his ingredients In 2009, the eatery began using homemade yeast to make the pizza dough. The idea for the in-house mozzarella - known affectionately as mutz on the menu - along with ricotta and other specialty cheeses developed soon after when his business was invited to participate in a nearby farmers market. Now people stand in line for two hours before the pop-up markets open in Margate, Ocean City, and elsewhere at the shore to get his "mutz," he said. Hauke declined to give away his recipe secret but said his mutz is made the traditional way. The Tony Baloney's menu in Atlantic City and in a Hoboken location have flourished with other house-made items such as Italian fennel sausage and Indian tikka masala coconut curry. The cuisine - which includes imaginative offerings such as the Chinese-food-on-a-pizza General Khan or the Pigface Killer pie that is a pizza with pulled pork and apple cider vinegar BBQ sauce - has developed into an "Ingenious A.C. Grub" concept, he said.

How to satisfy your mozzarella cravings: You can go to any supermarket and get a shredded mozzarella plastic bag quick fix that will help you produce a fairly mediocre homemade lasagna or pizza. But if you really want a full-on mozzarella cheese experience, head to Tony Baloney's, 300 Oriental Ave., Atlantic City, 609-344-8669 or 263 1st St., Hoboken, 201-222-8669. (Please note Donald Trump needs someplace else to eat if he's in Atlantic City. Tony Baloney's, in a Facebook posting, said Trump was banned from the shore location because of his "ignorant rhetoric.") Try anything that features "mutz," including the Ducktown, which is a pizza that has mozzarella and sirloin steak on it, or the trademark-named Uncle Pennybags sub that has lots of the mutz and in-house made salted ricotta and an arugula basil pesto and roasted sunflower seeds that tastes like no sandwich you've ever eaten in your life.

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@JacquelineUrgo

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