20 Jersey Shore Restaurants You Need To Try This Summer

By Tom Davis

Wouldn't it be best to get an idea about the "best places to eat at the Jersey Shore" from a guy who grew up there? Well, here's your chance to see where you should dine whenever you're going to the beach - whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I grew up in Point Pleasant Boro, but I've dined at plenty of dining across the Jersey Shore, from Sandy Hook to Cape May. I also worked in every county along the Shore, so finding just the right place to get a pizza, a sandwich, a quick bite to eat or a sit-down dinner (and ice cream for the kids) was a daily quest - and a daily burden.

This list may leave out a lot of the so-called fine-dining places with the fancy napkins. Instead, the criteria used for choosing were:

• Affordability (hey, I have three kids with one in college).
• Clam chowder (not everyone has it, but it definitely helped a few get on this list - it's the beach, for crying out loud!)
• Grilled burgers (usually on charcoal - not the flat grills that leave the burgers soaking in grease).
• Convenience and quickness.

Here is the list of 20 places chosen by the author:

• Lucille’s Country Cooking, 1496 Main St, Warren Grove: The ultimately Pine Barrens restaurant that once served "Piney Chowder," which was a variation on Manhattan clam chowder (only it was green). Some of the freshest desserts you'll ever eat - you just have to drive west of the beach, about a half-hour away, to find it. Freshly carved turkey - excellent for a turkey club sandwich.
• Pat's Pizza, 3103 Route 88, Point Pleasant Boro: The best Philly cheesesteaks outside of Philadelphia itself. Get your pizza that's thick enough so that it actually tastes like, well, pizza. Calzones are amazing.
• Frank's Deli and Restaurant, 1406 Main St, Asbury Park: Not a diner - better, actually. The kind of food your supposed to get in a diner, only the turkey is actually carved right off the bird (yes that again). Excellent for breakfast and lunch.
• Frankie's Bar and Grill, 414 Richmond Ave, Point Pleasant Beach: Real cheeseburgers cooked on an old-fashioned barbecue grill that are big enough to fit in a big bun that looks like they made themselves. Excellent clam chowder. Big fries. Good hearty salad (and, once again, freshly carved turkey for your turkey club - once ate here on Thanksgiving!) Have a beer with it and your perfect.
• Bahr's: 2 Bay Ave, Highlands: You get to eat out on a pier and look at Sandy Hook. Good for the kids. Google says: "No-frills joint serving straightforward seafood dishes in a nautical-themed space since 1917." Clam-chowder is different but good.
• Angelo's Fairmount Tavern, 2300 Fairmount Ave, Atlantic City: A real Italian restaurant where you may find the famous author Gay Talese sitting down over a bowl of pasta. Anything with chicken is amazing. Don't try the Italian-restaurant imitators at the boardwalk. Go inland and go here.
• The Chicken or the Egg, 207 N. Bay Ave., Beach Haven: Get a chicken steak sandwich here. Usually a favorite place for young people to go after a night of, well, fun.
• The Gateway, 227 W 8th St, Ship Bottom: Gotta have the best damn New England clam chowder in the country (better than anything in Boston). Go there and get yourself a pint of it. You'll eat it all week.
• Raimando's, 1101 Long Beach Blvd, Ship Bottom: It's BYOB but that's OK, because it's excellent Italian food in an area that doesn't have a lot of places that offer good Italian good.
• Tony's Baltimore Grill, 2800 Atlantic Ave, Atlantic City: Not as good as Angelo's but maybe better for families. A Google review said it best: "Trendy late-night pizzeria dishes up classic pies & Italian comfort eats in an old-school interior."
• Vic's Italian Restaurant: 60 Main St, Bradley Beach: Very similar to Tony's, so that's why it's here. Google says: "Longtime, family-run standby for Italian standards, including thin-crust pizzas with homemade dough."
• WindMill, 586 Ocean Blvd, Long Branch: This is the original one with the actual windmill. But it's also the best one because of the regular service. Hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches and big helpings of crinkle fries.
• Surf Taco: 1003 Main St, Belmar: Google review: "Relaxed chain serving seafood tacos, chicken wraps & other Californian-Mexican fare, plus smoothies."
• Olympic Flame Restaurant, 4100 Boardwalk, Wildwood: Get your "Greek bites" here. You can get a cheeseburger, fries and gyro - a combination you can't get at a lot of places at Jersey Shore. Plus, Bruce Springsteen ate here recently. Can't be bad!
• Max's Famous Hot Dogs, 25 Matilda Terrace, Long Branch: Some of the most creative combination platters you'll ever see for chili cheese dogs and fries.
• The Irish Pub, 164 Saint James Place, Atlantic City: A real Irish pub with real grilled burgers. Best thing about it? It's cheap.
• Klee's Bar and Grill, 101 Boulevard, Seaside Heights: Not THAT cheap, but probably one of the best damn Irish bars in New Jersey, with the best damn burgers.
• Sundae's, The Ice Cream Place: 3217 Route 88, Point Pleasant Boro; 211 Route 35, Wall Township: The best soft ice cream anywhere - blows away Dairy Queen, which is the second best.
• Hoffman's, 800 Richmond Ave, Point Pleasant Beach: Just about the best hard ice cream south of Thomas Sweet's in New Brunswick. First place to go after a meal at the beach.
• Wawa (anywhere): C'mon, we had to add this. If you're moving fast, always choose this before McDonald's. The wraps are very good. Also, the potato soup is amazing. And it's everywhere at the Jersey Shore.

Patch file photo