The Best Food and Drink in NJ for 2018, Popular Website Says

Even if you live as far south as Cape May, or as far north as Ringwood, you may want to make a day trip to get the best of every kind of food and drink in the state. The popular food site, The Daily Meal, has provided that for you.

The Daily Meal has provided what it considers the "complete" guide of the best food and drink in New Jersey for 2018, noting that the Garden State is "chock full of culinary treasures."

With 2017 coming to a close, The Daily Meal says it rounded up 23 of the Garden State’s "claims to culinary fame..from world renowned tomatoes to legendary hot dogs."

Nearly all of them are food-and-drink places that have become local, understated places of legend, each of them having managed to avoid being drowned out by the chains.

Here they are, in each category, and The Daily Meal's justification for distinguishing them:

Best Pizza: Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza, Elizabeth

"What can you say about Al Santillo? Santillo may be the least well-known great pizza tradition curator in America, the gatekeeper to three generations of pizza-making and one of the most unique pizzerias in America. The man has tomato sauce running through his veins. Al Santillo’s grandfather, who had long made focaccia for his family at home, decided to try it as a business in 1950." Read more here: The Best Pizzeria In New Jersey Is...

Best Sandwich: White House Subs, Atlantic City: Italian

"No trip to Atlantic City is complete without a visit to White House Sub Shop, now sadly down to just one location (the original) on Arctic Avenue, because the boardwalk location shut down along with the rest of Trump Taj Mahal in last year." Read more here: This Is The Best Sandwich In New Jersey, The Daily Meal Says

Best Italian Restaurant: Spirito’s, Elizabeth

"If you’re from a certain part of Northern New Jersey, there’s approximately a 100 percent chance that you’ve heard of Spirito’s, and an equally good chance that you’ve been there." Read more here: 2 In New Jersey Among 50 Best Italian Restaurants In America

Best Mexican Restaurant: Panchos Mexican Taqueria, Atlantic City

"Located right next door to the legendary White House Sub Shop, this unassuming taqueria was opened to cater primarily to employees of the local casinos, but it quickly achieved a level of local renown when chef David Chang stopped by and deemed it “the best Mexican food on the East Coast” in Lucky Peach, and when legendary Philly chef Michael Solomonov fell in love with it on an episode of Vice Munchies." Read more here: This Is The Best Mexican Restaurant In NJ, Popular Website Says

Best Bar: McGovern’s Tavern, Newark

"For 80 years, McGovern’s Tavern, an Irish pub located six blocks from Newark’s Penn Station, has attracted a clientele of blue collar types, office workers, college students, and police officers and firefighters (many of whose hats and helmets hang from the ceiling)." Read more: The Best Bar in Every State

Best Beer: Kane Brewing Company, Sunday Brunch

"Kane Brewing Company’s Sunday Brunch earns its name and status as New Jersey’s best beer well. With tasting notes of cinnamon, maple, coffee, and lactose, this rich, dark-pouring porter is like a decadent sweet brunch in bottle form." Read more: The Best Beer in Every State

Best Burger: White Manna, Hackensack

"A North Jersey legend, White Manna is one of the last remaining diner-style burger joints that arose in the tradition of White Castle. What’s served here is the perfect interpretation of that form, honed over decades and decades, unchanging. Read more: The 101 Best Burgers in America

Best Cupcakes: Pink Cake Box, Denville

"Pink Cake Box is a critically acclaimed bakery that features sweets ranging from the tiniest of cupcakes to a towering wedding cake structure. This bakery will take your breath away with its sculptural masterpieces and cakes so moist and delicious that you won’t even care how beautiful they are." Read more here: The Best Cupcakes in Every State

Read the whole report right here...

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