On the hot and steamy days ahead, there’s only one good way to stay extra cool: breathe in some salty air and feel the crisp ocean breeze. Just make sure when you’re heading down the Shore you pack this guide to the best of our Shore towns. It’s what you need to make the most of the rest of the summer.
![2022 Best of SJ: The Shore](https://sjmagazine.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BOShore_2021_1200x550.jpg)
![2022 Best of SJ: The Shore](https://sjmagazine.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BOShore_2021_1200x550.jpg)
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Best Boat Cocktails
Boat Drinks at Ferry Park
Enjoy the breeze, starters and a Sloe Boat to Lewes – that’s sloe gin, Prosecco and lemon juice – as you wait for the next ferry boat. Or stay put and enjoy the people and boats sailing by and the beautiful sunsets. If that’s the plan, we suggest the Garden State of Mind – it’s elderflower, strawberry, melon liqueurs and Prosecco.
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Best Rooftop Dining
Take in panoramic ocean views while dining at the Gastropub’s Terrace Lounge. It’s the perfect setting for upscale pub food and an impressive menu of old-fashioned drinks and craft beers.
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Best Seafood Feast
Crab & Seafood Shack
Tourists and locals alike flock to this Wildwood hotspot for good reason – the seafood is fresh and the friendly staff is eager to serve it to you. Everything’s good, so try the shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, lobster and flounder – or all of the above.
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Best Farm Market
Beach Plum Farm
This 62-acre working farm in West Cape May is where you get the freshest fruits, veggies, eggs and meats. You’ll want to linger, so come hungry and stay for breakfast or lunch at the Farm Kitchen, featuring what’s fresh off the fields that morning.
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Best Pop-Up Picnic
Looking for a special way to pop an important question or throw an upscale, outdoor party? This Margate-based company sets up raised tables, luxury linens, decor, a bluetooth speaker and – of course – a charcuterie board. You get to relax and enjoy.
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Best Organic Wines
Wahine Wine Company
Wahine, pronounced WA-HEE-NEH, is the Jersey Shore’s first natural wine shop. This new Ventnor shop is stocked with sustainable, organic, natural wines and craft spirits.
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Best Crab Cakes (again!)
Rio Station
New owners Megan and Bill Bumbernick say they’ll remain true to regulars by keeping all your Rio Station favorites on the menu, including smoked BBQ-loaded fries, brisket grilled cheese and of course the crabcakes packed with tasty crab meat.
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Best Place to See a Concert
Borgata
There’s always top-rate entertainers performing at Borgata. This month’s acts include Steely Dan, KALEO and Rick Springfield. The Labor Day weekend lineup of Scorpion and Tom Jones keeps the party going into September.
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Best E-Bikes
Zippy’s Bikes
Between the high price of gas and heavy shore traffic, driving around our beach towns can be a hassle – unless what you’re driving is an electric bike, scooter or cruiser. Stop into Zippy’s Bikes in Wildwood to check out the huge selection of e-bikes for sale and rent, then get cruising.
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Best Beach Wedding
The Grand Hotel
You can say your vows barefoot on the sand or dressed to impress on the Grand’s sundeck overlooking the ocean. Whatever your version of a perfect beach wedding is, the Grand’s talented planners can make it happen.
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Best Boardwalk Popcorn
Johnson’s Popcorn
Sure you can order online any time of year and get your fix. But there’s something much more satisfying about being on the OC boardwalk and watching as your bucket is dipped into the large copper kettle then comes back to you overflowing with hand-mixed popcorn.
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Best Beach Cocktails
Ocean Club Hotel
Tiki Ten35’s frosty cocktails are served daily from 11 am to 10 pm. Even better, there’s beach (and poolside) service and lots of live entertainment. After a few mango mojitos and gin blossom martinis, the resort’s luxury rooms are the perfect place for a siesta.
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Best Beach Bar
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City
When the music you want to hear is the sounds of waves crashing on the beach and clinking cocktail glasses, the Hard Rock’s Beach Bar is the place. Relax in a beach cabana or grab a spot at the boardwalk bar.
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Best Chicken Cheesesteaks
Five Girls Sandwich Shop
Five Girls’ menu is filled with fantastic choices to satisfy all tastes. The draw for us are the cheesesteaks. There’s the plain, made with prime ribeye steak, and the chicken, our favorite. Jazz it up with whiz or another cheese choice and you’ll understand.
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Best Big Slice
Joe’s Pizzeria
Joe’s is known as the home of the big slice for good reason. This Wildwood favorite serves ginormous and flavorful pizza. Eat at Joe’s and you won’t go home hungry – and that’s a good thing.
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Best Greek Tastes
Santorini
Santorini is the place to get homemade tzatziki, burrata, moussaka and other Greek favs in Wildwood. It’s so good you just might mistake the Atlantic breeze for the Mediterranean.
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Best Early Childhood Classes
Milton and Betty Katz
Programs for tots at the Katz JCC are everything you’d expect at a top-notch early childhood center – a full-sized gym, expansive outdoor rec facilities and of course great academics. Then there are the perks of shore living: trips to the beach, visits from Wetlands Institute animals – and did we mention weekly swimming lessons?
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Best Up-Close Whale & Dolphin Watching
Cape May Whale Watcher
The waters off the Cape are the ideal location for up-close and personal sightings of whales and dolphins. Captain Jeff and his seasoned crew know all the places they like to hang, including the Delaware Bay Estuary, a sanctuary for many species of marine life. You’ll have a whale of a time.
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Best Way to Avoid Back Strain
What would make a perfect start to a beach day? Not having to lug everything to the beach. And the perfect ending? Outsourcing the break-down. If you beach in Avalon, Stone Harbor or Sea Isle City, Matt Hladczuk, the Beach Shore Set Up Guy, has your back.
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Best Cinnamon Buns
You know when you see that white cardboard box that something good is inside. The cinnamon buns at Britton’s in Wildwood Crest are ooey and gooey in all the right places, and they come with nuts or with raisins. But give yourself plenty of time when you go, you’ll probably have to wait in line (on the sidewalk) at this well-loved spot.
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Best Tramcar Conductor
Gigi
For more than 3 decades, John “Gigi” Gigliotti has been the friendly face associated with the words “Watch the tram car please.” If you’ve been to Wildwood between 1992 and today, you’ve probably seen the West Deptford resident steering a tram car. You may have even had a pleasant conversation with the town’s unofficial and beloved ambassador.
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Best Town for the Gram
The Wildwoods
From the grand gateway, where you’ll instantly want to stop for a photo, to the Icon Wall Murals, the Wildwoods have the most spots for amazing selfies. Make sure to check out the Sand Dollar Wings at the beach & 5th Avenue, the North Wildwood Arch at 16th Street, the North Wildwood Sea Wall at JFK Beach Drive and the neon sign garden outside the Doo Wop Experience Museum at Burk & Ocean Aves.
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Best Pop-Up-Turned-Real Restaurant
Summer Salt
What started as a pop-up is Avalon’s hot new BYOB. Overlooking the dunes on the shore town’s tiny Boardwalk, Summer Salt offers an ever-changing $85 plant- and seafood-centric tasting menu.
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Best High-Speed Rainy-Day Activity
Raceway at Lucky Snake
A 40,000-square-foot go-kart track is the latest addition to Showboat Resort’s massive arcade. These racing machines are imported from Italy and can speed around the track at up to 50 mph.
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Best Breakfast Cocktails
The Salty Mermaid Bar & Grille
You’re on vacation so why not start the day at this cute North Wildwood grill with a Mermaid Mimosa, Salty Mary or a Beermosa. If it’s not that kind of morning, the Hangover Burrito may be just what you need.
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