From Sid Allen's in Englewood Cliffs to Zaberer's in North Wildwood take your taste buds on nostalgic road trip
Be it a temple of gastronomy, a neighborhood red sauce joint or a humble roadhouse, there is surely a restaurant or two that is now closed but will forever live in your memory as if preserved in amber. Or, since this is Jersey, embalmed in a grease trap.
Can you still taste the she-crab soup at Busch's in Sea Isle City, the filet mignon in a decadent bechamel at La Fontana in New Brunswick, or the coconut cream pie at the Tavern in Newark?
It might not even be the food you remember most, but the atmosphere -- the lacquered exotica of Canton Tea Garden in Jersey City, the "purifying" lobster pools at Hackney's in Atlantic City, watching the sun set over the Mullica River at Sweetwater Casino.
Or the larger-than-life personalities -- Ed Zaberer, dubbed (probably by himself) "the host of the coast," of his eponymous North Wildwood seafood restaurant, or Luigi Iaccarino, the maitre d' of Casa Dante in Jersey City who would greet local, er, businessmen with their mistresses on Friday nights and have the same smile ready for their wives on Saturdays.
After putting out a call for the restaurants most fondly remembered, we've begged and borrowed vintage photos of 33 eateries across New Jersey, and we're on the lookout for more. Share your favorites in the comments below, and we'll try to track down a photo.
Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.
