Jersey Shore Food History

“Chock full of photographs, the book dishes on food from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, all along the coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May.” —RedBankGreen No trip to the Jersey Shore would be complete without indulging in the cuisine that helps make it famous. These foods we enjoy today are part of a long tradition beginning in the Victorian era, when big oceanfront hotels served elaborate meals. Diverse dishes and restaurants emerged during prohibition and the Great Depression, when fast food appeared and iconic boardwalk treats developed. Predating the farm to table movement, fancy and fast eateries have been supplied by local fishermen and farmers for decades. So whether you indulge in a tomato pie, pork roll or salt water taffy, take a mouthwatering historical tour and discover timeless treats from Sandy Hook to Cape May. “Tells the story of the original farm and sea to table American destination. The book is filled with information about the way the NJ shore has eaten through history and the food establishments that have spanned generations, some still operating today.” —NJ.com “This book also gives us insights into the earliest days of Atlantic City’s fine hotels. The Victorian era menus included in the volume are a treasure. I also loved her inclusion of such iconic former restaurants as Hackney’s and Capt. Starn’s and the still standing Knife and Fork Inn.” —Atlantic City Central “If you enjoy walking the Boardwalk for your pork roll and salt water taffy fix, or if you appreciate the history of the region’s former great restaurants like Hackney’s, Capt. Starn’s and Zaberer’s, this book will be an entertaining read.” —Atlantic City Weekly

The Jersey Shore has always attracted people seeking relief from summer heat and humidity. Long before Europeans came here, the native Lenape clammed, fished, and played games on the beach and in the surf. These original people could scarcely have imagined that, by the end of the 19th century, the 120-mile-long coastline of New Jersey would be dotted with amusement parks featuring gentle kiddie car rides, terrifying roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, and fast-food emporiums. James Bradley in Asbury Park and William Sandlass Jr. in Highland Beach created mass entertainment for hundreds of thousands of people. Their seaside recreation centers, along with those in Long Branch, Bradley Beach, Pleasure Bay, and others, endured for years but are just fond and fading memories today.

Every summer, thousands flock to the Jersey Shore for its beaches and boardwalks, but lurking in the depths beyond is a historic threat to tranquility. Dozens of shark attacks and interactions have occurred throughout Jersey Shore history that reveal bravery, heartbreak and the hubris of man. A boy paid a gruesome price for teasing a trapped shark in the first recorded attack in 1842. The three bloody attacks of 1960 left one man's limb amputated. The horrific summer of 1916 included seven attacks in a two-week span and crafted the caricature of the killer shark that remains in popular culture today. Authors Patricia and Robert Heyer dive into the history of when two apex predators, man and shark, cross paths on the shores of New Jersey.

Author John Howard-Fusco traces the roots of Cape May's delectable dishes and recipes from long ago to the modern day. Cape May is America's first seaside resort, and with that comes a mouthwatering food history. The New York Times even proclaimed the city "Restaurant Capital of New Jersey." The first settlers, the Kechemeche of the Lenape tribe, feasted on the fish and wild game in the area. The whaling industry briefly brought attention to the island, but Ellis Hughes's 1801 advertisement offering seashore entertainment with "fish, oysters, crabs, and good liquors" gave birth to a beachside haven. From the mint juleps to the Sunny Hall Café and the Chalfonte, culinary creativity thrives on the shore. Modern chefs like Lucas Manteca at the Red Store and Brooke Dodds's Empanada Mamas help keep the unique flair alive.

From the Great Depression through the early postwar years, any postcard sent in America was more than likely a “linen” card. Colorized in vivid, often exaggerated hues and printed on card stock embossed with a linen-like texture, linen postcards celebrated the American scene with views of majestic landscapes, modern cityscapes, roadside attractions, and other notable features. These colorful images portrayed the United States as shimmering with promise, quite unlike the black-and-white worlds of documentary photography or Life magazine. Linen postcards were enormously popular, with close to a billion printed and sold. Postcard America offers the first comprehensive study of these cards and their cultural significance. Drawing on the production files of Curt Teich & Co. of Chicago, the originator of linen postcards, Jeffrey L. Meikle reveals how photographic views were transformed into colorized postcard images, often by means of manipulation—adding and deleting details or collaging bits and pieces from several photos. He presents two extensive portfolios of postcards—landscapes and cityscapes—that comprise a representative iconography of linen postcard views. For each image, Meikle explains the postcard’s subject, describes aspects of its production, and places it in social and cultural contexts. In the concluding chapter, he shifts from historical interpretation to a contemporary viewpoint, considering nostalgia as a motive for collectors and others who are fascinated today by these striking images.

Summer visitors and year-round residents alike are sure to discover Jersey Shore lore that captures their fancy in this entertaining account of the people, places, and events that have shaped New Jersey's famous shoreline. From ghost stories and the comic misadventures of the early Miss America Pageant to the dynamics of the changing coastline and poignant portraits of traditional crafts workers, Russell Roberts and Rich Youmans have chronicled the fascinating history and heritage of the New Jersey Shore. In this book you'll meet the luminaries who've frequented the Shore--from President Ulysses Grant strolling through Long Branch to Grace Kelly learning to surf at Ocean City. You'll find out why the boardwalk was invented, and also why early ones were removable. Join the authors as they pay tribute to the Shore's forgotten inventors, including Simon Lake, who some consider the true father of the modern submarine. Relive the Jersey Shore's role in wartime and learn the story of the mysterious Nazi submarine sunken off of Point Pleasant Beach. Read about Lucy the Margate Elephant, as a well as her two long-gone "cousins." Discover all this and more as Roberts and Youmans explore the vast uncharted heritage of the New Jersey Shore.