# Everybody makes fun of NJ for being awful. What does NJ have that's the best you can get anywhere? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726 "2012-06-01T01:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/61 "2012-06-02T04:08:51Z")
Corn. I’m a MidWest boy but my wife is a Jersey girl and we spend a week on LBI at her Mom’s beach house at the end of most summers and MidWest corn just aint up to the competition. Not even close. And [The Kosher Nosh Deli](http://www.koshernosh.com/) in Glen Rock is, I swears to Gott, the best deli in the world. And I have tried lots of delis. Stand up comics. Dang that state produced a ton of them. But yeah the best thing from NJ is my wife. As crazy as she makes me half the time! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/62 "2012-06-02T13:37:16Z")
Beaches! I’ve been to beaches in Europe, Israel, Caribbean, east and west coast US, Nova Scotia and Jersey has by far the finest. Produce: especially tomatoes, watermelon, asparagus. And, oh yes, Trenton Crackers, something I especially like and not distributed anywhere outside the south Jersey and Philadelphia area (not anywhere in NYC, AFAIK, and if I am wrong I would love to hear of it). North Jersey is another matter entirely. Pollution capital. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/63 "2012-06-02T14:24:10Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > The stromboli at Stuff Yer Face on the boardwalk remain the best stomboli I’ve ever had. Don’t know if they’re still around, though. (Google says there’s one at Rutgers now, but I don’t know if it’s related to the one in Long Branch I enjoyed as a kid.) > > There’s also [Grounds for Sculpture](http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/), which my brother and I accidentally found one grey rainy day in the off season, and it was about as freaky cool spooky as the crew of Serenity wandering around Miranda. I bet it’s pretty neat when you’re not the only living souls in existence, too. As far as I know the Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick is the original. They tried to expand (there was one on RT 18) but it didn’t work out. The one in NB is still going strong. It was where Mario Batali got his first cooking job when he was at Rutgers. I can’t drive down 295 without shouting “Big giant heads!” but I’ve never actually been to the Gardens. > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Rt 1 Flea Market “No, honey, I don’t know whose grave that is. No, I have no idea why its in the middle of a parking lot…” :eek: 😃 Her name is [Mary Ellis](http://www.weirdnj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=28). > [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I’ve lived here ten years and have yet to meet anyone who sounds like alleged standard resident. The stereotypical Jersey accent sounds more like Brooklyn or Staten Island to me. And I have plenty of Staten Island relatives so I know the accent. There are some in the north east part of the state that sound like that. But thats more of a bleed off from NYC than a unique accent. I have met very few people who talk like Tony Soprano. Most talk like James Gandolfini (from Westwood, Bergen County and a Rutgers grad). And as stated before Porkroll, egg and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/64 "2012-06-02T14:54:51Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > As far as I know the Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick is the original. They tried to expand (there was one on RT 18) but it didn’t work out. The one in NB is still going strong. It was where Mario Batali got his first cooking job when he was at Rutgers. My dad lived in Long Branch when I was a wee Why, so there was one kinda sorta near there for a while, at least. I thought it was on the Boardwalk, but I may be suffering from Childhood Memories on that point. > [@](#): > > I have met very few people who talk like Tony Soprano. Most talk like James Gandolfini (from Westwood, Bergen County and a Rutgers grad). My (ex)in-laws (NJ Italian Americans with “family connections”) talked like the Sopranos, but I think they sort of reveled in it, especially around the “medigan”. 😉 Other than that, the only time I really notice the “Joisey” accent is when y’all say “water”. It really jumps out at me with that particular word, for some reason, even if you don’t sound particularly different from my Chicago dialect otherwise. (We don’t really say “Da Bearsh” in Chicago, either, for what it’s worth.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/65 "2012-06-02T16:21:18Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > My (ex)in-laws (NJ Italian Americans with “family connections”) talked like the Sopranos, but I think they sort of reveled in it, especially around the “medigan”. 😉 I’m NJ Italian American (well half anyway) and I do not talk like that. But some of the people I have met who live in the area the Sopranos was filmed in do. Where were your in-laws from? For such a small state there is a lot of diversity. People who live near NYC tend to have some of the accent. Those that live near Philly tend to have some of that accent. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/66 "2012-06-02T16:29:34Z")
My Aunt Shelley’s deep-dish blueberry or peach pie. But she doesn’t live in Jersey anymore… My grandparents lived in Margate, walking distance from Lucy, until I was in grad school. Many of my fondest childhood memories involve the beach near their house. And for the best cheesesteak ever, don’t miss the [White House Sub Shop](http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/125/white-house-sub-shop) in Atlantic City. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/67 "2012-06-02T16:43:45Z")
NCAA football veteran, Stanford graduate, Rhodes Scholar, Yale trained mayor that runs into burning buildings to save lives and also shovels snow in blizzards. Yeah - Jersey has Mayor Booker. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/68 "2012-06-02T17:41:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m NJ Italian American (well half anyway) and I do not talk like that. But some of the people I have met who live in the area the Sopranos was filmed in do. Where were your in-laws from? For such a small state there is a lot of diversity. People who live near NYC tend to have some of the accent. Those that live near Philly tend to have some of that accent. Hopewell Townshipish. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/69 "2012-06-02T18:02:49Z")
I miss NJ in a lot of ways. We had a fantastic Italian bakery, Italian restaurant and pizzaria (all separate) in walking distance of our nice middle class neighborhood growing up. Bagels were amazing too and fantastic independent shops were quite common. It’s been forever since I’ve had a decent slice, bagel, or cannoli. They don’t even really have bakeries here, mostly just cupcake-only places and bread places, most people get stuff from the grocery store bakery. ☹ Haven’t had a slice of white pizza or a Sicilian pizza in a decade neither. What I’d give for a decent everything bagel with Temp Tee (whipped cream cheese)! ---
**Author:** ![Wincerind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@Wincerind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wincerind)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/70 "2012-06-02T18:15:44Z")
Bruuuuuce ( not only for playing in Meadowlands but for being, just for being there I guess). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/71 "2012-06-02T18:23:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Boardwalks. Which other state has Boardwalks by the Ocean? In Massachusetts and California and Virginia they don’t. [Santa Cruz Boardwalk.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Boardwalk) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/72 "2012-06-02T18:32:52Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Hopewell Townshipish. Odd. My sister lives and teaches there. Not the usual accent for the area. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/73 "2012-06-02T19:08:57Z")
Two pages and no mention of world class Funnel Cake? ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/74 "2012-06-02T19:50:45Z")
Rock musicians: Bruce Springsteen! 🙂 Oops. Beaten to it. I searched “Bruce”, not “Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce”. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/75 "2012-06-03T01:30:30Z")
I live in Hoboken, and they have some of the best fresh mozzarella (aka fresh mutz) around. Three or four delis in town compete for the title. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/76 "2012-06-03T03:38:25Z")
As I stated in another thread, we have the highest property tax rates in the country. Beat that! ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@Big\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Blue)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/77 "2012-06-03T12:03:44Z")
Salt Water Taffy, of course. whoops, beaten to it. I did a search and everything! Well, the taffy deserves to be listed twice, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/78 "2012-06-10T02:17:48Z")
> [@Big\_Blue](#): > > Salt Water Taffy, of course. > > whoops, beaten to it. I did a search and everything! > > Well, the taffy deserves to be listed twice, anyway. I think it counts as seafood in a Jersey diet. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/79 "2012-06-10T16:17:34Z")
> [@chela](#): > > snip… > > Whites Sub’s on the boardwalk mmm-mmm Is this what I’m talking about? > [@phungi](#): > > The best cheesesteaks and hoagies are not in Philadelphia, they are in Atlantic City at [White House Subs](http://www.hollyeats.com/WhiteHouseSubs.htm). > [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > snip… > > And for the best cheesesteak ever, don’t miss the [White House Sub Shop](http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/125/white-house-sub-shop) in Atlantic City. Now that’s what I’m talking about! I had a spicy italian with me that I tucked into at the first turnpike stop after leaving Philly. I left AC on a beautiful day, all too quickly the tranquilityvanished I was soon white knuckle driving, people stopping dead for inexplicable reasons on the bridges! I was the only one laying on my horn, I think she stopped to take a call, or retrieve a binkie, on the freaking bridge! and what a skyline, but only took glimpses, that traffic! But that White House sub (and a Vernor’s)brought me back from the ragged edge, I was good to go again, back on the road. ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726/80 "2012-06-10T20:53:56Z")
I’m told that New Jersey has truly awesome Lebanese food, and all the Lebanese in Boston go there to get it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-makes-fun-of-nj-for-being-awful-what-does-nj-have-thats-the-best-you-can-get-anywhere/623726.md?page=5)