Cape May. Beautiful week. Amazing weather. Dolphins, no more than 30 feet from where we swam. Frolicking. Frolicking, I tell ya.
Wildwood was fun. I don’t know the last time I was up in a Ferris Wheel. I bored my kids to tears relating the interesting tale of the very first Ferris Wheel, built for the Chicago Exposition more than 100 years ago. Barely resisted getting a tattoo.
If you find yourself within an hour of Cape May, find Manga Manga, on the west side of town on Broadway. Good lord. Such food. Such cooking. Such baking. Ahhhhh…
A much-needed sojourn to the ocean. Always rejeuvenating. Always entertaining. There is nothing quite like the Jersey Shore.
Blegh, Cape May wasn’t that great for me. If it was slightly more historical and not so commercialized, I would probably really like it.
And, where is there any good food on that entire island? Tommy’s was pretty good, especially for being a tourist trap, but other than that I found almost no good food. Then again, I never chose the places, so I may just be bitter.
Or Ocean City, for Mack and Manco’s. I can think of one place in the world with better pizza, and that’s the little neighborhood pizzaria two blocks from the house I grew up in.
Just back from a week in Cape May too - wonder if we were on the same beach and didn’t know it. Yes the weather could not have been more perfect, and having spent time there on an annual basis for longer that I’d want to admit, I can say that the beach conditions (water temp, surf, sand, etc.) have never been better. It’s hard to imagine a more relaxing way to vacation. We too enjoyed the dolphins cavorting just off the beach every day. As far as good food is concerned, Cape May is known for it’s many gourmet restaurants, but if you choose not to dine at that level, there are still many spots with excellent food. Here are a few.
**Fisherman’s Wharf at the Lobster House ** - Avoid the Lobster House restaurant and order from the Fish Market or the Raw Bar and eat at a table on the dock. The cream of crab soup from the Raw Bar is worth the trip to Cape May in and of itself. 2:00pm is the best time here, stop for lunch on your way in, at dinnertime it’s somewhat of a zoo.
**McGlade’s On the Pier ** - All meals are good here, and the view of the beach and ocean cannot be beat, but breakfast is exceptional with a huge selection of omelettes (many you’d never think of) and maybe the best home fries on the planet.
Louisa’s - I only mention this reluctantly because it’s a very tiny restaurant and they already have so much business that it’s difficult to get a reservation in season, but since ZebraShaSha didn’t find any good spots, and since dinner doesn’t often reach this level of quality at these prices, I offer this for the benefit of all SDMB members who visit Cape May. Mostly fresh local seafood, prepared simply, with some of the most incredible tasting sauces ever. And the desserts are even better. There may be a better dessert somewhere than Louisa’s chocolate pie but I’ve yet to find it. Here’s the only way to get a reservation - call on Tuesday beginning at 4pm, they’re open Tuesday through Sunday and they only take reservations for the current week.
Blue Pig Tavern - This is in the newly restored Congress Hall hotel and although it’s a litttle pricey at dinner, you can sample their excellent wares for somewhat less at lunch. Just tried it for the first time this week and found the New England clam chowder to be about best I’ve ever had in Cape May, and the fish and chips bring a huge mountain of french fries topped with three large hunks of fried fresh fish (I think it was Grouper).
I could go on but don’t want to hijack this thread any more than I already have. Cheers and thanks for the op.
I was at both Wildwood and Cape May last August. We had a terrific time.
I wasn’t all that fond of the Cape May beaches but the town’s great for walking and gawking. I would love to own a house there someday.
I just loved Wildwood. The hotels have just as much style as the B&B’s at Cape May. The boardwalk is also lots of fun. The only drawback is that the beach is really too far away from it.
We ate cheap. The only memorable truly meals I recall were a great bar-b-que place away from the shore at Wildwood and a fabulous fresh seafood dinner at one of the amusment piers.
Is calling the place where the ocean meets land “The Shore” just an east coast thing? Having been on the Pacific Coast from San Diego to Lapush, Washington, I have never heard of it called “The Shore”. Usually that is used if you are at a fresh water lake. We call it going to “The Beach” or “The Ocean” or “The Coast”.
It’s not “The Shore” unless it’s the Jersey Shore. I miss the Jersey Shore. I live 45 minutes from Santa Cruz, CA, but it’s not the same. My personal favorite is Beach Haven, although Sea Isle City grows on ya. Da Jersey Shore is memories: my dad and I going out on boats fishing, french fries with vinegar, the smell of sand and salt, the fresh sea breeze on an afternoon, perfect for getting up a appetite for an evening of sea food and beer, or past and wine.
In addition to what 633squadron said: a true Jerseyan does not go to the beach, unless they are on vacation in another state. Nor do you go to the shore. You “go down the shore”.
Why? Because New Jersey hates the rules of the English language, and wants to make the language cry.
You left out the most important thing: the only place on the planet* where you can get a soft-serve cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
*****Do not attempt to refute this. Any claims that there is anyplace else that you can get a soft-serve cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream will be met with me sticking my fingers in my ears and yelling “LA LA LA LA LA!!”
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. We only spent one day there, but I have to admit that by the end of the day I was actively encouraging my teenage children to curse. Why? Because at some point, the tram trammed by ( what exactly is it that trams do? ) and as the sound started to fade away, I parrotted it as best as I could, cramming in many obscenitites.
…and, so on.
Watcher of the Skies, that wasn’t a hijack- it was great. This thread is about all wonderful things that happen Down The Shore- which, as 633squadron pointed out, is what you do when you travel to the New Jersey shoreline especially in the summer.
Kytheria dear, um…er… I’m not quite sure I caught the drift of the gist of the kernel of what you were trying to say there, hon.
Hal, you are indeed correct so you can take your fingers out of your ears now. It gave me cause to pause and wonder, since while at Wildwood I watched a gal dispense said mint chocolate chip soft ice cream from the leviathan machines that …uh…soften the stuff. I was duly impressed, I’d never seen chunks in soft ice cream serve. It indicated an unusually wide orifice, and by gum there’s never anything wrong with that.
What??
Mmmmmm. Mint Chocolate Chip. Mmmmmmm.
As for the Wildwood beach itself, yeah baby. That is a long trek. We didn’t make that trek, though we’d driven up from Cape May with the Beach Stuff in the car. I took one look at that and realized I’d need the dreaded tram to help me out. So, we did the Boardwalk Arcade Rides thing instead.
What? All these posts and not one mention of the Dead Milkmen or “Bitchin’ Camero”? No “gonna play some video games and buy some Def Leopard t-shirts”?
How you gonna get to the shore?
Funny you should ask. I’ve got a car now.
Wow. How’d you get a car?
My parents drove it up here from the Bahamas.
You’re kidding.
I must be, the Bahamas are islands.
Being from Ohio, all this time I thought “goin’ to the shore” was just a line from a DM song. Now a whole new meaning to who they’re making fun of in that song has opened up to me
Going to the shore (not being from the region, I don’t have to say “down the shore,” do I?) has always been an annual occasion for my family, but we haven’t made it for the past two years.
And now I’m 300 miles farther away than I used to be! I think someone should get to work on duplicating the Jersey Shore on the Great Lakes or some such place.
I love the shore. We’re Ocean City guys now. I like to jog on the boardwalk in the morning. Mack and Manco pizza, at least once. Dinner at the Chatterbox. Mini golf wherever we have coupons. My son used to love the Wonderland Amusement pier. We always stay at the Harris House Motel, which is right against the boardwalk, on 12th Street.
When I was a kid we’d go to Wildwood. I can remember that when the Phillies were on during the day, you could walk forever on the beach and still hear the game, from all the radios that were tuned in. By Saam, Harry Kalas, Whitey Ashburn. I loved that.
