From my vantage point down here, the answer is obvious. I wouldn’t be caught trying to drive down the Shore on a late Friday afternoon, let alone Saturday morning. But easy for me to say! I’m already here, waiting for you all to arrive.
Luckily, five intrepid colleagues set out from Philly one recent Friday on a mission to test for you dear readers which method works best for getting down the Shore. The results, entertainingly packaged here, were perhaps predictable (and the Friday after the Fourth of July was not as crowded on the roads as you might think): Driving down the expressway, looping around to the Parkway South, and straight to Manco & Manco in Ocean City ($25 parking) was the fastest way down. (An hour and 40 minutes with only light traffic.)
Going by train has its charms, but our reporting shows clearly we’re still a long way from a proper public transportation option to anywhere but Atlantic City and its surrounding towns. And even that takes way too long. An hour and 35 minutes for a typical train trip from Philly just to A.C. is ridiculous. Tack on the $57 Uber my colleague Felicia Gans Sobey sprung for to complete the Ocean City mission, and this is an impractical option for anyone not able to expense it. She made it to Manco’s in 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Jasen Lo had the best idea: train to Lindenwold and then a bicycle ride the rest of the way. I’ve done bike rides from the Ben Franklin Bridge to Atlantic City, and from Cherry Hill’s Woodcrest station to Ocean City as part of the cancer and MS charity rides, and they are great fun. Not a great option for a family with young kids, though, and boogie boards.
As for those back road dreams, they seemed to be mostly a slog, more than 2.5 hours on one route, though if you can figure out how to pass Sweet Amalia’s (the acclaimed oyster bar and roadside joint which touts itself as (sort of) on your way to the Shore), you will come out a winner. All the Amazing Race Inquirer Shore derby fun is here.
And, hey speaking of oysters!
Keep scrolling ⬇️ down for my Q & A with Dakota Curran, 31, a former A.C. and Shore restaurant chef turned Sea Isle oysterman and pop-up oyster guy at the dive bars. Or click here for the full story and Jose Moreno’s photos from the belly of the Ludlam Bay oyster beast. .
📮 What’s your fastest way down the Shore? Any hacks to share? Let me know what you think by replying to this email.
— Amy S. Rosenberg (🐦 Tweet me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Insta at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me at downtheshore@inquirer.com)
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Shore talk
🍰 Lady Lord Baltimore drama: I’m hooked on a new reality series starring the Holiday Snack Bar and Land Use Board hearings in Beach Haven. In the most recent episode, which stretched on for four hours Monday evening, the LUB voted down a version of Holiday Snack Bar’s application for increased outdoor seating (though everyone agreed the Lady Lord Baltimore cake is divine).
🚲 The drama has been going on since May, when Beach Haven refused to issue a mercantile license to the little weirdly shaped snack bar with the homemade cakes, burgers, and a bicycle on its roof. Beach Haven issued the license after owner Eileen Bowker agreed to submit a site plan. The board rejected a plan to increase its license from 24 to 40 outdoor seats and adjourned. This leaves the 75-year-old Snack Bar in a bit of late-summer limbo.
🌮 Taco tears Gregory’s in Somers Point is on its own defending the rights to the phrase “Taco Tuesday” after Taco John’s gave up its trademark fight against Taco Bell.
😱 Ticket-palooza: Stone Harbor is using the ParkMobile app this summer and has issued 893 parking tickets in June, up from 48 the previous year. It’s become a public relations black eye.
🎡 Morey’s marathon Jason Nark documents 18 hours in the life of Morey’s Piers in Wildwood. Plus, Ted Greenberg takes a Sunny the Seagull deep dive.
🥂 Bed and Bachelorettes. Genteel Cape May has become an unlikely party town for bachelorettes.
🥞 Spotted in: Jason Kelce was back in Sea Isle City, attending beach patrol mascot camp, and Cole Hamels was at Uncle Bill’s in Ocean City, where he left a 60% tip.
🚘 Causeway-gate? New Jersey agreed to halt construction on Route 72 until September after mayors of six towns on Long Beach Island complained, with one wondering if it was payback for their opposition to wind turbines.
What to eat/What to do
🎳 Bowl at the movies. Cape Square’s entertainment complex in Rio Grande finally opened with bowling, a movie theater, and restaurants.
🐎 Chicken parm and a michelada frosé could be this summer’s best combo, offered at the cleverly named Cheval de Plongée (diving horse in French), where “Saint-Tropez meets Steel Pier,” part of the new Hook complex at Caesars in A.C. They’re also touting a “Horse Dive Bar.”
🐕 Bed and Bones. Take your dog along to Cape May’s pet-friendly bed and breakfast.
🎹 Don’t miss jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri performing for free Thursday night at Kennedy Plaza on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
🍃 The former nuns retreat in Cape May Point has turned into a science center.
🍺 King’s Pub Watch for a new bar, King’s, coming to former Pic-A-Lilli on Tennessee Avenue in Atlantic City.
🦪 Eat oysters out of Ludlam Bay in Sea Isle.
🎂 Celebrate Longport’s 125th birthday with a DJ behind borough hall at Longport’s town party.
Shore snapshot
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Last week’s trivia question tripped up a lot of people.
While Mike Richards brought the Stanley Cup to Northern Ontario in 2012, it was Justin Williams who brought the Stanley Cup to Ventnor, where he owns a home. He was back with the cup in 2019.
Michael Hanzelik was first with the correct answer.
(Coincidentally, Golden Knights coach John Stevens was taking a Stanley Cup victory lap last week in Sea Isle. )
This week’s question:
On Long Beach Island, the Holiday Snack Bar controversy has called attention to a bunch of old places that have shut down. At which of these LBI places can you still get a meal?
A. Fred’s Diner
B. Mustache Bill’s
C. Kubel’s Too
D. Dom’s Drive In.
If you think you know the answer, email me back for a chance to get a shout-out. And let me know about your experience finding a place to eat on LBI and at the Shore in general. Is the restaurant shortage real?
Dakota “Cody” Curran, 31, has an oyster harvesting farm in Ludlam Bay off Sea Isle City and has been doing pop-up oyster bars at both Ducktown Tavern in Atlantic City, on Sundays, and Robert’s in Margate, on Fridays as Dak Daddy’s Oyster Shack. Gracing both joints with the freshest oysters from your favorite Jersey beach town. Forget about those Blue Points!
“Two bucks a piece, and they’re day old out of the water,” Curran told me.
How did you get into the pop-up oyster bar business?
The shack is something I’ve been dreaming of doing. I was getting stuck in the kitchen, not seeing anyone enjoying my food. This brought my passion back.
How has it been received?
The support of locals alone is crazy. They want to take care of me. Two bucks apiece, and they’re a day out of the water. Everyone wants to help.
How is Sea Isle as a home for oyster beds?
The water over here is amazing. You can see how clear the water is. You can see a perfect ring of dark blue from the outside of our farm. It’s crazy how clean they keep the water. We throw the shells back. The oysters filter 50 gallons of water a day.
Full interview and all the great Jose Moreno photos are here.
Your Shore memory
Claire Brunken sends a lovely Shore memory of her family’s meandering trips to the Shore.
When I was young and growing up in West Philadelphia in the 60′s, my parents had no money for vacations and very little vacation time anyway. Our version of summer vacation was 3 or 4 day-trips to Atlantic City spread across the summer. My mom would pack a cooler with pepper and egg and lunchmeat sandwiches. We’d depart at 7AM — just after breakfast — and as soon as we crossed the Walt Whitman bridge, my 3 sisters and I would start crying “we’re hungry” and we’d munch on sandwiches all the way down the Blackhorse Pike. I’ve never eaten more delicious sandwiches than those. One time, my directionally challenged Dad made a wrong turn and we found ourselves on the tarmac of Atlantic City airport. We laughed until we cried for years about that. We’d arrive in bathing suits, spend a blissful day, then change into regular clothes in the car while my Mom and Dad held privacy towels across the car’s windows. We’d walk the Boardwalk until dark. I’d buy Richie Rich and Mad magazines and we’d eat Kohr’s soft serve. We’d be home before midnight.
📮 Send me your Shore moment or memory with a picture for a chance to be featured here.
🌊 See ya in the surf!