Cape Gelato

There are plenty of American ice-cream options on every boardwalk at the Shore. But the decadence of more intense Italian gelato should get some new seaside consideration this summer at the new Cione in Cape May. Milan-based lawyer Fabio Cione and his sister Monica have installed genuine Italian machines that churn out gelati as authentic as a stroll across the Piazza del Duomo: dark bittersweet chocolate, "fruitti di bosco" made with Jersey fruits, and my favorite, the vividly nutty Sicilian pistachio. Mix-and-match two flavors in a small, $3; to four flavors in a $5 large.

- Craig LaBan

Cione Gelato, 10 Washington Commons, 315 Ocean St., Cape May.

Rachael Ray this month named these "chocolate-covered pearls" from L.B.I.'s Pearl Street Market her coveted "snack of the day" - and for good reason: they're distinctive and delicious. Owner Reed Johnson and his baker-fiancee, Abigail Hessberg, spent all winter reworking his family chocolate-cookie recipe with Ray's show as a goal. What emerged, 15 variations later, was a sly riff on a S'more, with an unusually cakey chocolate cookie topped with a gooey marshmallow, chocolate icing, and a dusting of crumbled grahams. Tastes like an "everyday" snack to me.

- C.L.

Chocolate-covered pearls, $3 each, at 229 Pearl Street, Beach Haven, 609-492-3910; www.pearlstreetmarket.com