New Jersey has many fond culinary memories within its borders. Old local restaurants are an important part of many people’s lives. From diner’s serving hot coffee to bustling seafood restaurants by the water. Sadly, many of these beloved places are now closed for good.
Now, we should take a moment to remember these important places. We should honor the delicious food they made for everyone.
1. **Charlie’s Pool Room, Alpha**: This strange place is unlike any other. Old wooden floors creak and rattle, and a cash register from the 1920s sits. A bright pool table is always set up in that cozy little space. There was only one thing on the list, and that was hot dogs made with Grandma Fencz’s chili. Joe talked to everyone up to the closing until 2014 rolled around. To this day, people can’t get enough of the weirdness of the place and the hot dogs.
Recipe details: Chicago-Style Hot Dog
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min Total time: 15 min
Level: Easy Servings: 1
Energy: 726 kcal Protein: 26 g
Carbs: 83 g Fat: 34 g
Dish Tags:
Ingredients:
1 all-beef hot dog
1 poppy seed hot dog bun
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sweet green pickle relish
1 tablespoon chopped onion
2 tomato wedges
1 dill pickle spear
2 sport peppers
1 dash celery salt
Cooking steps:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, place hot dog in water, and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Remove hot dog from water and set aside.
2. Place a steamer basket into the pot and steam poppy seed bun until warm, about 2 minutes.
3. Place hot dog in steamed bun. Pile on toppings in this order: mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, peppers, and celery salt. The tomato wedges should be nestled between hot dog and top of bun on one side. Place pickle between hot dog and bottom of bun on the other side. Don’t even think about ketchup!
Get the recipe: Hot Dog
2. **Hackney’s, Atlantic City**: Harry Hackney may indeed be the king of lobster in New Jersey. He seats 3,000 customers in his huge restaurant on the waterfront. It was famous for its fresh lobster. The restaurant became a legend on the boardwalk before it closed in the 1980s. It is still remembered for its size, lobster pool and bar. They demolished it in the 1990s, and you know what happened.
3. **Hofbrauhaus, Atlantic Highlands**: This German restaurant is unique and feels like a beer hall. They have an entertainment program for their customers every night. The food was also very generous, like the huge kalbshaxen veal shank. But in 2009, the building was torn down and has since disappeared.
4. **Larison’s Turkey Farm Inn, Chester**: Nobody did Thanksgiving food better than this inn. It was a simple place serving turkey dinners all year always. You got mashed potatoes, gravy, and sides wanting more again. The restaurant worked right up till 2009 then it stopped. It’s gone now but people remember those hearty foods served.
Recipe details: Falafel Spiced Turkey Burger
Cook time: Total time: 50 min
Level: Easy Servings: 4 servings
Total weight: 1231.3 g Calories: 2146.7 kcal
Energy: 2146.7 kcal Protein: 149.4 g
Carbs: 172.4 g Fat: 101.3 g
Dish Tags: american, sandwiches, lunch/dinner, High-Fiber, Eggs, Milk, Sulfites
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking patties
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1/2 cup (30 grams) panko breadcrumbs
1 pound ground turkey (93 percent lean, or your preference)
Pinch crushed red pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (any fat level will work)
2 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic, finely grated
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 cup chopped fresh mint
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce, optional
4 brioche buns, potato buns, or pitas
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
4 leaves romaine, torn in half
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
Cooking steps:
1. For the patties: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander, cumin and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, another minute. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, combine the egg and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add the turkey, spread it out, and sprinkle it evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of black pepper, the crushed red pepper, cilantro and the slightly cooled onion mixture and use your hands to mix to combine. Do not overmix. Form into 4 balls, then flatten the balls into patties (make the patties bigger in diameter than you ultimately want them since they’ll shrink while cooking—about 4 inches is good. If you’re forming these in advance, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
3. Heat a large skillet with a thin layer of olive oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the patties with salt and pepper and cook until browned and the patties have an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 5 minutes on each side.
4. For the tahini yogurt sauce: Stir together the yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon zest and juice in a bowl until smooth and spreadable. Stir in the mint and season with salt and pepper and hot sauce, if using.
5. For serving: Toast the buns in the skillet used for the patties, adding a little more olive oil as needed, until they get lightly browned and crisp around the edges. Assemble the burgers with a slathering of tahini yogurt sauce, a little pile of onions, a leaf of romaine and a couple of torn fresh mint leaves. Enjoy!
Get the recipe: Falafel Spiced Turkey Burger
5. **Short Stop, Bloomfield**: This restaurant was founded in 1953, and at the time, it was the only place you could get a special food called a “pan omelette.” It became a Dunkin’ Donuts sometime in 2004, as you probably know. People still remember its delicious burgers. People who loved going there still remember it to this day.
6. **Capt. Starn’s, Atlantic City**: At this restaurant, patrons can always get really good seafood. Their proverb is “out of the water and into the pot.” There was a marina and a market where you could get fresh fish close by. when it closed in 1979, a period of time in Atlantic City came to a stop.
Recipe details: Tomato and Basil Flounder
Prep time: 15 min Inactive time:
Cook time: 30 min Total time: 45 min
Level: Intermediate Servings: 2 servings
Total weight: 627.6 g Calories: 533.5 kcal
Energy: 533.5 kcal Protein: 43.5 g
Carbs: 15.0 g Fat: 33.9 g
Dish Tags: american, main course, lunch/dinner, Low-Carb, Sugar-Conscious, Keto-Friendly, Pescatarian, Paleo, Mediterranean, Sulfites
Ingredients:
Olive oil, for sauteing
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut in strips
1 green bell pepper, cut in strips
6 plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dry oregano, plus more for seasoning
2 to 3 big leaves fresh basil
12 asparagus stalks
4 (1/4 pound) medium flounder fillets
Garlic powder
Chopped parsley, for garnish
Cooking steps:
1. Coat a large saute pan with oil.
2. Saute, over medium heat, onion and garlic until onions are translucent. Add peppers. Cook approx. 2 minutes. Then add tomatoes and 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add oregano and basil. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, contents should be juicy. Add asparagus. Cook another 5 minutes.
3. Rinse fish in cold water. Season with a pinch of salt, black pepper, oregano, and garlic powder. Separate ingredients in saute pan. Push all solid ingredients to one side. Gently lay fish in hot liquid, try not to let fillets overlap. Cover. Cook 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of fillets.
4. When fillets become a milky white, they are done. Garnish with parsley.
Get the recipe: Tomato and Basil Flounder
7. **Clam Broth House, Hoboken**: This place was old from way back in the early 1900s time. Workers from the docks got good seafood here plus free broth. They gave free clam broth away right there at the bar always. Women could only go inside this place in the 1970s period. Even Marlon Brando was seen here filming a movie once. It closed down in 2003 but people remember it still was.
Recipe details: Mussels, Clams and Shrimp in Spicy Broth
Prep time: 30 min Inactive time:
Cook time: 1 hr Total time: 1 hr 30 min
Level: Easy Servings: 6 servings
Total weight: 3233.9 g Calories: 2392.6 kcal
Energy: 2392.6 kcal Protein: 297.5 g
Carbs: 120.1 g Fat: 57.8 g
Dish Tags: italian, main course, lunch/dinner, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free, Egg-Free, Peanut-Free, Sulfites
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
24 small Littleneck clams (about 2 1/2 pounds total), scrubbed
24 mussels (about 1 1/2 pounds total), debearded
20 large shrimp (about 1 pound), peeled, deveined, butterflied
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
Warm crusty bread
Cooking steps:
1. Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper. Saute until the garlic is tender, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and the flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Stir in the clams. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the mussels. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels open, about 5 minutes longer.
2. Using a tongs, transfer the opened shellfish to serving bowls (discard any shellfish that do not open). Add the shrimp and basil to the simmering tomato broth. Simmer until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes. Divide the shrimp and tomato broth among the bowls. Serve with the warm bread.
Get the recipe: Mussels, Clams and Shrimp in Spicy Broth
8. **Olga’s Diner, Marlton**: Olga’s Diner is the restaurant that almost all South Jerseyans go to. It has been a staple of consumption here for decades. It started in 1946 and was open until 2008. They served comfort food that made you feel like you were back in the good old days. Now, this old building has been torn down to the ground.
9. **Big Stash’s, Linden** where it used to be, without a doubt the best place in New Jersey for pierogi lovers. For forty-seven years, this iconic Linden restaurant has been serving up authentic Polish cuisine like kielbasa and pierogi plates. The portions there are notoriously large and the atmosphere is incredibly cozy. Locals still often praise the prime rib and the homemade treats they serve with each plate. Sadly, the owners announced in 2015 that it didn’t look like they would be able to stay in business much longer. Among the reasons cited were the age of the building and the rising cost of doing business at the time.
While these iconic New Jersey restaurants are now closed for good, their stories remain. Their stories are a testament to the power of food to create community and preserve memories, as seems evident. We can’t bring these places back, but we can honor their legacy by keeping the stories alive.
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