Section
The Local
Central Jersey — what to do, where to go, who to know
Boo at the Boardwalk, Lobster Rolls in Holmdel: Your Central Jersey Week, October 13
Halloween on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk, the NJ Seafood & Music Festival at Bell Works, 4JG's Spooktacular Weekend, pumpkin painting at Coffee Corral and the live-music lineup, with times and prices checked. Happy Tuesday, Central Jersey. I don't know about you, but the sunsets lately have been ridiculous. I've pulled over to…
Wine, Food Trucks and a Cannon: Jennifer’s Fall Love Letter to Laurita
Jennifer Nangano’s kind of fall day: Laurita wine, a gorgeous vineyard, food trucks and nearby farm fun. Here are the remaining 2026 festival weekends—and what to check before you go. Fall in love with Laurita. Yes, I went there. And yes, I mean it. If you’re looking for a New Jersey fall day that involves more than walking through a…
The Shrimp Beat Bobby Flay. The Whole Meal Won Me Over: Drew’s Bayshore Bistro
Voodoo Shrimp, Thanksgiving-in-a-bowl bisque, pork belly and a dessert finish with absolutely no restraint. Jennifer Nangano’s love letter to a Keyport original. Consider this my full-on love letter to Drew’s Bayshore Bistro . There are restaurants you enjoy, and then there are restaurants that remind you exactly why you love dining…
The Bar Pie Has Zero Flop and the Gnocchi Are Little Pillows: Mezza Luna Is Having a Moment
Manalapan has had this neighborhood staple for more than two decades. With the NY-style pie getting well-deserved attention, it might be time for a few more people to find out what's been happening at 357 Route 9. For more than 20 years, Mezza Luna has been a fixture in Manalapan, serving Italian favorites in a setting that gives you…
Pumpkins, Squantoberfest and a Haunted Lab: Your Central Jersey Week, October 6
Happy Day Farm's pumpkin patch, Squantoberfest in Manasquan, Rock the House for Shore House, Brookdale's Haunted Theater and the weekend live-music lineup — with prices, times and the fine print checked. Happy Tuesday, Central Jersey. I had my first apple cider donut of the season this weekend and carried home pumpkins from a local…
Senior Apartments Near Me: The Honest Guide to 55+ Rentals in Central Jersey
Searching "senior apartments near me" sends you down a rabbit hole of waitlists, income limits and fine print. Here's how 55+ and 62+ rentals actually work in Central Jersey, and the questions to ask before you sign. Let me save you three weekends of scrolling. When you type "senior apartments near me" into Google, you get a pile of…
Blue Rose Lingerie Brings the Personal Bra Fitting Back to Manalapan
Blue Rose Lingerie is a new Manalapan boutique where the most important thing on the rack is not a trend. It is a bra that actually fits. There are certain things you can buy online without thinking twice. Paper towels. Phone chargers. The same sneakers you have worn for six years. A bra is not one of those things. That is why I was…
Moxie Salon & Beauty Bar Brings Affordable Express Luxury to Red Bank
There is a new way to get Moxified in Red Bank — blowouts, color, extensions, Head Spa and full Moxie Transformations under one roof on Monmouth Street. onal salon experience, combining affordable express luxury, full-service beauty, and complete Moxie Transformations all under one roof. Open 8 AM to 8 PM , Moxie is designed around…
Jennifer Nangano Tried 88 Skin Scrub Spa in Red Bank. She Is Still Thinking About It.
A brand-new Korean body scrub spa in Red Bank brings steam, sauna, serious exfoliation and massage — plus 10% off a first visit with Jennifer’s code. There is relaxing, and then there is having someone scrub approximately the last 100 years off your body. I went to 88 Skin Scrub Spa in Red Bank, and let me tell you right now: this was…
Linked by Mint Just Opened in Red Bank — and Girls’ Night Has a New Address
Permanent bracelets, anklets, necklaces, hand chains, a full charm bar and a beautiful private-party room: Jennifer Nangano says Linked by Mint’s second location was made for bringing your favorite people. Red Bank has a brand-new permanent jewelry spot, and honestly, this one understood the assignment. Linked by Mint just celebrated…
Twenty Years Behind the Chair in Red Bank: Jennifer Nguyen on Thinning Hair, Honest Advice, and the Collagen Product She Swears By
Victoria Beauty Lounge has been making Central Jersey look good since 2005. Now its owner is talking about the question she hears most from clients over 55: what do I do about my hair? Walk into Victoria Beauty Lounge on English Plaza in Red Bank and you'll notice something rare for a salon that's been around two decades: the regulars…
Beer by the Bay, Cannoli on Main Street: Your Central Jersey Week, September 15
A checked-and-corrected guide to the next two weekends in Central Jersey: Brew by the Bay's new date, Belmar's San Gennaro Festival, a million sunflowers in Cream Ridge, Tinton Falls at 250, and where the music is. School is back in session, which means my annual tradition is back too: getting stuck behind a school bus at the exact…
Zoni’s Coal-Fired Pizza in Sea Girt Is Worth Putting on Your Radar
Thin crust, that beautiful coal-fired char and plenty of cheese: Jennifer Nangano says Zoni’s Sea Girt location deserves a spot on your pizza list. There’s just something about coal-fired pizza that hits differently, and Zoni’s Brooklyn Brick definitely delivers. You get that thin crust, the char around the edges and the kind of slice…
Village Lift in Fair Haven Is the Boutique That Makes “Just Looking” Nearly Impossible
Quilted jackets, colorful pajamas, elevated totes, artisan-made gifts and a purpose behind every purchase. Jennifer Nangano of @foodaholicnj found the Fair Haven boutique that makes “just looking” nearly impossible. If you’re looking for a really good little boutique in Fair Haven, New Jersey, add Village Lift to your list. This is the…
Two Festivals, One Saturday: How to Play September 19 Without Wasting Your Afternoon
Wind and Sea in Port Monmouth and Spring Lake's Italian Festival land on the exact same Saturday. Here is which one earns your day, plus the free O.A.R. show, the Asbury Park Fall Bazaar, and where the music is this weekend. The mornings turned. You know the feeling — you reach for the sweatshirt on the way to the beach and you are not…
The Weekend Ahead: Ride the Trolley, Skip the Bounce House, Be on the Beach at Six
Labor Day is the fake finish line. Four Central Jersey events worth the calendar space in September — plus the nine live-music sets actually worth driving to, and the ones to skip. Labor Day is the fake finish line. Every year the shore towns empty out the first week of September and every year the people who stay behind get the good…
Dancer Farm's Sip & Snip in Plumstead Is the NJ Summer Night You Keep Missing
Live music, wine and sangria, local honey, and fields of zinnias you cut yourself. Jennifer Nangano of @foodaholicnj spent a Friday night at Dancer Farm in Plumstead and left wondering why she waited. POV: you found the most adorable summer day trip in New Jersey, and it was hiding in Plumstead the whole time. Friday night I went to Sip…
Chop Shop Just Opened in Old Bridge and the Vibes Are Immaculate
Thick-cut slab of bacon, a short rib app sitting on Italian-inspired fried rice, and a salmon steak with a char that had no business being that good. Jennifer Nangano of @foodaholicnj files her first report for Second Act 360. Let me save you the scrolling: Chop Shop in Old Bridge is the real thing, and you should put it on the list…
Central Jersey Boardwalks Without the Chaos
The boardwalk is better in October than it is in July and everybody over 55 already knows it. Where to walk, when to go, and what is still open when the arcades are shuttered. Here is a thing nobody puts on a tourism brochure: the Jersey Shore is at its absolute best when the funnel cake stand is closed. July is a parking problem with…
History Without the Crowds: Six Central Jersey Places That Are Never Busy
Everybody drives to Philadelphia for history and ignores the fort, the lighthouse and the mill sitting twenty minutes from the house. Six places worth a Tuesday, none of them crowded. We will happily sit in two hours of traffic to see somebody else's history and then drive past our own on the way to the supermarket. Central Jersey is…
Nobody Under 40 Knows How to Order at a Central Jersey Deli
A pork roll is not a "breakfast sandwich," a hard roll is not a bun, and if you are reading the menu out loud you have already lost. A field guide from someone who has been in the line since 1974. There is a rhythm to a Central Jersey deli at 8:15 on a Saturday morning, and you either have it or you are the reason twelve people are…
The Central Jersey Weeknight Playbook: 10 Nights Out That End by 9 PM
We are not waiting 45 minutes for a table at 8:30 on a Tuesday and neither are you. Ten ways to actually leave the house on a weeknight, all of them home before the news. Somewhere along the way, "going out" got redefined as a 9 p.m. reservation, valet parking and a check that could cover a car payment. That is not a night out. That is…
The 5 Most Overrated Things on a Central Jersey Diner Menu
A Central Jersey diner menu is nine pages long and about four of them are a trap. Here is what to stop ordering, what the regulars order instead, and the unwritten rules nobody prints on the laminated page. Let me say the thing out loud: the diner is the last honest institution in Central Jersey. No reservations, no tasting menu, no…
The Central Jersey fall guide: 12 things to actually do this season.
Not the tourist list. The list your neighbor would give you. Autumn in Monmouth is criminally underrated. Here's what to do — locals only edition. Delicious Orchards, Colts Neck. Cider donuts. That's the entire pitch. Get there before 10 a.m. on a weekend or don't bother. Allaire State Park. The trails behind the historic village are…