Get your taste buds ready to stroll through some of the most iconic New Jersey foods. Whether you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth on the Ocean City Boardwalk or indulge in a savory dish at one of the state’s famous diners, you’ll find endless food choices on your trip to the shore.
Learn about all the best foods to try in New Jersey.
Ask any New Jerseyan what they call that distinctive circular breakfast meat, and you’ll immediately be able to make an educated guess about the location of their hometown. North Jersey natives typically call it Taylor Ham. South Jersey residents and those from around Philadelphia insist it’s called pork roll. The geographical divide roughly emerges around Middletown, creating what can be playfully called the Taylor Ham/Pork Roll Line.
This New Jersey iconic food has sparked friendly feuds among diners, prompted intense debates and even inspired T-shirts that proudly declare one’s territorial allegiance to one name or the other.
This breakfast meat first hit taste buds in 1856 when Trenton businessman John Taylor created “Taylor’s Prepared Ham.” The debate over its name began in 1906 when the Pure Food and Drug Act forced Mr. Taylor to rebrand it.
The government declared it couldn’t legally be called ham since it used multiple pork cuts rather than just the leg. At that point, the name was officially changed to Taylor’s Pork Roll, while competing companies simply referred to their versions as pork roll. This led to some dual-name confusion among customers, and the duality is still in play today.
The best way to enjoy this regional delicacy isn’t up for debate, no matter what name is used. The classic way to prepare it is to serve it on a bagel or a Kaiser roll with a fried egg and American cheese. To order it, you would ask for either a Taylor Ham, egg and cheese (TEC) or a pork roll, egg and cheese (PEC).
Traditionalists typically add salt, pepper and ketchup, creating a napkin-soaking taste treat. There’s a trick to frying it, too. Cutting notches around the outer edge of each slice helps keep it from curling up so it fits nicely on a sandwich. While originally offered as a breakfast sandwich. Many spots in the area offer it 24/7, cementing its status as New Jersey’s unofficial state sandwich.
While the Taylor Ham/Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese sandwich reigns supreme in New Jersey diners, creative chefs and home cooks have found some other delicious ways to showcase this beloved meat product, including:
Your Boardwalk experience isn’t complete until you’ve indulged your sweet tooth with saltwater taffy, which is a quintessential Jersey Shore treat with roots stretching back to the 1880s. Legend claims a storm flooded Atlantic City candy merchant David Bradley’s shop, soaking his taffy in seawater. This created an accidental marketing opportunity for saltwater taffy, even though the candy contained no seawater.
Part of the experience today is watching the taffy-pulling machines stretch and fold taffy into glossy ribbons, which is followed by cutting and wrapping each piece. Classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry remain popular, though adventurous options like key lime, watermelon, peppermint and salted caramel are also favored.
The Boardwalk’s sweet aroma leads to shops crafting copper-kettle fudge on marble slabs with theatrical paddle-wielding that’s entertaining and as enticing as the creamy chocolate confection. Nearby, the scent of caramel corn tickles the nose, and vendors stir kettles of molten sugar syrup over popcorn to make a salty-sweet and crunchy treat that leaves fingers sticky.
But wait, there’s more! No shore visit feels complete without a crispy, deep-fried, powdered sugar-covered funnel cake. These sweet traditions can help transform a Boardwalk stroll into a nostalgic sensory journey.
New Jersey is home to several savory traditions, from the iconic tomato pie to the diner-style menu items residents and visitors cannot get enough of.
Trenton-style tomato pie flips pizza conventions upside down by putting cheese against the crust with crushed tomatoes on top. This reverse approach, pioneered by Italian immigrants in the early 1900s, prevents soggy crusts and intensifies the tomato flavor.
Unlike regular pizza, authentic tomato pie has a thin, crispy rectangular crust, minimal cheese and is served at room temperature.
In the sandwich realm, New Jersey’s subs (as they’re called in the North) and hoagies (as they’re called in the South) showcase the local dedication to Italian bread architecture. These overstuffed sandwiches demand fresh-baked rolls with the perfect balance of chew and crunch.
Regional variations include South Jersey’s oil-and-vinegar-dressed Italian, North Jersey’s hearty sloppy joe tripe-decker, and shore towns’ seafood-stuffed creations. All of these sandwiches are enhanced with garden-fresh tomatoes and other locally sourced fresh ingredients.
New Jersey has more diners per capita than any other state, offering a wide range of iconic foods from New Jersey. The stainless steel exteriors of these charming eateries house a vast selection of food items that are available 24/7 to quell your appetite. The Garden State’s diner dominance results from a post-WWII manufacturing boom and its strategic highway placement. Jersey diner essentials include:
New Jersey offers a diverse slate of restaurants and markets where you can enjoy fresh, local ingredients to embrace the flavors of the East Coast.
New Jersey earned its nickname, the Garden State, due to its rich soil and ability to produce high-quality produce despite being America’s most densely populated state.
Summer months bring a collage of seasonal flavors to New Jersey foods, including:
Fall harvest in New Jersey includes crisp apples, colorful squash, and cranberries. Local farm markets overflow with these treasures, connecting urban dwellers to the rural bounty and preserving agricultural traditions despite development pressures.
With 130 miles of coastline, New Jersey’s seafood industry remains vital to the state’s identity. Commercial fishing fleets return daily with Atlantic catches, including fresh shore foods like:
Jersey shore food classics include creamy clam chowder, crispy fried flounder sandwiches, seafood-packed paella and summer’s rituals of newspaper-covered tables heaped with steamed crabs seasoned with Old Bay. The annual blessing of fleet ceremonies in fishing communities highlights the enduring connection between New Jersey’s maritime heritage and its contemporary culinary identity.
The state’s diverse cuisine tells stories of immigrant communities, industrial heritage, agricultural bounty and coastal abundance. Visitors and natives enjoy exploring all the food options Ocean City has to offer, providing an authentic taste of what makes the Garden State extraordinary.
Plan your trip to Ocean City today!
