What is New Jersey's Signature Food?

With all of the hype leading up to this past Sunday's Super Bowl, the media looks to dig up interesting things about the hometowns of the two teams involved. Los Angeles doesn't need much digging. Most people know all they want to know about "tinsel town."

But Cincinnati might require a little homework. So what the media kept focusing on was their "signature dish." Something horrible sounding called "Skyline Chili" or Cincinnati Chili."

People here in New Jersey felt kind of bad for the little city on the Ohio/Kentucky border. That's what you have, spaghetti on top of chili? OK, good luck with that.

Here in New Jersey the choices are endless, whether they are dishes that originated here or were vastly improved here.

We asked our listeners to chime in on what New Jersey's signature dish is. Some of the responses were obvious and predictable. Either way, it became obvious that we have a lot of good New Jersey foods!

Italian Hot Dogs. Mostly known in Union and Essex Counties and other parts of Central/North Jersey.

Disco Fries. Once again a popular dish north of I-195. Almost unheard of in South Jersey.

Panzerotti. A real actual Italian fried calzone or inside-out pizza famous in Camden and Burlington counties.

Pork Roll/Taylor Ham. More popular in the north but prevalent all over New Jersey.

Chinese Buffet. It seems like it might be a "Jersey thing" since we tend to have more than most states.

Boardwalk Fries. Nothing tastes as good as eating fries on the boardwalk with a wooden fork in a large soda cup.

Sausage and Peppers Sandwich. Yeah, other states have it, but not on a boardwalk like we do.

Boost or Drink Atoast. A VERY local South Jersey soft drink, mostly known in Burlington County.

Crumb Cake. OK, maybe we have more bakeries that make real good ones, but I'm sure Drakes is everywhere.

Johnson's Carmel Corn. They ship this stuff all over the world. It's legendary on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

Cheesesteaks. Yeah, they were born in Philly but places like Donkey's have elevated them to a new level.

Fat Bitch Sandwich. AKA "fat sandwich", made famous by the "grease truck" outside Rutgers for a couple of decades.

Rodizio. Brazilian steak house food some say the best is only in the Ironbound section of Newark.

Thin Crust Pizza. You usually think of New York, but again New Jersey took it and made it better!

Don't worry even if the Giants do make it the Superbowl again — they'll focus on New York, of course, and ignore the state that New York teams really call home. Oh well, we're used to it.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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The Ultimate Guide to New Jersey Brewpubs

From the website that gave you the "Friendliest bars" and places to watch the game, comes the ultimate guide to New Jersey brewpubs.

So what's a "brew pub"?

According to Thompson Island's Article on the differences between a craft brewery, microbrewery, brewpub & gastropub, it says:

"A brewpub is a hybrid between a restaurant and a brewery. It sells at least 25% of its beer on-site in combination with significant food services. At a brewpub, the beer is primarily brewed for sale inside the restaurant or bar. Where it's legally allowed, brewpubs may sell beer to go or distribute it to some offsite destinations."

New Jersey has tons of Brewpubs, some of which have been around for years and some that have just opened in the past year.

Here is a full list of the 21 brewpubs in New Jersey according to New Jersey Craft Beer:

Categories: New Jersey News

What is the signature food of New Jersey?