Things I Learned This Month On The Jersey Shore With The Barstool Beach House - New Jersey Is An Awesome Place

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(Manasquan Beach, NJ)

Over the past decade, I’ve become pretty familiar with the Jersey Shore. For years, I’d spend part of every summer down there with an ex-girlfriend and her family, usually in the southern spots like Ocean City, Sea Isle, and Stone Harbor. Those trips were always great, and I thought I had a pretty good handle on what the Shore had to offer. 

But this summer was different. Spending almost an entire month based out of Manasquan at the Barstool Beach House, and venturing further north than I’d ever been, didn’t just deepen my appreciation for the Shore. It solidified it. By the end of the month, I wasn’t just a fan of the Jersey Shore. I was a card-carrying PR rep for it. 

Let’s start with the beaches. I don’t think people truly realize how beautiful they are unless they’ve seen them firsthand. Cape Cod and Rhode Island beaches are undeniably great, but New Jersey’s beaches are on another level. The sand here is so soft and fine it feels almost like the Caribbean. There are no rocks to tiptoe around, and the water is shockingly warm for the Atlantic. While we were there, the waves were a little rough, there were a couple of days where the lifeguards didn’t even let us go past our knees, but when they finally gave the all-clear, we stayed in for four straight hours and didn’t want to leave.

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(This place Martell's is absolutely fucking amazing)

And then there are the boardwalks. Sure, some stretches are a little gritty- like Wildwood, which has a vibe similar to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. But the ones near Point Pleasant and the surrounding towns couldn’t have been nicer. They're clean, packed with rides and games for families, and loaded with bars and food stands offering everything from zeppole, funnel cakes, and other fried classics to local seafood. 

The only downside was being just far enough north to miss out on two of my long-time favorites- Manco & Manco and Mack’s Pizza.

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Speaking of pizza, actually, speaking of food in general- holy hell.

We ate like absolute kings all month long. 

New Jersey doesn’t get the culinary respect it deserves because it sits in New York’s shadow, but I’m telling you, this state has some of the best delis and pizzerias in the country. 

The Italian-American influence is everywhere, and you can tell everywhere you go because they try to kill you with food. The serving sizes are insane. Sandwiches the size of footballs. Pizza slices so massive you need two hands just to manage one bite. 

Having Security Mike around was like having a cheat code for finding the best spots. The guy knows everyone and everything. 

Add to that a restaurant list put together by Captain Cons that could have made Eater or The Infatuation blush, and we were set up for a month of unforgettable meals.

Two places stand out as my absolute favorites. 

First, Joe Leone’s, a deli so perfect it should be considered a sacred site. Everything was impossibly fresh and made to order. They had a section up front with prepared meals if you were in a rush, but if you had the patience to wait in line, (and you should), the staff would craft your sandwich exactly how you wanted it, down to the tiniest detail. Warm bread, crisp produce, fresh-sliced meats. It was the kind of place where one bite makes you start planning your next visit before you’ve even finished chewing.

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Then there was La Mondina, an Italian restaurant Mike told me was a must on our first day there driving around. He told me whatever I did that month, I had to find a way to get in there. So, on one particularly chaotic night when I needed to get out of the house and clear my head, I grabbed Meek Phil and we headed there. 

The wait was brutal- two hours standing at the bar, hoping for seats, but once we sat down, it was worth every second. We ordered half the menu and demolished every single dish. No exaggeration, every bite was lights-out. It was so good that we went back as a group on our very last night in Manasquan, renting out their private upstairs dining room. The food, the service, the ambiance, it was the perfect finale to an unforgettable month.

(Sidebar - Phil could not be stopped at this place. You could only hope to contain him.)

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Of course, not every great meal came with a tablecloth. There were sticky-sweet funnel cakes we devoured on the boardwalk, Jersey bagels that confirmed I will never waste my time eating anotehr bagel in Chicago ever again. 

(Sidebar - Jersey has gotta be the diner capital of the country right? They have stand alone diners with parking lots everywhere, and they are always slammed. Morning, noon, and night. If I have one regret from last month, it's that we didn't hit enough diners.)

But the food wasn’t the only surprise. The people blew me away.

I don’t know if it’s the vibe of the Shore or just the magic of summer, but everywhere we went, people were friendly, upbeat, and genuinely happy to be there. It didn’t feel like the stereotypical “rude East Coast” energy at all. Even when the bars were packed, the mood stayed fun. The only near-fights I saw all month were a couple of drunk idiots trying to get under Katic or Nicky’s skin. Otherwise it was nothing but good vibes and nice people everywhere we went.

Kevin put it best when I went on his show last week- the friendliness and beauty of the Shore is the “biggest non-secret.” 

The locals know how special it is and are perfectly fine with the rest of the world sleeping on it because it keeps the crowds down.

And it wasn’t just me who felt that way. The whole cast fell in love with Manasquan. The Midwesterners, Nicky, who’s from Florida and had never been to the Shore before, every single one of us left with the same realization- this place is special.

(Sidebar - Manasquan didn't seem like your typical summer-town either. I could be totally wrong but it felt like it obviously gets slow in the fall and winter, but doesn't come to a screeching halt. The houses were all so pretty and well kept, and the downtown had so much going on, it seemed like the perfect place to be when things slow down in the off-season. Again, I might be way off. But just my take.)

I have never really understood all the hate and shit New Jersey takes. Its cities are shit holes, but that's pretty much everywhere nowadays. Outside of that, the state is green and full of beauty. (It's The Garden State for a reason.) I don't think there's another place I'd rather want to spend summer days in, and that's New York City. While New Jersey is near the top of that list you'd want to spend your entire summer in.

It was a hell of a month, and New Jersey has won me over for life.

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p.s. - huge shout out to Lobel's who sent us the kings spread of all spreads. Wagyu steaks and the best burgers I've ever had off a backyard grill. Also huge shout out to all the breakfast spots and bbq spots, and mexican spots who kept sending us food and kept us fed all month-