Local Summer Eats in South Jersey

Summer is almost over and my kids have gone back to school. But it was a summer of fun and local eats. Of course, food was included in all our vacations and outings. While we ate fabulous meals at restaurants on vacation, I am lucky to live in a place that has great food. Whether it was local NJ or Philadelphia, lots of good eats went in my belly this summer. And believe me when I say I now have to work my tail off to lose the extra calories that were consumed.

If you follow me on instagram, you might have seen some of the bites I've eaten all summer. Here are some of my favorites. Feel free to click on the links and visit these places if you are in the area. I am sure you will enjoy them!

One of my favorite south jersey happy hours is Distrito in Moorestown, NJ.  Their whole menu is awesome but between 3 and 7 pm they have $5 margaritas and $5 tacos. It is such a bargain for such upscale food. I am obsessed with their fish tacos. I also couldn't resist the frozen strawberry basil margarita which was my favorite over the summer.

Another local place that I love is Treno Pizza Bar in Westmont, NJ. I was invited to join a group of other bloggers and food writers for their party on the patio one Friday night.  I have always loved their pizza but this opened my eyes to some other delicious, creative dishes they make like Lobster and Crab Lasagna along with a Grilled Fig and Fontina Crostini. The special dishes change by the event. They are having a patio party again tonight with different specials.

Treno Pizza Bar is owned by the PJW Restaurant group which I am a big fan of. If my family wants wings, PJ Wheelihans is the place we get them from. They also have great specials on drinks every day. It is a great gathering place to meet some friends. 

Another restaurant owned by them was by birthday dinner choice. The Chophouse has a beautiful view overlooking a lake and this summer, lobster was their specialty every Sunday night.  Yes, I did have stuffed lobster on my birthday! It was probably my favorite local eat all summer!

Speaking of my birthday (and I am not telling you which one it was), my husband bought a cake from The Cake Stand Bakery in Voorhees, NJ. It was a delicious chocolate chip pound cake with buttercream frosting. It was so good! It was a dense buttery cake which was definitely a treat.

We did make a trip to Philadelphia several times this summer. Spruce Street Harbor Park is a fun place to walk around, relax on a hammock, play a few games,  and then get some good casual bites. My son went crazy over the waffle and ice cream sandwich from the Franklin Fountain concession stand. My daughter and I could not resist getting a fried chicken sandwich from the Federal Donuts stand. It was juicy fried chicken on a potato bun with a slice of cheese, pickles and spicy sauce. Mmmmmmnnn!

I am not a stranger to Federal Donuts as my husband surprised me one morning by driving into Philadelphia early and coming home with a box of doughnuts. I love their cake doughnuts and the grapefruit crème brulee is my new obsession.  I do not eat doughnuts very often but that will be the one I get if they have it.

We also made a visit to Atlantic City this summer. I love Martorano's in Harrah's and we were there for a good friend's birthday. It is homemade Italian in an upscale setting. While I love the meatballs, shrimp scampi, and desserts, I went for a lighter dish this time. The special of the night was Chilean sea bass over broccoli rabe. It was so good, just like everything else in that restaurant.

Are you hungry yet?

Now that I showed off everything I've eaten this summer, it's time for me to hit the gym. I will have more local and vacation restaurant posts in the near future.

Have a great holiday weekend!