Best of the Shore

Sun. Surf. Tiny paper parasols. What’s better than a visit to the Shore? One guided by our first-ever list of the honest-to-goodness all-around greatest places to grab a dog, rest your head, stroll the beach, sip a cocktail, or just soak up the rays. We’ve gone town by town, to tell you where to stay, what to eat, and how the Shore haunts of your youth have changed

Atlantic City

If you build it, they will come — to your upscale restaurant, destination spa, or string of designer shops. So goes the thinking behind the latest reinvention of Atlantic City. Now that the Borgata has proved people will indeed venture here for the scene as much as the slots, the restaurant and retail openings just keep coming. Tropicana’s new ­Cuban–themed adult entertainment complex, the Quarter—with spa, chic restaurants and designer shopping—has been a hot spot since spring; Caesars’ high-design seaside “mall” (with ­Gucci, Burberry and Stephen Starr) will be getting all the buzz come autumn.

Best of Atlantic City

Spa: Bluemercury.
This offshoot of the Philadelphia/D.C. chain offers all the Molten Brown, Trish McEvoy and Darphin products you’d expect, plus ultra-luxe treatment rooms in which to better enjoy things like a sake pedicure and eucalyptus body polish (the Quarter at the Tropicana; 609-347-7778).

Deep-fried dogs: Fair Lawn’s vaunted hot-dog shack, Johnny & Hange’s
Jersey Style Texas Weiners,
has set up shop in a $1.3 million building at California and Atlantic avenues, but the deep-fried dogs that create lines out the door are still just $1.79—$2.09 if you go “all the way,” with mustard, onions and chili (2652 Atlantic Avenue; 609-347-8025).

Greasy spoon: Gilchrist Restaurant & Marina.
It’s not the food so much as the scene; this is where cops, pols and parochial big wheels come after (we imagine) nights in smoke-filled back rooms (461 North Maryland Avenue; 609-345-8278).

Meal: The Bynum Brothers’ The Sound of Philadelphia
is the culinary highlight of the Quarter at the Tropicana and possibly of all the city’s new restaurants (mostly additional locations of already popular joints). Sexy soul sounds and inventive soul food make for a lively destination for dinner and a show (the Quarter at the Tropicana, the Boardwalk and Brighton Avenue; 800-THE-TROP).

Low-priced meal outside a casino: Angelo’s Fairmount Tavern
. This family-owned, wine-by-the-carafe local secret makes for the perfect retreat from the bustling Boardwalk madness; transition from the metronomic hum of slots to the soothing sounds of dinner conversation and swinging kitchen doors (2300 Fairmount Avenue; 609-344-2439).

Upscale meal outside a casino: Chef Vola. Located in the basement of a local brownstone; the owners have a long-standing policy of not advertising. Ask for the Mick’s table; Mantle is among the tons of celebs who have dined here. Reservations necessary (111 South Albion Place; 609-345-2022).

Personal Best: “The crabcakes at Chef Vola [see above] are wonderful and big as your fist. And they have the lightest ricotta cheese pie in the world. I would kill for one right now.” —Barry Gutin, owner of Cuba Libre

“The steak tartare at Red Square, clams in black bean sauce from Ping’s [Tropicana], the foie gras at Scheherazade [Trump Taj Mahal], or an assortment of salami and cheeses at Ombra in the Borgata.” —Lloyd Levenson, attorney

Bed & Beach
Average 2004 home price:
$134,094
AVERAGE 1999 HOME PRICE: $83,962
Recent listing: A two-bedroom, two-bath high-rise condo located on the south end of the Boardwalk, $479,000.
Cost to rent a three-bedroom beach-block house: N/A.
Where to stay: One of the Borgata’s 2,000 small but severely hip rooms, with gym and spa privileges and easy access to restaurants like Susanna Foo’s Suilan downstairs (1 Borgata Way; 866-MY-­BORGATA).
On the beach: Hey, it’s free.

Movers and Shakers
Where to head for dancing and drinking in the new Atlantic City

The Quarter at the Tropicana:
Missile Bar at Cuba Libre. Seventy premium varieties of rum and a dark-and-decadent atmosphere (Brighton and Pacific avenues; 609-348-6700).

Vodka Bar at Red Square. From its six-foot custom-blown glass chandelier to its dark red velvet banquettes, restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow’s latest project radiates sophistication. Caviar, anyone? (Brighton and Pacific avenues; 609-344-9100)

Borgata:
Gypsy Bar.
Great for celeb-sighting, and the raspberry lemonade mojito gives you good reason to step away from the blackjack table (1 Borgata Way; 609-317-1000).

Bally’s:
Bikini Beach Bar.
Located on the beach between Michigan Avenue and Park Place. Rent a private cabana and enjoy the nightly live music (Boardwalk and South Michigan Avenue; 609-340-2000).

Caesars:
Sandbox Beach Bar.
So long as the weather’s warm, the Sandbox stays busy with bikini-clad beach-­goers. As the attire would imply, it’s a younger crowd (2100 Pacific Avenue; 800-CAESARS).