The Shore ’08
DOWNBEACH
THE VIBE They’re the Shore’s mismatched triplets, stretching down Absecon Island: frumpy Ventnor, stylish Margate, and patrician, don’t-bother-us Longport.
THE 411 Rentals are few and far between, and that’s the way the locals like it. Recent years have seen a spike in seasonal residents, but the island still has a strong year-round community feel, evidenced by the very public spat between fashionable Margate dining spot Steve & Cookie’s and Casel’s supermarket, a local landmark (if a supermarket can be a landmark), which opposed the former’s bid to open a farmers’ market in its parking lot. (The restaurant won.) On the opposite end of the harmony scale, Longport’s Church of the Redeemer marks its 100th anniversary with a series of events, including a concert by the Villanova University choir and the laying of a new cornerstone. Aaaahhh.
LOCAL LEGENDS Creamy, crack-cocaine-level-addictive tuna subs at Dino’s, plump crabcakes from Bobby Chez, and frosty treats at the 1950s-esque Margate Dairy Bar, all on Ventnor Avenue. Fashionable threads for trendy kids from the Kidrageous boutique (next to Bobby’s). Sunset strolls to the jetties of Longport.
WHAT’S NEW Ventnor is crowing (as it should) about its fancy new CSURE playground at the corner of Atlantic and Suffolk, a multi-turreted oasis in the mold of Ocean City’s famed exemplar. (The much-ballyhooed renovation of Ventnor’s fishing pier is racing to the finish line.) Longport has finished replacing its boulder wall, to keep stormy bay waters from spilling onto Atlantic Avenue, as work continues on a new bike path to its “point.” On the eats front, giving Steve & Cookie’s and Tomatoes a run for their money is Manna, which has moved from Ventnor to Margate and is cut from the same oceanic comfort-food cloth. About the only thing all three towns have going on together is a continuing boom. Real estate downturn? What real estate downturn?
TYPICAL DAY A bike ride to Margate’s bayfront for a yummy doughnut from Junior’s (order the sugar), though people-watchers enjoy hanging with the colorful old-man regulars kibitzing over eggs at legendary Ozzie’s in Longport. Another option: the crispy waffles at Annette’s in Ventnor. If you’re planning a burglary, try 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the entire island drifts to the beach for a lazy day by the sea.
Late-afternoon shopping takes locals to Margate’s wonderful East End Gallery, where you can nab terrific art and memorabilia like vintage Shore photos and posters that are head and shoulders above Boardwalk souvenir schlock. At dinner, scores of Downbeachers leave the kids with a sitter and head to A.C., but you’ll also find many folks sitting on their front porches, eating homemade water ice from Mentos in Ventnor and shooting the (bay) breeze with the kind of neighborly chatter they can’t get in their upscale suburban Philly developments.
NOTABLE SHOOBIES Sharon Pinkenson, Ron Rubin, Bennett Weinstock.
DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT A comfy sweatshirt from Jamaican Me Crazy, just down the street from the Dairy Bar. Look for the sidewalk sale at the beginning of the season.
