The Shore ’08

Our totally insider, town-by-town guide to what’s new, what’s hot (and we don’t mean the sand) and what’s legendary on the Jersey coast — along with the stuff you absolutely must eat, do, buy and indulge in to make the most of your summer

SEA ISLE CITY

THE VIBE If you come to Sea Isle, you’ve always come to Sea Isle. The same college kids who packed in eight to an apartment on 39th Street are now the parents ensconced in multi-bedroom new construction on 70th and will be the names memorialized on the benches that line the promenade (unless the city runs out of room first).

THE 411 The now-annual concern that Sea Isle might wash away completely during the winter abated in spring, which found the worst of the erosion confined (as it is every year) to Strathmere to the north, leaving the usual swath of beach for the fudgy-wudgy man and local restaurants’ on-the-beach lunch delivery. (Brilliant!) The expanded Surf Buggy Center at Pleasure and JFK will likely mean more surreys to dodge on the Promenade, but the mile-and-a-half stretch of ice cream, arcades and houses you can’t afford will never be Ocean City-hectic — except maybe during the arts and crafts fair on Skimmer Festival Weekend (6/14-6/15).

LOCAL LEGENDS The crowded Sands Department Store — the answer to the perpetual renters’ question of “Where can I find sneakers/fishing gear/martini glasses?” — is celebrating 50 years in Sea Isle. And locals swear that Jerry Blavat has been playing Sunday afternoons at La Costa for nearly as long. (They might be right.) But nothing says classic SIC like the buttery crumb cake from Mary Ann Pastry Shop on 44th Street.

WHAT’S NEW Resident and renter alike await the arrival of the long-­promised Sea Isle trolley service, a low-cost connection that makes kiddie-magnet Pirate Island miniature golf at 33rd and Landis more accessible to the finally completed wonderland of a playground (with tennis courts!) at 59th and the bay, and shortens the distance between beachfront happy hour at the Carousel at 40th and post-cocktail pizza pit-stop Uncle Oogie’s at 61st and Landis.

TYPICAL DAY For some, the day starts with sunrise yoga on the 45th Street beach and a stroll on the Promenade. For those who risked the noise fine to extend the party after last call the night before at the rowdy OD (formal name: the Ocean Drive), it’s a visit to Wawa. Either way, the next stop is pancakes at cheerfully chaotic Valarie’s Place (chocolate chip, with whipped cream, thank you). Then to the beach, where you’ll look out of place without a colorful umbrella — or three. It’s hard to duck the relentless beach-tag patrols, but the stretch of sand near 60th at least has this bonus: Sea Isle’s best dolphin-­spotting. Afternoon is an overstuffed sub at McGowan’s and the choice between water ice at the new Rita’s (yum) or homemade ice cream at ­Marita’s (yum, yum) before another stroll on the Promenade. Then have dinner on the deck — either the one at the Deauville Inn in Strathmere or your own. If you didn’t catch your meal on a deep-sea trip, order in from Mike’s Seafood, where the fried crab balls are a favorite. Late night on Landis Avenue inevitably includes stops at the Dead Dog Saloon (for the acoustic set) or the Springfield Inn (for the you’ve-got-to-fight-for-your-right-to-party crowd).

NOTABLE SHOOBIES Big Daddy Graham, Angelo Cataldi.

DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT One of those ubiquitous oval SIC bumper stickers.