Summers in Cape May, New Jersey
A recent post on Sweetnicks reminded me of the fun summers I spent as a teen in Cape May, New Jersey. A childhood friend of mine, Allison, from where I grew up in New York, would go every summer to the Jersey shore in Cape May. Her family would meet up with some of her mother’s 10 siblings for a week or two. For a few years, I went with them too.
It was a blast. The shore - as people in New Jersey call it - was a polar opposite experience to what I was used to spending summers on the Connecticut shoreline. For one, there was a boardwalk that was always hopping and complete with stores and quick bites. And there were tons of quiant places to shop including the shops along the Washington Street Mall.
After reading the post on Sweetnicks, I began to think about a restaurant that my friend’s aunt Mickey owned. After some digging, I found the name, McGlade’s on the Pier. It is located on the Promenade at Convention Hall. We’d frequently go to McGlade’s for breakfast. The first time there, Allison’s mother suggested I try a swiss and asparagus omelette. I’m not sure that I ate anything else for breakfast there after that. It was scrumptious. It was delicious and succulent and somewhat exotic to me - I’d never have thought to cross a dinner vegetable like asparagus with breakfast foods. Then again, considering that I rarely ate breakfast at home, breakfast in general was somewhat exotic. For lunch (or dinner), McGlade’s crabcakes were amazing - mouthwateringly good. The recipe was Allison’s grandmother’s. To this day, those are the best crab cakes I’ve ever tasted.
The most interesting thing to me that I discovered in my research is that another of Allison’s aunts, Theresa, whose wedding I went to in 1994 or 1995, has since moved to Cape May and opened her own restaurant, McGlade’s Backstreet. If the menu is any indication, it looks like it could be great too. Theresa was trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
Anyway, the thing is that although I know we ate elsewhere while in Cape May - a slice here, a fried dough there - I don’t remember any other restaurants. They must not have made much of an impression. Allison and I were too busy having fun at the beach, checking out boys and hanging out with her younger cousin, Theresa - daughter of her aunt Agnes Berenato, coach of Pitt’s women’s baskbasketball team.
You know, at the time, they were all just people. But really, talk about an awesome family to spend time with. There is nothing quite like an awesomely intelligent, resilient, self-confident group of women. And couple that with the fact that several of them successfully juggled impressive careers with families - wow. Ali, if you happen to read this, thanks for letting me spend a little time with your great family.
Aside from McGlade’s, I do remember getting a variety of candy at Morrow’s Nut House. That was another favorite stop during our journey’s in Cape May. The peanut butter logs and these funky tie-dyed seashell candies. Mmm. And taffy. And fudge. Okay, okay. I just really enjoyed the candy from Morrow’s Nut House.
Someday, I will take my own family there for a fun-filled week of sun and surf. I’d love to rent a house near the shore like Allison’s family did the last year I went with them. It was awesome being in the center of things and being able to rollarblade through the streets of Cape May, walk to shopping and to the beach, and drop back to the house if we forgot something. If you have the opportunity, I’d suggest you go too.
McGlade’s on the Pier
722 Beach Avenue
Cape May, New Jersey
(609) 884-2614
McGlade’s Backstreet
600 Park Center
West Cape May, New Jersey
(609) 884-7660
Morrow’s Nut House
722 Beach Avenue
Cape May, New Jersey
(609) 884-4966
