Cape May Restaurant Snapshot

Serious case of post-vacation blues, right here.

Cape May, NJ is one of my favorite places ever.  I fell in love it when when hubs and I went for the first time together in 2006 during our first summer of dating.  The beach, the charming Victorian houses and B&B's, the shopping, and the FOOD.  Goodness, the food.  There are pretty much more restaurants than people in Cape May... and it's glorious.  We just returned from a heavenly week and I wanted to share some of my favorite dishes from the trip. 

To the left is my gargantuan strawberry shortcake sundae from Duffer's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor and my ensuing (extremely unflattering) reaction to the monstrosity.  Duffer's is actually a short drive from Cape May in Wildwood, but we go every year because it is worth the trip.  The sundaes are huge, creative, and delicious.  If you have little ones, there is an arcade and a mini-golf course attached to the restaurant.  My only advice: eat a light dinner before heading out to this place so you have room for all of the ice cream!




A new addition to our trip this year was dinner at Sea Salt, located inside the Ocean Club Hotel.  This is a unique find in Cape May because it's a modern, chic, urban-style seafood restaurant in a Victorian town.  I had the grilled veal chop, which came with a fine herb ricotta gnocchi and sautéed cherry tomatoes (below left).  Hubs had the Seafood Fra Diavolo (below right).  Both dishes were extremely well made.  I had no problem finishing off my generous portion, and while our experience was a bit pricey, I definitely wouldn't mind going back.

I got to pick the restaurant for the night of my birthday, and the easy choice was Fresco's Seafood Trattoria.  We've frequented this restaurant for the past few years because this restaurant is the epitome of fine Italian dining with a twist of fresh Cape May seafood.  I ordered a salmon special that came with a delicious creamy sweet corn risotto and asparagus (below left).  There was a buttery sauce over the fish that was to die for!  And it's no secret we really keep coming back to Fresco's for the tiramisu (below right).  Tiramisu is Greg's favorite dessert and I have to admit, Fresco's version ranks as some of the best I've ever had.

Okay, let's get serious for a second.  If you want fine dining in Cape May, and don't mind paying a bit more for service, atmosphere and mouth-wateringly delicious food, you have to go to The Washington Inn.  It's built in a 1840 Plantation home, with five unique dining rooms to serve guests.  Your water glass will never be empty and you can be certain that whatever you order will be perfectly done.  They used to have fluke with jumbo lump crab in a brown butter passion fruit glaze with slivered almonds that is out of this world, but they sadly removed it from the menu this year!  So instead, I ordered a salmon special (typical) with asparagus, roasted radishes, veggies and mashed potatoes (bottom left).  Hubs got the seafood cioppino with clams, shrimp, scallops & fish in a spicy tomato broth served with garlic aioli focaccia (bottom right).   Both were fabulously done!

Finally, I have to talk about Oyster Bay.  I really can only speak for one dish at this menu, along with everyone else in my husbands family - because we pretty much all order the same thing.  Their Veal San Marco (below) is amazing - tender medallions of veal, breaded and pan-fried, then topped with marinated tomatoes and melted Fontina cheese.  It's heaven.  If they ever take it off the menu, we may revolt.  I'm being dramatic of course, but it really is fabulous!

Needless to say, I had to majorly detox this past week from all the rich food - but it was totally worth it!  I'm already counting down the days until I can return to my favorite seaside town at Exit 0.