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Return to Local Secrets, Big Finds homeView 2007 Local Secrets, Big Finds
(Portugal's national day), but if that day is a weekday, the city usually celebrates the following weekend.
Ralph Piccolo Pizza & Restaurant
Paterson
973.942.0282
Ralph Piccolo Pizza & Restaurant will be familiar to fans of The Sopranos, who saw the eatery stand in for "Ooh-Fa Pizza" on the show. The pies and other classic Italian offerings make the place "certainly worth a stop if you're in the area!" While you're there, be sure to "check out the photos from when the Sopranos crew stopped by," as well as "all types of memorabilia"--the owner has been in the restaurant business for 41 years and is "the uncle of the late football player Brian Piccolo."
Tices Shoals Beach
Island Beach
"Mostly locals" go to Tices Shoals Beach, probably because it's "only accessible by boat." The beach, a well-kept secret locally, is "very private and secluded," even though it's part of popular Island Beach State Park. How do people get there? "Everyone drives his boat to Tices Shoals, anchors, and wades to the beach."
Terhune Orchards
Princeton
609.924.2310
Red, White and Blueberry Festival
Hammonton
609.561.9080
The "blueberry capital of the world" is, perhaps predictably, home to a festival featuring "all things blueberry" the last weekend in June of every year. Blueberry everything is for sale, and naturally, there's a blueberry pie-eating contest. Musical acts and other entertainers perform, and there is also a classic car show. Plans for 2005 include an attempt at baking the world's largest pie. (Guess what flavor?)
The Raptor Trust
Millington
908.647.2353
The Raptor Trust Bird Rehab site is reached via "a nice, beautiful drive" through western New Jersey. It's a great place to take kids, but really, who wouldn't like the chance to see "eagles, all kinds of hawks, and owls up close?" Injured and orphaned birds are housed at the facility, some are rehabilitated and released, some live out their days at the refuge. Read more.
13 Bumps Road
Watchung
Known for its 13 mysterious bumps, the road cuts through "a beautiful reservation," where "thousands of leaves of all colors" dot the way during autumn. During the day, the view from Johnston Drive is beautiful, and it only gets better as the sun sets. But during the night locals know "to beware and to be alert" for as legend has it, this road is also the site of a deadly occurrence involving 13 sisters who were witches. Try driving over the 13 bumps, then say "thirteen witches," and see what happens! But make sure you "don't try this alone."
Holsten's Brookdale Confectionary
Bloomfield
973.338.7091
The Chatterbox Drive-In
Augusta
973.300.2300
The Chatterbox--formerly Sonny's--has a new name but is still "a new version of a 1950s drive-in" restaurant. You can eat in, or park outside where "roller-skating waitresses" will glide right up to your car. Expect "a good deal of food," "in a really cool setting." On Thursday nights during the summer "motorcycles fill the parking lot." On just about any weekend evening, classic "cars and bikes usually arrive in droves" and you can enjoy "a free car/bike show." Read more.
Pinelands Cranberry Festival
Chatsworth
609.726.9237
"Sample many cranberry treats," (including ice cream), "eat other local foods," and "shop for crafts and antiques" at the Pinelands Cranberry Festival. This celebration of New Jersey's cranberry harvest is held in mid-October when "the cranberries are being harvested." At the festival, local artists and craftsmen "show their stuff," demonstrating their skills and selling their wares. Read more.
Portugal Day
Newark
More than just another parade, Newark's Portugal Day celebration "is like a whole street fair." The city's Portuguese population converges upon the Ironbound neighborhood every summer "around June 10" to celebrate Portuguese heritage. "Various groups come from Portugal to perform," not just at the parade but "throughout the whole weekend." Portugal Day is officially June 10 every year
> Continued in next column.
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