You know you're from Jersey when ...

When someone near you orders Taylor Ham or pork roll on a roll, with scrambled egg and cheese, and you know EXACTLY what they are talking about and what they ordered. You're BOTH from Jersey!

Why didn't you put him in his place, OP? You missed a perfect opportunity to purse your lips and sniff a couple of times for good measure.

R1

I heard a woman put here on the left coast use the term Down the Shore. I had to ask; she was from Ringwood.

I've cringed when people in restaurants ask for the GE-NA-CHIs (gnocchi)

... you hear someone talk about or know about Gunnison Beach.

I was raised in NJ and have always spoken standard English with a mid Atlantic accent typical of a TV newsreader. There are swaths of many states where dialects change dramatically.

For those who stay cloistered from its borders, you might be interested to know that NJ is home to some of the wealthiest zip codes in the country, and that ‘The Garden State’ is not a myth. Throw in the horse set counties and the top of the state and it’s far more complicated than a breakfast sandwich.

And that’s without even mentioning upstarts Hoboken and Jersey City.

I haven’t lived there for years, but almost all regional threads are superficial, stereotypical and ill informed.

R6

I'm from the "horse country" but still pro-shoe-toe sounded funny.

I agree R7, it was funny. But the general gist of these kinds of threads bug me.

You had three guys named Tony in your class. Big Tony, Little Tony and Tony. And your mom called it Taylor Ham but dad insisted it was pork roll for christsakes!! And we hated the Bennies. If you don’t know what a Benny is, you probably were one. And who doesn’t love jug handles?

I never heard of Taylor Ham or pork roll until I was older, but grew up expecting every town of any size in America would have its own diner?

Drivers license was 17, people. Seven Effing Teen!

Maybe they changed the laws recently, but going to vote involved dealing with ledgers like something out of Scrooge's Victorian Counting House.

R10 Thank you!! Uncle Floyd, damn. I had the hots for that guy. Honest.

According to the NYTimes, that's a regional variant pronunciation, OP--it's more popular in NJ, but it's not necessarily correct in Italy.

You start screaming and breaking things because your best wife beater is in the wash and you can't wear it to da club.

I love you, r3! My friends and I were just discussing how even our weatherpeople know to say "Down the shore"!

[quote]A guy nearby orders a lunch item pronouncing it "pro-shoot-toe" and you have to stifle the urge to tell him it's pronounced "Pruh-Shoot"!

uhhh, it's not because youre from "Jersey" (people from NJ dont actually say "from JERSEY")... it's cuz you're a fuckin' GUIDO!

Guidos---- a special variant of Italian Americans living in the outerboroughs and some parts of NJ and long Island)--come from Sicilian ancestors who spoke a variant of Italian, which has gotten bastardized over the years to the point where Guidos think they pronounce Itliana words correclty when in fact they sound like trash to actual Italian speakers.

No.... it's not "Mo--tza-RELL" either.

Yo, another order of galamad... and some mootzarell!

If you said "pro-SHOOT" to an actual educated Italian they'd think you were trash.

Ay why don’t you go pro-shoote yourself in the foot get atta here

I guess I don't qualify as bring "from Jersey" after 35 years there? I'm not Italian, but pro shoot toe sounds kinda prissy to me. I draw the line at ree-got for ricotta.

I recall when Uncle Floyd was on Ch. 68. I would substitute Route 22 for Route 17 as "mean" myself. To this day whenever I hear the Can Can song I associate it with Shop Rite.

Sloppy Joe sandwiches are kinda specific to North central NJ, having nothing to do with ground beef nor tomato sauce. I'd kill for one right now.

Gunnison Beach is for naughty boys and their naughty bits.

I don't know if seafood fra diavolo is NJ specific, but I'd get it as a change from veal Parmigian sometimes. Yes, "real" Italians would be horrified at those, but they're what I grew up with.

Dinner was served promptly at 6:00 sharp as though there were a state law.

Smell the Duchess of Kent at R6!

I grew up in 07***.

We always called it Pork Roll, like it says on the package. I never heard anyone say "Taylor Ham" until the Internet, in the 21st century.

I never heard of proZHUT or gobbaGOOL before watching the Sopranos, and I grew up in a suburb of Newark. I can't say anything but pasta faZOOL, however.

I said "down the shore," of course. The shore was "down" from where I, and the rest of North Jersey, lived.

I still don't know what a Benny is.

R6, it's swampland. No NY or CT will it ever be but thanks for playing .

R21 - a Benny is someone from North Jersey or Staten Island who invades the shore for the summer. They are usually associated with shore rentals.

Those pronunciations are from the Sicilians. Don’t forget manigot for manicotti. My aunt was northern Italian and used to correct everyone’s pronunciation. It made her so mad.

Almost 75 years later, people forget that the main prisoner of war camp was in NJ at Camp Kilmer. It was mostly Italian POWs. It seemed to have been a relatively open POW camp. My mother was a child during the WW2 period. Families went to Camp Kilmer every Sunday for picnics. Lots of marriages were the result of the weekly picnics with the POWs. My aunt’s husband was a POW. He said the Italian solders ran to US forces to be captured. They realized it was much better than being captured by the Russians or Germans.

I always say pork roll, but Taylor ham is the brand we always bought. As far as I know, both brands of pork roll are made in Trenton, NJ.

The Kupper family owned most of the shore land south of Bayhead to Lavalette. While her husband was in Europe during the war, Margaret Kupper bought most of the land. After the war, they built the shore homes and sold them with 99 year leases. I think most of their developments are named after WW2 locations - Normandy Beach, Midway Beach, etc. lol - they created the communities where the bennies spend the summer.

That's the way prosciutto is supposed to be pronounced OP. That's how the Italians say it.

In this case - it's you who's incorrect.

You just know there's a drag queen in Jersey named Taylor Hamm.

Fried Calama (not fried calamari)

OP, is an idiot and from Jersey or Jersey adjacent. Prosciutto is pronounced PRO-Shoo- TT-O. It has a double consonant and in Italian its pronounced with a stronger inflection. And there are no silent letters at the end.

While low class know it all Jersey trash queens like the OP pronounced it pruh-zhoot, its all wrong. Jersey people for some reason have mangled the Italian language dropping all the last letters of Italian words like:

Prosciutto = pruh-zhoot

Mozzarella = mutzadell

Ricotta = ree-goat

mortadella = Mort-ah-dell

Those are all wrong. If you were to use any of those pronunciations in Italy they wouldn't know what the hell you are talking about. It's equivalent to Americans saying things like "alls ya haveda do is" or "all intensive purposes"

It's Spaghetti with a T not Spaghetti with a D, because Spaghetti with a T goes Tu not Du.

MMPH! Now, I want me a Taylor Ham sandwich.

[quote]I always say pork roll, but Taylor ham is the brand we always bought. As far as I know, both brands of pork roll are made in Trenton, NJ.

This is what we bought, Taylor Pork Roll. I never saw packaging that called it Taylor Ham. I get these pics, btw, when I googleimage "Taylor ham."

My favorite Italian YouTuber at the moment. Hes fun and gay. He says it the right way. Those two just got married.

You know you're from SOUTH Jersey if you...

Eat "frozen custard" with "jimmies" on top

Soft pretzels with mustard

Spaghetti with "scungilli"

Hoagies

Hoagies with green peppers and eggs....or green peppers and sausage

All washed down with a nice glass of birch beer....or cream soda.... or "wooder".

I thought this was a pork roll.

Way to be an idiot, r33. What part of Flyovia do you hail from?

Hey, r34, at least r33 got the "cut or uncut" part right.

I agree, R34! There is ALWAYS one! Here we're having a nice and beautiful thread, recalling memories and sharing laughs, and then you have a DICK that has to post a dick pic...

Not from flyover R34. FYI I did try pork roll several times, its like fried baloney. I don't see what the big deal is. It obviously never caught on to the rest of the country, not even Calif where almost anything goes. I guess when you live in the garbage state, that shit is talked about like filet Mignon.

[quote] I guess when you live in the garbage state, that shit is talked about like filet Mignon.

Nobody EVER talked about it like it was filet mignon, r37. More proof of your cluelessness.

R31 That Italian guy is really cute and likable.

[quote]I agree, [R34]! There is ALWAYS one! Here we're having a nice and beautiful thread, recalling memories and sharing laughs, and then you have a DICK that has to post a dick pic...

What board are YOU on? I'm on the DL. Pics of a dick on a gay board? Shock oh my!

You're definitely from Jersey if you know what an Italian Hot Dog is. Extra credit if you know where a Jimmy Buff or Dickies is located.

Look familiar?

Oh YES they do R38. Every time I have to travel through that state, someone always ask me if I have tried a pork roll. That and then they proceed to tell me they have the best tomatoes in the world. Which of course is a myth. Why? Because if they did, the water source would be the same, the soils all over the sate would be the same and they would be shipping those things all over the US like Florida does with their oranges. All of those variables are radically different depending on where you grow produce.

The only reason they taste ok is because they wait until they are ripe and eat them fresh. News flash, all fruit tastes better if done that way.

Did someone say Jersey Dogs?

If you are from North Jersey ( North of Raritan River) it's a "brook".... From South Jersey it's a " Creek"

[quote]That and then they proceed to tell me they have the best tomatoes in the world.

I don't know about being the best but it definitely is different and different tasting tomato.

[quote]From South Jersey it's a " Creek"

It's only spelled "creek" ....but it's pronounced "crick".

[quote]That and then they proceed to tell me they have the best tomatoes in the world.

NJ did once have the very best tomatoes in the US ... Campbell's tomato soup was made with them, as was Heinz catsup. THE two iconic tomato based products in the US.

I thought something happened, R48. I recall, (from a side eye view), some movement to bring back the Jersey Tomato that has been gaining steam.

My father, a New Jersey native who never left, grew the best damned tomatoes in the world. I am completely spoiled. I tried making caprese yesterday with store tomatoes (in PA). Like ROCKS, even though they had a little squish to the touch.

So go to a dick thread, r40. It's not like there aren't any.

Thanks for that R33. Italian sausage?

I'm from Flyovia. Jersey accents, like Boston. I just cant. 👎

For R19. Here you go, doll.

[quote]You know you're from Jersey when ...

The guy you say that to pushes your face into your Pruh-Shoot, knocks you unconscious and keys your car.

When I started this thread, I was a bit tongue in the cheek, using that as a jumping off point for the said meet product reminding me of being from New Jersey.

My great aunt and her husband from Jersey City had accents, but few other people I knew did. Almost everyone spoke standard American English.

We went to New England in the summer, so I know little about things Down the Shore firsthand. Poor WASPy Short Hills seems to be heavily associated with obnoxious nouveau arrivistes these days.

Outsiders are sometimes driven crazy by all the municipalities with the borough-township system. I hate raw tomatoes, but remember farm stands with fresh corn!

[quote]Poor WASPy Short Hills

OH, YES! The corn!!!! YUM!

We were your jealous neighbor (but not anymore from what I understand)--Westfield.

What right do Jerseyites have to make fun of any other part of the country? I guess if it makes you feel better. But everyone is laughing at you.

It’s regional.

If you mispronounce prosciutto or gnocchi do they not give it to you?

I love how that girl in r24 sounds in Italian. Languages sound beautiful when spoken by people with smooth diction.

My friend has a weekend home in West Virginia. Whenever I visit, I chuckle at the the name of the local Italian restaurant: Lou-wee-gees

If you said "pro-SHOOT" then you're basically an Italian hillbilly.

This guy exaggerates the Jersey guido accent for laughs, but many actually sound pretty close. Same thing for Staten Island guidos.

Pronunciation challenges in South Jersey.

I dated a man from South Jersey for a short time. "Furry" for "ferry" was the worst of it.

Take the furry to Staten Island? No.

Jersey Guidos can be appealing. But please.. just STFU. Talking is prohibited.

[quote]Poor WASPy Short Hills

My Short Hills was more Jewy than WASPy. And anything but poor.

My Short Hills is a mall.

R22, please never type ‘thanks for playing’ again. We haven’t said that for years.

Swampland you say? Northern New Jersey is 500 feet above sea level. It’s adjacent to the Ramapo Mountains that rise to a couple thousand feet.

But you’d probably be surprised to learn that your cherished CT does have 167 registered swamps.

Thank YOU for playing. Oh, I think this is a really nice house, not unlike the one in which I was raised.

You post things like this on an I Love Lucy DL thread:

"I'm form New Jersey. I'm 21, my moms is 39 (she had me the year after she gradated HS). My gram is 59, and my great gram is 81 and was born in 1937. Lucy was on in the early and mid 30s no?"

Anyone remember Snuffy's Steak House?

R64 Thank you. Haven’t lived in south Jersey in over 20 years, but that video was like going home. I currently live in Deep South, and get asked “where are you from?” The funniest part of that video were words “water” & “drawer”. I have had co-workers write down those exact words and ask me to say them to make them laugh. At least I know the correct pronunciation of my hometown of Forked River, NJ.

[Quote]At least I know the correct pronunciation of my hometown of Forked River, NJ.

Oh God, r72, I can only imagine otherwise!

[quote]What right do Jerseyites have to make fun of any other part of the country? I guess if it makes you feel better. But everyone is laughing at you.

Not many people are aware but NJ has the second highest median household income in the contiguous United States. Second only to Maryland/DC.

Also NJ ranks second (after Massachusetts) for quality of public education.

And...NJ did not vote for Trump.

R72: “fawkid rivah”

We used to eat at Snuffy’s, r71. “On the highway.”I would usually get a bucket of steamers.

R74 is correct. And that money is earned primarily in NYC, but also in Philadelphia.

Fork-Ed River, no?

We had neighbors who went to Snuffys in the 60s, but it was kind of far away. Steaks = Arthur's in Morris Plains.

I once said I had never been to Boca Raton, FL. A co-worker replied "Livingston with palm trees". As far as Westfield goes, we used to play soccer against Wardlaw. Chris Christie may have moved to Mendham later, but to me he'll always be pure Verona.

I live in horse country NJ (Morrison cty) and I love this thread. #teamtaylorham.

^ Morris not Morrison.

OP wants everyone to use an ignorant Sicilian version of Italian. Non-Sicilian Italians (the majority) do not say “preh-shoot.”

ROUTE 22!!!

Do today's Sicilians still pronounce it as "preh-shoot"? I know that Italy's dialects are becoming less spoken today.

We have some bucks, loosers!

[quote]Do today's Sicilians still pronounce it as "preh-shoot"?

Sicilians will often have perfect standard Italian accents. That's because they learn the language almost as a second language.

I have never heard any Italian anywhere calling prosciutto "preh-shoot".

*That's because they learn Italian almost as a second language.

... some Jerries built a cannon bunker in your backyard.

[quote]We have some bucks, loosers!

[quote]—9/11 widows

Oh dear.

[quote]You had three guys named Tony in your class. Big Tony, Little Tony and Tony

I love this

He just heard about this thread and he's coming for ya, OP

You're from jersey when people can smell your cologne from 50 feet away.

When you're a prostitution whore.

Friendly family gatherings.

[quote]We have some bucks, loosers!—9/11 widows

That's probably the way they spell "losers," too.

South Jersey-ite here. I find that the people with the weirdest SJ accents (water and bagel are big offenders) are people who grew up, or their parents grew up in Philly, before moving to NJ.

Shop Rite here down the shore is still called "Starns" after the family that owned a bunch of Shop Rites back in the day

Tourists to the shore region here are called "Shoobies" not Bennies (Bennies go to the beaches on Long Beach Island and beaches north) They are called Shoobies because they used to bring their lunch with them to the beach in shoe boxes.

If girls wanted a fancy dress, and they had both a passion for fashion and a craving for saving, they would take the wheel of their automobile and swing on down to Ideal.

My mom is from Morristown and my father was from Princeton, and you know you’re from Jersey when you talk about different counties like they’re different states.

Growing up it seemed like my fathers side of the family (which was called South Jersey, though Princeton isn’t really) lived so far from my mom’s side, but really, you went down what I think was 202 (a gorgeous ride BTW) and it was about a half hour at most.

All that said true South Jersey really is trash, no doubt about it. The NY suburbs of Philly like Haddonfield are total effing shit.

Short Hills actually was quite WASPy until I would say the late 70s/80s it began to change. That’s why “big Pingry” moves its campus in the mid 80s West to bernardsville.

Our father would scare the shit of us kids by driving thru Pine Barrens looking for the Jersey Devil.

r71, I grew up very close to Snuffy's house in Tewksbury.

Jealous, bitch?

My dad went to Pingry back when it was in Hillside (obviously). Mercer County was South Jersey 609 more Philly than NYC.

i grew up in NJ. NYC metro area. I left 30 years ago to go to college and never moved back. Never heard of Taylor Ham or pork rolls. Never used the phrase "down the shore" but did refer to the beach as the shore. i had Italian American friends in high school. But never paid much attention to how various Italian food items were pronounced. There was an Italian bakery, grocery store and a Jewish Deli in the town I lived in.

Since where I lived was so close to NYC almost everyone's father worked in the city. There were very few families where the parents or grandparents were born and raised in NJ. Almost every case the family had moved to NJ and then the children were born in NJ.

There are families that have lived in NJ for generations. But with the proximity to NYC and Philadelphia there are plenty of families that find themselves in NJ for the first generation. I'm guessing the same is true today.

As far as the tomatoes are concerned certainly a state the size of NJ would have similar farming conditions throughout the state. Think of states in flyover country that produce the same wheat or corn all across the state. More importantly NJ has lots of truck farms. Lot's of truck farms means lots of places to buy produce fresh from the fields. So yeah fresh but also the land itself contributes to the flavor.

Snuffy's is now called Pantagis Renaissance.

Anyone been to the Manor? Such a mafia place, but kind of in a good way. Food is great.

Speaking of that area does Essex County still want to dump Newark? And Summit doesn’t want to be in Union County? Such bullshit.

We always called it Taylor ham.

[quote]And...NJ did not vote for Trump.

Not so fast. There is a whole section of Jersey that is very pro Trump. In fact its near where he has one of his private clubs. My other half who cant stand Trump has relatives there and literally everyone in their circle is a Trumpeter. And not just his family, all his old friends as well. It's shocking because I always thought Jersey was a blue state. But then you have to remember they also put Chris Christy into office. Jersey is not as blue as you might think.

[quote]If girls wanted a fancy dress, and they had both a passion for fashion and a craving for saving, they would take the wheel of their automobile and swing on down to Ideal.

R95 = Hammonton's own, Kellyanne Conway

R104 totally true Ana I know that Trump NJ voter type well. Not as blue as most of the NE states, still a ton of conservative pockets And in 1992 it was a major battleground state.

Is pork roll any good? I found a place in LA that makes a sandwich with it. Is it worth a drive?

The first time I heard Pre Zhoot and Manigot was when Artie Lange was on Howard's show.

I lived in Wilmington Del 35 years ago when I was a kid, and all the stuff mentioned in this thread were a part of the local color there(including Taylor Pork roll.) We spent summers down the shore in Stone Harbor. Nice but dull even as a little kid.

r107 It might be worth the trip.

DAMN! Now, I REALLY want a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese, sandwich!

I grew up in Westchester and remember the "can can" song. It was annoying AF and I don't think we had any Shop Rites near us, but it was on all the NYC TV and radio stations in the 90s.

All the kids I knew from Short Hills were wealthy and Jewish, decidedly less flashy than their Long Island peers, but this was the 90s-- DL has a much older demographic and so OP may be remembering the 50s or 60s. (Though I seem to remember that in the recent obituaries for Philip Roth that "Goodbye Columbus" was set in Short Hills in the 50s, so maybe OP is remembering the 40s?)

I'm always surprised at how correct R6 is, how much of NJ is like Westchester and not like the Sopranos.

Maplewood is a town not far from the aforementioned Short Hills with a very large gay population--both lesbians and gay men who married and have kids settled down there. Asbury Park also has a big gay presence. (Not sure if people live there or just visit or summer there, but it's pretty gay.)

[quote]Asbury Park

Another classic example of; When the boys arrive the real estate values go UP, honey!!!! My greatest regret, (and that's because I was trying to partner with two other friends--JUST DUMB!), is that we didn't buy there when the housing was pennies on the dollar because it is expensive as all hell there now!

Short Hills is an unincorporated community within the township of Millburn, NJ. When I was growing up in the '50s and '60s, Jewish people who wanted to move here from other towns in Essex and adjoining Union and Somerset Counties used the names "Millburn" and "Short Hills" interchangeably.

I had no idea Short Hills/Millburn was WASPy then, as even though I went to Catholic school, I was a Philip Roth fan in the early '60s (living in Plainfield, before the riots).

[quote]Plainfield

Beautiful housing stock to this very day! But, that town....

R115, I was back for the first time since the 1970s about two years ago. It is obviously not the place I remember, but the residential areas look remarkably better than I expected, given all I'd heard. The street I grew up on is now a historical district, and it looked quite nice. The downtown streets are completely different, both from what I remember and from what I expected. It's very Mexican now.

Short Hills was WASPy into the 60s.

My dad's family lived in NJ since arriving from the Netherlands in the 1600's, while my mother is from New England. He worked in Manhattan, but many of my friends' dads were local lawyers, doctors, etc. Also Bell Labs at Murray Hill not far away. I knew both native and new families.

I learned the phrase Down the Shore later in life. We went away for much of the summer, but most families belonged to local swim clubs rather than going away.

There's a series on Amazon called Red Oaks about a Jewish teen working at a tennis club, which I'm assuming is supposed to be set in Springfield?

So Short Hills became un-WASPy over 50 years ago and you are treating it like a recent development OP?

Do you also mourn for the days when the Lenape tribe roamed those short hills, in the years prior to Columbius?

[quote]There is a whole section of Jersey that is very pro Trump.

R104 - but the bulk of the population of the state lives in the crowded blue area.

What's your point, 119? Congressional districts are drawn to include equal numbers of residents. The blue districts on the R104 map are already smaller in size to account for the denser population.

R107, the farmers market at the grove has a butcher with pork roll.

Don’t forget to put ketchup salt n pepper on it

Short Hills phased out as WASPy over time beginning in the 70s, not like overnight racial changes.

Jersey Shore attracts a lot of conservative retirees it seems. On the other hand, the traditionally Republican northwest part of the state a bit less so.

Ketchup on ham and eggs sounds disgusting as texture. I'd be more likely to drizzle hot sauce on that.

NJ is home to moderate Republicans like Tom Kean and Christie Todd Whitman. At least three of the six Republican districts are expected to go blue in revulsion to Trump.

[quote]Snuffy's is now called Pantagis Renaissance.

I like both names

FYI:

If you have a chance to get there.... Asbury Park is beautiful! I'd much rather go there than Fire Island. It's an easy train trip from NYC too.

Asbury Park's Sandblast weekend

North Jerseyans say Nork (for Newark) and Puhsake (for Passaic).

R96 Short Hills was WASPy until the 1960s riots when the Jews fled from Newark's Weequahic section to suburban Essex and Morris counties.

r102, I had Thanksgiving dinner last year at The Manor. in West Orange. Millburn Township (which includes Short Hills) wants to be part of Morris County,

Lots of the state used to be considered wealthy and upper class, until the Eyetalians started moving en masse and gave it the reputation it has today.

I think of Larison's Turkey Farm in Chester as THE state Thanksgiving hot spot. We used to go to those "tea rooms" in Morris County (minds out of the gutter, girls!) like William Pitt in Chatham or Afton in Florham Park for holidays featuring Wasp cuisine.

If an area changed over in the 1970s, then at least two entire generations have grown up there since.

And yet DLers mourn as if it were yesterday. 1970 was 48 years ago, lol

Taylor ham = North Jersey.... Pork roll = South Jersey, both are the same thing.

[quote]There's a series on Amazon called Red Oaks about a Jewish teen working at a tennis club, which I'm assuming is supposed to be set in Springfield?

The actual main shooting location is the Edgewood Country Club, in River Vale, Bergen County. Mentally, I had substituted Shackamaxon in Scotch Plains, though that no longer exists. It was a Jewish country club across the street from my Catholic high school.

[quote]Ketchup on ham and eggs sounds disgusting as texture. I'd be more likely to drizzle hot sauce on that.

Ketchup on eggs IS New Jersey "cuisine." Pork roll has a different texture than ham. I was surprised when I found out several years ago that it was ever called Taylor Ham.

But who cares? Those who drizzle have all the culinary cachet of people who use "veggies" as a word.

I grew up in the 201, R133. We called it Pork Roll in the '50s and '60s.

John Taylor (Taylor Ham)

John Taylor (October 6, 1836 – February 10, 1909) was an American businessman and politician who served in the New Jersey Senate. He formed Taylor Provisions Company and created John Taylor's Pork Roll. He also founded the Taylor Opera House in Trenton, New Jersey.[2] Taylor Street in Trenton is also named for him.

Taylor was born in Hamilton Square, New Jersey, in 1836. His father James F. Taylor, owner of a brick yard, died when John was fourteen. Taylor entered the grocery business as a store clerk at seventeen. He quickly earned an interest with his company but left after a year to form his own partnership with James Ronan, which lasted for two years before Taylor bought Ronan's share. From 1860 through 1870, he worked in the wholesale grocery business in association with D.P. Forst. Shortly thereafter, Taylor began working in the pork and cattle packaging industry. This enterprise was organized into the Taylor Provision Company in 1888.

Taylor was a Republican active in Trenton's City Council, where he served as chairman of the finance committee. He was elected state senator for Mercer County, serving from 1880 to 1883. He declined a second term. He helped to abolish the street markets of New Jersey, and organized the Inter-State Fair in 1888.

In 1860, he married Catherine Rowley who later bore him two sons: Harry C., born in September 1864, and William T., October 1869. He is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.

Pork Roll (regionally known as Taylor Ham) is a pork-based processed meat originating and commonly available in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Hamilton Square, New Jersey, and sold as "Taylor Ham". Other producers entered the market, and subsequent food labeling regulations required Taylor to designate it as a "pork roll" alongside their competitors.

Interesting information, R137 and R138. I remember eating a lot of Taylor ham growing up, with eggs or in a sandwich. My mother bought it packaged as a log roll, covered in a burlap material, where you cut your own slices. I haven't eaten it since childhood. I remember it as being very salty, but it was good.

Jim McGreevy and his boyfriend live in Plainfield. I believe his ex-wife Dina Matos lives 3 or 4 towns over in Union in a homeless shelter.

I read recently that McGreevey moved to Jersey City.

Do you know what street that house is on, R140?

Let’s go on the Log Flume!

[quote]Lots of the state used to be considered wealthy and upper class, until the Eyetalians started moving en masse and gave it the reputation it has today.

Well New Jersey was never one of them. It's where New York historically dumped their trash.

I actually do but I'm not going to post it here R142. You and others might think that I'm stupid but I'll only go so far in invading someone's privacy. You can find it out.

I used to live here (an apartment here) while the owner was trying to restore the house back to its original state.

Known locally as the Schoomaker-Coriell mansion, this 1897 Colonial Revival style mansion was designed by architect E.G. Dietrich as a summer residence for attorney S.L. Schoomaker, a partner of Andrew Carnegie. Shortly after construction the mansion was purchased by William Coriell. The mansion has a 110 foot recessed veranda supported by Ionic columns on three sides of the structure. Classical detailing includes a dentil course, Palladian windows, a wide side-lighted entry, swan’s neck pediment above a central dormer and a truncated hip roof. According to Scientific American, the original color scheme featured a colonial gold with white trim and a dark green roof blending marvelously with the yellow brick chimneys. This is the largest house in the City of Plainfield and sports a ballroom on the third story. The carriage house to this mansion is No.28 on this tour.

957 Central Ave, Plainfield, NJ 07060

15 beds 8 baths 11,100 sqft

ALL FOR LESS THAN $500K!!!!

I grew up in New Jersey. There are parts of NJ that are stunningly beautiful. And parts that are trash.

I grew up in Rumson, which is like Beverly Hills if Beverly Hills had winter and the houses had giant yards. It made me grounded, I love that place.

[quote]Lots of the state used to be considered wealthy and upper class, until the Eyetalians started moving en masse and gave it the reputation it has today.

The notorious reputation NJ has today is represented by Camden, Newark, Atlantic City etc.

The Italians had nothing to with it.

Does anyone know the reason why or what possible marketing strategy is it to sell Taylor Ham in a package of only FOUR slices?

Could you show me Taylor Ham packaging, r148?

I used the verb drizzle as one doesn't usually "pour" hot sauce, but apologies if that sounds pretenscious. I like ketchup on anything but eggs - including hot dogs.

I do miss New Jersey pizza!

You can see the packaging at R138.

That says Taylor Pork Roll, r151.

[quote]if that sounds pretenscious

I'm hoping this spelling is merely pretentious.

Ohhhh.... okay... R152. My apologies. That was my error in typing the name of the product. SHEESH!

I had to look this up to understand what the OP was saying, because I didn't know New Jerseyans pronounced it wrong.

I actually want to see packaging that calls Pork Roll "Taylor Ham." Is that really so ordealicious, r154?

OMG stop with the pork roll! 150 post about Jersey style Spam.

It's like Spam in that it's made from leftover pig parts, but Taylor Pork Roll is made from squealers. And leftover pig parts.

Oh, it's nothing like spam, looser (sic).

[quote]I grew up in Rumson, which is like Beverly Hills

You're not kidding!

[quote]It made me grounded

OH! Okay.....

And, YES! The pic below IS a one family cozy Rumson abode... It looks a bit cramped...

It's not as greasy as spam.

Rumson, Deal, Spring Lake.. Sea Girt, beautiful moneyed areas. They have gorgeous homes.

It's processed pig eyelids.

I think Bruce Springsteen has a home in Rumson.

My across-the-street neighbor used to take her son and me to the Deal beach club every week in the summer. I think her son liked me (in that very special way).

I think so, too, R164.

Taylor Ham tastes like a salty Italian nutsack

Sounds better than Taylor Swift.

But not as good as Sean Mendes.

Ocean Grove is very charming, too. It used to be a Methodist camp/retreat at one time. It has a lot of quaint Victorian seaside homes... and a tent village, which is seasonal. The tents are cool summer homes... pretty nice inside.

We called it Ocean Grave because of the "no drinking/no fun/no anything but praying" motif.

Yeah, right R169. At one time, no cars were allowed on Sundays. I don't know it that law still exists.

I grew up in northern NJ some of the towns are named after old Indian tribes, Hackensack is named after the Indian tribe of the same name. Kinderkamack Rd is also names after and Indian tribe.

Do most Jersey women look like this?

Zeppolis in a brown bag on the boardwalk

NO, r172. They all do.

It's interesting that no one has brought up "The Hunt". That's Jersey thing that I'm aware of.

[quote]Deal

The low-income area of Deal...

And, the RICH area!

Deal is where the very insular and very wealthy Syrian Jewish community has second homes.

First homes are all in Brooklyn, an area near Flatbush. You'd never be able to tell from the outside but the homes are gigantic and Beverly Hills opulent inside, but look like nothing special on the outside.

r156 Taylor Pork Roll is processed - like Spam. That is why the packaging says pork roll instead of ham. If the packaging said ham it would violate FDA regulations.

I grew up in Neshanic. Very Waspy southern Somerset county next to Hunterdon. Childhood there was a dream. Playing in fields and swimming in the river, it’s incredibly beautiful and very stable. Left to go to college. I think about moving back there.

New Jersey is beautiful in many parts of the state.

R153 - that's one of the few words I really can never remember how to spell, so I was hoping that autocorrect would fix it, which it did not.

It's funny that last summer on a cruise around Iceland, I ran into a fellow from Neshanic! In a Twilight Zone moment, he lives down the street from my mother in Florida.

Parsippany and Succasunna are also Indian names.

The Portuguese festival is going on in the Ironbound this weekend. Come get some linguiça. Take exit 15E.

Ho-Ho-Kus is my favorite Native American name for a town in NJ

It always seemed like it should be the name of a summer camp in an Adam Sandler movie.

My friend from Ridgewood insisted they have a diner called The Kus From Ho.

R132 You are so right and I am the worst about it.

With all the racial divide threads here of late, I got to thinking. "Well things have improved a great deal in a short time. Not that long ago ther were still separate restrooms, water fountains and motels in Virginia, which is not exactly the hotbed of the "Old South."

Then I realized if I was 10 when I witnessed the segregation, and I am now 63, that was a LONG damn time ago--even though in my mind it doesn't seem so.

R158 That is not true. It is a commonly misunderstood that Spam is kind of like hot dogs, mad of scraps and pig leftovers. It is not. It is made from only the hams of a pig. Taylor pork roll does appear to be made from nits and scraps though.

Omg ENOUGH about the freaking Taylor ham already!!

If anyone is near Lambertville today (pretty river town on the Delaware in Hunterdon County), they have a garden tour today... 10 am to 4 pm. I love that town.

R189 I’m not but I love that area!!

And where did you grow up, r188?

Sadly those tea rooms are all gone now R132, but I do remember going to the Afton when we first moved to the area. Sally Lunn's tea shop is still thriving in Chester though, well worth a visit. The food is delicious.

^ R131 not 132

R189 Thanks for the reminder I have friends who have a condo in Lambertville and I know their place is on the tour. They recently redecorated it so it must be all Queened up.

MORE about Taylor ham please, I’m intrigued!

Maybe a separate thread could be started about Taylor Ham.. lol.

In North Jersey they call it Taylor Ham and in South Jersey they call it Pork Roll.

But I call it Jersey Scrapple.

[quote]But I call it Jersey Scrapple.

That's a totally different food.

God, my mom would make us eat that for breakfast, r198. She would mold small patties out of it, and fry them like baby hamburgers. She referred to scrapple as "sausage meat," and what she prepared for us as "sausage patties."

A few years ago, I was reminiscing with my sister about the "breakfast sausage patties" mom would make for us, and she busted out laughing, revealing to me what we had actually been eating all throughout our childhood years.

Ranger and Morelli are competing over you, yet you spend all your time with an black, obese, former ho.

They used to sell Scrapple at the local Acme.

Well played, r200.

[Quote]They used to sell Scrapple at the local Acme.

R201 Do you pronounce Acme as "ak-a-me"?

Philly, too, r203: the "wooder" sayers.

No, never heard ACK-ah-mee before joining Datalounge.

Though not unique to our fair state, I associate apple cider with NJ as well.

R203 - in central NJ, it is definitely pronounced ack-a-me. I do that too, I don’t put the R in the middle of water - warter. That is also common in NJ.

We know that we have the fairest Ivy of them all.

As a young gay you related to Daniel LaRusso (and once coveted the attention he got from gorgeous blond Californian jocks, black-eyes be damned).

You can add Nutley NJ to that list R104.

Almost the entire town, like 80% of the residents voted for Trump especially those who are now under age 59/60 who weren't old enough to remember (or care about) his antics and fuckery in the 1980's which is when I started hating him. But Nutley is a Trump town for sure, full of shallow, misinformed GenXers who voted for him.

R209 - I just looked that info up on the state's website and you're misinformed.

When you tabulate the data, this is what you get:

Out of Nutley's 14,140 votes, 7,061 (or 50%) went to Trump - not the entire town or even 80%.

^ It doesn't account for absentee ballots which there were many, much more than usual. Most residents kept their votes secret because tires were getting flattened and houses rock bombed. My entire family lives there and so did I until the late 90's when the younger generation were buying homes and starting families and once they moved in the drastic changes started. That's when I moved to NY. Nutley is a Trump town. Like many towns, it used to be a great town to live, but not anymore.

This thread is about Jersey roots ... you know you're from Jersey when ...

Which GS Parkway exit you live off of matters.

Should I go to Rutt’s Hut for lunch?

It doesn't matta how you tawk as long as you mean well and are a nice person.

Coffee: you don't say ca fee, you say caw fee.

And there's no whore in horrible.

What kind of freaks say "Ca Fee"? Of course it's pronounced caw fee!

Horrible is said HA-rbl (sic). British people might say haw instead of ha, but they're weird anyway.

In the northwest part of the state we didn't have the Parkway exit thing.

Interesting link R210

Notabale that in the four very wealthy towns in that county-- Millburn/Short Hills, Livingston, Glen Ridge and Essex Fells, Hillary won 3 out of 4, all by very sizable margins, but Gary Johnson overwhelmed Jill Stein for the protest vote.

When you say... New Jerrsey (emphasis on the R), rather than New Joisey. I've live in NJ all my life, and never heard anyone say New Joisey. It's a thought of people outside of the state, that thinks we speak that way.

*that think*...

Any Jerseyans know if The Office still exists? The food sucked but they had the best video games.

^^ I think it does..

I never heard anyone say "New Joisey," nor "Toity-Toid and Toid," at least not until Archie Bunker.

... and "terlit", for toilet..

Likely because most of the people who spoke like that died out before you were born R224

I took a linguistics class in college that touched on this some--the "Bugs Bunny" New York accent came from the mostly Irish immigrants on the 1840s, 50s and 60s and their descendants.

That accent morphed as huge waves of Jewish and Italian immigrants came into New York and evolved into the more common accent today with older New Yorkers, sort of the spectrum between Carmela Soprano and Linda Richman.

Younger New Yorkers have an accent that's added influences from Puerto Rican and Asian immigrants-- Nicki MInaj is a good example.

I'm in my 60s... I have never heard a New Jerseyian say "New Joisey".

Anthony Junior, can't you be a good Catholic for fifteen fucking minutes???

My dad was born at Montclair's Mountainside Hospital. However, back then (and I understand now) the maternity ward is actually across the street, so on forms Father's Place of Birth = Glen Ridge, NJ.

Born, raised and educated in NJ, although moved out years ago and never once heard a New Jerseyan say Joisey. The only people I actually heard say Joisey were Californians while I was working there in CA for a few years, as my company had transferred me there from NJ. The native Californians also said cahfee for coffee and laughed out loud when I said cawfee.

I went on a trip to the Southwest, that was a tour. People for all over the country were on the tour. When I spoke, one woman laughed and said, "You must be from New York.". I told her I'm from New Jersey. I lived in North Jersey during my childhood, in close proximity of NYC... so, I guess I picked up the vernacular. People in South Jersey, near Philadelphia, have a different vernacular... more like a Philly accent. It's hard to describe.

NJ also has towns that almost no one has heard of with great housing stock and gorgeous properties. I'll probably be hunted down by a local and shot, but here is Spring Lake, which happens to be on the Atlantic Ocean. It's as if they were trying to intentionally stay on the down low when they named it.

Spring Lake is gorgeous! That whole area is beautiful. Great boardwalk, beaches (unfortunately, expensive during the season). The lake there is quaint, with charming wooden pedestrian bridges... another lovely walk around the perimeter.

R211 - you're wrong.

Below at the link is the total without the absentee ballots. That total was 13,274 voters.

However, what I posted at R210 was accurate and included the absentee ballots. Hence, the total of town voters was 14,140. Trump therefore received 50% of the vote.

I'm amused by your making the town (which I'm familiar with) sound different than it actually is.

Perhaps you just happened to live in a shitty neighborhood.

FYI...

Gee, we have guys from three of those zips here!

R235 I really don’t like the homes they have in Alpine. So new and overly big and McMansion-y. I’ve always preferred the counties a bit South (Essex/Morris/Somerset/Hunterdon, and Princeton) over Bergen. That’s just me.

But not South Jersey of course - haha.

[quote]But not South Jersey of course - haha.

South Jersey has lots of beautiful towns.

It has one of America's most beautiful seaside town's: Cape May.

Avalon is another seaside town that is absolutely gorgeous.

I'd take South Jersey over the north any day.

Avalon:

R238 great towns indeed if you have money. A lot of money. Otherwise south jersey is nothing but McMansions and strip malls with nothing else. Why people pay those taxes to live there is a mystery to me.

My family had a summer home in Normandy Beach. It's been sold, but we had many good memories there during the summers.

[quote]Otherwise south jersey is nothing but McMansions and strip malls with nothing else.

Funny, I like it because there are less McMansions and strip malls than in the north.

There's a reason that I don't have or ever wanted kids:

The private school with the highest tuition in New Jersey is The Lawrenceville School, with a tuition of $63,625. The private school with the lowest tuition is Apples & Books Learning Center, with a tuition of $1,036. The private elementary school average is $9,658 per year and the private high school average is $18,676 per year. The average private school tuition in New Jersey is approximately $13,706 per year.

Pingry Tuition Rates for the 2017-2018 Academic Year

Grades K-5t$33,748

Grades 6-8t$38,428

Grades 9-12t$39,523

Wardlaw-Hartridge TUITION & FEE SCHEDULE 2016-2017

PRE-KINDERGARTENt$15,600

Junior Kindergartent$17,680

Kindergartent$19,760

Grades 1t$23,800

Grades 2 t$27,000

Grade 3t $30,410

Grades 4 - 5t$31,965

Grades 6 - 10t$36,310

Grades 11 - 12t$37,975

[quote]Otherwise south jersey is nothing but McMansions and strip malls with nothing else.

Depends upon what you like to to.

R237.. I love the old, stately homes in Mercer County. Princeton, Hopewell and Pennington are nice. There's a lot of history in that area, and there are many beautiful antique homes. There are a lot of farms, too. I love old farmhouses.

R224 & R225 That's a Brooklyn/Queens accent not NJ.

R232 Spring Lake is know as the Irish Riviera because of all the wealthy people of Irish decent who either live there or have vacation homes there.

I'm all Pennsylvanian, but with relatives in Bayonne we went down the shore to Manasquan annually, with visits to Seaside Heights for the boardwalk (in later years, no Manasquan, just the games in Keansburg). The biggest story I remember was a shark sighting in Sea Girt.

You know you're from Jersey when you mention your exit ("14-A").

The only state whose "New" is unnecessary.

LOL. Yes: tuhmatoes

The blueberries are wonderful, too... grown in the Hammonton area.

None better, r249!

A mocking sand sculpture of New Jersey governor Chris Christie's Beachgate scandal appeared on the Jersey Shore.

LOL! I never really paid any attention to this until I read it;

Everywhere else the parks are called Six Flags. In New Jersey it's called Great Adventure.

LOL R251... that's great!

R23, to be exact a Benny is a person from:

B: Bayonne

E: Essex

N: Newark

NY: New York

Down the Shore, they also refer to tomato pies, i. e. pizza.

[quote]tomato pies, i. e. pizza.

HA! Now, I have not heard that one in a LOOOOOONG time!!!

[Quote]In New Jersey it's called Great Adventure.

On Staten Island, we would call it Great Adventure[bold]s[/bold].

With our secret cameras we're filming a table of guinea Jersey trash of southern Italian heritage. Nearby is an elegant family from Tuscany.

Should our Tuscan family correct the Guidos on their poor use of Italian?

^ "What would YOU DO?" - I wouldn't make sweeping generalizations about an entire group of people.

Many southern Italians are warm, elegant and classy and some are not, they are trashy. Same for northern Italians. Some are trashy, some aren't.

R252 in our defense, it was called Great Adventure before it was bought by Six Flags. Old habits die hard.

Does anyone remember the diving shows they used to have there? And the rootin', tootin' wild western show?

Wouldn't that be Wild West City in Netcong?

R238 Gawjis.

[quote]The only state whose "New" is unnecessary.

WTF?

Opportunities?

^^ Atlantic City - Median income: $26,566 - Percent below poverty: 36.6

Wasn't gambling was supposed to save the city?

Interesting compared to Las Vegas:

Las Vegas - Median income: $54,384 - Percent below poverty: 16.8

[quote]Wasn't gambling was supposed to save the city?

That was the BIGGEST lie that was ever pulled over the eyes of the people until this Republican tax plan!

You go to the gas station and sit there like a cunt.

We wouldn't be caught dead with these people.

I will always be a Jersey shore boy.

IT’S A JERSEY THING!

The Italian Hot Dog

If you’re from north Jersey, especially near Newark, you are no doubt familiar with the Italian Hot Dog. According to James Racioppi, owner of Jimmy Buff’s, it was his grandparents who created the specialty.

Legend has it that Mary Racioppi fed her husband’s weekly card game friends with a concoction of especially satisfying hot dogs beginning in the 1930s. With all the fixings, they were a meal in a bun, and it wasn’t long before friends began coming over just to eat. That’s when Mary & her husband, James decided to open their sandwich store at 14th & 9th in Newark, NJ.

The dogs are fried to a crusty exterior in soybean oil, stuffed into fresh Italian bread pockets, and filled with sautéed onions, peppers & potatoes. Condiments may include mustard, marinara sauce, hot onion relish or ketchup. Enhancing the comfort food of this regional specialty, is the rich history of local family in every bite.

New Jersey Historic Preservation Office

Mary & Jimmy 'Buff' Racioppi

Inventors of the NJ Italian Hot

Newark, NJ

When you ask, "What exit?".. when asking directions. It's a Jersey classic.

Haha! R267

New Jersey is really one of the most beautiful states in our union.

I agree^^..

I grew up on eastern Lawn Guyland and even we knew Jersey damaydahs were the best.

... Don't forget our blueberries!

And sweet Jersey corn!

You know what a jug handle is and you can anticipate being in the right lane when you really want to make a left hand turn.

New Jersey is a peninsula.

Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida.

New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.

New Jersey has more racehorses than Kentucky.

New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba.

New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US.

New Jersey has the highest cost of living.

New Jersey has the highest cost of auto insurance.

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation.

New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World."

New Jersey is home to the original Mystery Pork Parts Club (no, not Spam): Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.

New Jersey is home to the less mysterious, but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.

North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major shopping malls in a 25 square-mile radius.

New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride, by inventor John P. Holland.

New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Cape May.

New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.

New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation, when you include pharmaceuticals.

Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.

New Jersey is the world leader in blueberry and cranberry production (and here you thought Massachusetts?)

Here's to New Jersey - the toast of the country! In 1642, the first brewery in America opened in Hoboken.

New Jersey rocks! The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in Mahwah, in 1940.

New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth. Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.

New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports (in Newark), Liberty International.

George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington.

The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture projector, were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park, NJ, laboratory.

We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.

The first seaplane was built in Keyport, NJ.

The first airmail was started from Keyport, NJ, to Chicago.

The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.

The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City.

And, Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world,

Not to mention salt water taffy,

New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.

The first Indian reservation was in New Jersey, in the Watchung Mountains.

New Jersey has the tallest water tower in the world. (Union, NJ)

New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City.

The Pulaski Skyway, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway highway.

NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson (Holland Tunnel).

The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ, which is also the birthplace of Frank Sinatra.

The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in 1889 (Rutgers College played Princeton).

The first drive-in movie theater was opened in Camden, NJ, (but they're all gone now!).

New Jersey is home to both of "NEW YORK's" pro football teams!

The first radio station and broadcast was in Paterson, NJ.

The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj. Thomas Armstrong.

All New Jersey natives: Sal Martorano, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifah, Susan Sarandon, Connie Francis, Shaq, Judy Blume, Aaron Burr, Joan Robertson, Ken Kross, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Ginsberg, Michelle Kelly. Norman Mailer, Marilynn McCoo, Flip Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Linda McElroy, Eileen Donnelly, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Jerry Lewis, Tom Cruise, Joyce Kilmer, Len Twist, Bruce Willis, Caesar Romero, Lauryn Hill, Ice-T, Nick Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci, Joe Piscopo, Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norman Lloyd, Paul Simon, Jerry Herman, Gorden McCrae, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, Phyllis Newman, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, Zebulon Pike, James Fennimore Cooper, Admiral Wm. Halsey,Jr., Dave Thomas (Wendy's), William Carlos Williams, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Bob Reyers, Paul Robeson, Ernie Kovacs, Joseph Macchia, "Uncle Floyd," Kelly Ripa, Francis Albert Sinatra, Rick Toscano

You know you're from Jersey when . . .

You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges."

You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.

A good, quick breakfast is a hard roll with butter.

You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.

You've eaten at a diner, when you were stoned, or drunk, at 3 A.M.

You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery . At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen, and you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.

You know what a "jug handle" is.

You know that Wawa is a convenience store.

You know that the state isn't all farmland.

You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey--there's the shore--and you don't go "to the shore," you go "down the shore." And when you are there, you're not "at the shore;" you are "down the shore."

You know how to properly negotiate a circle.

You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving.

You know that this is the only "New" state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (try . . Mexico . . . York .! . . Hampshire-- doesn't work, does it?).

You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich.

You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege

You don't think, “You’re from Jersey? What exit?," is very funny.

You know that people from the 201 area code are "a little different." Yes, they are!

You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton--that's for out-of-staters.

The Jets-Giants game has started fights at your school or local bar.

You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.

You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.

Every year you have at least one kid in your class named Tony.

You know the location of every clip shown in the Sopranos opening credits.

You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall.

You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and people from Central Jersey go to Belmar, and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can be no other way.

You weren't raised in New Jersey--you were raised in North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.

You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state.

You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, Bamberger's and Orbach's.

You also remember Palisades Amusement Park.

You've had a boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.

You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.

And finally…

You've NEVER, NEVER pumped your own gas.

There are really two New Jerseys. The stereotypical one people thing about is North Jersey--the NYC suburbs and the city of Newark, with all the ooohs- and ahhs, Italian American culture, rich jews, ghettos, nice suburbs, all that it encompasses. North Jersey and long Island should just be one state already.

I'm from Texas so I have no clue what y'all are calling a Taylor Ham. If it's a ham what makes it "Taylor"?

TIA

OP here who lived in New Jersey for 35 years. We used to go to New England for the summer, so I don't know too much about the Shore.

Taylor ham is closer to what might be known as Canadian bacon. I never knew it existed until I worked briefly at a Shop Rite.

[quote]If it's a ham what makes it "Taylor"?

The discoverer of it, John Taylor

r285, Its a microaggression and he stole t from some poor native.

"I Like Jersey Best" - John Pizzarelli

New Jersey's entries to the Miss America and Miss Universe pageants.

[quote]Taylor ham is closer to what might be known as Canadian bacon.

It's nothing like Canadian bacon, though I haven't had either in decades. I don't like Canadian bacon. I used to love Pork Roll.

When you say "talk" like "TWOC."

"Funny, I like it because there are less McMansions and strip malls"

Oh dear.

R82. Ugh. Hate Route 22. Moved to NJ (0790x) almost 14 years ago. I love living here. I’ve met the kindest, most caring and authentic people here. I’ve lived in several other areas so feel adequately experienced to make this claim! Unless forced too, I don’t plan on moving anytime soon. I think a lot of the men here are adorable.

[quote]Ugh. Hate Route 22.

Growing up near Route 22, I had to endure the Jersey barriers (I didn't know they were called that then) every time I wanted to drive into the city. And the trip culminated in a trip over that horrid expanse known as the Pulaski Skyway. I am convinced this early experience (from age 17) is the reason I have always hated driving.

I had a female coworker with balls the size of bowling balls. However, when the subject of Route 22 came up she started whimpering about "Death Highway".

(There is only one zip code that starts 0790x. Lived there myself for a year, as a toddler, Apts across street from Kent Place).

R294. Small world. ;)

I’ve met the kindest, most caring and authentic people here.

However, on the flip side I’ve also met the most bat-shit crazy people in NJ. I suppose it’s good to have a balance. Hahaha.

You say "yous guys." I haven't lived in NJ for 25 years and I just started saying "you guys" instead (I will never be caught saying y'all) about 2 years ago.

Where did you live in NJ? In my 35 years there I never, ever heard anyone say "youse guys".

Huh. Right near Rutgers.

[quote]Where did you live in NJ? In my 35 years there I never, ever heard anyone say "youse guys".

"Yous guys" and even just "yous" is very, very South Jersey/Philadelphia.

Also things like "jeet?"....for "did you eat?"

Oh God, yeah, I'm guilty of "jeet," as well!

You know what this is

If you live in Summit you’re pretty much forced to deal with Route 22 unless you want to drive up to Route 10 to go to the big box stores which is like a half hour out of the way. If you go through the Watchung reservation you can avoid the horrible jug handle merge and turn left at a light in Mountainside.

You know you're from South Jersey when ...you ask for jimmies on your frozen custard.

Sloppy Joe for the win, R302!

That's a sloppy Joe? It looks like a corned beef, cole slaw, and Swiss cheese sandwich, on rye. This is my idea of a sloppy Joe:

If you slightly relate to this song by The Jonas Brothers then you’re from NJ.

Though I’d call bullhinky on them for writing it and trying to claim state identity, as they spent their formative years in Dallas, TX.

R117 why do you assume Red Oaks is supposed to be Springfield? Don’t they reference Bergen County in the show?

R306

In north central New Jersey the term sloppy joe can also refer to a type of sliced meat deli sandwich. Seems to be specific to Union County and the towns adjacent.

I hadn't really thought of Bergen County as having a large Jewish population with their own country club. Springfield just made the most sense from my experience.

Ah.. R303... Such pleasant memories! Westfield boy here!

I lived there for seven years when i was a grad student there. I am going back in March for my first visit in years.

I did not miss it.

Springfield is for trashy jews who serve on plastic. None of those orthodox belong to Baltusrol, lol.

I google imaged the sandwich in r302. It's indeed a Sloppy Joe; it specifies that that's what it's called in South Orange.

Here's a menu from Eppes Essen in Livingston (where, btw, I assumed Red Oaks took place). They call it a Sloppy Joe, too, but theirs is more of a Jewish club sandwich, with turkey and roast beef, too (scroll down). They all look wonderful, whatever you call them. I want one. I want it now.

However, I live in Pittsburgh now. There used to be a number of great delis, but that's a thing of the past now, even in Squirrel Hill. The last one standing closed a year or two ago, and the one before that, which was never very good, btw, is now a mediocre Indian restaurant. I actually had a good corned beef / cole slaw / Russian dressing sandwich on rye a couple of weeks ago at a bagel shop.

But practically everything in Squirrel Hill is Asian now. In addition to the deli deficiency, there's not even one Italian restaurant, other than a few old school pizzerie. A fresh pasta place that opened last year closed recently, too.

OP says Versayse, too.

That was my point, R312. The country club seems like a sort of Jewish Baltusrol wannabe.

What makes the sloppy joe sandwich, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that there's also dressing involved (Russian, I think) that gives it a tang.

That's correct, R316. Cole slaw, deli meat, cheese, and Russian dressing on pumpernickel bread.

Does everyone from there speak this way? Quelle horreur..

Oh, wait a minute... it might be 1000 Island dressing

Millburn Deli has the best sloppy joe ever. They use Russian dressing.

R182, Neshanic native here. Best place on the planet to grow up.

What’s so great about it, R321?

R310 we’re practically neighbors!

You know you're from Jersey when you don't realize that everyone is laughing at you - including people from Mississippi.

[quote]You know you're from Jersey when you don't realize that everyone is laughing at you - including people from Mississippi.

median household income

New Jersey - $81,740

Mississippi - $44,717

I think New Jersey gets the last laugh.

I ❤️ NJ, Italian-Americans from here, "The pork stores", and Taylor ham.

I think New Jersey gets the last laugh.

The Countess has the answer to that.

[quote]A guy nearby orders a lunch item pronouncing it "pro-shoot-toe" and you have to stifle the urge to tell him it's pronounced "Pruh-Shoot"!

You have it completely backwards you low class Jersey trash. Pruh-Shoot is the Ebonics version of how it is supposed to be pronounced.

It the equivalent of saying "sup", instead of" what's up".

Here, let me help you, type in "prosciutto" in this site with REAL Italians from Italy say it.

[quote]I think New Jersey gets the last laugh.

[bold]People are fleeing New Jersey more than any other state!

We are not laughing with you, we are laughing at you.

"I think New Jersey gets the last laugh."

The Countess also said this:

[quote]People are fleeing New Jersey more than any other state!

NJ population

1990 - 7,730,188

2018 - 8,908,520

The US' most densely populated state could stand to lose a few people.

R328 it went right over your head.

The OP is correct: You know you're from Jersey when a guy nearby orders a lunch item pronouncing it "pro-shoot-toe" and you have to stifle the urge to tell him it's pronounced "Pruh-Shoot"!

That's how you KNOW you're from New Jersey.

You can leave, but we will always be here in Jersey!

[quote]I’ve met the kindest, most caring and authentic people here.

Partially true, but also the most racist people I have ever met. But since I look white, they assume I am on board with their racism so the can speak freely. Which is shocking!

So will I.

[quote]The US' most densely populated state could stand to lose a few people.

Yeah, it's just like when someone drops a deuce in the pool.

[quote]The US' most densely populated state could stand to lose a few people.

I would not brag about that if I were you. The wealthy are the ones leaving the state, its the trash that seem to stay.

Every New Jersey guy I ever knew had a really big bush, even the blond northern Europeans. It is uncanny.

[quote]The wealthy are the ones leaving the state

NJ is and remains the 2nd wealthiest state in the Union (contiguous states).

Oh and Education?

"Every New Jersey guy I ever knew had a really big bush, even the blond northern Europeans. It is uncanny."

Ewwwww.

I meant that as kind of a joke, R328. If you're from New Jersey, it's what you grow up hearing.

I've never been to Italy myself, but would be curious to see how the gravy there stacks up (hee, hee)?

[quote]Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.

Except they are not, it a myth that's been busted years ago.

Think about it, if that statement were true, someone would be shipping those tomatoes all over the country and would be widely available due to high demand. The tomatoes are grown all over the state with different water sources from well to rain in different soils, different weather conditions yet they are all taste the same? Not possible. The only reason they might taste better than store bought is because they are harvested right off the vine when they are fresh and completely ripe. But that's true about any fruit or vegetable. It will always taste better if it ripens before it's picked.

Only Jersey freaks insist they are the best in the world, their self worth is somehow wrapped up in that.

[quote]would be curious to see how the gravy there stacks up (hee, hee)?

I get the joke, but it's kind of scary that they still argue about that there. I joined an Italian cooking group on face book and when someone brought up Gravy vs Sauce it was like you dropped a bomb in a city. There were over 5 thousand argumentative posts that degenerated in to politics, people calling each other names, really nasty insults and leaving the group. The few Italians lurking from Italy were like "WTF is wrong with you people".

The Jersey tomato, the Rutgers and Ramapo were the best tomatoes grown in the US. They were grown for flavor , not for shipping long distances. The South Jersey sea-level sandy soil and pure water were ideal for growing them. Campbell's set up their factories in S.Jersey.

After WWII, because of competition, NJ farmers switched to varieties grown for shipping and the great Jersey tomato was lost. But there are local farmers that still grow them. And they are magnificent.

[quote]Taylor ham = North Jersey.... Pork roll = South Jersey, both are the same thing.

Middlesex County is South Jersey since when? Because it's definitely Pork Roll here.

There was a poll of Jerseyans and Pork roll won.

Something DL never mentions is New Jersey has the highest percentage of Indians out of all the states. Many parts of New Jersey are Little Indias.

Yes R347! I was going to post you know you're from NJ when at least one kid next to you at the lunch table brought cold pizza for lunch, but I wasn't sure anyone would get it. Maybe they don't even do that anymore, because in the 80s there weren't the vegetarian options there are now.

I went to private school K - 12 in New Jersey where we weren't allowed to bring our own food, it was provided.

[quote]Campbell's set up their factories in S.Jersey.

So by that logic, Campbells is considered the best tomatoes in the world? LOL Sure Jan.

Isnt there a big growing Jewish population there now? My husbands family still live they. That's all they seem to complain about when we drive around town. All this weird made up shit how they buy homes turn them into a tax free synagogue and live entirely off government benefits. Of course they are also Trumpeters. I thought NJ was a blue state but where they live, I swear everyone is pro Trump. Bridegwater to be exact.

There's always been a large Jewish population in New Jersey. My neighborhood was equal parts Irish, Italian, and Jewish. We jokingly called it Jew Nersey. I didn't know Jews were a minority group until I went to college. This was the post-WWII suburban Newark Philip Roth wrote about, pre-riots.

I think you're referring to the new Orthodox Jews, r351. A very different sect from the Reform and Conservative Jews around whom I grew up.

This map gives you everything you need to understand New Jersey

r351 Unfortunately there's more than a grain of truth to what they are saying. Secular Jews aren't fans of the ultra-Orthodox either. Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic newly built town just north of the border in Rockland County, NY is a mess and a cautionary tale.

[quote] According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Kiryas Joel has by far the youngest median age population of any municipality in the United States, and the youngest, at 13.2 years old, of any population center of over 5,000 residents in the United States. Residents of Kiryas Joel, like those of other Haredi Jewish communities, typically have large families, and this has driven rapid population growth. According to 2008 census figures, the village has the highest poverty rate in the nation. More than two-thirds of residents live below the federal poverty line and 40% receive food stamps.

Kiryas Joel is actually one county over, in Orange County, NY, r354. But who's countying?

R353, I wish there were a version of that map on which you could still read the names of the towns. I'm quite certain I grew up somewhere in the "Middle Class Raritan Valley Commuters" / "Indians" / "Drunk Rutgers Students" / "Jews" corridor, but I'm not sure exactly in which one.

[quote]So by that logic, Campbells is considered the best tomatoes in the world? LOL Sure Jan.

"The Jersey tomato, red, ripe and juicy, was once revered as the best to be had,"

From the NYTimes. Read and learn.

The Jews are indicating Highland Park I'd say; Students are New Brunswick and Piscataway; Indians has been Edison traditionally; the Commuters area would be north of Middlesex, really Scotch Plains to Somerville.

I think if they're devoting such a large, distinctive area to Jews, they're probably talking about the Lakewood area, which is the Modern Orthodox capital of Central Jersey. Highland Park was always Jewy, if not completely Jewish, and split between Reform and Conservative, kind of like Livingston, West Orange, or Short Hills / Milburn (in my lifetime).

More about the Jersey Tomato:

'They were out of this world': the quest to resurrect America's BEST tomato"

And yet R357, no one I have talked to from NJ has said a thing about how different the tomatoes are from 70 years ago. They have been living off the states mystique all this time. The fact that they have to dig up old seeds and use science to bring back what was that long ago only proves my point that Jersey tomatoes are nothing special except for the people who live in New Jersey. Probably as good as those fake San Marzano they sell.

R360 is triggered over tomatoes!

Regional accents happen. I'm guessing Parisians would find fault with Cajun or Quebecois French. And I usually watch Doctor Who with closed captions the first time through.

Lakewood is much further south, distance being a relative term in New Jersey, more likely in the McMansion zone of Monmouth County, although culturally more like old people and Asians.

Rockaway Township in Morris County is also known for being heavily Jewish.

Yes the Jewish area on that map is Highland Park and south Edison.

My family once got off 95 down far in Jersey and encountered a little town that looked like it was better suited to be in North Carolina than Jersey. Very diverse state.

"The 20 places in New Jersey you need to visit in 2020"

May I never visit the Skyway again.

Oh, and my father grew great tomatoes in our North Jersey back yard. What gets sold as fresh tomatoes today is actionable as far as I'm concerned. I don't live in Jersey anymore; I'm talking about the rest of the northeast.

R334 at least they’re authentically racist.

Um no R369, they don't think they are racist at all. Authentic is not the word I would use, more like delusional.

Besides what's the point of that comment? The KKK is just as authentic.