Jenn Hall

Jersey’s Best: Artist’s papercraft scenes evoke the wilderness of the imagination

January 9, 2020 by jennhallwrites

There is a quiet that descends in winter and brings nature into sharp focus. Wind-rustled branches throw shadows. Snow crunches as a trotting deer makes footfalls just beyond view. The world seems just a bit more ethereal. Gazing upon a papercut shadow box from Casey Lynch feels like that. Her images, gathered under the moniker Squirrel Tacos, are surreal yet grounded in a textured ecosystem where animals play out their own narratives. Consider “The Secret Meeting.” It is high winter, […]

Categories: artists

USA Today’s 10 Best: Beginner’s guide to navigating the oyster bar

January 9, 2020 by jennhallwrites

Every oyster lover begins as a neophyte – or a spat, as baby oysters are called. Perhaps you find yourself at an oyster-centric work party. Or maybe you have a friend with a thing for bivalves. More likely, you’re on a Tinder date. Yes, Tinder oyster dates are a thing. Take it from Gary McCready, shucker at Philadelphia’s Sansom Street Oyster House and shucker about town for Garces Catering. “Tinder dates galore. Hello! I’ve been so many people’s cupid,” he […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

USA Today’s 10 Best: These oyster bars are 10 of the best in the Mid-Atlantic

January 9, 2020 by jennhallwrites

Salty or sweet, every oyster evokes the waters in which it was raised. That makes hitting the oyster trail a fascinating and delicious experience. Each region has its very own gems, and with new oysters coming to market on the regular, the selection is ever-changing. Here, we zero in on the Mid-Atlantic region, where oyster bars from D.C. to Jersey celebrate local waters. Read more… Published 1/7/20

Categories: food & drink, on the water

New Jersey Monthly: Take Me Down to Funky Cow

December 20, 2019 by jennhallwrites

Peering at the oversized pair of cow-shaped benches that flank the entrance to Funky Cow in Hammonton, one could be forgiven the assumption that ice cream is on the menu. This is not entirely incorrect. Behind the counter of this laid-back, ultra-friendly cafe, ice cream machines stand at attention below a menu divided into two categories. They are framed as delicious imperatives: “Graze Savory” and “Graze Healthy and Sweet.” Yet the hook here isn’t dairy. Not entirely. The defining characteristic […]

Categories: food & drink

Hippocampus Magazine: The Momentum of Nostalgia (essay)

December 17, 2019 by jennhallwrites

I. Hairline crack. I don’t know why I went south looking for my father, but I did. When I was a freshman in college, I saw his face up in the clouds, a mental imprint strung high over Jersey City. I was driving down the Jersey Turnpike and the image emerged like an apparition: his dark hair inverted to white and a soft smile playing on his lips. It held steady until the wind changed and then started to disintegrate. […]

Categories: essay

New Jersey Monthly: Water Dog Smoked Fish Brings Seafood with a Twist to Ventnor

December 11, 2019 by jennhallwrites

When day dips toward dusk, Ventnor’s skies become a study in pastel, pinks giving way to violets. Driving down the main drag, it’s the ideal time to admire the deep salmon-hued exterior of Water Dog Smoked Fish, which opened its permanent digs here this fall after several successful years on the farmers’ market circuit. This is very much a win for the local dining community. Though the set-up is modern casual, anchored by deli cases and a creative menu of […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

Edible Philly: The 12 Oysters of Christmas – A Shellfish Guide

November 27, 2019 by jennhallwrites

AS THE AIR SHIMMERS AND THE HOLIDAYS NEAR, we gather with chosen or inherited families and feast. So, too, do the oysters. This time of year, bivalves load up on glycogen and amino acids, preparing for a long, foodless journey into spring. They binge on algae and plankton, their meats turning bright, plump and sweet. “The flavor is a little bit crisper than it might be in the summertime, when they’re coming out from a reproductive cycle,” oyster farmer Lisa […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

New Jersey Monthly: The Union Market & Gallery Welcomes the Holiday Season

November 22, 2019 by jennhallwrites

On Tuesday earlier this November, the season’s first snow fell on the Tuckerton Seaport, a postcard shout-out to the approaching holiday season. Stepping into the warmth of the Union Market & Gallery, the celebratory vibe continued—everything was merry and bright, from the indie-folk soundtrack to a steaming bowl of loaded potato soup, a special well-suited to the weather. Since it opened in 2017, a cool blend of locals has made this makerspace-meets-cafe their creative home in southern Ocean County. For […]

Categories: food & drink

New Jersey Monthly: A Meditation on Chili Oil and Tradition at Taste of Szechuan in Cherry Hill

November 13, 2019 by jennhallwrites

While the skill of a Szechuan chef may be assessed through their ability to balance four primary flavor components—ma (numbing), la (hot), xian (fresh) and xiang (fragrant)–it is in their chili oil that one detects their passion. Chili oil is personal. It leaves its mark both figuratively and in an ombre ring of red on the plate. Chili oil is alchemical. It expresses more than the sum of the peppers, spices and oil of which it’s made. At Taste of […]

Categories: food & drink

Edible Jersey: In the Kitchen with Buki Elegbede

November 11, 2019 by jennhallwrites

The wild ride that is Baked by Buki began as a fluke. Newark resident Buki Elegbede’s older sister, Anu, asked him to bake cookies for her holiday party, circa five or six years back. She was well aware that he knew his way around a bake tray. “I did, and they were delicious,” Buki recounts. “Then . . . she called again.” In short order, he was her go-to boutique baker for all things sweet and festive, from spooky Halloween […]

Categories: food & drink

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