jennhallwrites

New Jersey Monthly: The Elements of a Calming Home Tea Ritual For Trying Times

April 8, 2020 by jennhallwrites

In the push-pull of the current moment, centering rituals can take on new meaning. For some, this means jogging. Others find solace in the kitchen. Haddonfield-based tea and wellness expert Alexis Siemonsdraws on her earliest memories when called to go inward. “My first memory of tea was my mom drinking it in the morning,” she says. Siemons mom was both a doctor and a mom—in other words, a superwoman deserving of downtime. “When it was nice, she would go outside, have […]

Categories: food & drink

Edible Philly: Learning a New Language through Food at Philadelphia’s Free Library

March 16, 2020 by jennhallwrites

SINCE 2014, THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA’S Culinary Literacy Center has been a hotspot for innovative food education. Every month’s roster of classes is rooted in the center’s mission to advance literacy through food. In some cases, that’s literal. Since 2015, the Edible Alphabet program has welcomed English language learners, including immigrants and refugees, to the library’s kitchen classroom for free six- to eight-week courses that blend culinary and language lessons. People from around the world prepare a shared meal, led […]

Categories: food & drink

New Jersey Monthly: Past Meets Present at the New Olga’s Diner

February 11, 2020 by jennhallwrites

Diners occupy a specific place in the Jersey imagination. One’s connection to a diner isn’t just about food, though that’s part of it. Sitting in a pleather booth, attachments are forged in sugar and salt. There are over-easy eggs and short-stack pancakes, served the same way every time. There are Greek omelets, cheese fries and French dips, savory just like you need them to be. Somewhere along the way, those dishes become part of who we are. More than that, […]

Categories: essay, food & drink

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

Hippocampus Magazine: The Momentum of Nostalgia

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: In Maple Shade, a Pizzeria Deeply Rooted in Family and Tradition

October 19, 2019 by jennhallwrites

The first time I went to Tacconelli’s Pizzeria in Maple Shade, the woman seated behind us was celebrating her 95th birthday. Generations were gathered to honor her: the birthday girl, her daughter, her grandson. Crisp pizzas steamed on tray stands, and the soundtrack was one of familiar conversation and laughter in the black, red, and wood-toned dining room. At some point, the chatter spilled over to the next table. A pair of Italian aunties wished grandma happy birthday. Then, they […]

Categories: food & drink

Courier-Post: Chef Greg Vernick’s new restaurant is a love letter to the sea

October 9, 2019 by jennhallwrites

When Chef Greg Vernick turned 14, his summer vacation began with an announcement. That year, rather than attending camp or lazing on the beach, he would work. Each summer, the Vernicks ventured from their home in Cherry Hill to Margate, seeking salt breezes and a respite from inland heat. “My family and I decided that I could live down in Margate for the summer and get a job,” Vernick says. “So, we mocked up a fake resume and drove down […]

Categories: food & drink

Edible Jersey: From Sea to Plate – Life on a New Jersey Fishing Boat

July 17, 2019 by jennhallwrites

The Atlantic is a study in gray, steel clouds meeting mineral-hued waters at the horizon. Guiding his fishing boat through the Manasquan Inlet, Jamie Dopkin veers right. Along the jetties that shape the channel, a fluorescent buoy pops like an exclamation mark, marking a scuba diver. At sea, buoys and their colors are a form of language. A cross between a Chesapeake Deadrise– and Down East–style boat—workhorses of the East Coast fishing trade—the FV Webo, circa 1981, is just roomy […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

Edible Jersey: Local 130 Seafood Writes Its Next Chapter

July 17, 2019 by jennhallwrites

Anyone who has shopped at Local 130 Seafood’s store in Asbury Park knows to expect a snapshot of what’s running in Jersey waters week by week. This summer, the business is taking a leap with the addition of a 6,000-square-foot, ocean-hued warehouse in Long Branch. Formerly home to D’Ambrisi Wholesale Foods— which has moved up the block—the space opens possibilities for a company that started with a single refrigerated truck and a vision. “We started the business to support New […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

Jenn Hall

Best American Food Writing Series Notable.

Author Archives: jennhallwrites

New Jersey Monthly: The Elements of a Calming Home Tea Ritual For Trying Times

Edible Philly: Learning a New Language through Food at Philadelphia’s Free Library

New Jersey Monthly: Past Meets Present at the New Olga’s Diner

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

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

Hippocampus Magazine: The Momentum of Nostalgia

New Jersey Monthly: In Maple Shade, a Pizzeria Deeply Rooted in Family and Tradition

Courier-Post: Chef Greg Vernick’s new restaurant is a love letter to the sea

Edible Jersey: From Sea to Plate – Life on a New Jersey Fishing Boat

Edible Jersey: Local 130 Seafood Writes Its Next Chapter