North Jersey
Chatterbox Drive-In
1 Rte. 15, Augusta
973-300-2300
chatterboxdrivein.com
Travel back to the days of sock hops and doo-wop at this retro drive-in diner, where kids’ meals are served in vintage replicas of cars made out of cardboard (just try to keep your crew from taking them home!). Plus, this family-owned spot is a classic car-lover’s heaven. Collectors show off their vintage vehicles in the parking lot on weekends while a DJ cranks classic tunes. And the menu is packed with good, old-fashioned diner faves like burgers, dogs, ice cream sodas and milkshakes!
2. Medieval Times (Lyndhurst)
3. The Famished Frog (Morristown)
4. Blue Moon (Multiple locations)
5. Emma’s Brick Oven Pizza and Cafe (Cranford)
Central Jersey
Chimney Rock Inn
Multiple locations
chimneyrockinn.com
Known for its thin-crust pizza and juicy burgers, this NJ mainstay also has a huge kids’ menu, including popular options like chicken tacos and turkey burgers. There are plenty of gluten-free choices for kids with sensitivities, too. And don’t forget to read about the heartbreaking love story that gave this spot its name in the late 1800s.
2. Joe’s Crab Shack (Multiple locations)
3. Old Man Rafferty’s (Multiple locations)
4. Jose Tejas (Iselin)
5. Le Peep (Edison)
South Jersey
1. Circus Drive-In (Wall Township)
2. The Pop Shop (Collingswood)
3. Duffer’s (Wildwood)
4. TIE: Maui’s Dog House (North Wildwood)
TIE: CB Huntington’s (Bayville)
EDITOR’S NOTE: In our reader survey, we defined the sections of New Jersey as follows: North (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Union, Sussex, Warren); Central (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset); South (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, Salem).
