USA Today’s food writers are pretty well-versed in the best food and drink in their local areas. Pooling their expertise from across the country, they came up with a list of the 27 best bars across America and two NJ staples made the list.
Staff members consulted with USA Today’s food writers across the nation about the best neighborhood taverns, finest cocktail meccas, coziest wine bars and beachiest beach bars. The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park and Tierney’s Tavern in Montclair are the top Jersey picks in the unranked list.
The Wonder Bar is known for its rock ‘n’ roll music and courtyard Yappy Hour for dogs, as well as the Debbie D, named after Manager Debbie DeLisa: the specialty drink has Ketel One Botanicals Cucumber and Mint with club soda and fresh muddled mint.
“(DeLisa) says it’s the community that makes the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park so special,” says Chris Jordan of the Asbury Park Press, who added Wonder Bar to the list. “DeLisa and Lance Larson have been managing the Ocean Avenue watering hole for nearly 25 years, and they’ve solidified the Wonder Bar’s position as a city landmark. When music is not playing, customers sit at the big circular bar, built that way in the ’60s so folks can get to know each other across the room.
“One of the regulars is Bruce Springsteen, who has performed several times at the club, but mostly he blends in as well as he can. He’s a fan of Yappy Hour, where customers bring their dogs to play in the adjacent courtyard. It’s unknown whether he’s tried a Debbie D.”
Tierney’s Tavern has been a Montclair staple for the past 90 years, known for its vintage wooden architecture and a secret menu of burgers.
“Locals – from college kids to boomers – have gathered in the classic Irish bar for generations, often accompanied by family (and, sometimes, celebrities),” says Kara VanDooijeweert, of The Record and northjersey.com, who nominated Tierney’s. “At one point, ‘The Sopranos’ filmed an episode in the nostalgic space, and at another time, William H. Macy and Emma Roberts enjoyed a drink among its twinkling green lights and hanging sports jerseys. The intrigue of the Hollywood elite, despite the tavern’s unassuming digs, comes as no surprise, though, in a place that has established itself as North Jersey’s ‘Cheers,’ but with better food.”
Have you been to either spot? What would you add to this list?
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