a guide on how to eat good and loaf by the sea in atlantic city

picture taken at wonder bar. not mentioned in this article but i thought the pic still worked. wonder bar is a great option day or night, it is just overpriced and the food is just mid. i personally wouldnt include it on my perfect load and eat good list because it just doesn't belong. if you can sit out ont he bay, that is a real win. lots of cool ppls work there. great after hours spot tho and great to go for sunset lol. you can drive your boat there, too. anyway/

how to eat an entire weekend in atlantic city without getting ripped off by a celebrity chef

money-saving tip up top: pack a pb&j, a tomato sandwich, or foil-wrapped hot dogs. you can eat a beach meal any time of day. take-out works too, just don't litter or feed the seagulls.

my beach bag: sunscreen, two towels, vaseline lip stuff, four pb and j sandwiches.

you also need to keep in mind that in atlantic city, the beach, at any time of day or night, is always a place to sit and eat. whether you want to sneak away for a quiet hot dog on a night out or watch the sunsrise with your sausage egg and cheese from hot bagels and more, the sand and ocean will always be there if you need a dinner date. again, just don't litter please!

friday

breakfast

• quick: spanky's — regular sub with hot peppers, or pepper and egg, split with a bag of chips. opens 10am, order ahead. busy 10:30–1:30 in summer (waits up to 45 min), calmer after 1:15. demarco's next door is a solid backup.

• bougie: brittany's — scrapple, eggs, wheat toast, home fries, strong coffee.

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lunch

• quick: $5 hot dog at south beach beer garden (bring your own onions, they charge a lot for toppings), or $3.50 hot dog at joe rock's cafe (no cocktails there).

• tip: leave your stuff at the beach, take turns running food back so nobody has to haul everything. or be ike the diving horse and pack nothing of value

dinner

• quick: pho sydney — pho, spring roll vermicelli. after, hit angeloni's happy hour before 6pm.

• bougie: 30 minutes at the tropicana, then ossu asian tavern (inside the tropicana) — sushi, general tso's.

evening

• north beach mini golf

• the bar at the far end of steel pier — sunset views, sometimes dolphins. ride rides in the last 90 minutes before close to skip crowds. check email/social for discount days.

• night walk on the beach

• divinghorseac.com/events — updated weekly

dessert

• budget: ice cream anywhere on the boardwalk

• bougie: angeloni's — martini and creme brulee

saturday

breakfast

• quick: hot bagels and more

• bougie: kelsey's — biscuits and gravy, mimosas, good music (gets busy). backup: cucina del mar.

lunch

• tacos from jv's mexican or pancho's, or food trucks at o'donnell park plus a drink at byrd cage

dinner

• tony's baltimore grill — pizza, turkey club, open 24/7. works as your fallback for literally any meal all weekend.

dessert

• cheesecake at tony's

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sunday

breakfast

• salt n pepper, or keep it light, you've got a big one ahead

lunch/dinner combo — the send-off

• no separate lunch today, angeloni's is doing double duty. meet there around 5pm with your crew. order everything on the happy hour menu, family style. roughly $40/person. happy hour ends at 6. eat, drink, send it off.

• stay later for joe mcginty's sid golds piano bar karaoke.

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  family style at angelonis for happy hour is a protip you could learn by going or by subscribing to my subsctack

  
  

general reminders: drink water, wear sunscreen. casino bathrooms are public, no questions asked.

this guide is part of the diving horse, a print mag and substack about atlantic city history, culture, and whatever's rattling around my head that week. more guides like this, plus AC history, local stuff, and the occasional feeling. subscribe here: https://thedivinghorse.substack.com/p/eat-beach-repeat-the-diving-horse 

want the mic for a week? if you've got something to promote, some AC history you want to dig into, or you just have something to say, you can take over the diving horse substack. no charge. email hello@divinghorseac.com and tell me what you're thinking, i can't chase you down about it so you gotta reach out first.

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