Summer’s here, and you might as well face it. One of these days, you’re going to have to brave the Garden State Parkway traffic and head to the shore. I know a lot of people in South Jersey will tell you that Seaside Heights isn’t the real shore because the town is tainted by the fake orange tanned crew from the Jersey Shore show, but the North Jersey vs South Jersey civil war doesn’t matter right now. I’ve found an awesome burger, and when you’re in Seaside Heights this summer, you need to treat the carnivore in you and go to Chop Shop BBQ.


Chop Shop BBQ

1415 BOULEVARD
Seaside Heights, NJ 08751

732-375-3066



Pig candy - Let’s start with one of the best parts. I know that it sounds gross, but be a little adventurous and trust me. This carnivore’s delight is amazingly delicious. Pig Candy is thick slices of bacon covered in a rub of different spices and then topped with brown sugar, giving it a shiny sweet finish. It was so good, it tasted great before I even bit into it. Its like it has an aura of sugary sweetness that cocoons it. I don’t know if I ever had as sweet a meat before this. It could be used as a topping, too, as adding it to almost any sandwich would be perfect. Which is good, because its on several sandwiches on the menu. If you are concerned about this burger’s effect on your health, Chop Shop gives you advice right on the menu listing: “If you came for health food I suggest you get up and leave.” Nice.



The Menu - has a lot of great choices from Appetizers to Desserts. There’s more than a few items that help the Chop Shop stand apart like the Fat Dom pulled pork sandwich with half a pound of pork topped with Pig Candy and their homemade slaw.



There’s also the Spanglish triple-decker BLT with avocado, herb mayo, and egg. On the Spanglish, the avocado and tomato were noticably fresh and it was a good quality sandwich all around. The Chop Shop had several other choices I wanted to try like the Corn Fritters, Sweet Potato fries, Fried pickles and, this being a barbeque restaurant, the Ribs and Barbeque platters as well. I’m sure they’re all good too, I just couldn’t get much because I had to save room for the inevitable burger (Yes, I’m getting to it.)



Ghetto taco - First off, they gave it a funny name, so extra points for that. These aren’t conventional hard-shelled tacos at all, but rather a couple of cornbread pancakes covered with pulled pork and topped with the Chop Shop’s special slaw. You eat it by picking up the pancake and gently folding it in half and eating it like a taco. Honestly, this wasn’t as practical as just eating it with a fork and knife. Either way, it was a very tasty unique blend of tastes that go together like peanut butter and chocolate. It makes you wonder why more barbeque places don’t have cornbread and pork mash-ups



Chop Shop Burger - And here it is! A big Angus beef patty, topped with pig candy, pulled pork and bbq. The blending of the meats go perfectly with the half inch thick angus patty, the loose and sweet pulled pork, the sugary sweet pig candy, the cheese and even the soft bun is a well thought out addition. The bbq sauce has a robust flavor with taste of smokiness and a sweetness in the background. There’s not much more I can say. If you value quality Jersey Burgers, you MUST seek this one out. This might be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something!



Fried Oreos- Right now, everybody out there reading this is experience one of two reactions. The half of you that have been to one of the shops selling fried oreos every 20 feet down the shore reacted excitedly saying, “Oh yeah! I love those!” The other half of you who have yet to experience it are no doubt blinking at your screen in horror or confusion.



Yes, your favorite Nabisco cookie has become the fried artery clogging sensation of the summer. You may ask “How does one eat a fried Oreo and not die instantly of a heart attack?” Scientists everywhere have just one answer: I Don’t Know. No matter what, you’re probably going to buy them when you travel down the shore anyway, so why not just get them at Chop Shop?



Chop Shop BBQ was a treat. It is one of the best restaurants I’ve been to since I started this site. I wish that every place I went to had such a well though out and unique menu. Everything we ordered was really top quality and the chefs seem to give each dish their own spin. I totally loved this place. So please, please go here and get the burger. And the Pig Candy! You gotta try it. Don’t be afraid, just go for it!