eat, beach, repeat: the diving horse way

if i had one weekend in atlantic city, and i was HUNGRY, here is how i would spend it. for the sake of this article, i provide a breakfast, lunch, and dinner option for friday-sunday. i’ll assume off the bat you are cool. for the sake of pockets, i’ll provide budget options and slightly bougier options. to preface, typically i think the ultimate way to save money at the beach is to:

pack ahead, have pb&j on deck and ready to go at alllll times. or a tomato sandwich. or make hot dogs at home n wrap em in foil. the beauty of atlantic city is that no matter the time of day, you can ALWAYS enjoy a beach meal. breakfast, lunch, or dinner. or get take-out from anywhere and eat it on the beach. just make sure you aren’t littering or feeding seagulls lol. but keep that in mind for any trip to atlantic city. i have eaten so many peanut world hot dogs on the beach at midnight. anyway.

ok so you drive in or you’re off friday and the treating yourself begins. you’re up kinda early to get a head start on the beach day.

the diving horse quick and easy way: pick up subs at spanky’s on your way into town. we’ll get the regular with hot peppers orrr a pepper and egg plus bag of chips and split it. she’ll get really happy and excited to learn you’re going to/are at the beach. they open at 10am, so you might wanna order ahead the day before so you can order right when they open. they’re usually pretty busy from 10:30-1:30 in the summer and we’ve waited 45 minutes before, just a heads up. on quieter days they’re speedy, but when they get those construction worker orders it backs up. its brief and slow again by like 1:15ish tho. just those summertime fridays, idk. just be aware. it’ll be faster than white house, but the subs and sammies next door at demarcos are pretty good. just eat them on the beach

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the diving horse bougie and breezy way: brittany’s is a safe bet and a good, strong start to your weekend. so this is gonna be a great base.

to me, the potatoes at brittany’s are perfectly cooked. they must boil then fry because the outside is so cripy and the inside so crunchy. lightly seasoned with chives, and they aren’t even the star. my go to, generally at any breakfast place, is two eggs, scrapple, and wheat toast. brittany’s is prob top 5 scrapple and eggs. much like the potatoes, as you can imagine, the scrapple is perfectly cooked. good, strong coffee. a sweet little one legged bird who has been eating brunch scraps for the last four summers. everyone who works there is so sweet.

finish your breakfast. usually if i go to the market up the road for a gatorade then hit the beachhhhhhhh

beach beach beach. swim swim swim. nap sim nap swim nap swim

okay it is friday lunchtime and you are hungry again after your amazing breakfast. you swam and burned your breakfast calories away. if you really wanna do it live the diving horse, in this case, i’d probably have pre-packed some peanut butter and jellies before hitting the sand. but i digress, if you’re hungry for a little midday pickmeup, may i recommend a $5 hotdog from south beach beer garden? there are some unfortunate cases of ai at that place, but it is otherwise a pretty solid spot on a friday afternoon. usually pretty sleepy. the hot dogs are at the higher end of price than i like to pay, but they are a genuinely good dog, the buns are nicely toasted, and you can also get a pretty decent margarita there if you’re in the mood to drink. note, south beach charges way too much for hot dog toppings. pack ur own raw onions.

they have other food, too, but honestly, i have only had the hot dogs. it is nice because you can sit outside on the boardwalk. if you are sitting there, sometimes they don’t play music, but when they do, it’s usually pretty good. usually like a soul/rock/funk vibe. but anyway you can also take your hot dog and margarita back to your beach spot, which is what the diving horse would do unless a bathroom break was in order. southbeach is nice to break up a long beach day.

if you’re further north, joe rock’s cafe has hot dogs for $3.50. no cocktails and i can’t speak for if their bathroom situation is better than the public spots… in that case i’d prob just go into the ballys bathrooms lol.

from there no matter what tho, i’d go back to the beach. usually, i’d just leave my stuff at the beach so i don’t have to haul it around, maybe if you have more stuff a couple of your friends stay behind and you bring them back hot dogs to thank them or trade off or something.

swim swim swim, swim swim swim, chipwich, nap, swim swim swim, leave. and drink water! you will fucking hate yourself if you drink a margarita and no water. and sunscreen. blah blah you know but seriously.

go back home or check in, then shower/get ready for your evening. for my most fun carefree beach weekends, i try to go almost totally tech-free, however in cases like this i’d probably be blasting a good vibes playlist while focusing on smelling good, then i’d do my makeup while watching ghost adventures on hotel tv.

for me personally, i love taking the opportunity to get as sparkly and good smelling as possible in the summertime. so after a long

beach day i do a lot of skincare and use allll of the fragrance samples i save up all year lol. there’s something so charged about a post beach day everything shower/afterskincare. i love putting lotion on when your still wet from the shower, then oil, then i mix perfume with my sparkly vaseline and feel soooo cleaannn lol.

then it’s dinner time! you’re hopefully feeling light and airy and tan and young and wild and free.

the diving horse quick and easy way: take a stroll over to pho sydney. settle in for a warm, fresh bowl of mouth watering pho. also a big fan of the spring roll vermicelli. you can’t go wrong eating there, the place is an institution. i’ve been going there and ordering the same thing since i was a small child lol, so this place holds a special, nostalgic place in my soul. mmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it maybe i’ll go lol. they also always have something interesting on the tv, whether it be a flight simulator or jeopardy/etc game shows or airplanes taking off and landing. yum. plus the aesthetic? chefs kiss. poor girls protip: after dinner, try to run up the street to angeloni’s before 6 to get a slice of their happy hour cocktails, among the best happy hour in the city.

the diving horse bougie and breezy way: if you gamble, take this time to gambl a little, maybe for like 30 minutes at the tropicana. dont play too much, this is just optional, getting your toe wet gambling. after that, i’d go to ossu asian tavern, which is situated righ in the tropicana! it is one of y favorite places in the city. everything is so fresh, the cocktails are great. it has a cool, lowkey vibe and i find the prices to be very fair for the quality and vibes. andy and i will usually split a few diff tpes of sushi and general so’s. honestly i’m a real creature of habit, which is sometimes what makes writing about restauraunts so hard. once i get an order i don’t change it lol. i’ve been getting scrapple and eggs since i was like born, i feel so vulnerable when i go to a diner outside of nj/de/pa. but like i always recommend the same things and i’m sorry i’ll try to branch out more onm what i’m ordering so i cna give you guys better insights.

this is a foodies and beach specific guide so i don’t wanna get too into the nitty gritty, but on an evening like this, some fun things to consider doing after dinner include:

mini-golf at north beach mini-golf. they always have different specials going on. the course was custom made and built with intention, you can really see the love and care the owners put into it.

riding rides at the steel pier: so at the very end of the steel pier, next to where the helicopter is, there is a bar that overlooks the sea. while the drinks aren’t anything to write home about, the vibe is really wonderful back there, sometimes you can even see dolphins. it’s a cute, romantic sunset spot. honestly the steel pier is always gonna be full of kids, but imo, ride the rides within the last hour and a half of them being open. you dont need to ride rides to go to the bar, or sometimes andy and i will just pick one or two bc tix can be expensive.. check online ahead of time for deals, sometimes they’ll have discount days they’ll announce via their email list and instagram/facebook.

take a night walk on the beach

gamble/check out casino liminal spaces

check out divinghorseac.com/events — i keep a calendar there that i update weekly. (ps - help me help you! event coming up? email it to me for the love of god) https://www.divinghorseac.com/events

dessert:

budget: ice cream! hit a spot wherever you end up on the boardwalk honestly not that deep.

bougie: go to angelonis for a martini and creme brulee

pro tip: in diving horse issue 7: freewillmaxxing, you can get a fortune based on your favorite boardwalk treat. https://www.divinghorseac.com/product-page/issue-7-freewillmaxxxing last 65 copies. a few left at tony’s and angelonis, otherwise i’m never, ever printing more lol

go home and go to bed! or don’t!

ok you wake up saturday with hunger? you have some options.

the diving horse quick and easy way: hot bagels and more, baby! after you can hit up north beach mini golf if you didnt make it the night before or go up the light house before you head for the sand.

the bougie and breezy way: biscuits and gravy + mimosas at kelseys! good music plus good food and vibes. it does get busy… if it is too busy, a second option is cucina del mar, a newer spot.

then i’m picturing you head back to the beach for a few hours. swim swim swim, read read read, tipsy journal, go home, shower, nap to ghost adventures, get ready again to go out. or, if you get hungry, order tacos from jvs mexican or panchos, depending what part of town you are in. you could also grab tacos from one of the food trucks at o’donnell park and eat out in the park then grab a drink at byrd cage.

ok and then dinner…. saturday dinner would have to be tony’s baltimore grill. you can roll up whenever you’re ready. early, later, they’re 24/7. grab a pizza and turkey and club, sip a few drinks. the thing about tony’s is this can just be your natural end-up-at spot throughout the entire foodies weekend, whether you’re on a budget or not. all of the places on this list can be interchangeable with tonys. but again, you guys already know that lol.

dessert: cheesecake at tonys. my favorite cheesecake i think. sometimes my mouth waters for it, i love it. you could spend all night at tonys. sometimes you accidentally stay until sunset, that kind of spot.

sunday:

this is your send off. you need to go out in style.

if you must, i would recommend salt n pepper for breakfast, regardless of budget. or just getting some yogurt or something because youre gonna have family dinner on sunday, jersey shore style.

gather up some of your closest friends

or new friends you made last night at tony’s

and tell them to meet you at angelonis around 5. and to come hungry and prepared to share. then order literally every single thing on the happy hour menu (some of them you might have to order twice!) then share an affordable, fresh, family style meal with ur besties. i kinda think it is the best happy hour in the city right now, and it is one of my favorite “treat yourself” moments and andy and i get. not that we get a ton anymore lol. but the acm happy hour is a big reason why we can in this economy. you could eat and drink really well and pay maybe $40 per person depending on how bougie you’re living it up lol.

happy hour ends at 6, but you’re gonna wanna stay a little later to catch what joe mcginty is doing that night with his sid gold piano bar karoake. he’ll typically play a themed set with a select artist then opens the floor to the crowd. it is dangerously fun and a great send off with all of your friends. make timeless memories and let your shoulders relax, youre in ac babyyyyy.

to me, good food is very important. sometimes, it is okay to sacrifice good food for good company or ambiance, in the right scenario, but you will not have to do that if you stick to the spots on this guide. a good blend of on and off the boards, and a little taste of everything this city has to offer. of course, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of the incredible food options here, but alas. you only have one weekend.

enjoy your beachy weekend. i know food and the beach dont always vibe.. remember, casino bathrooms are your friends. you can just go use those, no questions asked.