This Is The Best Regional Food Chain In New Jersey
When you’re thinking of fast food chains, restaurants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King come into mind because they’re global. And, of course, they’re everywhere. Then you have casual dining places like Applebee’s, The Cheesecake Factory, and Friday’s, which are seen across almost every state, if not all. Regional food chains, however, are a little special. They are only located in certain parts of the nation. Popular examples of regional fast chain restaurants are In-N-Out which is primarily in California but also has locations in other West Coast state. Waffle House is Georgia-based but has locations in South-Eastern states. Whataburger, meanwhile, is based in Texas.
In New Jersey, our best regional food chain is Jersey Mike’s, according to Mashed. The famous sandwich shop was originally called Mike’s Subs and opened in 1956 in Point Pleasant, N.J. They now have over 2,000 locations nationwide. Jersey Mike’s has spread so much that New Jersey is no longer the stage with the most locations. In fact, Jersey is the state with the fifth most, with 121 shops. North Carolina has 174 locations, Texas has 180, Florida has 190, and California leads with 331 locations.
Back when Jersey Mike’s opened over 60 years ago, there were no large chains serving just deli sandwiches (yes, this was pre-Subway). They had to stand out by giving great service and having exceptional products. Mike benefited from the geographic location of his store and was able to grab customers’ attention from New York, Philadelphia, and a part of the DMV (Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia) area. Over their 60+ year reign, they have now given the uniqueness of Jersey subs nationwide.
If it’s your first time or you want to treat yourself, check out Jersey Mike’s menu here, which lists their cold subs, hot subs and kids meals.
19 Kitchen Hacks & Trends From TikTok For Under $50
Egg Cooker - $19.99
Do you know about the egg cooker? If you don’t, I’m going to paint the picture for you. Forget having to boil your eggs and attempting to figure out how long to cook them, or even dropping them when the scalding water inevitably gets on you. This egg cooker does the guesswork for you.
Cook up to 6 eggs in soft, medium, or hard-boiled firmness, while saving time and water. Get your eggs hard or soft boiled, poached, scrambled, and even as individual omelets in just a few minutes.
Mini Bag Sealer - $15.98
The mini bag sealer is one that I’m stunned is only just being talked about now. You can literally reseal your plastic bags and keep your items fresher for longer. No need to rustle around the kitchen for a chip clip (because you can never find one when you need one and you end up just taking a clip from a different bag anyway right?).
The Bagel Guillotine - $19.99
The fact that this is called the Bagel Guillotine gives me so much joy. I remember these being in my college cafeteria and wondering why I didn’t have one personally. Now they’re all the rage. This Bagel Guillotine helps you slice your bagels easily. Basically, you’ll get a much more even slice and you won’t have to deal with the crumbly bits when trying to stick a butter knife through a bagel over and over.
Watermelon Fruit Slicer - $12.37
The watermelon fruit slicer feels life-changing! This fun little tool is just super cool to look at and gives you basically identical pieces of cut fruit. It goes into the fruit and chops it for you. Seriously, I feel like I will run less of a risk of chopping off my finger with one of these.
Mini-Mini Fridge -$49.99
Oh, how I love these tiny mini–fridges. Now, this one can be used as both a warmer or a cooler. They’re originally for skincare (and don’t be fooled, you can still use it for that) but TikTok is opening everyone’s creative brains and turning them into mini–fridges. If you’re an energy drink person this can be good for keeping a few cold. Heck, maybe you can even put this on your desk.
Airtight Storage Containers - $26.99
I still get chills and oodles of serotonin when I watch the kitchen and household restock videos on TikTok. These airtight containers are featured in many TikTokers videos and can work just as well for you. This set comes with 10 jars with airtight bamboo lids, in addition to labels! So, you can make sure to label all of your items and never be confused.
Waffle Maker - $19.99
You’re probably thinking, “Why, Nicole? Why a waffle maker?” Well, I like waffles and this personal waffle maker makes me happy. I saw it on a few TikToks recently and thought that it was a cool idea. This one is 8 inches so it’s pretty compact, and it’s portable! So, if I want to take this when I go camping I can.
Hand Powered Food Processor - $21.99
Holy cow is this thing cool! Now the next couple of items I saw on @julianna_claire’s Instagram Reels. This is a hand-powered food processor. Picture a lawnmower pull mechanism attached to a food processor and you have the invention! This is awesome and honestly great for those who are planning to skip out on arm day.
ButterEasy Butter Spreader - $11.99
This is changing the game! Now, I’m usually a spray butter in a can kind of gal, but I love using butter every now and then too. This one is super easy to use. You add the butter to the top of the container and then hold the silicon to spread on the hot pan or on bread and corn!
Microwave Splatter Cover - $9.99
This is awesome! We all know that moment when you’re reheating your food and you hear a small boom from the microwave and know that you’re going to have to clean that. We’ve all done that defeated sigh too.
Now you can do something about it. This microwave splatter cover is so cool because yes it will cover your food, but when it’s not in use the four orange stickies on the top stick to the roof of your microwave!
Mini Rice Cooker - $19.99
There is a video floating around TikTok where a guy yelled at everyone for not using a rice cooker and he’s not wrong. If you’ve never used a rice cooker you are missing out! The rice cooker is designed so you don’t overcook your rice. Plus, this one lets you set a prep timer. It’s a set it and forget it kind of thing. Makes cooking your dinner sound ten times easier right?
Pizza Cutter Scissors - $29.95
Two words: Pizza. Scissors. That’s genius! I’m so bad at using a pizza wheel. I don’t care how sad that sounds, I just am. Pizza cutting scissors sound and look amazing. You can cut the pizza to your specifications and (Yes, there’s an and!) you can serve it with the pizza slice spatula shoe. Tell me that doesn’t sound cool. This product is also dishwasher safe.
Cooking Knife Sharpener - $8.15
Okay, so not every item can be as cool as the pizza scissors, but there’s something to be said for the knife sharpener. When was the last time you sharpened your kitchen knives? I mean it’s probably overdue. Having sharp utensils is just good cooking practice. Do you think Gordon Ramsey doesn’t sharpen his knives? No, and that’s exactly why we’re going to.
This knife sharpener has a spot for coarse or dull knives and a spot for fine knives that just need a put of a touch-up.
Dual Potato Masher - $14.97
Avoid the mashed potato lumps! If you’re the kind of potato eater who doesn’t like lumpy mashed potatoes (like me) then this tool is for you. The double-layer design ensures that all of the lumps missed from the standard wire design masher are eliminated with the second dual press design layer.
The Unofficial TikTok Cookbook -$12.33
If you love all of those fun TikTok food trends, but don’t want to have to search through all of your liked videos just to find the recipe look no further than this unofficial TikTok cookbook. With 75 viral cooking recipes from things like whipped coffee to pancake cereal and so much more, you’ll be busy making all the crazy viral and yummy confections you desire.
Pint Size Ice Cream Maker - $19.95
Making your own ice cream doesn’t have to require a huge machine. This pint-size ice cream maker is easy to use and will have your ice cream ready in 30 minutes. Plus, being able to make your own ice cream means you get to control what goes in it.
Roll Up Dish Drying Rack - $13.99
This dish drying rack is really great for anyone that needs to save space while also having somewhere to dry their dishes. This dish drying rack unrolls above an open sink. So you can roll and unroll it depending on what you’re doing. It works for housing your drying washed tableware, just washing vegetables and fruits, or even cooling bakeware.
Stackable Food Storage Bins - $24.99
Behold, the stackable food storage bins! If you’re on RestockTok you know about these. Everyone that is looking to save space will love these food storage bins. It helps you remove the clutter of mismatch-sized packaging and allows you to effectively Tetris your fridge and home. This set of 8 is ideal for pouches like juice, apple sauce, fruit, etc.
Stackable Pan Organizer - $24.99
I cannot begin to express the feelings I have for this pan organizer. I am one of those people who used to put all of their pans in their oven and have to pull them all out before using them. This organizer is literally so much better. It’s a good space saver and it fits 5 different pans. Seriously, if you’re looking for space-saving this is a great option.
Bonus: Touchscreen Toaster - $299.95
Okay, yes, this item is not under $50, but that’s why it’s a bonus item. This is one of those super awesome TikTok kitchen items I couldn’t help but want. This is a touchscreen toaster that allows you to see what the toasting will look like. Basically, if you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a 3 and 4 toast level was this will take the guesswork out for you. It also has settings for multiple treats like English muffins, waffles, bagels, etc.
Please note that items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time we published this list. Have an idea for a fun theme for a gift idea list you’d like us to create? Drop us a line at [email protected].
