Holiday 2017

LifeStyle NEW JERSEY

HOLIDAY 2017

Volume 15 | Number 6

Spreading Joy BE PAMPERED AT HARRAH’S • AC LOVES STARR-STYLE EATERIES FABULOUS FINDS • DISCOVER WHAT YOUR GENES REVEAL

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THE • VIEW "The thrill of giving lasts a lifetime.”

—–Joan Marques

What’s on Your List?

T

hey say it’s the thought that counts. Of course, anyone who has ever received the perfect gift — one handpicked for them and ideal in every way — might beg to differ. There’s something about getting (or giving) that spectacular present that dazzles and delights.

Each year, Neiman Marcus comes out with their list of spectacular fantasy gifts. Part of their annual Christmas Book, the list is out of reach for the ordinary gift giver. But it’s great fun to imagine giving or getting them. Then, it’s not that much of a stretch to think about South Jersey’s version of these over-the-top presents.

In the spirit of the season, we present them to you: the Neiman Marcus gifts (NM) and the New Jersey Lifestyle equivalents (NJL).

NM: A private flight and photo session with fine art photographer Gray Malin ($35,000) NJL: A beach photo session with New Jersey Lifestyle photographers Eric Weeks or Nick Valinote (much less) NM: Travel to Champagne and personalize your own Armand de Brignac Champagne with 60 bottles delivered to your home ($150,000) NJL: A trip to Little Water Distillery, a toast to Nucky Johnson and the end of Prohibition, and a bottle of 48 Blocks, Atlantic City’s own vodka, to take home (much less) NM: Collaborate on a one-of-a-kind piece with jeweler Stephen Webster, following a tour of Gemfields’ emerald mine in Zambia ($300,000) NJL: Who needs emeralds when you can enjoy the cuisine and spirits of the Emerald Isle at the Irish Pub? (much, much less) NM: A private New Year’s Eve Party for 300 above Times Square and accommodations for 299 of your best friends for two nights at the Knickerbocker Hotel ($1,600,000) NJL:: Your choice of any of Atlantic City’s glittering casinos, fireworks on the Boardwalk and a Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s Day (much less) NM: Embroidered handbags by Olympia Le-Tan that reflect her obsession with literature and two nights at the incomparable Ritz Paris ($45,000) NJL: A copy of NJ Lifestyle magazine, which reflects our obsession with South Jersey, overnight accommodations optional (much less) Happy holidays and happy reading!

Dar la Hendrick s Publisher

how to reach us

Divorce Law South Jersey 2016 • 2017

Mark Biel

Biel & Stiles, P.A.

450 Tilton Road, Northfield bzs-law.com

(609) 344-1173

“Renowned for his experience, skill and personality ...

Universally regarded as one of the state’s premier matrimonial attorneys ... Considered a straightshooter ... effective, thorough and the keeper of exceptionally high standards.”

Michael Gill

Goldenberg, Mackler, Sayegh, Mintz, Pfeffer, Bonchi & Gill

660 New Road, Northfield gmslaw.com

(609) 646-0222

“One of the Atlantic City area’s best known ... and most accomplished ... divorce lawyers ... He possesses a unique and valuable personal background, which has attracted a stream of clients over the years.”

SUBSCRIPTIONS See all Members of Ten Leaders of Matrimonial & Divorce Law For new subscriptions, changes of address or questions about an of Southern New Jersey at existing subscription, call 609.703.0787. www.TenLeaders.org ADVERTISING Want to advertise your business in "NJ Lifestyle Magazine"? Request a media kit The Ten Leaders of Matrimonial & Divorce Law of Southern New Jersey is based on interviews and peer referrals originating in first quarter 2003 and continuing through 2016. Attorneys listed here were referred by at least by calling us at 609.703.0787. three of their out-of-firm peers. Ten Leaders is a consensus presentation of experienced, accomplished professionals, based on independent surveys NJLIFESTYLEONLINE.COM and peer referrals; it is administered by The Ten Leaders Cooperative, Reston, Va., and Fort Lee, NJ. This announcement complies with advertising Visiting our website is your connection to South Jersey’s Good Life. guidelines set forth by The Supreme Court of The State of New Jersey.

Ten Leaders professionals underwrite the distribution of their lists. To read WHERE TO FIND US Ten Leaders profiles in the law, medicine and finance, and for more infor"NJ Lifestyle Magazine" is mailed to select households in Atlantic and Cape May Counties, and parts of mation visit www.tenleaders.org. Copyright 2016, 2017, The Ten Leaders Cooperative, All Rights Reserved.

South Jersey. We can be found at select retail locations, golf clubs, restaurants, doctor offices and more. njlifestyleonline.com

LIFESTYLE | Holiday 2017

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CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS

34 Getting Rowdy Local Chatter.............................................. 6 The buzz on happenings in and around our area.

The Continental in Atlantic City, NJ

Lifestyle Fashion......................................... 8 Head-turning style for him and her.

48 For a taste of Philadelphia — without battling traffic and parking wars

Lifestyle Architecture.................................. 14

— two diverse establishments will quench your thirst for a big city experience.

A bayfront home in an historic Ventnor neighborhood.

FEATURES

Lifestyle Wellness....................................... 22 Volunteers are the “heart” of Seashore Gardens.

Fabulous Finds................................... 12 Gifts for everyone on your list.

Money Watch............................................. 26

Oh So Indulgent................................. 18

Lifestyle Travel........................................... 28

Pamper your mind, body and spirit.

A visit to the Culinary Institute of America.

Discover What Your Genes Reveal......... 24

Lifelines.................................................... 32

Is Your financial advisor a fiduciary?

The gift everyone wants this holiday season.

Inside the MyCode community health initiative.

On Wheels................................................. 34

Simply Crave-worthy.......................... 48

The rough-and-tumble Jeep Wrangler.

Restaurateur Stephen Starr’s Atlantic City offerings are utterly divine, times two.

Lifestyle Entertainment.............................. 38 A league of her own.

Lifesyle Art................................................ 40

14

Customdesigned and built in 2005, the threebedroom, 4.5-bath waterfront house in historic St. Leonard’s Tract fits right in among its stately neighbors.

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Chasing perfection.

Opinion..................................................... 42 Holiday surprises.

The Social Scene........................................ 44 Get the picture on the latest events and happenings.

Lifestyle Cooking........................................ 51 Kitchen advice and a delicious recipe for the season.

Lifestyle Wine............................................ 52 Pink selections to ring in the New Year.

Dining Gallery............................................ 54 All the details on the area’s great dining venues.

A Final Word.............................................. 56 New Year resolutions.

Young’s Landscaping

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Enjoy year-round beauty with a Y-TURF installed SYNTHETIC SURFACE, offering a landscaped lawn with little or no maintenance.

IDEALLY PICTURESQUE Vibrant, manicured lawns amid natural plantings, hardscaping, lighting and water features.

SAFE & CLEAN Environmentally-friendly for children and pets, eliminates grass stains and muddy paws.

FUN & ENTERTAINING Authentic at-home putting greens with unparalleled quality, durability and performance.

REAL TO THE TOUCH Lush and lifelike with a fresh cut appearance and soft pleasing feel.

877-90-YTURF (877-909-8873)

609-654-5247 Y-Turf.com Serving the Delaware Valley to the Jersey Shore

©2017, Young’s Landscape Management, Inc. all rights reserved

NJCA #13VH01161400 & PA #022139

ARE YOU AT RISK FOR HEART DISEASE? A CORONARY CTA SCAN COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE. For many people there are no warning signs of heart attacks. Half of the people who suffer heart attacks have normal levels of cholesterol and/or normal blood pressure. For over 150,000 Americans per year, the very first sign of coronary artery disease is sudden death.

In 2001, Atlantic Medical Imaging (AMI) was the first imaging center in South Jersey to introduce Coronary CT angiography, technologically the most advanced CT exam for detecting coronary artery disease available in the world. Since then, AMI has accumulated one of the world’s largest case experiences of more than 10,000 examinations, setting the standard of excellence in Coronary CTA. What is Coronary CTA? Coronary CTA is a test that images the coronary arteries. It is non-invasive, involves injection of intravenous contrast, and can be done at very low levels of radiation. AMI pioneered the prospective gating technique which allows us to perform Coronary CTA with radiation doses ranging from 70-90% less than that of a SPECT nuclear medicine stress test. Coronary CTA has an outstanding sensitivity for coronary artery disease. It detects disease in patients that have it in greater than 95%, but most importantly, it has a 100% negative predicted value. This means that the test will be negative 100% of the time when the patients have normal coronary arteries.

Coronary CTA can detect eccentric soft plaque. 86% of heart attacks come from the rupture of eccentric plaque that is not causing a blockage in the coronary arteries. These plaques are invisible to stress tests until there is greater than a 70% stenosis and usually invisible to a coronary artery catheterization for the same level of disease.

Coronary CTA can offer an early warning of coronary artery disease decades prior to it potentially causing a heart attack.

Know Your Risk Many patients suffer under the burden of a significant family history for decades before knowing that their coronary arteries are normal. Relieving patients of this emotional burden is a tremendous benefit. More importantly, Coronary CTA is highly accurate for determining the degree of coronary artery disease and coronary artery stenosis. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if a Coronary CTA is right for you.

To schedule your appointment please call (609) 677-XRAY (9729). or visit our website at: www.atlanticmedicalimaging.com

www.atlanticmedicalimaging.com amiradiology

Cape May Court House 421 Route 9 North Egg Harbor Township 3100 Hingston Avenue, Suite 102 Galloway 44 E. Jimmie Leeds Road Hammonton 219 N. White Horse Pike Somers Point 30 E. Maryland Avenue

LifeStyle NEW JERSEY

MAGAZINE

Publisher / Creative Director

Darla Hendricks darlabh2@gmail.com Copy Editor

Alyson Boxman Levine Contributing Writers

Kimberly Blaker Molly Golubcow Harry Hurley Alyson Boxman Levine Michelle Dawn Mooney Felicia L. Niven Marjorie Preston Matt and Tom Reynolds Elaine Rose Will Savarese Phillip Silverstone David Spatz Robin Stoloff Beth Wade Travel Editor

Dan Schlossberg Photographers

Nick Valinote Eric Weeks Online Media Info.

www.njlifestyleonline.com

Rough storms call for strong anchors.

Whether you’re a parent concerned with a custody arrangement, a property owner with a complex land use issue, or a contractor contemplating litigation, the attorneys at Hankin, Sandman, Palladino and Weintrob have the experience to protect your interests, even in the choppiest of waters.

Areas of Practice COnStruCtiOn COMMerCiAl litigAtiOn divOrCe/CuStOdy lAnd uSe envirOnMentAl reAl eStAte MuniCiPAl APPellAte PrACtiCe PerSOnAl injury eMPlOyMent

New Jersey Lifestyle is published by New Jersey Lifestyle, LLC. The entire contents of New Jersey Lifestyle are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the express written consent of the publisher. New Jersey Lifestyle, LLC assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. New Jersey Lifestyle, LLC reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse editorial material and assumes no responsibility for accuracy, errors or omissions. All correspondence should be sent to:

Cape May Court House Office 18 N. Main Street | Cape May Court House, NJ | P: (609) 465-5557

New Jersey Lifestyle Magazine, LLC

www.hankinsandman.com

174 S. New York Road, P.O. Box 787 Oceanville, NJ 08231 Telephone: 609-703-0787

Main Office Atlantic City 30 South New York Avenue | Atlantic City, NJ | P: (609) 344-5161

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Local

Chatter Ring in 2018

ATLANTIC CITY IS the place to celebrate New Year’s Eve and many casinos are rolling out the red carpet this year for their guests. From fireworks to bands, famous DJs and fabulous food; wine, dine, and dance the night away at your favorite hotspot as you ring in the New Year at the Jersey shore.

Take your pick of one of these exciting venues for your festive celebration … you will not be disappointed. Each one offers their unique take on the ideal end-of-the-year party: Harrah’s Pool After Dark, The Playground Pier at Caesars, Boogie Nights at the Tropicana, Haven Nightclub at the Golden Nugget, and Premier Nightclub at the Borgata, to name a few.

Elevate Your Holiday

Spirit

LET THE ATLANTIC CITY BALLET awaken your holiday spirit as they present, A Shore Holiday at the Circus Maximus Theater in Atlantic City in December.

This “radio cityesque” review features a blend of contemporary and classical dance all set to your most beloved holiday tunes.

With singers and a live band, you will be transported to a Holiday Winter Wonderland that will capture your inner child’s imagination. This delightful show will bring out the holiday spirit in everyone. For more information, visit acballet.org.

The Best Pancakes

GUESTS TO TROPICANA ATLANTIC CITY can now experience arguably the best blueberry pancakes in New Jersey. Gilchrist Restaurant, which has three locations in Atlantic County, has partnered with Tropicana, and opened their fourth hotspot in the former Teplitzky’s location on the ground floor of The Chelsea Tower. Tropicana Entertainment acquired the Chelsea Hotel in May and reopened in July with the new name: The Chelsea Tower.

“Gilchrist is a longstanding Atlantic City staple that will be a welcome addition to our restaurant offerings,” said Tony Rodio, Tropicana President and CEO. “Opening Gilchrist in The Chelsea Tower is a great opportunity for Tropicana to expand our partnership with local entrepreneurs.”

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For the Kids TREAT THE KIDS TO an educational and fun event this January. This tantalizing version of the classic Russian folk tale, “Peter & The Wolf” — held on January 20, 2018 at Stockton Performing Arts Center — brings together all the elements of growing up — daring, defiance, confidence, and courage. This captivating story, performed by the Pushcart Players, provides a charming introduction to the world of music and musical instruments, and wins the hearts of all who view it. Pushcart Players is an award-winning professional touring theater company specializing in arts education for children. For tickets, visit stocktonpac.org.

T HE BUZ Z O N HA P P E N IN GS IN AN D A ROU N D O U R A R EA Get Scrooged IT IS NO SECRET TO LOCALS who enjoy the arts in Cape May that the production of Scrooge: The Musical is a tradition that has served audiences for over two decades, with Parker Smith playing Scrooge, now in his 23rd season. Visit Elaine’s Famous Dinner Theater for comedy, hilarious improv, audience participation, and gourmet dining as you are transformed back to the streets of Victorian England. Explore the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come!

Elaine's Famous Dinner Theater has been voted one of the top five dinner theaters in America by the Food Network. The dinner theater package includes a full-course dinner and show. Guests choose from a selection of sumptuous appetizers and entrees featuring locally-caught seafood and choice cuts of meat. Visit Ho A Beachside Ho Ho elainescapemay.com.

Realistic Resolutions

DID YOU EVER WONDER what happens to all the New Year’s Resolutions people make at the stroke of midnight? Believe it or not, most resolutions don’t even make it to the end of January, according to reports. This year, try something new and pledge the gift of giving. It doesn’t take much time or effort to make a positive impact on someone’s life.

Begin your 2018 with a spirit of volunteerism and embrace local organizations that offer volunteer opportunities. Some suggestions include: giving blood, making monthly food donations to local food banks, and volunteering your time at a local animal shelter. These feel-good resolutions take the focus off of yourself and are certain to last well into the New Year.

Swimming With the Bears

WHAT ARE YOU DOING on January 1st, 2018?

Why not take a dip in the freezing Atlantic Ocean with thousands of your closest friends.

Polar bear plunges are gaining in popularity year after year and most of the local beach towns host their own version of this fun, annual event, which dates back to 1904 when the first recorded Polar Bear Swim took place in Boston.

From Brigantine to Cape May, New Year revelers, young and old, continue their celebration with this annual plunge. Visit your favorite seaside town and experience the excitement firsthand. Whether you are an eager participant, or just there to cheer them on, the excitement is certainly contagious.

START A NEW HOLIDAY tradition this year with a beachside visit from Santa. Normally when we envision Santa, we picture him at the North Pole, surrounded by frost and snow … but not when you live near the shore.

Santa can be spotted welcoming visitors on the Ocean City boardwalk as he works diligently on his Naughty or Nice list. Stop by the Music Pier and get your picture taken with him as you experience the charm of Ocean City in the off-season. You and your loved ones will be surprised just how magical it can be. njlifestyleonline.com

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Lifestyle Fashion By Alyson Boxman Levine

Head-Turning Style for Him and Her Choose Your Fashion Wisely this Holiday Season

L

ooking good takes on an entirely new meaning when it comes to holiday dressing. With a vast array of upcoming family gatherings and office parties, your social calendar is simply bursting at the seams. Enjoy every moment of your holiday season in style as you plan your chic outfits for these events now. You will not only relieve additional holiday stress; you will also enjoy the festive season more when you’re certain you look fabulous, feel confident, and know you’re current with your fashion choices.

Men often get left out when it comes to holiday fashion, seamlessly always wearing boring khakis with those oh-so-worn sweaters. In this special Holiday issue, we are eagerly adding men’s Art Deco Dress, Byron Lars

njlifestyleonline.com

Shine On

LIFESTYLE

Sequenced Dress, Dress the Population

Draped in Velvet

Holiday 2017 |

nnn Art Deco Style For women, office events can be tricky to dress for during the holidays. You want to look and feel confident, but you don’t want to wear something too short or low-cut. Looking professional and stylish is the look to strive for this holiday season. Remember, wearing a tight-fitting dress can make you appear sloppy and unprofessional, regardless of your IQ. Check all the right boxes

Velvet Jumpsuit, Rock the Jumpsuit

Art Deco Style

10

fashion to the wardrobe mix. From classically cool, to trending looks mixed with modern style, these upscale outfit choices will have all the gentlemen looking stylish and up-to-date this holiday season.

in this black cocktail dress from designer Byron Lars. With Art Deco detailing, this classic beauty adds just the right amount of sophistication and style to any professional event; and the touch of delicate whimsy is perfect for the holiday season.

A San Francisco native who was lauded as Women's Wear Daily's Rookie of the Year for his first collection, Byron Lars specializes in expertly structured, sensuously cut silhouettes. Lars started designing under his own label in 1991 with a small collection of sportswear focusing on what he refers to as “twisted American classics.” Taking inspiration from such unlikely sources as his grandfather's hunting jacket, Byron crossbreeds it with a “Dior New Look” proportion to create a Dutchess of Windsor meets Field and Stream hybrid. These unique juxtapositions have become Byron Lars' trademark. “When edgy fashion is steeped in something familiar, it becomes far less alienating to the consuming public,” explains Lars. nnn Draped in Velvet Are you looking for something chic and comfortable to wear this holiday season? Think a bit out of the box and try this crushed velvet retro-inspired jumpsuit on for size; I guarantee no one else in the room will be wearing the same outfit. Inspired by an original 1970s jumpsuit, this limited-edition garment from the Rock the Jumpsuit Modern Knitwear, Ted Baker

label features a high neck, sexy split down the front, and a gentlyflared leg. Made from a gorgeous crushed navy velvet, this piece is amazingly soft and flattering to wear for all body types.

Founded by Rachel Cameron Webb in 2016, Rock the Jumpsuit unites her passions for jumpsuits and anything vintage — especially from the 1970s. The company has re-imagined iconic jumpsuit styles by tailoring original patterns for a contemporary style and fit, creating timeless pieces that will last a lifetime. Designed and sampled in London, all their limited edition pieces are produced in England. According to Webb, “I believe the jumpsuit is one of the most versatile pieces of clothing you can own — they can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion, but it’s the fit that’s so important so you can rock your jumpsuit confidently whatever your shape or age.” nnn Shine On New Year’s Eve is the time of year when you want to look your best.

End the year on a high-shine note with this Dress the Population stunner. You will certainly be the life of the party in this chic dress bedecked in luxe sequin embellishments that reverse to reveal a contrast color. With a form-fitting silhouette and back slit, this evening gown is tailor-made for special occasions that require showGrey Jacket, Michael Bastian

Slim-fit Suit, Hugo Boss

Oh-So Dapper

On-Trend Masculinity

The Ideal Knit

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LIFEST YLE FASHION stopping appearances.

In 2011, designer Franklin Morales founded Dress the Population with a simple idea — make beautiful clothing at an affordable price. As an immigrant moved to the United States as a child with very little, he had to work twice as hard to make his vision become a reality. As his company began to grow, his priority was to help others with similar stories achieve the same “American Dream.”

Because of this vision, everything from design to manufacturing to shipment happens at their headquarters in Los Angeles with help of their diverse staff. Every month, the label works with customers and influencers to choose a charity that is making an impact. Then, a dress from their most recent collection is chosen, and 50% of its proceeds are donated to this charity. nnn The Ideal Knit The perfect sweater is not easy to find, for men or women; either they are too heavy, too itchy, or just too oversized. For those casual holiday occasions, this blue designer sweater from the Ted Baker label is the one to wear. Crafted from a soft wool-blend fabric, its sporty striped V-neck detail makes it a truly versatile piece and a go-

Boot Bazaar

Metallic Masterpiece

This Freddie Bootie by Tony Bianco features a metallic man-made upper with side zip closure. Based in Australia, the Tony Bianco brand embraces high-quality materials and a keen eye for detail to create on-trend pieces that will survive the test of time, Tony Bianco, $167.

to for all your end-of-year events.

Having launched as a shirt specialist of some repute in Glasgow, UK, Ted Baker quickly became the place to buy some of the best contemporary men's clothing around. From the beginning, Baker had a very clear, unswerving focus on quality, attention to detail, and a quirky sense of humor; so much so in fact that the first stores used to provide a laundry service for every shirt purchased — something that gained the quickly-growing brand the title of “No Ordinary Designer Label.” Everything produced under the Ted Baker name has his personality woven into its very heart, and remains one of the only brands to be built into an international designer label without an advertising campaign. nnn On-Trend Masculinity When new items are paired with existing wardrobe pieces, something magical can happen. Ideal for the annual office party or your holiday open house, this current look from designer Michael Bastian is both hip and classic the same time. Paired perfectly with your existing jeans, this grey double-breasted jacket can be worn traditionally or layered to look even more luxurious.

Get in on the latest trends with these six stunners, guaranteed to add warmth, texture and style to your holiday season.

Chic/Scrunched

Stand out in this red crush scrunched leather bootie.

Featuring a pointed toe with a pull-on design, this ontrend designer style is handmade in Spain and sure to become your fast favorite, Stuart Weitzman, $575.

Velvet Crush

Made in Italy, this velvet high heel bootie — from the SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker label — is a must-have for the holiday season. Parker shares our velvet crush, and designed these exclusive block-heeled booties in a rich jewel tone with signature grosgrain trim, SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, $465.

Add Some Glitter

These Genevive glitter flared block-heel boots are head turners for sure. Featuring a stretch fabric upper for a flexible fit, and chic oh-so-on-trend ruched detailing, these stunners will add just the right amount of sparkle to any celebration, Kenneth Cole, $225.

Classically Textured

Tap into a retro mood with these chic Rowan ankle boots made in Spain. In a croc effect leather, these on-trend boots are perfect for pairing with cropped denim or wide-leg jeans for day, or a stylish skirt for evenings out, Whistles, $389.

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All About the Stretch

Try on these Kassidy stretch sock booties and you will be a fan of the new sock-boot trend for life. Featuring a pointed toe, a stretch knit fabric upper, and a leather sole, these fun boots represent both style and comfort, Loeffler Randall, $395.

Michael Bastian is an award-winning luxury American menswear designer born in Lyons, New York, a small upstate town near Lake Ontario. Upon graduating from college in 1987, he moved to Manhattan, taking his first job as an assistant buyer at Abraham & Strauss.

Subsequently taking on roles of increasing acclaim at world-renowned institutions — Sotheby’s, Tiffany & Co., and Ralph Lauren — Bastian was appointed as men’s fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman in 2000. It was during his five-year tenure there that he was inspired to introduce his eponymous line, Michael Bastian.

“Through the process of setting the men’s fashion direction for Bergdorf Goodman, it became increasingly clear to me that there was a real need for a new American voice in the men’s designer world — something modern and luxurious, but also a little broken down and familiar,” said Bastian. “I start with something perfectly designed and executed, then spend a lot of time knocking the edge off of that perfection.” nnn Oh-So Dapper There are not many appropriate times when a man can get away with wearing a velvet jacket, except, of course, during the holiday season.

Ring in 2018 wearing this designer suit from the coveted label BOSS Hugo Boss. If you’ve never tried a slim-fit suit, now is the time. You will be surprised just how good you actually look, regardless of your waist size. Pair this tuxedostyle velvet jacket with a stylish turtleneck sweater and your hip factor will be immediately elevated.

The BOSS Hugo Boss brand epitomizes authentic, understated luxury. The men’s collection offers modern, refined business- and eveningwear, along with sophisticated casual looks and premium sportswear for after work, with a focus on fine fabrics and high-end details. The rich array of modern business wear, exclusive leisurewear, and upscale evening apparel fuses fashionable silhouettes with excellent design and timeless charm.

Lou Marchiano FOR MEN CLOTHING • SPORTSWEAR • SHOES

Terra Mar Plaza | Tilton Road | Northfield, NJ | 609-641-2088 Open 7 days a week for the Holidays!

Even if your social calendar doesn’t call for dressing up this season, surprise your loved ones at your holiday celebrations with a wellput-together look. You will be surprised at the reaction you receive. Dressing up adds tradition and formality to holiday occasions. Celebrate with your loved ones wearing head-turning fashion as you raise your holiday glass and welcome in the New Year with style. n njlifestyleonline.com

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Fabulous Finds Gifts for everyone on your list.

The Perfect Arrangement

1.

Gorgeous Holiday flowers like roses and amaryllis make a great gift for moms, grandmothers, and friends. Give the gift of beauty to everyone you love, or choose a delightful arrangement to complete your Christmas table or holiday display.

Let Betina Sabbagh, owner and designer of Betina's at Parkview, help you create the perfect arrangement. Available at Betina's at Parkview, 622 S. New York Rd, Galloway. Call 609-646-4119 or visit them online at betinasatparkview.net.

2.

3.

Stylish Bathroom Upgrades

Treat yourself to a holiday gift this season with chic bathroom upgrades guaranteed to "wow" your guests. With the right accessories, it's simple and fun to transform your space. Try this contemporary openwork decorative wall mirror by the Alfina Corporation (1). For instant sparkle, add these coveted Crystal Knobs and Pulls from the Pure Elegance Collection, featuring oil-rubbed bronze finishes (2). If you favor an ocean feel, then consider this Symphony Imperial Shell Cup Pull from Schaub and Company (3). Available at Artistic Hardware, 430 Tilton Road, Northfield, NJ. Call 609-407-7200 or visit artistichardware.net.

Cookware Fit For A King

Cashmere Comfort

For the ultimate in luxurious comfort, slide into these cashmere slippers from Minnierose. Created to provide comfort and warmth, the embroidered "Fri Yay" will get anyone excited for the weekend, 100% cashmere with a non-slip sole.

Available at minnierose.com. $158.

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Dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as the “Rolls Royce� of non-stick pans, Swiss Diamond cookware will have any chef cooking until their heart is content. Designed for use on all cooktops, the Premium Clad 10-piece set has a beautiful satin exterior finish from top to bottom. And the knife block 10-piece set is a revolutionary new line of knives engineered and designed by professional chefs to be functional, comfortable, easy to use, hard wearing, and long-lasting in even the busiest of kitchens. Cookware set, $888.95. Knife set, $495.95. Available at swissdiamond.com.

The Gift of Wellness

A gift card to Luxuria Medical Spa & Laser Center in Egg Harbor Township is the perfect way for your loved one to get the exact service they need or want. They'll be able to select from the most comprehensive ensemble of the latest and safest FDA approved technologies, and non-invasive treatments to improve their appearance today and for years to come. Luxuria Medical Spa & Laser Center helps people look the way they really want to look. Available at Luxuria Medical Spa & Laser Center in the English Creek Shopping Center. Call 844-LUXURIA, or visit luxuriamedspa.com.

For the Sylish Man

Cole Haan's next-generation 2.ZERĂ˜GRAND Laser Wingtip Oxford offers a remarkably innovative upgrade on tradition and seamlessly integrates craftsmanship with features that rival top-of-the-line running shoes. Available at Lou Marchiano for Men, Terra Mar Plaza, Tilton Road, Northfield, NJ. 609-641-2088. Open 7 days a week for the Holidays!

Beauty And Brains

When you walk into a store, flip through a catalog or scroll through social media and a piece of jewelry catches your eye, you might not think about who made it or why. But, it is the story behind the jewelry from Made for Freedom that truly enhances its beauty. Each piece is handcrafted by a woman who has been the victim of human trafficking and/or sex slavery. Brittany earrings $28. Available at madeforfreedom.

Pamper Your Ride

Superb customer service and strict attention to detail will make the car enthusiast in your life a happy recipient of a gift certificate to Executive Detail in Somers Point. Owner Jimmy Dougherty will sometimes even "steal" a car with the help of a family member, and deliver it back spotless to the surprised owner. Executive Detail is located at Circle Commons in Somers Point. Call 609-653-1658 or visit carandboatdetailing.com.

Justice League Jewelry

The ALEX AND ANI Justice League Collection — a 6-piece capsule collection is celebrating Warner Bros. Pictures' action-adventure feature film in theaters now.

Dedicated to creating meaningful, eco-conscious jewelry that positively empowers and connects humanity, ALEX AND ANI has crafted a special line of Kindred Cord bracelets to represent each of the iconic DC Super Heroes uniting to save the world onscreen in Justice League. The ALEX AND ANI Justice League Collection is a refined take on fan merchandise. $38 each. Available at alexandani.com. njlifestyleonline.com

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Pride of Place

It’s just a dozen years old, but this big bayfront home is right at home in an historic Ventnor neighborhood.

Exterior front view

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he rambling house on Somerset Avenue in Ventnor looks as if it’s anchored this corner for a century. But take a quick glance inside — at the elevator, 50-amp car charger, heated floors — and it’s clear the place was built with contemporary comforts in mind.

Custom-designed and built in 2005, the three-bedroom, 4.5bath waterfront house in historic St. Leonard’s Tract fits right in among its stately neighbors (some homes here date back to the early 1900s). With fieldstone exterior walls, weathered shingles, solid cherry and Spanish cedar doors and multiple decks, the house has a grandeur that is not at all haughty. A stunning, mature weeping willow and fragrant magnolia tree grace the brick walkway, which features an inlaid sundial.

Everything about this setting says, “Welcome home.”

Sporting Life “The whole first floor was meant for entertaining,” says Jillian Kinderman of Mark Arbeit and Co., the Margate realtor that represents the $1.595 million home.

The rough-and-ready lower level, with its Vermont slate watermark floors and casual furnishings, includes not only a full wet bar but an indoor gas-lit fire pit with a suspended copper hood.

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This relaxing space overlooks the outdoor pool area, with seating capacity for dozens of guests.

The pool and deck in turn overlook the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway or ICW, a 1,090-mile nautical highway where boaters cruise in leisurely fashion from Canada to Florida. And there in the distance is the Atlantic City skyline, with its turning windmills and glittering pleasure domes reflected in the bay.

Day to night and season to season, it’s an enviable view. “On holidays, you’re in the perfect place to see the fireworks in Atlantic City,” says Kinderman. “But the best place to see them is upstairs” — because this home actually has an old-fashioned widow’s walk, a rare and charming feature seldom seen even in vintage homes outside coastal New England.

With four boat slips and four sturdy floating docks, the home on the corner of a cul-de-sac supports an active lifestyle of swimming, sailing, kayaking and other water sports. But if your idea of paradise is to cozy up in a deck chair and watch the clouds roll by, there may be no more pleasant place to do it than right here.

On a recent visit, barely a sound could be heard beyond the putt-putt of a passing motorboat and the occasional shrilling of a seabird.

Relaxing space with indoor gas-lit fire pit

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Striking widow’s walk sheltered inside a cupola Chef's kitchen Deck with enviable views

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LIFEST YLE ARCHITECTURE Sweet Life At the literal center of the home is a custom suspended staircase on blind steel hangers that “almost seems as if it’s floating” between floors, says Kinderman. “It’s a work of art.”

That dramatic passageway leads from the oh-so-casual first level to a whole different experience upstairs, starting with a luxuriously appointed open-plan living room. Its gleaming Santos mahogany floors, creamy coffered ceilings and buttery yellow walls give a feeling of instant warmth. There are bay views from every window, and upholstered window seats from which to enjoy them.

For purists, there’s a wood-burning fireplace with a handcrafted Italian marble fireplace mantel. And just for fun, there’s a regulation Brunswick pool table with all the accessories.

The owners tucked extra storage all around the house, in cubbyholes, extra closets and custom built-ins. The chef’s kitchen features its own pizza oven, plus top-of-the-line Wolf appliances and a 48-inch Sub-Zero fridge. The solid cherry cabinets are on-trend with open glass fronts.

“The same granite is used throughout the whole floor,” including in the bathroom countertops, says Kinderman, “so everything flows together very nicely.”

A deck off the eat-in kitchen wraps around whole side of the house, and a former greenhouse off the living area has been transformed into a sleeping porch.

Open-plan living room

Brunswick pool table in the living room Sunny master bedroom

Spice of Life The third floor is anyone’s version of dreamland. Two additional en suite bedrooms have full baths with whirlpool tubs, custom closets and private decks. The sunny master bedroom goes one better, with its own gas-lit wood-burning fireplace, seating area, twin decks, walk-in shower and steam bath.

Each detail and convenience was added by the owners, who designed the home themselves over a two-year period. “They knew what they wanted, and thought through every aspect,” says Kinderman. That includes heated floors in the garage, a gas-powered snow-melter in the driveway, and a “summer kitchen” just off the pool area, for easy food prep and storage.

The outdoor decking is of Brazilian ipe, an imported rainforest hardwood that retains its beauty and strength for lifetimes. A whimsical small touch is the seahorse mosaic at the bottom of the 16-x-32 heated in-ground pool.

Safety was a paramount concern. The home sits on higher ground on Absecon Island, an area not typically prone to flooding. Even so, the homeowners installed an extra-heavy-duty bulkhead with a 60-foot concrete drag beam and drainage system to help keep Mother Nature in her place.

Other conveniences include a state-of-the-art security system with remote arming; an intercom system; and a sound system with speakers inside and out.

Visible from every floor is that striking widow’s walk. Sheltered inside a cupola, the lookout is accessible only by a ladder. The tower is lit by a wrought-metal chandelier with six amber lamps. And the sky-blue ceiling beyond is adorned with a mural of clouds and angels.

Those brave enough to make the climb will have unobstructed 360-degree views of the whole island—including the beach, which is less than a three-block trudge to the east.

But with every comfort close at hand, guests of this home may just want to stay put. n

Lighting n Shower Doors n Plumbing Fixtures n Decorative Hardware n

430 Tilton Road, Northfield, NJ 609-407-7200 www.artistichardware.net

Vanities Ceiling Fans n Medicine Cabinets n Accessories and More! n n

Lifestyle Leisure

People who never get carried away should be.

—–Malcolm Forbes

By MOLLY GOLUBCOW Photos courtesy of Harrah's

Oh So Indulgent

Pamper Your Mind, Body, & Spirit

Remember the old TV commercial, “Calgon, take me away?"

In the late 1970s, a bubble bath at home might have done the “getting away from it all” trick. However, in 2017 we need a more innovative approach to escaping from whatever it is that is chasing you — kids, spouse, boss, politics, technology. But where to go? Tahiti? Rome?

Nope, too far and too expensive.

Here’s a suggestion — how about a spa day, then a drink at an iconic pool-side sanctuary, shopping galore, followed by dinner at a 4-star restaurant? Where? Easy-peasy, just spend a day away locally at Harrah’s in Atlantic City luxuriating at one of the best spas in the country, Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Spa, as well as experiencing more “me” time throughout the hotel including The Pool After Dark nightclub.

After recently enhancing their Atlantic City property to the tune of $30 million, Harrah's boasts the addition of several new restaurants, opened the Waterfront Conference Center, and made stunning 20

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improvements to its fitness center and the food court. So, let’s take a tour around the property and sample the exciting options available for pampering your mind, body, and spirit at Harrah’s.

A Menu of Spa Indulgences Elizabeth Arden, Red Door Spa founder, believed in a holistic approach to beauty and skincare. She opened her first location in New York in 1910 believing in “… an intelligent union of nature and science to develop one’s finest natural assets.” Today, her vision continues all over the world. As a feather in Atlantic City’s cap, The Red Door Spa at Harrah’s received a Reader’s Choice Award as one of the top spas in the casino industry.

Once you walk through that iconic red door and enter the serene sanctuary, it is all about pampering YOU. In fact, before you even begin your treatment, you instantly feel relaxed and welcomed by a friendly and caring staff that warmly greet with a luxuriously soft robe

Jacuzzi pool surrounding a fireplace to wrap yourself in while you await your spa experience.

Massage Options Over a half dozen massage treatments are available — all performed by highly-trained and experienced massage therapists. All the options at the Red Door incorporate natural oils like olive and shea butter cream, facial acupressure, and foot reflexology to balance and relax every inch of you from head to toe.

You can select the medium pressured kneading of a Swedish Massage or the sensually smooth, warm Stone Massage that glides while warming achy muscles. Other specialized options include a Pregnancy Massage to relieve muscle aches, joint pain, and swelling.

Massage treatments available by experienced massage therapists

No time for hours of pampering? The Red Door also offers the Time Saver — 25 minutes of massage — concentrating on releasing back, neck, and shoulder tension.

Red Door also offers Couples Massage for you and your significant other to destress together. Imagine a dual 80-minute couples massage followed by a half hour of relaxation in a private luxury suite, complete with an in-room Jacuzzi and fireplace!

Regardless of the massage treatment that you select, The Red Door offers you more options to enhance your relaxation experience. YOUR experience is dedicated to lavishing you in unparalleled pampering — an aromatic pillow for your eyes, YOUR choice of aromatherapy oil (lavender or eucalyptus), a heated pillow for YOUR neck, and a heated

New renovated room in the magnificent Bayview Tower

Reserve a cabana at The Pool After Dark njlifestyleonline.com

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The Pool After Dark

blanket all to ensure YOU pure bliss.

After your renewing massage, feel free to enjoy other amenities, such as the hot cedar wood sauna, the eucalyptus-scented steam room, and relaxation rooms offering couches that you literally sink into while enjoying the water and tea bar for a must-do post-massage rehydration.

Facials and Other Body Beautiful Treatments Regardless of the type of facial you select, each treatment pampers you with a warm mitt hand treatment, a heated pad for comfort, and a specialized facial massage. In addition, hydrating wraps and healing scrubs are available to relax you and comfort you — all provided by courteous and knowledgeable staff that go out of their way to ensure your day is perfect.

And, let’s not forget The Red Door also provides mani/pedi options as well as expert makeup and hair consultants who make you feel like a million bucks with a new French manicure, all so stylish high light/ low light coloring, and a haircut that will turn heads, for sure!

Après Spa Whether you love to dance or just listen to top 40s, hip-hop, or electronic dance music, The Pool After Dark sets the upbeat scene every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night, and offers just the right amount of excitement after a relaxing day at the spa. It’s a happening place that draws A-list celebrity hosts, DJs, and performers including French Montana, Fat Joe, Paris Hilton, 50 Cent, and many more “beautiful” people from the celebrity realm.

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provides a truly unique nightlife experience of “epic proportions” with their state-of-the-art graphics displayed on huge LED walls. And, if you’re feeling lucky — you can play Blackjack and Roulette without ever stepping away from the action in the new gaming pit located on the main floor of the nightclub.

As part of the multi-million dollar renovation, Harrah’s literally takes the club to a higher level with The Loft — a newly redesigned area on the second floor offering the ultimate VIP experience including pop bottles at your private table, sexy cage dancers, and 180-degree aerial views of the electric and eclectic scene below you.

Out to impress? You can also reserve a table, poolside daybed, cabana, secluded hot tub, or large-party bungalow and let The Pool After Dark's scantily-clad servers shower your party with specialized bottle presentations all night long.

Turn off the Cell Phone and Get Yourself to Harrah’s According to Sex & the City's Sarah Jessica Parker, “Occasionally, a girl has to indulge herself.” Whether you are a girl, a guy, or a girl and a guy in need of pampering, Harrah’s Casino offers a unique and overthe-top place to rejuvenate your mind and body in total indulgence — day or night. Get a manicure, massage, or new hair style at the Red Door Spa, enjoy galleria-style Atlantic City shopping at The Waterfront Shops, sink your teeth into a variety of flavorful fare at one of their many restaurants, or party the night away at The Pool After Dark.

Whether at the upscale spa or the trendy nightclub, Harrah’s offers options where hip people go to be easily seen or in intimate areas where you’re not-so-easily seen.

Your getaway choice is yours — indulge thy self! n

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Lifestyle Wellness

Volunteers are the “heart” of Seashore Gardens Living Center There’s something special that happens when you walk through the doors of The Simon & Sylvia Zisman Seashore Gardens Living Center (SGLC) in Galloway Twp. — and it’s not only due to the immaculate surroundings, the competent and dedicated staff, or even the Boardwalk Café and mural of old time Atlantic City. It’s the number of warm and caring volunteers that you’ll find onsite on any given day. Some come with a furry friend or a guitar; others simply bring a listening ear or a warm embrace. All, however, bring a desire to make a difference.

“As a nonprofit organization, Seashore Gardens Living Center welcomes volunteers to help us with our mission to enrich elder lives,” said President and CEO Martin H. Klein, MA, LNHA, CALA. “It’s very meaningful when volunteers take time to visit with our residents, help out with recreational activities and take them for strolls.”

SGLC is a 24-hour, 7 day-a-week Home for the Aged, necessitating a number of staff for round-the-clock care. The volunteers interface Inside Seashore Gardens Living Center’s Gift Shop

Visiting the Boardwalk Cafe

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By Felicia L. Niven Photos by Eric Weeks

with the staff, providing additional companionship and assistance.

Barbara Gutjahr visits with her dog, Spike, on alternate Mondays.

“He’s very good with the residents,” says Barbara proudly. “He will sit and let them pet him for as long as they’d like.” As for Barbara, the visits are good for her soul, too. “Both my parents have passed,” she explained. “My mother was always the one who encouraged volunteerism. In this way, I’m honoring her memory and also helping others. It just feels good.”

Seashore Gardens Living Center is guided by Jewish tradition, so it may seem surprising that one of their most active volunteer days is Christmas. For more than 20 years, the Lowell & Bella Gluck Holiday Day of Service has brought people of all faiths and ages to SGLC to fill various positions from receptionist to food service, maintenance, and recreation. Volunteers are guided by staff, and are onsite from 7 AM to 7 PM. “It’s become a beloved tradition for many of our volunteers, and often whole families will come to participate,” said Executive Director Janice Cambron, LNHA, CALA. “We typically have as many as 35 volunteers onsite, which allows some of our staff members to take off for the holiday.”

Janice worked with Director of Recreation Missy Rundio to create another opportunity to encourage volunteerism: the Summer Sizzler Youth Program. The Sizzlers are SGLC’s youngest employees, aged 14-16, who both work and volunteer their time. For many, it’s their first job. They gain valuable work experience and learn what makes a good work ethic. Because they work an hour, and volunteer an hour, it’s also a wonderful opportunity for Sizzlers to learn the importance of giving back. The teens have a chance to forge real relationships with the residents, to chat with them and exchange stories. Judging from the number of Sizzlers who choose to return, it’s a great success.

A volunteer board of directors oversees the operations of this nonprofit home, which provides a family of services. The 125,000-square foot senior Living Center offers assisted living, short and long term nursing care, Alzheimer’s care, respite care and full rehabilitation services all under one roof. In 2016, SGLC celebrated 100 years of enriching elder lives.

“It was important for us to create a home-like environment.” said Martin Klein. “We wanted it be family-friendly to encourage visitors to spend time here. We created a Disney-like atmosphere that includes a Boardwalk and café where visitors can dine with residents, a wheelchair-accessible putting green, and rooms for family gatherings.”

Visitors are welcome to tour the facility, have a cup of coffee or a muffin on the Boardwalk, and see the numerous opportunities for volunteering. As a nonprofit organization, SGLC also welcomes financial donations, especially sustaining monthly commitments.

Donations fund the programs that enrich elder lives — music and music therapy, cooking and baking, computers, art therapy, pet therapy, the Alzheimer’s Sensory Trail and Garden, and the Summer Sizzlers Youth Program. Visit www.seashoregardens.org to see how you can help. n

Seashore Gardens Living Center Located on a 20 acre campus in Galloway, this 125,000 square foot senior Living Center is truly an environment for living. Our resident-centered culture includes: • Rehabilitation • Short-Term ‘Respite’ Stays • Skilled Nursing Care • Hospice Care • Alzheimer’s/Dementia Services • Assisted Living • Independent Housing • Home Care/Outreach It’s a place you can call home. You have to take a tour and see for yourself!

Call (609)404-4848 or visit SeashoreGardens.org to schedule your tour today!

22 West Jimmie Leeds Road, Galloway NJ 08205 www.SeashoreGardens.org • office@seashoregardens.org

Est. 1916

Seashore Gardens Living Center is an independent nonprofit 501( c)(3) Home for the Aged

Health Watch

What Your Genes Reveal A SIMPLE BLOOD TEST, THAT’S ALL IT TOOK for Patrice Molesevich to find out she carried the BRCA gene which increases a women’s risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She got the blood test as part of a genetic testing research project known as MyCode. This community health initiative started in 2014 with Geisinger, a health system based out of central Pennsylvania. AtlantiCare merged with Geisinger in 2015, and began offering MyCode to AtlantiCare patients last year.

Molesevich, 58, who lives in Danville, Pennsylvania, near Geisinger, decided to register for MyCode after learning the details at a routine eye exam. She has lost many people in her family due to cancer, including her brother who died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 37. The choice for her to participate in MyCode was easy. “With so much cancer in my family,” she says, “I thought to myself in the back of my mind, what one is going to get me?”

Every time she had her blood drawn for routine testing, a little extra would be taken for MyCode. After about a year and half, she got the call she had almost expected … she had the BRCA gene mutation. She was referred for genetic counseling and met with a medical team at Geisinger who recommended additional mammograms and MRI imaging.

While her mammogram was negative, the MRI showed two small spots in left breast, and a biopsy confirmed she had ductal in situ carcinoma. She opted for a double mastectomy which she had in August of 2016. Because she caught it early and got the surgery right way, she did not need any chemotherapy or radiation.

It would have been a whole different story once it showed up on a mammogram, according to Molesevich’s surgical oncologist. She credits MyCode for saving her life and says she is “feeling wonderful, like nothing ever happened.” Sharing her experience with others is her way of giving back and to encourage everyone to participate in this program. In fact, she is very proud that quite a few people have told her they

By ROBIN STOLOFF

INSIDE THE MYCODE COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVE registered for MyCode because they heard her story.

The field of genomics is rapidly evolving.

“Back in 2007, Geisinger realized genetics would play an important role in the future of health care,” according to Andrew Faucett, director of policy and education in Geisinger’s Office of the Chief Scientific Officer. “So we created MyCode as a bio bank to study how genetics could be used in health care, but also to learn more about how genetics impacts our health, what keeps us well and what causes disease.”

Geisinger’s goal is to enroll 250,000 participants. So far they have more than 170,000, with almost 14,000 coming from AtlantiCare.

Because it is for research, the program is provided at no charge to the patient, and participation is as simple as completing a consent form.

After blood is taken, the sample goes to Geisinger’s lab in Danville where they extract the DNA, the genetic part in the blood, and ship it to their partner, Regeneron in New York, which sequences batches of 30,000 samples at a time. Once sequenced, data is made available to Geisinger and Regeneron researchers who interpret the data.

They are testing for the “Geisinger 76, which are 76 genes that are associated with 27 conditions that are medically actionable,” notes Faucett. “We look at those genes and individual’s DNA, and if we see a change that we know is likely to cause a problem, in genetics we call it pathogenic, a report is shared with the participants physician.”

The physician informs the patient of the test result and genetic counselors are recommended who can explain what it means and discuss options. Genetic testing

can determine whether a patient is at risk for certain cancers and cardiovascular issues and more.

Faucett says there are really three main goals of the MyCode project. The first is to develop the bio bank to understand genetics better and see how diseases affect the general population. The second is to inform participants about their risk of disease, so they can make appropriate healthcare choices. The third is, says Faucett, is to make genetic testing part of standard care at some point in the future.

Faucett, who has been in the field of genomics for more than thirty years, is

If you are considering participating in the MyCode study, Faucett says everyone is important, whether you’re healthy or have a lot of health conditions, whether you are young or older. He says there is something to be learned from everyone, especially in the rare cases where someone has genetic changes and should have a disease, but they don’t. That could mean they have other genetic changes that are protective.

Those individuals can help develop new treatments. To ensure patient confidentiality, participants are identified only as a number in the research.

“In much of health care now,” Faucett observes, “We have to wait until you are sick, and then we basically try to help you deal with the symptoms. Hopefully with this, we will understand why it happens better, and we will be able to keep it from happening or slow it down, and treat it a whole lot better.”

For Patrice Molesevich, that was certainly the case. While there are some who say they don’t want to know this type of information, Patrice views it differently. Looking back, she says, “I was kind of relieved … here’s this genetic thing, I know I have it and now I can be proactive.” n

“Back in 2007, Geisinger realized genetics would play an important role in the future of health care.” very excited about the future of genetic testing. He says he can envision a day when we go to the doctor’s office for a physical and they say “let’s check your genes.” He is optimistic about discussions with some leading insurers about adding genetic testing to their health plans, but it will be evaluated further after all the research is completed.

He notes it is much less expensive to do this type of testing than to treat someone with ovarian cancer, but even more important than cost, you could save a life. “To me that’s invaluable.”

In many cases, there are no symptoms of these diseases until they are in an advanced stage. Faucett says, “Most surprising to us, half the people that have pathogenic changes don’t have the classic family history. We would not have picked them up through normal clinical testing, so we are giving back to the people helping with our research.”

Robin Stoloff has been a health reporter in South Jersey since 1986. She hosts and produces Living Well with Robin Stoloff on Lite Rock 96.9 WFPG in Atlantic City Sundays from 9-11 AM. She also hosts health television features on SNJ Today news on WACP in Atlantic City/Philadelphia market every Tuesday at 7 PM and 11 PM. Check out Robin’s video segments and health tips on Facebook at Health Update with Robin Stoloff. Contact her at livingwellwithrobin@gmail.com. njlifestyleonline.com

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MONEYWATCH

Is Your Financial Advisor a Fiduciary?

THE BEST WAY TO START A DISCUSSION about whether or not your financial advisor is a fiduciary is to first define, “What exactly is a fiduciary?” A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties. Not all investment professionals are fiduciaries. When an investment professional wishes to be a fiduciary, he or she has five major responsibilities when it comes to clients.

They are: 1. To put clients' interests first.

2. To act with utmost good faith.

3. To provide full and fair disclosure of all material facts including compensation.

4. Not to mislead clients.

5. To expose all conflicts of interest to clients.

Those responsibilities would seem like a given for someone who wants to manage someone else’s money. However, out of the more than 300,000 investment professionals in the United States today working under the title of “personal financial advisor” the vast majority are not operating under a fiduciary standard of care.

Instead, many of these professionals operate under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) “suitability standard.” An investment professional operating under FINRA is required to have a reasonable basis to believe a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities is suitable for the customer. In the past, these professionals were called brokers, because many of them worked for broker dealers and their main purpose was to facilitate the buying and selling of investment products.

Today, however, many of these brokerages call their professionals “financial advisors,” without taking on the additional liability of fiduciary care. This, at a minimum, causes market uncertainty because financial advisor sounds very similar to 28

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investment advisor. The difference between the two is substantial.

Financial advisors in many cases do not fall under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Investment Advisors Act of 1940 requires investment advisors to be held to a fiduciary standard of care.

By law, they must ensure they meet all five responsibilities listed above. All Registered Investment Advisors (RIA’s) are required to register with the SEC and be subject to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

At CRA Financial, as a registered investment advisor, we are fiduciaries to all of our clients regardless of how we interact with them. We do not try to avoid the fiduciary liability, rather we embrace it. Our clients take solace in the notion that as independent investment advisors we put clients’ interest ahead of our own, that the only compensation we ever receive is directly from them (and not from selling financial products) and that we insist in transparency across the entire relationship.

So, the next time you sit down with your financial advisor, ask them if they are a fiduciary. Ask them if they are a fiduciary in all aspects of your relationship. If they are a fiduciary, ask them to put that in writing. After all, anyone who falls under the fiduciary standard of care will have no problem putting those values in writing. n Tom Reynolds, CPA & Matt Reynolds CPA, CFP® Co-Managing Partners, CRA Financial Francis C. Thomas CPA, PFS, Investment Advisor Robert T. Martin, CFA, CFP®, Investment Advisor This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as the basis for an investment decision. Consult your financial adviser, as well as your tax and/or legal advisers, regarding your personal circumstances before making investment decisions.

Happy Holidays from Everyone at Betina’s!

Photos by Nicole Klym Photography

Betina’s at Parkview

European Flower Studio, Weddings and Events 622 S. New York Rd. • Galloway, NJ 08205 609.646.4119 • betinasatparkview.net

Best of The Knot since 2010

Season’s Greetings from AtlAntic ProfessionAl reAlty

The Most Recognized name in Real Estate

Samy Sabbagh, Broker/Owner

Medhat Zakhary

Corinna Haberkern

Andreea Delgadillo

Anjail Shabazz

David Lucca

Jose Uchillan

Kathleen O’Connor

Angela Roth

Harunor Bhuiyan

Dana Smith

Karen Kelley

Manny Branco

Jennifer Sutts

Derek Doernbach

Mary M. Michel

Madgy Atallah

508 New Jersey Avenue, Suite 2A • Absecon, NJ 08201 • 609-652-6000 Each office independently owned and operated

Lifestyle Travel

A Bastion of Hospitality

By DAN SCHLOSSBERG

A visit to the Culinary Institute of America will whet your appetite for holiday cheer Nothing makes a holiday more festive than a memorable meal. It’s even more enjoyable when that meal is prepared and served by Culinary Institute of America (CIA) students under the watchful eyes of experienced instructors.

A true winter wonderland that looks like a Saturday Evening Post painting by Norman Rockwell, the CIA is not just a single restaurant but a complex of buildings set on a scenic tract of land high above the Hudson River in Hyde Park. Narrated tours led by energetic student guides take guests past test kitchens where other students are learning to bake, fry, and prepare almost any edible creation — including some new ones.

After perusing a gift shop stocked with every imaginable kitchen gadget — not to mention books, smocks, knives, and chef hats — visitors can see students at work in the various restaurants as chefs, cooks, waiters, and hosts. The experience leaves the distinct impression that the Culinary Institute is a bastion of hospitality unlike any other place on the planet.

For the students, no job is too big or too small and no detail is overlooked. If a patron orders a pasta dish with no pepper, butter, or cheese, that request is granted — no matter how much consternation it might pose in the mind of the receiving chef.

Before earning that coveted CIA diploma, each of the nearly 3,000 students is not only required to work in the on-campus restaurants but to handle every job from cooking meals to busing tables.

For diners, the experience is definitely different — like spring training before the regular baseball season — and they don’t even have to tip! A 17% surcharge applied to each check feeds the CIA’s scholarship fund for aspiring but needy students.

Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY Photo courtesy of CIA

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Chefs outside of the main building

Because reservations become more difficult as the winter holidays approach, advance planning is essential for a trip to the venerable school. On the outside, it has the look and feel of a college campus. But it’s the inner layers that separate the Culinary Institute from other institutions of higher learning. Founded in New Haven in 1946, the school moved to its current site, a former Jesuit seminary, to accommodate growing demand. It currently has 41 teaching kitchens and bakeshops; seven demo kitchens; three culinary demonstration theaters; and a culinary library with 86,000 volumes, 4,500 DVDs, and 280 different periodicals. But the most important aspect of the CIA experience, after the students, is the veteran staff: 120 chefs and instructors from 16 different countries.

Passing muster with some of those master chefs is a considerable challenge.

The private, non-profit school has many celebrities among its 49,000 alumni.

Anthony Bourdain, the food-conscious host of CNN’s Parts Unknown; Cat Cora; and restaurateur Charlie Palmer are three of the more prominent.

On the Hyde Park campus alone, there are eight — count ‘em, eight — places to grab a bite, or maybe something much more. Although the Apple Pie is undergoing

Photo courtesy of the Culinary Institute of America

a facelift that will keep it shuttered until the spring, the choices are considerable: American Bounty, Bocuse, and Caterina de Medici feature American, French, and Italian fare, respectively. The school’s roster of restaurants also includes the Post Road Brew House, Gatehouse Restaurant, the Restaurant at CIA, and The Bakery Café

by Illy. Together, they serve some 330,000 patrons per annum. Many drive north from the Garden State.

Readers of New Jersey Lifestyle are fortunate that the biggest and best of the four CIA campuses (also San Antonio, Napa Valley, and Singapore) sits within driving distance. The pastoral 172-acre complex in Hudson in Hyde Park, New York, is better known as the home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

The best of the student-staffed restaurants are American Bounty, Bocuse, and Ristorante Caterine de Medici. When they’re not working, students often eat in a place called The Egg because of the oval steel sculpture at the front entrance.

Students strive to earn degrees in food business management, culinary sciences, applied food studies, and baking and pastry arts. Almost all land internships after graduation, while many go on to careers as chefs, sous chefs, bakers, cake designers,

dieticians, nutritionists, food and beverage directors, and — drum roll, please — chocolatiers.

More than a healthy handful have opened their own restaurants. Before graduation from the Culinary Institute, every student must design a “pop-up” restaurant — something that doesn’t yet exist. They’re graded on the theme and the food, so their designs must be as original as possible.

In Hyde Park, culinary skills matter more than gender: the current student body is almost evenly divided, with 52% male and 48% female. The man at the top, CIA president Tim Ryan, is the first Culinary Institute graduate (1977) to become its chief executive.

Founded by two Connecticut women hoping to help returning servicemen in 1946, the CIA assumed its present name in 1951 and New York location in 1972.

Its first student-staffed restaurant, the Epicurean Room, opened a year later. Three others opened in the early 1980s.

Although any meal in a CIA restaurant is invariably a blend of innovative recipes and superlative service, there are special events too. Le Reveillon, a traditional French holiday feast usually held on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, is held at Bocuse in midDecember, with Cassoulet, a beloved peasant njlifestyleonline.com

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At the CIA main building Photo by Dan Schlossberg

CIA student chefs Photo courtesy of CIA CIA student chefs and staff Photo courtesy of CIA

Specially prepared dish Photo courtesy of CIA CIA main campus Photo courtesy of CIA

LIFEST YLE TRAVEL dish, scheduled for February. But the coup de grace in 2018 will be the progressive dinner scheduled for June 2. Called the Moveable Feast, it features different courses in each of three CIA restaurants, plus sommelier-selected wines to accompany each offering. Musicians and singers will entertain as diners move from Bocuse to American Bounty and Caterina de Medici. The $150 price includes food, paired beverages, tax, and service charge.

Coming next October, the third annual Brew U at the CIA will give guests with VIP badges a chance to sample beer and food before the general public and also to meet the brewers and receive a complimentary gift bag. In addition, the CIA offers special programs for food and wine enthusiasts and professional development programs for food industry professionals.

It’s hardly surprising that several campus buildings have been built by hospitality giants: the Conrad N. Hilton Library, the Marriott Pavilion, the General Foods Nutrition Center, and the Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine. Roth Hall, the main building on the Hyde Park campus, is named for co-founder Frances Roth, the Connecticut attorney who wisely created and cultivated a world-class culinary school when none existed.

Unlike the typical American university with a myriad of schools and majors, the CIA’s students, faculty, and staff share a deep passion for food, from farm to table and beyond. Their dedication shows.

For further information, contact the Culinary Institute of America, 1946 Campus Drive, Hyde Park, NY 12538, (tel. 845-452-9600). n Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is travel editor of New Jersey Lifestyle and host of two weekly radio shows, Travel Itch Radio and Travel Tuesdays.

He is also the founder of the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA). His e.mail is ballauthor@ gmail.com.

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Experience Smithville in this Prestigious Neighborhood!

Welcome to one of Smithville’s most prestigious developments. This huge home boasts 5 full bedrooms, 1 of which is on the first floor, and the other 4 up, as well as 3 full baths. The 5th bedroom could also be used as an office if so desired. Family room has a sweeping 2 story ceiling with tons of windows allowing the room to be drenched in natural light, all centered around the gas fireplace as the focal point. The great room is adjacent and open to not only the catwalk above, but also the kitchen which is perfect for entertaining. The open kitchen has great appliances, an abundance of counter space, a great pantry and even offers an eat-in area. The sliding door in the kitchen leads to a gorgeous custom EP Henry paver patio and entertainment area. This area is lushly landscaped and offers so much beauty and tranquility. This corner lot proves to be larger than most lots opening up more possibilities. 1st floor also features a formal living room and dining room at the front foyer entrance area and are extremely inviting with their grand presence. The 2nd floor boasts 4 comfortably sized bedrooms with the master suite having a true grand presence. You will not be disappointed with this amazing area.

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Lifelines

One Size Fits All

THE GIFT EVERYONE WANTS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

BY MICHELLE DAWN MOONEY

Is it just me, or do the holidays seem to come earlier and earlier every year?

Obviously, that's not really the case, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas themed merchandise coming at us weeks, if not months before the celebration's actual calendar date, it sure does feel that way.

Don't get me wrong … I welcome the holiday season with open arms. Believe it or not, my Christmas shopping has been done for weeks now. Some of my friends are less than pleased to hear that, but I have to say I work pretty hard at it, and I start early ... real early. Truth be told, I've had a few gifts for 2018 before we even celebrated Christmas 2017. So, you get it. I love Christmas, and I LOVE finding really thoughtful gifts. Still, when it comes to finding the perfect present, the struggle is real.

If you've ever headed out to the stores and traversed aisle after aisle of beautifully-decorated holiday displays with hopes of getting in and out in a flash, only to find your brain turning to mush as you attempt to juggle countless names, ages and sizes in your head — I feel your pain. We sometimes put an incredible amount of pressure on ourselves when it comes to gift giving. On the flipside, there are those of us who have no problem with heading out the night before Christmas and 34

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picking up the first thing that comes into sight when the name of the giftee comes to mind (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Regardless of which side you find yourself on, I can pretty much guarantee that I have the perfect gift for any and every person on your wish list this year.

It's something everyone not only wants, but truly needs ... love. Wait. What? Yes, I know it sounds crazy and bizarre. How does one exactly give the gift of love?

Well, I'll tell you.

In the words of Maya Angelou,“ ... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

While many of us take part in the act of “doing” by giving out gifts, we need to remember that more important than the contents of those packages, is the love behind them.

Remember, it IS the thought that counts. Even the simplest of presents will be cherished if the person on the receiving end knows you truly had their best interest at heart. When you think back to some of your favorite gifts, they may not have been the most flashy or expensive, but they made YOU happy and you knew the gift giver put his or her time into making sure that happened. After all, time is our most treasured commodity.

Time in and of itself is a gift. What it lacks in tangibility, it makes up for with its precious value. Whether it's popping in for a visit, catching up over the phone, or even running an errand, giving your time can mean the world to someone who thinks the world of you.

The unfortunate truth is that the world we live in is a crazy one right now. Every day we turn on the news to see tragedies and heartbreak in our hometowns and communities across the country and around the world. All the more reason to be mindful of what truly matters this time of year; the joy and beauty behind these celebrations; and just how precious it is to love and be loved. Never assume that someone knows how much you love them. Never put off telling them. Better yet, show them. I promise you, THAT is a gift that no one will want to exchange.

Happy Holidays! n Michelle Dawn Mooney is a nationally-recognized author, as well as a tv and radio personality. She has co-hosted numerous radio morning shows and was the former long-time anchor for Atlantic City's NBC affiliate. Michelle is currently the lead anchor for SNJ Today, which airs M-F at 7 & 11 PM on Channels 4, 26 and HD 789. She is also the creator of the lifestyle brand "Middays with Michelle Dawn Mooney". Her variety show podcast and daily/weekly features, offering inspirational stories and helpful tips to promote positive living, can be found at michelledawnmooney.net.

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On Wheels

By ELAINE ROSE

Getting Rowdy THE ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE JEEP WRANGLER WILL LIVEN UP ANY HUMDRUM HOLIDAY JAUNT

IF YOU WANT AN SUV THAT OFFERS A QUIET RIDE, plenty of cargo space for your numerous possessions, and enough creature comforts to make you feel like you’re sitting on your living-room sofa and watching the scenery pass by, you can stop reading right now.

But if your weekend driving takes you along dirt roads and rough paths through the woodlands — or you have a job that requires you to be on the roads in whatever conditions Mother Nature decides to inflict on us this winter — the Jeep Wrangler may well be the answer to your prayers. Ditto if you’re a World War II buff who would love to ride around in a vehicle that resembles what your father or grandfather drove to the battlefield.

The Wrangler is the closest vehicle to the World War II icon on the civilian market. It is an indirect descendant — and some say it’s in the direct line — of that vintage motor warrior. Starting in the mid1940s, Kaiser-Jeep, and later American Motors Corporation, modified the military Willys MB for American roads, calling it the Jeep CJ. The Wrangler was introduced in 1986, and a year later, Chrysler bought out the much-maligned — and rightfully so — AMC. Wranglers for the North American market were manufactured in Brampton, Ontario until 1992, and since then in Toledo, Ohio. By the way, that’s the same plant where Ford assembled Jeeps for the war effort.

2018 Jeep® Wrangler JK Rubicon Recon

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“There are several vehicles wearing Jeep’s sacred logo, but to the faithful there is only one that matters, the vehicle in the ever-expanding family that most resembles the rugged no-frills, go-anywhere, doanything ethos of the World War II original,” Tony Swan wrote of the Wrangler for Car and Driver.

Some versions of the Wrangler, with modifications of course, are still made for military use. Most of these vehicles are manufactured in Asia.

The Wrangler is now in its third incarnation, having been redesigned in 1996 and again in 2007. A fourth generation is about to be unveiled for the 2018 model year. More on that later.

If you like what you see in the 2017 Wranglers, now is the time to grab one before they disappear from the showrooms. There are two body types, the two-door, four-seater and the four-door, five-seater Unlimited. The Wrangler has a paltry 12.8 cubic feet of storage in the rear, with 55.8 cubic feet if you fold down the back seat. Said seat does not split, but moves as a single unit. The Unlimited is a bit more generous, with 31.5 cubic feet of storage and 70.6 cubic feet with the 60-40 split rear seats folded. That’s still much less space than most SUVs offer.

All versions have Chrysler’s 3.6-liter Pentastar six-cylinder engine, with 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. The Wrangler

2018 Jeep® Wrangler JK Willys Wheeler Edition

Wrangler JK Willys Wheeler Edition

comes standard with six-speed manual transmission or optional five-speed automatic. The Environmental Protection Agency rates fuel economy at 17 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway.

The engine is “one of our favorites,” Scott Oldham wrote for Kelley Blue Book. “Its smooth power delivery makes easy work of highways or rock crawls, and it’s by far the best engine ever in a Wrangler.”

There is a mind-boggling number of trim lines on both models. The Wrangler starts with the stripped-down Sport, with a retail price of $23,995. “Stripped down” is an understatement, as it doesn’t even have air conditioning or power doors and windows. Move up the line to the Rubicon Recon at $39,145, and you get more of the modern conveniences that drivers have come to expect. The Unlimited also starts with the Sport model at a suggested $23,995 and goes up from there.

The trim lines are all about the options — such as tires, interior appointments, and infotainment system — not about the operation of the vehicle itself. So if you’ve decided to purchase a Wrangler, study the trim lines and choose the amenities that you deem necessary. Kelley Blue Book recommends springing for the higher-level Rubicon, which would be less expensive than adding options to the lower njlifestyleonline.com

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ON WHEELS

Wrangler JK Rubicon Recon

The Rubicon's interior

Wrangler JK Rubicon Recon, interior

trim lines.

There are several plusses to the Wrangler, even for city driving.

“Still true to its original concept after 75 years, the 2017 Jeep Wrangler continues to deliver exceptional off-road capability with everincreasing amounts of on-road civility in an affordable package,” Kelley Blue Book’s Oldham wrote. “Whether you’re headed for the hills for a weekend of dirty play, or just dropping the kids off at volleyball practice, the new Wrangler doesn’t just get you there, it makes it fun.”

It is a cool car, no doubt about it. The removable top — albeit with some difficulty, whether you take the standard soft top or optional hardtop — makes the Wrangler one of the cheapest convertibles you can buy. And the doors can also be removed, enhancing the feeling of being at one with nature. The flat windshield offers great visibility, and even folds down when you feel the need to lean forward for a better look at the terrain ahead. The instrument panel is basic, but the controls are all uncomplicated and within easy reach, reviewers say.

If your life circumstances change and you have to trade in your Wrangler for something more practical, there is even more good news.

This is one car that holds its value over time.

The Wrangler has received several Kelley Blue Book awards for resale value, and estimates it can be sold at about 60% of the MSRP after three years. The Street named the Wrangler the fourth-best 2017 vehicle for resale value, estimating it will be worth just over half the retail price after five years of use.

And if you do a lot of off-roading, no car is comparable.

“The Jeep has always been about go-anywhere capabilities, and its civilian ancestors have perpetuated and amplified that fundamental trait,” Swan wrote for Car and Driver. “Wrangler is a champ in terrain that would rip the guts out of lesser SUVs.” But there is a price to pay for that excitement.

As an Edmunds review put it, the Wrangler “makes very few compromises for comfort.” It’s a tough squeeze to get four adults into the two-door model, and you have to be pretty agile to climb into the rear seat. The Unlimited offers a little more back-seat room, but is still 38

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not spacious.

While it is unparalleled off-road, the Wrangler is not pleasant to drive in traffic. And it goes without saying that it isn’t comfortable for long-distance road trips. Interior appointments are practical, but far from plush. (But as one reviewer noted, if the inside gets dirty, you can unstop the drain plugs and hose it down.)

Motor Trend noted a slow steering response, which makes it difficult to change lanes quickly on the highway. The large tires create a lot of road noise, making conversation difficult.

Another major concern is safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not rated the Wrangler, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given it some of the lowest marks of any vehicle on the market — especially without the optional side airbags. Modern technological wonders such as a rearview camera and parking assist are notably absent. The Wrangler’s high center of gravity makes it potentially unstable at highway speeds, making it susceptible to rollovers. In other words, this vehicle may not be the best choice for parents of young children. Consumer Reports gives the Wrangler belowaverage marks in reliability, meaning more return trips to the dealer or your local mechanic.

But these drawbacks have not hampered the Wrangler’s popularity, which is steadily growing. The number sold in the United States has more than doubled from 89,174 in 1999 to 191,774 in 2016.

Which brings us to the changes in store for the next generation. The 2018 Wrangler was introduced November 29 at the Los Angeles Auto show — unfortunately after we went to press.

MSN News got a sneak-peak at some photos, and noted that horizontal running lights and turn signals will be mounted on the front fenders, replacing circular stuck-on lights. The windshield has been slightly slanted for better aerodynamics and making it easier to fold.

But by time you have this issue in your hands — and ready to write your wish list for Santa — the details will be better known. So head to your local dealer or the Jeep web site and decide whether you prefer the third- or fourth-generation Wrangler. The choice is yours. n

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Lifestyle Entertainment

By David J. Spatz

WHEN IT COMES TO PERFORMING, ACTRESS MEGAN CAVANAGH IS STILL HITTING IT OUT OF THE PARK

A League of Her Own

Megan Cavanagh as "Marla Hooch" in A League of Their Own. 40

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Unless you’re a complete movie nerd or someone who never forgets a name and a face, Megan Cavanagh probably doesn’t ring a bell with you.

It should.

She may not be an A-list actress, but Cavanagh played a small but somewhat significant part in a 1992 motion picture that’s literally in a league of its own.

The movie? A League of their Own. Cavanagh’s role? She played switch-hitting second baseman Marla Hooch, who — despite her prowess hitting a baseball from both sides of the plate — almost didn’t make the team because she didn’t exactly meet the beauty standards the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was looking for when it experimented with four all-female teams during World War II. The movie is a fictionalized, but accurate account of the period when many of Major League Baseball’s best players had been drafted or enlisted in the military and were shipped off to war. The girls league was formed by chewing gum magnate Philip Wrigley to provide Americans with a wellplayed but feminine version of the national pastime while the war was on.

Although she’s never stopped working in films or television since making her movie debut in League, Cavanagh has returned to the live stage. It’s the medium where her work helped her become recognized enough to receive offers for movies and television, and League is what got the career ball rolling for her.

For the past 14 years, she’s been starring in a touring version of the off-Broadway hit “Menopause The Musical” in the role of Earth Mother. It’s a part she loves, she says, and one she’ll never tire of because it’s just that much fun to do.

And it’s live, which is about as pure as any acting job can be. While movies and television tend to pay better, most performers who started out on the stage will tell you nothing tops the adrenalin rush of performing in front of a live audience, where there’s no safety net to bail an actor out of an artistic "oops" moment.

Photo top left: Baseball scout "Ernie Capadino" (played by Jon Lovitz), "Marla Hooch" (Megan Cavanagh), "Dottie Hinson" (Geena Davis) and "Kit Keller" (played

by Lori Petty) in A League of Their Own. 3 remaining photos from Menopause The Musical, which Cavanagh has starred in for 14 years. They were recently at the Levoy Theater in Millville.

There’s no director to yell “cut” when someone screws up a live show. It’s the cast that has to invent a way, on the spot, to recover from the mistake. But that’s what draws Cavanagh back to the boards.

“It’s the immediacy of it, it’s the live audience, it’s all the things that can go wrong and knowing how to handle it,” she says during a chat prior to starring in “Menopause” at the Levoy Theater in Millville.

“I just love all of that,” she adds. “I’m improvisationally trained, so that kind of stuff is great for me. Put it this way: it doesn’t make my palms sweat.”

“Menopause” is essentially a musical revue with a funny story behind it about women and how they handle the change of life. The show’s score is parodies of hit songs from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

“For instance, ‘Chain of Fools’ (becomes) ‘Change of Life,’ ‘Night Fever’ becomes ‘Night Sweatin’, ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ is ‘My Husband Sleeps At Night,’” she says. “It’s so much fun to do that show.

However, even if she does the musical stage comedy for another 14 years — or even 140 years — audiences aren’t likely to forget the one role that she’s best known for and the one that really launched her acting career, even though she’d already been a working actress for about 10 years.

A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall, was already loaded with an ensemble cast of stars including Tom Hanks, Madonna, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, and Jon Lovitz when Cavanagh was drafted for the show.

Cavanagh had some baseball experience because she grew up near Chicago, where the

locals played something called Melon Ball, which came by its name naturally. The game used a big 16-inch softball and no gloves were needed.

So she became the throwing and catching partner of a friend who’d been asked to audition for League. Cavanagh accompanied her friend to the try out and was told to stay on the field as much as possible.

Even though she wasn’t trying for a part, director Penny Marshall knew talent when she saw it. Cavanagh — who had already spent a lot of time learning how to hit a real baseball and not a big soft Melon Ball — was literally picked out of left field and cast as hard-hitting Marla Hooch.

That was just over 25 years ago. But Cavanagh remembers it like it was yesterday.

Once she got the part, though, she had to film an early scene in which her character was trying out for a spot on one of the girls’ baseball teams.

“They raced me to the set with a police escort, and when I got there Penny (Marshall) says, ‘Okay, we’re gonna use your (stunt) double,’” Cavanagh says, doing a very good impression of Marshall.

Cavanagh knew this was her movie debut, and she knew it probably wasn’t a good idea for a rookie to suggest a change to a director of Marshall’s stature. But after all the work she’d put in learning how to hit a real baseball — and to learn it as a switch hitter — she wasn’t going to let her stunt double shoot the scene.

“I told her, ‘Penny, I’ve been working so hard (at hitting), you’ve gotta give me a chance,’” Cavanagh remembers. “And she said, ‘Alright.

But you’d better hit every ball.’”

So the next time you watch A League of Their Own and see the scene where her character,

Marla Hooch, was crushing the ball inside a basketball court and putting balls through windows and out onto a rainy street, just remember that was all Cavanagh. Her pinch hitter sat on the bench.

“I did hit every ball, just like (Marshall) asked,” Cavanagh says proudly and with a light laugh.

What made the part of Marla Hooch somewhat significant — especially to women — is that the baseball scout (played by Jon Lovitz) who discovered her nearly left her behind because she wasn’t as pretty as the other women who’d made the team.

Yet halfway through the season, the team’s most unattractive player met and fell in love with a man she met with her teammates at a roadside bar. Before Hooch’s team made it to the World Series, “ugly” Marla Hooch got married and left the team.

Cavanagh says she still keeps in touch with many of her teammates on the Rockford Peaches, the team she played for in League. She speaks with Tracey Reiner, who played “Betty Spaghetti,” Ann Cusack, who played “Shirley Baker,” the girl who couldn’t read, and Bitty Schram (right fielder Evelyn Gardner), whose tears after a muffed play prompted a strong rebuke from team manager Jimmy Duggan (Tom Hanks).

His character, an ex-ballplayer-turned-drunk, reminded the teary-eyed player that “there’s no crying in baseball.”

“I see Geena (Davis) every so often, because she had us all out for a reunion,” Cavanagh says.

“This year is the 25th anniversary of League.

(Davis) has a film festival in Arkansas, and she invited us all. We went, we played a game, and I got two hits. It’s been 25 years, but I still got two hits.” n njlifestyleonline.com

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Chasing Perfection

Lifestyle Art

By BETH WADE

A local artist with time, talent and tools creates wooden wonders

Solitude Kathy

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IF THE ROYAL DAULTON CHINA DISPLAYED IN DON KEESEY’S dining room could talk, it might clear its throat and, in a British accent, proclaim a dignified “ahem.”

Those dishes — well, nobody’s paying a bit of attention to them. Not here in this setting. The china has to compete with Keesey’s hobby, which is building wooden sculptures. And, for the time being, his dining room is where the finished ones wait to be delivered to galleries. There’s a pair of sculptures on top of the china hutch, a dozen on the cherry wood table (the table can’t be happy about this, either) and more on the floor.

Penny, his wife, doesn’t complain.

And so, the female forms that now share space in their Voorhees home are sort of temporary guests. Some of them have names. There’s Diane, who is lying down on her side, propped by a bent arm. Solitude is sitting with her knees pulled to her chest. Summer is reclining on her back, seemingly sunning with one leg extended. And there are others, all women. No men in the collection.

Each one started out not so far from the dining room. Keesey has a basement woodshop where he works with a lifetime’s collection of tools.

Each and every part of the sculpture — there are 40 to 130 pieces per sculpture — is traced, cut, numbered, and sanded. Some are stained. The pieces are stacked and attached with adhesive to form elegant arms, bent knees and the rest of the biology to reveal the female form. For some, this slow, time-consuming process (about 40 to 60 hours per sculpture) might be mind-boggling, but not for Keesey. Creating art is what this retired engineer chooses to do in his downtime.

A thick, white binder with sketches, measurements and detailed notes

Joy

contains detailed plans for each sculpture.

An engineer friend introduced the concept.

Today, Keesey guards these plans like an international spy’s secret. He holds his work so closely that there is no website to view the sculptures (no copycats!). If a person wants to own one, a buyer would have to contact Don or go to one of the galleries that carry his work: Noyes Art Garage, Atlantic City; Wildflowers Gallery, Barnegat Light; Veranda Fine Art & Gift Gallery, Fairhaven, NJ; New Hope Gallery, PA; Gallery of Sculpture, FL. The sculptures are made mainly of three woods, oak, poplar or birch. In most of his sculptures, Keesey works with a variety of this trio, which adds visual interest and depth. But recently, he began to build a few uniform models with all the same wood, which was a special request made by one particular gallery owner. He plans to begin working with redwood next because he’s been asked to make sculptures that can be placed outdoors.

In all, Keesey makes 17 different sculptures; and each one can be done in three different sizes; his sculptures measure from 10 inches to 4 feet in height. He admits he is partial to one — it’s the model called Modesty, who is covering up private parts with strategic placement of her arms and hands. She and another favorite, Solitude, are among the top sellers, according to Keesey.

Some sculptures — because of their

position — are entirely vertically stacked, which is the hardest, he says, because of the way they must be clamped. Small sections of the sculptures are set with an adhesive, then those sections are joined together.

In others, there’s a combination of horizontal and vertical stacking. He says these models are easier to assemble and clamp (literally, he often uses c-clamps to hold pieces in place while the adhesive dries).

Over time, he’s gotten better at setting the wood in place, though, once in a while, the wood shifts or slips and he has to re-set a section. The hardest body part to create, Keesey said — and this may be somewhat surprising — is the arm. He says the contour of the arm, and making it look natural, is the biggest challenge for him. “My wife says I’m a perfectionist,” says Keesey, “But I’m only halfway there.”

Keesey says most people would describe him as a quiet person, except when discussing his hobbies. That seems true given the ease with which he shares anecdotes, including a few gems about his father, a high school woodworking teacher, who, except for once, refused to give his son an A. He wanted to avoid the appearance of favoritism, Keesey recalls. Once when he showed his father one of the sculptures, his father famously pointed at a detail and suggested to Keesey, “You forgot a piece.”

Keesey’s appreciation for woodworking

extends to his son as well. Together they worked on many projects including a 38 foot 1929 mahogany wooden boat which he refinished over the period of a decade. The work included custom cabinetry.

In all his memory, Keesey said he cannot remember a time when he didn’t enjoy working with tools or feeling satisfied by fixing something that was broken. It just came natural to him.

Wood is his preferred medium. For the past 4 years, he’s been working on these particular sculptures, which are, in a way, a study in deconstruction. It’s not as though Keesey whittled or carved something, cut it up and later reassembled it with the pieces a bit askew. Not at all. Each piece of wood has its own definition, shape and color.

The way the pieces are concentrically layered and stacked is strikingly similar to age rings found in a tree trunk. And, over and over in recent memory the human body has — whether in animation or storybooks — been ascribed human features. Our arms and legs are, well, rather naturally sort of branch-like. Keesey himself might agree on these points sincerely, or just to be nice.

Either way (and deep, over-analytical thoughts aside) Keesey feels good doing the work and making his art. He is not the least concerned about the crowded situation in his dining room and, certainly not about that — ahem — “other” art in the room.

Don Keesey can be reached at 856-520-0578. n njlifestyleonline.com

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Lifestyle Opinion

Holiday Surprises THE IMPLICATIONS OF DECISION 2017 CANNOT BE OVERSTATED

By Harry Hurley Op-Ed Contributor

WELCOME TO OUR HOLIDAY EDITION, WITH A POLITICAL TWIST. New Jersey has a brand new Governor, Phil Murphy. This is the first time in history that we have to hope and pray that our new state's chief executive officer will not keep his campaign promises. Fortunately, almost every elected official immediately begins the process of not fulfilling campaign pledges. In Governor Murphy's case this is essential for the overall health of our state.

This is because Murphy has promised to raise taxes and various user fees by billions of dollars.

Additionally, Murphy has promised to make the state of New Jersey a Sanctuary State. No elected official in American history has ever made such an outrageous promise.

Here's another Holiday surprise, Murphy and the Democratic Legislature will most likely approve legal recreational use of marijuana. The decriminalization regarding the use of small amounts is one thing. Making it legal as a matter of law is altogether different.

Former Governor Chris Christie has been regularly trashed for a variety of things, most of them untrue. As the Democrats now have control of all three branches of government, it won't take long for Christie to be missed. Former Governor Christie was a very important “check” so that massive tax increases and extravagant spending could be kept in balance.

STATE SENATE - DISTRICT 1 Senator Jeff Van Drew swept to a landslide victory, earning his widest margin of election of his entire career. Van Drew will now immediately have to pivot and decide whether now is the time (2018) to run for the open House of Representatives seat, with the retirement of 12term Congressman Frank LoBiondo, R-2.

The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and many others want Van Drew to do it. In my view, Van Drew is the best Democrat and the front-runner at this time. Former Republican Assemblyman Vince Polistina may be interested, along with former United States Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN FRANK LoBIONDO, R-2 2018 will be a busy year for retiring 44

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Congressman LoBiondo. He plans to finish the final year of his term. Without LoBiondo, this seat may favor a Democrat. In the era of “Drain the Swamp,” “The Baby may have just gone out with the bath water.”

STATE SENATE - DISTRICT 2 Assemblyman Chris Brown is now Senator-elect.

This was one of the most consequential elections in Atlantic County history. For the past decade, the late Senator Jim Whelan and Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo have worked feverishly against the best interests of Atlantic County. They worked against Atlantic County in the effort to keep casino approval coming to North Jersey.

On the other hand, Brown's support in leading the campaign to defeat the ballot question of 2016 cannot be overstated. Even members of Brown's own party thought that he was taking on an unwinnable mission. They considered the approval of casinos in North Jersey to be inevitable.

Brown refused to throw in the towel and he directed a winning campaign that led to a massive victory for Atlantic City and Atlantic County. There is no doubt that had the ballot question passed, Hard Rock Casino would not be opening in Atlantic City this Memorial Day weekend. They were all set to open up shop at The Meadowlands.

Brown's tenacity and the leadership of Resorts Casino Hotel's Morris Bailey (owner) and Mark Giannantonio (president), led to this fabulous result for all of Southern New Jersey. Defeating the North Jersey casino ballot question will lead to thousands of jobs being created in Atlantic City this year. The fate that Atlantic City would have faced would have been the closure of two more casinos.

STOCKTON UNIVERSITY IN ATLANTIC CITY Thanks to the funding made possible by Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, a massive Stockton University campus is set to open in Atlantic City. This will make Atlantic City a “college town.” It will generate jobs, commerce, and other tangible and intangible benefits.

Stockton University will make a payment in lieu of taxes, so the Atlantic City tax ratable base will be favorably impacted.

Dr. Harvey Kesselman, President and Chief Executive Officer, has been an outstanding overall leader. He has fixed some very significant issues since taking over the reins at Stockton University. Without Kesselman selling the former Showboat Casino Hotel to developer Bart Blatstein, Stockton University would have been crippled by exorbitant monthly carrying costs while they owned the Showboat.

Kesselman expertly handled the process of removing this costly investment off of the Stockton balance sheet. It was a disastrous decision made by Kesselman's predecessor, Dr. Herman Saatkamp.

STATE SENATE - DISTRICT 3 New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney fought-off a legitimate challenge from Republican challenger Fran Grenier. Sweeney had to also defeat the New Jersey Education Association, which wasted millions of their union members dollars in a failed effort to unseat Sweeney.

Sweeney will also remain Senate President in 2018. The Grenier challenge proved to be very helpful for Senator Brown in District 2, because it kept more than $2 million that would normally have funneled-in from taking place.

Sweeney needed the money to win re-election to his own seat.

CRAIG CALLAWAY - NOT ON THE BALLOT Craig Callaway is the former Atlantic City Council President and candidate for Mayor.

Callaway spent more than 40 months at Southwoods State Prison for bribery when he admitted to taking $36,000 in August 2006.

Callaway was released from prison on September 22, 2010 and immediately went to work on jump-starting his once vaunted political operation. After delivering minimal results for several years, in 2017 Callaway took his vote-bymail machine to the next level.

In my view, Callaway is directly responsible for the election of multiple candidates of both political parties this past November 7, 2017.

Callaway had a major role in State Senate, Assembly, Sheriff, Freeholder at Large, Atlantic City Mayor and three at Large Atlantic City Council seats.

In the General Election of 2017, Callaway

may have had more impact than any one single person not on the ballot in Atlantic County history. Callaway's impact was felt in Atlantic City, Pleasantville, and all at large races in District 2/ Atlantic County.

FORMER ATLANTIC CITY MAYOR DON GUARDIAN Don Guardian is now the former Mayor of Atlantic City because of Craig Callaway. In 2013, Mayor Don Guardian defeated then long-time incumbent Mayor Lorenzo Langford by less than 200 votes. There is no doubt that the Callaway political organization delivered the margin of victory with a massive Voteby-Mail campaign.

NEW ATLANTIC CITY MAYOR FRANK GILLIAM, JR. Gilliam had been a two-term Atlantic City Councilman at Large. He risked a safe seat to take-on incumbent Guardian. First, Gilliam had to defeat Council President Marty Small in the June 2017 Primary Election.

Small won at the polls, however, Gilliam won the Democratic Nomination, powered by the Callaway Vote-by-Mail campaign. Ironically, it was the only election of Small's career where he did not have Callaway's support; otherwise Small would be the Mayor right now.

NEW ATLANTIC COUNTY SHERIFF In a 51-49% squeaker, former Atlantic City Police Officer Eric Scheffler defeated Somers Point Mayor Jack Glasser for this Constitutional office.

NEW CAPE MAY COUNTY SHERIFF There's a new Sheriff in town: Robert Nolan is the new Cape May County Sheriff. In a bizarre first-of-itskind, he had to beat his same opponent twice in one election season in order to become Sheriff.

Nolan defeated Richard Harron in the June 2017 Republican Primary Election. Harron switched political parties after losing, and the Democrats made him their Nominee for the General Election. Nolan won by only a few hundred votes out of more than 25,000 cast.

It was a very favorable General Election day for the Democratic Party in Atlantic and Cape May Counties, as well as around the entire state. With almost no break, the critical mid-term national election season is about to begin. Control of the Senate and House are on the line. n Harry Hurley is the president of Harry Hurley Consulting and Communications, LLC. He hosts the daily talk radio program "Hurley in the Morning" 6-10 AM weekdays on Townsquare Media, WPG Talk Radio 1450, where he also serves as the senior programming consultant, www. harryhurley.com. njlifestyleonline.com

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The Social Scene

Holy Spirit High School’s Partners in Giving Event a Success On November 8th, a kickoff reception was held to celebrate Holy Spirit High School’s (HSHS) new Partners in Giving Campaign, hosted by Tom Reynolds, HSHS Board of Trustees Chairman.

Father Perry delivered a State-of-the-School

Holy Spirit High School award-winning music students

From left to right, Mike Reynolds, Maria Galiano and Allison Gandolfi Adams

From left to right, Lori Dalzell, Bob Reynolds and James Dalzell 46

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address and a vision depicting a promising future — focusing on increased student tuition assistance and campus multiple improvements, including a refurbished gymnasium and solar energy conversion project.

Catering provided by Nobil Caterers

Left to right, Maureen Previti, Dr. Frank Previti and Tom Reynolds, HSHS Board of Trustees Chairman

Photos by Eric Weeks

From left to right, Michael Reynolds, Anthony Panetta, Jessica Fricano and Patrick D’Arcy

L to R, Mike Reynolds, Carolyn McHale, Jane Reynolds, Alexa McDonald, Debbie McDonald and Ray McDonald

From left to right, Bob Reynolds Jr. with From left to right, Diane Kresz, HSHS Joe and Kelli Barrett School President Father Perry Cherubini and Tom Reynolds

The Social Scene

MBCA Honors Tropicana at Annual Awards Gala The Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association (MBCA) held its 26th Annual Installation/Awards Gala Reception in October at Tropicana Casino & Hotel. Over 900 people were in attendance, included leading community/business, union leaders, as well as political and social dignitaries. Special guest Miss America 2018, Ms. Cara Mund, welcomed

Boogie Nights characters with bronze sponsor and new MBCA members Ancero

The MBCA Board of Directors

Photos by Nicholas & Partners

guests and the lively entertainment was provided by Boogie Nights.

Atlantic City mayor Don Guardian was the Installing Officer of the 2018 MBCA Board, and the “2017 MBCA Community Spirit Award” was given to Tropicana Atlantic City for their commitment to the community, expansion of businesses and their charitable contributions.

Carpenter's Local #255 (bronze sponsors) with Gary Hill, Community Relations

Miss America 2018 Cara Mund with Father Jon Thomas, the AC Day Nursery Board and Chris Ficiello

L to R, Ken Calemmo, Miss America 2018 Cara Mund, Steve Callender, (GM) Tropicana and Mayor Guardian

Carolyn Slade Harden, Ms. Senior America (left) and Joanna Santori, Pageant Director

Knowledge Shared at AtlantiCare’s Young Professionals Breakfast Lori Herndon, president and CEO, AtlantiCare, discussed work/life balance, business and career strategies during an AtlantiCare’s Young Professionals (AtlantiCare YP) professional development breakfast on

Lori Herndon talks with Stockton students and other young professionals

October 27 at The Carriage House in Galloway. Approximately 150 people attended the event. Icon Hospitality covered registration costs for students from Stockton University to attend.

Students pose with Ronald L. Caplan, P.h.D

Lori Herndon, president and CEO, AtlantiCare, poses with event attendees njlifestyleonline.com

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Lifestyle Celebrations

A tête-à-tête with Ajay Chaudhry, the face of the most unique events and innovative Asian culinary in America Food, culture, fashion, education, knowledge should know no boundaries and must travel irrespective of race, color and country.

By Bill Henry

The time has come when the South Asian cuisine has to travel out of the secret home kitchens and go global. In a conversation with Ajay Chaudhry of Chand Palace, whose art of creating unique events with a special focus on the presentation of culinary, has been appreciated time and again by the media and he’s also been awarded for the same, and more recently by none other than Sanjeev Kapoor, the face of Indian cuisine. We hear stories of what Ajay is doing but got very curious to understand that when the Indian cuisine is available through Indian restaurants all around the world, there are even ‘ready to eat foods’ available in the Indian stores in many parts of the world, then how can he say that the cuisine is not global. And there he goes.

“It’s not about availability,” says Ajay. “Allow me to ask you if you can make an Enchilada at home? Or do you or anyone in your family at least have a basic idea of how to make one?” I responded by saying yes. So Ajay further questions me, by asking if I can make a chicken burger at home? I said yes. And then he opens the secret. He asks, “Can you make Dal Makhani or Chicken Tikka masala at home? Or can a cook who is not Indian can make it?” No, I say.

“But an Indian chef knows how to make a burger or how to make a Pasta,” he says. “Because, these are global foods. They are not confined inside home kitchens or some secret kitchen. In that sense the Indian cuisine has to now come out of the kitchen 48

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and become a household cuisine around the world.

Like any other cuisine it has to start creating jobs internationally. Not just for Asians, for anyone who’s interested to cook. Chefs who come from any background or expertise should be able to cook at least the basic few dishes of Asian cuisine. Not just for people of Asian origin, but for everyone. And the taste has to be made acceptable. And finally, few of the popular dishes should be an option to be part of any menu for any event in any part of the world,” Ajay explains.

He adds that Global does not just mean the availability. It also means that a cuisine has to be standardized to the extent that it can be prepared by any chef or person at home, even those who know only the basics of how to cook. Until this happens, the cuisine remains regional or national.

But we wonder can that happen with Indian cuisine?

Indian cuisine is so diversified that every state in India has its own cuisine, and there are not just hundreds, but thousands of dishes in India. Ajay adds that to make a cuisine global, you don’t have to standardize and make every dish popular. You can’t do that. Just do the ten most popular dishes. “When you think of making Chinese at home, you think of chili chicken. But Chinese is a vast cuisine it’s not just chili chicken. When you think of Mexican, you make an enchilada at home. But Mexican is not just Enchilada, it’s much more. Frijoles is a common dish

eaten in Mexican homes but it’s not globally popular.

Enchiladas are because they have a taste which suits every palate,” adds Ajay.

Ajay continues to explain that the secret ingredient that makes Indian food truly Indian is the generous use of signature spices. “From ancient times of the maharaja’s, spices have added unforgettable flavors and life to Indian cuisine. It’s no wonder that many a nobleman has travelled the seven seas to get a taste. So Chefs will always have a role to play as regards to their skill as Indian cuisine involves usage of at least 25 spices.”

But at least 10 dishes from the cuisine which have an acceptable taste at the global level can be standardized. And he comes out with a bold statement. “I am against any chef who keeps the recipe a secret. In any case when it comes to cooking, chefs will have the final word as it’s a specialized job and some amount of expertise or skill will always have to be applied to make a dish different from the other chef. Dishes like enchiladas and burgers, people don’t even know where they come from!

Because these are no longer dishes of their native country, they are global.

“So, like any other international product, the cuisine has to become globally popular so that people just have it everywhere in the world and forget where it originated. And why should anyone ask? Because delicious food just has to be delicious. Enjoy it and appreciate it,” says Ajay.

“Food, culture, fashion, education, knowledge should know no boundaries and should travel irrespective. So in that sense, I, as part of the hospitality industry, want to make sure that wherever we go and have to serve Asian cuisine, we do not look for Asian cooks. We just hire the local labor and train them to make those 10 signature dishes of Asian cuisine. The process has already started at our new location, Martinsville Gardens. Neither the recipes are a secret, nor the cooks. Anyone can be properly trained to cook,” Ajay concludes.

We agree with Ajay. There’s a lot to be done to make this cuisine ‘Global’ and Ajay is doing his bit by training locally available manpower. n

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RESTAURANT REPORT

Buddakan dining room

Simply Crave-worthy RESTAURATEUR STEPHEN STARR’S ATLANTIC CITY OFFERINGS ARE UTTERLY DIVINE, TIMES TWO

By Alyson Boxman Levine THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS can be a tricky concept. Some say it’s all about the location. Other industry experts claim the service, environment, and quality of food are the key factors for success. Well, with over a decade of prosperity in the local market, restauranteur Stephen Starr’s two Atlantic City eateries — Buddakan and the Continental — seem to have mastered that elusive concept with ease.

For a taste of Philadelphia — without battling traffic and parking wars — these two diverse establishments will quench your thirst for a big city experience. Starr’s successful restaurants are housed in the Playground Pier at Caesars, and if you haven’t already been there, it’s a must-visit for the holiday season. Featuring a 400-foot wraparound 50

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boardwalk atop a fabricated beachscape — with windows that provide panoramic views of the actual beach and ocean outside — the location is truly breathtaking. The magnificent promenade leads to the restaurants’ entrances, while luxury retailers are located on the lower levels.

Presenting their guests two very different, yet topnotch, experiences, the attention to detail and urban deliciousness can equally be found at both venues. A master of ultra-chic concepts and sensational interior design, Starr brought Philadelphia and New York's restaurant culture to Atlantic City, and in doing so, has elevated the local dining scene to exciting new heights.

This shorepoint outpost of the acclaimed Buddakan magically

Buddakan's King Salmon

Buddakan's Oxtail Dumplings

transports guests to an ancient village, where serene rock gardens, hand-woven thatched roofs, and a ceiling that mimics a twinkling twilight sky usher in travelers from near and far. Lorded over by a magnificent glowing Buddha, the dining room is the perfect setting for exploring a Modern Asian menu that marries daring influences from East, West, and beyond.

The rich cooking traditions of China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea come together in the kitchen — expertly prepared by Executive Chef Kris Neff and his team — pleasing palates with innovative cooking that excites and inspires. Whether you’re craving a cutting-edge Asian-influenced cocktail or a dramatic meal, Buddakan will help you escape halfway across the globe — if only for an evening. Their diverse menu features: Crispy Calamari Salad with Bitter Greens and Miso Dressing; Spicy Rock Shrimp Bao Buns with Pickled Slaw and Jalapeño; Grilled Lamb Chops with Chinese Eggplant, Garlic Sauce and Thai Basil Pesto; and Char Grilled Aged Beef with Szechuan Fries and Watercress Salad.

Executive Chef Kris Neff, a native of Beachwood, New Jersey, graduated at the top of his class from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Chef Neff went on to work at a number of restaurants,

including the famed Pine Valley Country Club and Matisse restaurant, where he took root and earned the position of Executive Chef. During his time leading the restaurant, he received many accolades, including a well-deserved acknowledgment by The Asbury Park Press as “Lion at the Gate: Best Up-and-Coming Young Chef at the Jersey Shore.” Neff also led Matisse to win several awards, including “Best Brunch” at the Jersey Shore by Asbury Park Press.

As Buddakan’s Executive Chef, he works to hold the high standard that Starr Restaurants represent. A pure passion for food, drive for creativity, and pride in his work are Chef Kris’s trademarks.

If James Bond were to visit Atlantic City, he would definitely be found at the bar of the Continental, sitting with a beautiful woman, and enjoy a classic martini, shaken, not stirred. The hip, modern ambiance of this popular restaurant make it a must-visit when in Atlantic City… it’s the ideal place to meet for drinks and stay for dinner.

A playful mix of vintage elegance and vanguard sophistication, Atlantic City’s Continental invokes the fun-loving attitude of the golden-age Las Vegas strip; the days when the Rat Pack ruled the roost and revelers ate and drank with celebratory abandon. Cutting

Buddakan's Spicy Rock Shrimp Bao Buns

Buddakan's Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon

R E STAU R A N T R E P O R T a quirky, high-energy approach to design with atmospheric touches that truly set the mood, the space is the perfect showcase for international cuisine without borders, and fun-loving cocktails that pack just the right amount of punch.

Executive Chef Erica Gant and her well-trained staff prepares the contemporary menu, featuring: Grilled Thai Chicken Skewers with Jasmine Rice and Peanut Sauce; Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Blue Cheese Crema; Seared Tuna with Mushroom Risotto and Sweet Soy; and the popular Continental Salad, with Chopped Vegetables, Feta, and Herb Vinaigrette.

A native of Salem County, New Jersey, Erica Gant began her culinary career working as a Garde Manger cook and moved up to the hot line at The Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster, New Jersey. A graduate of Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Gant went on to work in a number of renowned restaurants, such as Bobby Flay Atlantic City — where she was the only female at the time to work the grill and broiler station — and was later promoted to Sous Chef. She went on to help open the restaurant Dos Caminos Atlantic City, and shortly

after decided to join STARR restaurants. Gant started as a Sous Chef at Continental Atlantic City and eventually became Executive Sous Chef for both Continental and Buddakan. In January 2016, she became the Executive Chef for Continental.

Founded in 1995 by Stephen Starr, Philadelphia-based STARR Restaurants is one of the largest multi-concept restaurant groups in the country. With 34 total properties in six markets, STARR continues to lead the pack in merging culinary artistry with cutting-edge design, so much so that in 2017, Starr took home the “Outstanding Restaurateur” award from the James Beard Foundation.

This holiday season, visit a Stephen Starr restaurant and experience the sheer embodiment of restaurant success. Whether you decide on Buddakan or the Continental, or both, your meal will be filled with impeccable service, outstanding food, and eye-catching ambiance. These two Atlantic City gems expertly pair atmospheric drama with daring, delicious cuisine; and we have Stephen Starr to thank for that, and applaud him on his decision to take a gamble on Atlantic City. n

Continental's Crispy Calamari Salad

Continental's Cheesesteak Eggroll Continental's Huevos Rancheros

The elegant Dining area

Continental's Chicken & Waffles

Lifestyle Cooking With Chef Will Savarese

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let it Snow

Some kitchen advice, and a delicious recipe to enjoy during the holiday season

I

'm sure there are people out there saying, “What is he talking about? I want my summer back, it was too short! I didn't get to do this or that, and my tan is fading.” As we approach the winter months, also comes with it is the Holiday Season. I, for one, will be looking at the upcoming holidays through glasses that are half shaded.

As many of you know, my father passed away this past year, so the holidays will be especially hard on Mom; it’s our first without Dad. I'm sure there will be tears, but there will also be more belly laughs over everything else. You see, we still have the greatest thing of all; our memories. We can remember all the good times, the trips, and countless dinners we shared. These memories are priceless. It’s something I wouldn't change.

Yes, my wife Patti and I have made many sacrifices, but there is no other way we would have wanted it. If we had to, we would do it all over again, because we have memories that will last a lifetime. That may sound corny, but it’s so true. And we plan on making many more new memories, and we will include Mom always with us. Just this past year, we all went to Tuscany and had a fabulous time.

In my house growing up, I remember the holidays being a lot of work; adding more stress to our lives. It was always a lot for Mom to handle and juggle. You see, Mom was never a stay-at-home Mom; I don't even know if that exists anymore. So, finding the time in the daily routine — of making breakfast for the family, packing lunches, working all day to come home to put a full meal on the table — was hard enough. Somehow though, Mom always did it and never

complained. I respect her for all the hard work she did on a daily basis.

With my cooking background, I really don't mind cooking for the holidays at home. Some people would say, “How can you cook now at home? You've been cooking all day.” I really don't mind. A big reason for that is I am very organized. From shopping lists to organized cooking, I strive to keep everything in an order. I also set up my cutting board in a way to eliminate steps. I have a garbage can nearby, and have most of my ingredients right there in front of me. I then prep all of my vegetables so I'm not wasting time going back and forth. Lastly, I work with the protein; this is my general rule.

As we go forward, we celebrate all kinds of things, from birthdays, Christmas, and Hanukkah. I need to give a shout out to Mr. Milo who just had his 9th birthday. In dog years (if you Google it) he's now 56; he finally passed me by a year. As the wind picks up, especially in Brigantine, I'm looking forward to some snow. I know Milo loves the cold and snow, but I’m not too sure about Kelsey, my rescue dog.

Currently, I'm looking at a new place to live in Brigantine, which will accommodate my wife, myself, my doggies, and my Mom. I told Mom she will always be welcome. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in our lives. Life is short, we need to make the best of every moment. So with the upcoming holidays, my kitchen advice is to be organized, and try new things. If it doesn't turn out quite right, so be it. Go with the flow… no one is really going to know but you. Just don't sweat it; it's the holidays. Enjoy your family and life. You only get one go around … make it the best! n

My take on Chicken Scarpariello Ingredients: 8 chicken thighs 4 Italian sweet sausage with fennel 15 cloves of garlic, crushed 2 white onions, sliced 1 red onion, sliced 1 red pepper, seeded and sliced 1 green pepper, seeded and sliced Asparagus, rinsed and cut into thirds Fresh oregano, to taste Fresh Italian Parsley (flat leaf) 2 pcs scallions White wine to deglaze, 4 oz.

Chicken stock, 6 oz.

1-2 lemons, juice, to taste 2 TBSP sweet butter

Instructions:

Cook sausage, then hold on the side, you will be slicing it as well. Trim chicken of excess fat, season with salt and pepper, pepper flakes, and a touch of dry oregano; then coat in Wondra flour. Heat up sauté pan with EVOO and place chicken skin side down. Cook on medium at first so chicken doesn't stick, then lower heat, and cook slow until golden. Do same thing to the other side as well. Move chicken thighs into an oven proof dish. In the same pan, add EVOO and garlic.

Then add onions, salt and pepper, pepper flakes and take them out after a few minutes. Then do the same with the peppers. Deglaze with white wine, stock, and lemon juice. Reduce, then add butter. Adjust seasoning (slightly), since it will be cooking in the oven and it still will be reducing.

With chicken in pan with onion pepper mixture and sliced sausage, add the reduced liquid. Bake in oven at 375 °F for at least 1 hour, or until desired tenderness. Halfway through, add oregano, parsley, asparagus and scallions. When done, plate and serve with a side salad.

Enjoy the Holidays!

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LIFESTYLE | Holiday 2017

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Lifestyle Wine

By Phillip Silverstone

In The Pink

Predominantly Pink Selections to Ring in the New Year

I

expect every single one of us is eagerly awaiting the end of this tragic, cruel, disturbing, and, at times, surreal year. So many families will be spending their Holiday Season mourning the loss of friends and loved ones, and the only celebration they will share will be the memorable stories of those whose lives were stolen by acts of war, by enemies whose deplorable acts took place in this country, and my homeland, the UK, and so many other innocent citizens of countries on this planet. I hope they find some solace knowing so many of us who didn’t know their loved ones, shared their pain and their grief.

Despite beginning this special Holiday Edition wine column in such a grim way, we must welcome the festive season and the New Year in the hope that some form of sanity will return to our world in 2018. And those who seek to break our spirit will learn we are made of stronger stuff than they could ever muster in their weak brainwashed minds and bodies. And with this positive outlook, here are my suggestions for the perfect libations for this season of “Peace on earth, good will to men" (and women). As always, in no particular order other than how they passed my lips.

Qupé Central Coast Syrah 2013, California (approx. $20) This wine is 88% Syrah, 7% Tempranillo, 4% Grenache, and 1% Mourvedre. The main vineyard sources in order of percentage are: Bien Nacido in the Santa Maria Valley; French Camp in Paso Robles; Sawyer Lindquist in the Edna Valley; and Ibarra-Young in the Los Olivos district.

As with most recent vintages of this wine, about 2/3 is from cool climate vineyards and about 1/3 from warmer climate Paso Robles.

All of the lots were fermented separately and then aged in neutral French Oak barrels for 16 months. It exhibits Qupé’s trademark savory aspect with balanced alcohol and is 54

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completely dry. There’s a trend towards red wines that have residual sugar with ripe flavors which, thankfully, this wine doesn’t display.

Trinity Hill “The Trinity” Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (approx. $17) The trinity of grapes in this wine are: Tempranillo, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. Made from grapes grown in several vineyards, each parcel was harvested separately and then gently de-stemmed prior to fermentation.

Subsequently, gentle daily pumping over of the skins during fermentation helped extract a soft, complex structure. After 14 months aging in a combination of small French oak and stainless steel tanks, the individual blocks were blended to create the ideal marriage of components. These grapes have blended beautifully to produce incredible complexity and rich flavors with spice and red fruit characters of Tempranillo and Malbec, with a lingering taste of cassis and redcurrant. The cassis aromas are provided by the Cabernet Franc.

Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc Steen Western Cape, South Africa (approx. $18) I love wines from South Africa and this one is no exception, especially bringing us a grape variety that hasn’t enjoyed the limelight as other white grape varieties have. The grapes are predominantly aged in stainless steel tanks which give us the fresh, crisp, natural flavors of the varietal. The wines appearance is delightfully fresh, showing pale strawgreen hues. The bouquet has initial savory, herbal notes leading to subtle stone fruit and delicate citrus blossom. This wine displays all the hallmarks of a textbook Chenin Blanc with its rich flavor, perfect acidity, and tons of summer fruits, especially white peach.

Zonin Prosecco Veneto, Italy (approx. $12) Casa Vinicola Zonin S.P.A., Italy's largest

privately-held wine company, is globally known for its Prosecco, a simple wine for enjoying simple moments of life. Zonin Prosecco is a varietal wine made from the Glera grape, which is native to the Veneto (Venice) region. There, the Zonin family owns the largest Glera vineyards in Italy. It is from these vineyards that the fruit for Prosecco is sourced. Prosecco is a lively, sparkling wine which is dry, and food-friendly. This Prosecco is fresh and fruity, and is really perfect before a meal or to toast the New Year. Very wellbalanced with the extremely delicate almond note that is typical of Prosecco.

Perlage Winery SGAJO Prosecco Extra Dry Vegan, Treviso-Veneto, Italy (approx. $16) Another Prosecco with less notoriety than the previous selection, but well worth enjoying with friends and family. Sgajo means smart and exuberant, so I think I will adopt it as my middle name! The wine is fresh in taste and color and is an organic sparkling wine; a delicately sweet and aromatic version of an Extra Dry Prosecco. It is also Vegan, because it is made free of any animal protein, normally used during clarification. The bubbles are very fine and persistent and the color is pale straw yellow. I love the fruity flavor with notes of apple, apricot and some banana, which stays in your mouth long after the glass is emptied.

Notorious Pink Rosé, Southern France (approx. $20) is a special cuvée made from Grenache, the leading grape varietal at Domaine la Colombette in the South of France. I particularly applaud the marketing of this wine, by avoiding the winery’s name and selling this fun product by a brand name, which is essentially telling you precisely what is in the bottle. Now that’s a novel idea. Rosé has often been considered a summer wine, but the winery wants to bring their rosé to the forefront of everyday enjoyment, year round. And why not indeed. At Domaine la

Colombette, the techniques used have been tried and tested. The grapes are from the oldest vines, which gives the juice more character and complexity. The wine’s perfume is full of ripe peaches, plums, lavender, pear, and oranges. The flavor has the taste of melon, raspberries, pears, and a very long finish which means the flavors linger deliciously in your mouth; the winery notes, “Notorious Pink: counter-intuitive, slightly provocative, perfect every time you want it.”

RESTAURANT WEEK

Cru Bourgeois Chateau Lestruelle, Medoc, Bordeaux, France (approx. $25) Acquired in 1998 by Patrick Bouey, the Chateau produces its wines in a style which it believes are not as traditional as other wines in this celebrated region, and appeal to younger wine drinkers. 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon are married together from vines with an average age of 25 years old. This produces very intense and rich wines which are aged 12 months in wood barrels. The result is an intense dark color with purple hues. The bouquet is well balanced with raspberry and red current and the taste is elegant with oak notes. The result is a Cru Bourgeois that has all the virtues of Médoc; elegance, power, complexity, length in the mouth, and balance. All this for a modest price. Maybe that’s the part that agrees with younger wine drinkers.

HAPPY HOUR Drink Specials & Half-Price Glasses of Wine, Appetizers, Sandwiches & Salads

Les Dauphins Cotes du Rhone White, Southern Rhone Valley, France (approx. $11.99) Wow! What an amazing price for such a fantastic wine.

The grapes for this wine: 65% Grenache, 15% Marsanne, 10% Clairette, and 10% Viognier are harvested at optimum maturity at night or early in the morning to preserve their freshness. The color is green straw and the taste is reminiscent of peaches, grapefruit, and lemons.

Les Dauphins Cotes du Rhone Rosé, Southern Rhone Valley, France (approx. $11.99) And once again Wow! This time it’s 75% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, and 10% Syrah. The exact same process as the previous wine results in a brilliant pink color, an elegant lychee fragrance with white summer fruits and full flavored and refreshing with a crisp finish.

Let’s close out the old year and begin the new year with some sparkle.

If this Holiday season’s wine column has an “Easter egg” for my readers after my downbeat introduction, it has to be the overwhelming theme to the wines, and that is the predominantly pink selection. I simply want us all to be in the pink. Pink is a color that represents love; it’s romantic, very feminine, and tender. Pink is the perfect color for this Holiday and New Year Season.

Vilarnau Brut Reserva Rosé D.O. Cava Catalonia, Spain (approx. $15) Wine is art, and the world of fine art and design has wrapped itself around the bottle of Vilarnau Brut Reserva Rosé. Inspired by designer Antoni Gaudí, the label pays homage to the winery’s Barcelona heritage.

Vilarnau highlights Gaudí’s famous “mosaic” Trencadis style with a package ideal for gift giving or to keep after enjoying the bottle’s nectar, to brighten a room. Made from 85% Trepat and 15% Pinot Noir, this sparkling wine has been aged for 15 months in the bottle. This cava (sparkling wine) has an intense pink color with great aromatic complexity, with fresh raspberries and rose petals and notes of candied lemon on the nose, followed by the flavor of cherries, raspberries, and plums.

LUNCH | DINNER | TAVERN HAPPY HOUR | PRIVATE EVENTS

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Visit us online for details on the area’s great dining Venues.

NJLifestyLeONLiNe.cOm

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Kwanzaa, and I sincerely wish you all a happy and healthy, and above all, a safe and worry-free 2018. And I will close with a quote from one of my favorite writers, Anonymous; “A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”

Cheers! n “Time Out With Phillip Silverstone” is a weekly podcast heard exclusively on TuneIn radio anytime worldwide either on the free TuneIn app for all smart phones and tablets (Search: Phillip Silverstone) or online at: http:// bit.ly/1gY2Ht4. “Follow” the show for weekly updates. You can also LIKE Phillip on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Phillipsilverstone and follow him on Twitter: @wining. njlifestyleonline.com

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dining gallery

Nobil Food Services

Ram’s Head Inn

9 W. White Horse Pike, Galloway, NJ 609-652-1700 ramsheadinn.com The Ram’s Head Inn continues the long-standing tradition of superior quality food and service that the Knowles family brought to Southern New Jersey in 1979. This started at the Manor in the 1950s, and also continues at the Highlawn Pavilion and Pleasantdale Chateau (all located in West Orange, NJ). Traditional food and beverage is served with a contemporary flair at various venues within this one-of-a-kind restaurant.

Executive chef Elio Gracia has provided outstanding culinary excellence for seventeen years, incorporating as many seasonal organic and locally-grown foods as possible. Walk-ins are always welcome.

Barista’s Coffee House

199 New Road Ste. 10, Central Square, Linwood 609-904-2990 baristascoffeehouse.com Owners Mark and Debbie Becker have created the perfect “neighborhood” atmosphere coffee house. Brewing up more than just coffee, customers come back time and time again for Barista’s espresso, tea breakfast, Liege waffles, Brussels waffles, gourmet desserts, and Italian gelato. Once you walk through the doors, you instantly become part of the “Barista’s Family”.

Open Monday thru Friday, 7 am - 5 pm; Saturday, 8 am - 5 pm and Sunday, 8 am - 2 pm.

609-822-3604 nobilfoodservices.com A privately owned and operated food service management company and caterer, Nobil Food Services is the regions premier on and off premise caterer. Specializing in exquisite weddings, private parties and corporate functions at your location, or theirs. From start to finish, Nobil will help you plan an event that will make your next special occasion truly memorable.

Phillips Seafood

The Playground at Caesars, Atlantic City, NJ 609-348-2273 phillipsseafood.com Enjoy Phillips’ classic signature crab cakes along with delicious seasonal fishes and an array of seafood choices. Want a bit of land and sea?

Phillips continues to accommodate with their famous Surf and Turf, served with a juicy 6-oz filet and 6-oz tender lobster tail; all for $19.95!

It doesn’t stop there; Phillips’ Happy Hour is now all day every day (except Saturday)! Select choice appetizers as well as cocktails keep you comfortable and full for the duration of your visit. Experience an upscale, interactive dining experience with their exhibition kitchen, who will also happily serve your banquet or large event! Phillips Seafood, located on the third floor of The Playground at Caesars, brings guests the most succulent classic American seafood while surrounded by a captivating view of the Atlantic City Boardwalk and beaches.

Souzai Sushi & Saki Crab Trap

2 Broadway, Somers Point, NJ 609-927-7377 thecrabtrap.com Overlooking the Great Egg Harbor Bay in Somers Point is the Crab Trap Restaurant. Flourishing as a 400-seat full service restaurant serving the finest seafood in South Jersey. As many businesses expand, they often lose touch with the quality and small personal touches that made them special. At the Crab Trap, they don’t believe that has happened, or ever will.

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The Playground at Caesars, Atlantic City, NJ 609-348-4443 souzaisushi.com.com Simple… seasonal… sensual… Souzai features a diverse menu of hand-rolled sushi, fresh sashimi and traditional Japanese dishes, as well as a wide range of innovative cocktails, Japanese sake and beer. Showcasing stunning views of the beach, ocean sunsets and the sparkling cityscape from its perch high above the famed Atlantic City boardwalk, Souzai has become one of the hottest spots in town to mix and mingle. Grab a seat and discover Souzai for yourself.

The Continental

The Playground at Caesars, Atlantic City, NJ 609-674-8300 continentalac.com Stephen Starr’s Continental features a clever mix of vintage elegance and vanguard sophistication.

It invokes the drama of the Rat Pack days on the Vegas Strip. The space incorporates unique retro elements such as a sunken fire-pit lounge, populuxe bar and outdoor patio, all accented by breathtaking views of the ocean. The global tapas menu showcases a variety of innovative dishes meant to be shared. And of course the martinis are an essential part of the experience. Whimsical culinary creations and specialty cocktails make for a fun and hip dining experience.

Buddakan

The Playground at Caesars, Atlantic City, NJ 609-674-0100 buddakanac.com Buddakan's dreamlike ambiance makes an enchanting setting for hosting special events.

Guests are instantly transported to an ancient Chinese village complete with rock gardens, thatched roofs and a dramatic twilight sky. The menu portrays an innovative interpretation of Modern Asian cuisine that matches the decor in terms of creativity and inspiration. Guests will feel relaxed and indulged in this exotic and comfortable environment.

Joseph's Restaurant at Renault Winery

72 Bremen Avenue, Egg Harbor City, NJ 609-965-2111 renaultwinery.com Open since 2001, Joseph's Restaurant at Renault Winery has become a local favorite of the Atlantic County area. The continued patronage speaks volumes to the flavors that Chef Joe DeGennaro creates, which combines his unique flair and traditions. The food quality and atmosphere are surpassed by none. Whether you choose Italian, seafood, premium steaks or a burger, you are sure to be pleased. Try their diverse flavors and experience their amazing ambiance in a unique setting.

Gallagher’s Steakhouse

Resorts Casino, Atlantic City, NJ 609-340-6555 gallaghersresorts.com Gallaghers is located on the 2nd floor of Resorts Casino. A classic steakhouse serving hearty salads, dry-aged meats, wonderful fish and shellfish. Their glass-enclosed meat locker is in the front of the restaurant for all to view; and all of the beef is dryaged for 21 days at a constant 36 degrees to insure tenderness. Offering the finest selections of seafood as well. An ambiance of warm woods and deep reds.

Friendly, efficient and gracious service. Open for dinner Sunday thru Thursday 5-9:30 pm, Friday 5-10 pm, Saturday 5-11 pm.

Award-Winning Seafood

Broadway Burger Bar

The Quarter at Tropicana, Atlantic City, NJ 609-317-4660 broadwayburgerbar.com Ark Restaurants introduces Broadway Burger Bar at the Quarter in Tropicana Casino & Resort, Atlantic City serving up fresh ground, grilled, prime beef burgers and a large selection of tapas-style appetizers. Order from a full bar featuring 60 craft beers, specialty cocktails, adult milkshakes, as well as your traditional favorites. Live acoustic acts every Friday and Saturday add to the vibrant and unique atmosphere. Fun for families, a quick lunch or an intimate dinner. At Broadway Burger Bar, they make burgers great.

The Historic Smithville Inn

1 N. New York Road, Galloway, NJ 609-652-7777 historicsmithvillenj.com The Historic Smithville Inn offers a sophisiticated dining experience combined with the atmosphere of warm hospitality, since 1787. Their scenic view dining areas looking out on Lake Meone, private dining rooms with fireplace and formal banquet and wedding facilities coupled with their attention to detail services will make your dining, banquet or wedding event a night to remember. Discover the tradition of the Historic Smithville Inn.

PHILLIPSSEAFOOD.COM ATLANTIC CITY acebook.com/PhillipsSeafood

609.348.2273 @PhillipsSeafood

Maplewood

470 White Horse Pike, Hammonton, NJ 6126 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, NJ 609-561-9621, 609-625-1181 joesmaplewood.com For almost 70 years, Joe Italiano’s Maplewood has been known for its consistently great food! They believe that freshness and loving preparation are keys to satisfied customers. The food is fresh, salads are made to order, and pasta is boiled right before sauce is poured over it. “Gravy” or red sauce is made fresh daily and is loved by the locals in the area. They only use the finest ingredients at the Original Maplewood.

Two locations — Same Great Food. Your Choice.

NOW THROUGH MARCH 4, 2018 www.fi.edu | 215.448.1200 PRODCUTION NOTES FOR DESIGNERS: In text, Janssen should be recognized as: Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. We would prefer that their logo be used whenever possible with the designation of Associate Sponsor.

This legal byline copy can be included as copy in or on pieces rather than in the lock-up. Legal byline copy: This exhibition was organized by Pacific

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A Final Word By Kimberly Blaker

Why they fail and how you can succeed “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.”

—Hal Borland

T

he New Year is a great time to take inventory, set goals, and take charge of your life. But if you’re like most, making resolutions is much easier than keeping them. Rather than focus on the idea of a new beginning, which can lead to disappointment at the first slip, keep in mind that selfimprovement is an ongoing endeavor. Setbacks are not failure; they bring wisdom and insight for future success.

Before making a split decision as to this year’s resolutions, make a list of goals and changes you’d like to make. Then review your list, and cross off any you do not feel truly devoted to.

Whether you resolve to spend more time with your family, quit smoking, or lose weight, you’re more likely to succeed if you feel a strong personal commitment rather than ‘I should.’

One reason people don't keep resolutions they make is the resolutions are often made to silence the pestering of a loved one.

If you decide to quit smoking to get your husband off your back, you’re less likely to succeed. If you decide to quit smoking to feel healthier and be able to enjoy physical activity without being winded, you're more likely to experience success.

Choose one or perhaps two of the resolutions on your list to which you feel most committed. Then choose one or two you feel confident you can do with ease. These last couple can be used as positive reinforcement for the more challenging first choices.

The next step is to make a clear plan for adhering to your resolutions. Put each resolution in writing, and detail the steps to achieve them. If your resolution requires a routine or schedule such as an exercise routine, a new diet, or steps toward completing your education, then create a goal chart, a detailed plan, and a checklist to track your progress. Also, post notes in

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strategic places such as the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, or steering wheel as reminders of your resolutions with tips on how to overcome temptation.

Make certain your family understands the importance of your resolutions. Family support and their positive reinforcement can be most helpful. If your resolution is something your family has been nagging you about, ask for their encouragement but explain that pressure and pestering, particularly during setbacks, could undermine your resolve. Determine how each family member can help you to achieve your goal perhaps by taking on additional household chores or through affirmations of your continued success.

Adjust your environment to enable success. If eating healthier is your goal, don’t fill the cupboards with junk food for other family members. Find healthy snacks they’re willing to substitute.

If you’re trying to quit smoking, avoid people, places, and things that remind or tempt you, at least until you have it well under control.

Don’t go it alone. If you have a friend with a similar resolution, make a pact. Work together to create a plan, and then make a point to check in with each other regularly for encouragement, praise, and support. If you resolve to get more exercise, do it together. Having a commitment and someone to accompany you will go a long way in helping you to succeed.

Finally, reward yourself, not just once you’ve achieved your goal, but periodically for your success so far. Small, periodic rewards can be motivation enough to keep you strong when you’re ready to throw in the towel. Remember, whatever New Year resolutions you choose, success awaits you if you resolve to never give up trying. n

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