New Jersey rest stops worth stopping at on the way to the Shore

Bruce Springsteen, essentially, said, "Nah."

In 2021, as part of a reconstruction and renovation plan, New Jersey opted to rebrand nine Garden State Parkway rest stops, naming the service areas after members of the state's Hall of Fame. Think Whitney Houston, James Gandolfini, Jon Bon Jovi, etc.

And the state wanted to name one after "The Boss." He passed.

But the state's rest areas can't be that bad.

Right?

» READ MORE: Are Jersey Shore boardwalk shirts getting more wholesome?

Since we Delaware Valley vacationers most often come across four rest stops on the way to the Shore, including a lone option on the Atlantic City Expressway, we decided to take a ride from Long Beach Island to Cape May, and stop at these four spots along the way.

We wanted to see if the quality of the stop measures up to the name emblazoned on the front of it. Well, on the front of most of them.

We evaluated the essentials: food options, special characteristics, bathroom cleanliness, and overall celebration of its namesake.

Here are the best of the rests:

The Long Beach Island folks, according to our informal yet scientific survey, can lay claim to having the best rest stop.

The floors are immaculate, the tables don't wobble, and all of the paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms are functional at the Ocean County Parkway stop at mile marker 75 in Forked River, a popular stop that's open 24 hours a day on the way to LBI.

Burger King's self-order screens weren't working in mid-May, but the service was otherwise fast, and the soda machine included Coke Zero, so we gave them a pass. And this is the only location with a Nathan's.

There isn't a dog-walking area, but there are full sets of tables and chairs outside, the only site of the four we visited that had this accommodation.

Most importantly, this stop pays homage to its namesake better than the rest.

Inside, the stop displays concert-used artifacts, including a headdress and sequined top, as part of an exhibit on Cruz's life and accomplishments. And unlike two other stops on this list, the Cuba-born salsa music star's name is actually emblazoned on the front of the building.

Michael Angelo Bosch, founder of the New York-based P.O.W.E.R. Program, passes through often on his way to Atlantic City.

"What they should do, since it's a Celia Cruz spot," said Bosch, 63, who lives in Hoboken, "is they should have a little Latin restaurant."

He's got a point. A Cuban sandwich sounds better than a Whopper.

On the way out, you can check out a rack of travel and tourism brochures in the vestibule that included, to my surprise, a copy of "Visit Delco."

The brochure was pretty thin.

For the traditionally Philly-favored beach towns strung between Atlantic City and Cape May, the best stop is Farley.

Despite not being part of the 2021 naming initiative, since it is not on the parkway, the only stop on the Atlantic City Expressway that's open 24 hours a day at mile marker 20 stands as the standard bearer for southern Shore rest stops.

There's a lovely, quarter-mile nature walk for motorists to stretch their legs. An outdoor farmers market sets up shop between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and at times throughout the summer, Hammonton plaza hosts mini-festivals and food trucks.

There's even a grassy rectangle, enclosed by a plastic picket fence, for pet owners to walk their dogs.

"This is what makes a good rest stop," said John Oriente of Holland, Pa., who stopped with his wife, Colleen, to walk their dog on the way to Margate.

There are a few drawbacks. The furniture inside the food court is a bit dated. More than a few automatic sink faucets didn't work, and when they did, the water spit instead of splashed. And several automatic soap dispensers barely leaked out a dollop of pink soap. The Starbucks is fine, but the Burger King service was slow and the quality wasn't ideal.

But the main issue: Visitors leave without ever knowing who political powerbroker Frank Farley was, and why the stop is named after him.

» READ MORE: Massage chairs, a nature walk, and Burger King: Life at the Atlantic City Expressway's only rest stop

Frank's name isn't on the facade yet (it still says Atlantic Service Area), but his songs are playing when visitors approach the front door of the parkway stop that's open 24 hours a day at mile marker 41 in Galloway. And inside, while it doesn't do nearly as good a job honoring its namesake as the Cruz stop, there are plenty of photos of Ol’ Blue Eyes.

And it has more modern furniture in the food court, despite it having a smaller footprint than, say, Farley. The most exciting aspect is it's adding a Dunkin’, which should be open by Memorial Day.

But it doesn't offer programming like Farley, and it doesn't pay homage as well as the Cruz stop to its namesake. It just feels too much like a mediocre mall's food court.

So does the rest area live up to the Sinatra name?

"To be honest, no," said Donna Clifford, who was coming back from an Atlantic City excursion with her Bronx family. "It's not clean."

And, she added: "Celia Cruz is [clean]. This bathroom's not clean."

The Toni Morrison stop in Ocean View is still awaiting its facelift.

So, at this point, it's just a gas station on a concrete island at mile marker 18, and a lost opportunity for this gateway to Wildwood and Cape May.

The A-Plus is more like a C-minus.

The bathrooms are serviceable on a good day. The hot dogs look like they’ve been sitting for days.

The good news is the coffee is cheaper than a typical Starbucks order, so that should save between $2 and $3.

Its best asset is a full desk dedicated to tourism information and pamphlets, and it is staffed seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Overall, the stop is open 24 hours a day from Memorial Day to Labor Day; for the rest of the year it's open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In this case, it's probably best that the name of one of our most celebrated novelists isn't posted on the front of the building.