AMC Dine-in Theaters, Bridgewater, Edison and West Orange
Dinner and a movie, that classic weekend combination, used to require two stops. Now it can be done in one, without even changing your seat. Three AMC Theaters in New Jersey have redesigned some of their multiplex screening rooms so that viewers (21 and older) can recline in comfortable seats, order drinks and dinner, and watch the movie on the big screen, all at the same time. AMC calls it the Cinema Suites experience. All three have a MacGuffin’s bar and lounge (the name is a Hitchcock reference), where patrons can relax before and after the movie. Fork and Screen, a more casual option, also serves drinks, but admits viewers ages 18 to 20 if accompanied by a parent or adult. (Bridgewater only offers the Fork & Screen option.) Bridgewater 7, 400 Commons Way, 908-725-2005; Essex Green 9, 495 Prospect Avenue, West Orange, 973-731-6692; Menlo Park 12, 55 Parsonage Road, Edison, 732-321-9093.—Christina Colizza
Cornucopia Cruise Line, Perth Amboy
Cruise along New Jersey’s shoreline while enjoying a memorable meal with friends or family. Cornucopia tours, which depart from a private dock with free parking, include a four-hour lunch buffet, four-hour plated dinner, or three-hour Sunday brunch. Evenings include cocktail hours and feature a disc jockey and dancing. Reservations are recommended. 401 Riverview Drive; 732-697-9500; cornucopiacruise.com; call for boarding times; lunch, $64.95 Saturday; dinner, $64.95 Sunday through Friday, $74.95 Saturday; Sunday brunch, $39.95. —Amanda Staab
Ninety Acres Culinary Center at Natirar, Peapack-Gladstone
Curate recipes for seasonal treats or brush up on culinary basics. Daytime and evening classes are offered at the rustic estate’s cooking school, equipped with fully stocked workstations for hands-on lessons and flat-screen televisions for demonstrations. There’s also a wine school in the culinary center for any who wish to master the nuanced tastes of wine. 2 Main Street; 908-901-9500; natirar.com; Tuesday through Sunday; call or check online for class hours and costs.—Sophia Ahn
Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the museum at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton is so delightful. This fall/winter season it offers a wide range of exhibits including, Ming Fay’s “Canutopia,” an imaginative, mixed-media foray into what the world would look like if humans were “harmoniously enfolded into the realm of nature.” The outdoor permanent collection is open year-round. Indoor exhibits will run until March 30, 2014. 18 Fairgrounds Road, 609-586-0616; groundsforsculpture.org; Tuesday through Friday, 10 am–6 pm.—CC
Spirit of New Jersey, Weehawken
Take a daytime or evening cruise aboard this gleaming three-level yacht that sets sail from Lincoln Harbor Marina. Two-hour lunch tours and three-hour dinner tours on the Hudson River and New York Harbor include an elaborate buffet of salads, entrées, sides and dessert. Dinner cruises feature a disc jockey and dancing. Reservations are recommended. 1500 Harbor Boulevard; 866-483-3866; spiritofnewjersey.com; call for boarding times; lunch, $47.90 daily; dinner, $84.90 Sunday through Thursday, $89.90 Friday, $94.90 Saturday.—AS
