Lucky Bones Backwater Grille

Lucky Bones
Backwater Grille
1200 Route 109 South, Cape May
609-884-BONE, luckybonesgrille.com

Hours: Lunch from 11:30 am; Dinner from 4:30 pm

Price: $/$$

Style: Backing right up to Cape May Harbor, Lucky Bones sticks to a warm, casual, and nautical theme, with a name that honors the seaside town’s days as an eighteenth-century whaling village, when mariners would wear horseshoe-crab claws, or “lucky bones,” around their necks for good luck while on the water.

Don’t Miss: The oven-roasted spinach and artichoke dip has only a touch of cream and comes out sizzling, served with crisp homemade dipping pitas ($8). The rocket salad is tossed with fresh arugula, olives, brick-oven roasted vegetables, shaved fennel, and fresh mozzarella in a creamy green vinaigrette ($5-$8). For dinner, try one of seven types of thin-crusted brick-oven pizza, including the Classic Jule with sausage, roasted red peppers, and fresh rosemary ($9.50), or a full rack of tender baby-back ribs smothered in the house tangy-chipotle barbecue sauce ($19). You can’t go wrong with a 10-ounce ground-beef burger topped with bacon, mushrooms, onions, and with your choice of cheese ($10) or have a veggie burger with roasted vegetables and herb mayonnaise ($7.50) served with super-fresh hand-cut fries. Leave room for the dessert menu, which includes unique creations like the Ecuadorian Rainforest Chocolate Decadence cake.

Heads Up: The crew from Cape May’s popular Pelican Club (which closed in 2005) is behind the scenes here at Lucky Bones and brought along specialties including the grilled Cuban spice-rubbed pork chop, served atop whipped sweet potatoes with red wine au jus and fresh green beans ($22).

The Scoop: The owners of Lucky Bones also operate the Washington Inn and the Cape May Winery, so they know a thing or two about Cape May’s prominence as one of the top restaurant towns in the state. But make no bones about it, this new addition to the scene carves out its own niche, with all food made from scratch with zero tra nsfat. It’s also one of the best watering holes in town.