Our Favorite New Jersey Foods Paired with Cannabis Products

It’s official: New Jersey is part of the legal cannabis club. This spring, permits were finally issued across the state for dispensaries to join the adult use program, AKA recreational, non-medicinal marijuana became approved statewide. (Well, not quite statewide: individual towns are still able to ban dispensaries from within their municipalities.)

To help kick off New Jersey’s new status as a cannabis-friendly hotspot, we decided to dive into the state’s legendary foods and pick out their THC-infused pairings. Featuring some items from Curaleaf, now licensed to operate two adult-use dispensaries within Jersey, here are our favorite foods paired with their complementary cannabis products.

Pork roll is as classic as New Jersey food gets, to the extent that it’s the source of a naming debate that roughly divides the state into north and south. (But seriously, it’s pork roll, not Taylor ham.) No matter how you prepare it or pronounce it, the simple fact is that eating a breakfast of pork roll, egg, and cheese will force you to accept that you’re not looking at a particularly active day. A gut-busting breakfast deserves a slow-down kind of experience, which calls for an indica. Curaleaf makes it easy to pick out a relaxing strain that matches your salty, hammy vibe.

You can thank New Jersey’s ample Italian population for perfecting the simple hoagie, an adaptable favorite that rises to almost every occasion. It’s a classic, which is why it pairs nicely with Select Classic Bites, gummies infused with cannabis oil with a just-right dosage of 10mg THC. As with most Select products, you can order varieties to come in either sativa, indica, or hybrid formulations, but the sativa may do the best job of balancing out a hoagie’s heaviness.

Salt water taffy is an invention of Atlantic City and carries with it a (dubious) origin story involving sea waves destroying a candy store. Whether its beginnings were accidental or not, it’s a favorite boardwalk snack, and fans of the fruity flavors will likely enjoy a similar cannabis treat: Select Squeezes. These flavorful drops add 5mg of THC infusion to any drink, so your tall glass of ice-cold lemonade can serve double-duty. They come in a variety of flavors, including lemon lime, watermelon, and strawberry lemonade — reminiscent of the buckets of salt water taffy available in old-timey stores along Jersey’s coastline. Feel free to grab whichever flavor suits you the best, but you may want to try the combo of watermelon squeeze and a watermelon taffy for a perfect complement.

Another typical boardwalk treat, this time of the fried variety, zeppoles are basically Italian-American donuts, usually covered in powdered sugar. If you’ve never spent a day getting loaded up on fried dough and sweating in the summer sun on a Jersey beach, you haven’t lived. To complete the experience, pick up some Curaleaf varieties of sativa, designed to create an active and energetic strain, ideal after a long day of perusing novelty tees and winning carnival games. Just be sure to light up at the beach house, not the boardwalk — you don’t want to be that person blowing smoke in the faces of your fellow beachgoers.

Neo-Italian dishes are a running theme here, but the list wouldn’t be complete without chicken savoy, the creation of Belleville, New Jersey. It doesn’t get much better than this garlicky, crusty chicken with cheese and red wine vinegar. Longtime edible-enjoyers will know that absorption rates of THC tend to be slower on a full stomach, so pair your savoy with Select Nano Bites. They’re designed with an emulsified THC to speed the come-up time, so they can be enjoyed immediately after dinner. As always, sativa and indica options are available, but balanced hybrid gummies sound like the match for a dish that’s cheesy and acidic at the same time.

Speaking of balance, the perfect pizza is one with not too much dough and not overloaded with toppings or drenched in cheese… New Jersey (of course) figured that out years ago. The thin crust tomato pie is the regional speciality, with the added perk of being somewhat more authentic than the slices you’ll find in other parts of the country. Pair your pizza with a well-balanced hybrid strain from Curaleaf and enjoy. With terpenes blended to kick-start your appetite but not knock you out, it’s the tomato pie’s best friend.

Late night diner-goers have been getting stoned and eating disco fries in New Jersey for decades, so you don’t need much help here. If you’re not familiar with this particular snack, it’s a plate of fries topped with melted cheese and gravy, America’s superior answer to poutine. Since you’re probably eating these after midnight anyway, match your snack to a few Select Indicas. Reliable dosing and relaxing terpene blends will help you get in the sleepy state of mind, rather than gas you up for another round of partying. It’s an unbeatable combo after a long day out in the Garden State.

Legal disclaimer: This product contains cannabis. For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children. There may be health risks associated with the consumption of this product, including for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning on becoming pregnant. Do not drive a motor vehicle or operate heavy machinery while using this product.
Curaleaf is licensed by the State of New Jersey, License 09212015