Buzby’s Eatery & General Store

"The Piney Berry salad was awesome. This place is iconic in the heart of the Pine Barrens."

"After Church today, Kit Dwight and I drove into the Pine Barrens for a meal at a location we've gone by in the 4 wheeled vehicles and for me on the 3 wheeled Can Am Ryker. The place was Buzby's Eatery and General Store. It's a location that has a reputation of serving the Chatsworth, NJ and surrounding community since the late 1800's with several different Proprietor's. Kit decided to have Breakfast and I had a sandwich from the Lunch Menu. The Breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage patty, potatoes and rye toast with 2 blueberry pancakes with a blueberry compote. It was more food then Kit expected. My sandwich was an Old Fashion style Italian Sub with a bag of potato chips. The bread appeared to be a very fresh and tasty semolina style with sesame seeds, the meats and cheeses were of high quality and made the sandwich shine. I will have to keep this spot on my list for a stop during one of next year's motorcycle rides with Jerry Pandolfo and other's in the Summer."

"Great little hole-in-the-wall diner. It’s a small place so don’t miss it. Staff are friendly and genuine. They’re welcoming to us cyclists who bike down in that area a lot- so thank you for that if you’re reading this. (I always try to buy something especially if you let us use the restroom)."

"Chatsworth New Jersey is a sleepy town in the center of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The only thing that was there since the early days was Buzby’s General Store and a few houses. That hasn't changed. I first started going to Buzby’s when I was a kid exploring the Pines. I would stop by to pick up something to drink or grab a snack. At that time it was just an old store frequented primarily by the locals and a general store in the true sense of the name. Buzby’s General Store. It lasted in that configuration from 1895 run by the Buzby family. Eventually it closed and sat vacant until a woman named Marilyn Schmidt moved in and sold her self-authored books, antiques and Pine Barrens memorabilia. She had a complete unused kitchen in the back and we considered that maybe I would reopen it but it never happened. Jump to present day and some folks actually did reopen the kitchen and then some. It’s now “Buzby’s Eatery and General Store”. The new owners did an awesome job of keeping the authentic feel of Buzby’s but with a clean, more modern flair. Nothing fancy but well laid out with a small number of tables and a counter with stools. The real deal is the food. They have a very updated menu with things like Eggs Benedict, omelets, breakfast combos and skillets. The lunch menu has favorites like classic club sandwiches, and wraps and some specialties like the Muffuletta sandwich. I ordered the Eggs Benedict as I always do for a taste test comparison. My test standard as I have eaten Eggs Benny all over the USA. I am happy to say that in comparison with Parc in Philadelphia which is my favorite they are second to none and definitely tied for top honors. The eggs were perfectly poached with cooked whites and liquid yokes topped with a nice slice of ham and obviously homemade Hollandaise that was delicious. They even managed to cook the home fries to crispy perfection. I can’t say enough about how impressed I was. The staff are very friendly and prices are reasonable for excellent food. They even sell miscellaneous items in the “store” area that include some of Marilyn’s books. So…if you are wandering the Pines or just taking “the back way” to Long Beach Island and want a great meal definitely stop in to Buzby’s and tell them “Rory” said hello!"