NJ--headquartered companies were completely shut out of the national list of 100 best companies to work for published by Fortune Magazine in December  2007.

Companies on the Fortune list based outside NJ but with over 1,000 employees located in NJ include Wegmans; FedEx; Nordstrom; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Goldman Sachs; KPMG; and Marriott International. 

Pharmaceutical and healthcare companies like Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson once were prominent, but recent layoffs and cutbacks, with prospects for further contraction within the industry, have cooled the formerly employee-friendly climates at these and other firms. NJ's strong position in the investment and financial industries, which historically have been the source of lavish bonuses and benefits, also is under pressure as many leading players attempt to deal with the fallout from the subprime mortgage collapse.

Among smaller companies, The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit organization based in Virginia with a facility in Eatontown that includes its Quantum Information Sciences Group researching advanced systems in data transmission, manages three federally funded Research and Development Centers for the Department of Defense; the Federal Aviation Administration; and the Internal Revenue Service. MITRE seeks skilled employeees with backgrounds in systems engineering, information technology, operational concepts, and enterprise modernization.

Probably Commerce Bank, the fast-growing, politically influential South Jersey bank now found in most NJ counties and now expanding in Manhattan. Commerce boasts, mostly with good reason, that it's "America's Most Convenient Bank" due to its 7-day branch banking, superior hours, free personal checking, easy Internet banking and other customer services, including its recent installation of automatic change machines to help clean out those pennies.

The Ryland Inn in White House probably consensus choice of most restaurant reviewers, including only 4-star rating from NJ Monthly magazine and "most popular" ranking in Zagat Survey.  Others close behind include The Serenade in Chatham; Saddle River Inn in Saddle River; and Jeffrey's in Toms River. The Manor in West Orange is probably best-known restaurant in the state, and also ranks high for those seeking more traditional menus and formal setting for high-class business meetings, weddings and receptions.  In Cherry Hill, La Campagne only NJ restaurant to make "best of best" list of Philadelphia area restaurants published by Restaurant Report.  Doris & Ed's in Highlands consistent winner of "top seafood" category in both NJ Monthly and Zagat Survey.  In Atlantic City, the Juilan by Susanna Foo restaurant featuring a French-Chinese menu in The Borgata, the newest casino-hotel,was named one of the 20 Best New Restaurants in America by John Mariani, a noted food critic, in the November 2003 issue of Esquire magazine.

Atlantic City's newest, The Borgata opened in summer of 2003, is the first New Jersey casino resort on the scale of those opened previously in Las Vegas and other major gambling destinations. The Borgata received the 2003 award for Best Project over $250 Million in the casino design competition sponsored by Global Gaming Business magazine. Of the older casino-hotels, Harrah's Atlantic City usually comes out on top for serious gamblers, including receiving best overall rankings from Casino Player magazine.  Caesar's Atlantic City probably comes closest of the older Atlantic City casino-hotels to competing with Las Vegas properties in overall quality of rooms, entertainment and casino excitement, also features lavish spa.

Probably most famous NJ hot dog havens are Max's Famous Hot Dogs on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch, whose loyal following for its grilled Shickhaus dog includes many celebrities and politicians whose photos are posted by entrance, and Rutt's on River Road in Clifton, known for its deep-fried dog and secret relish recipe. Others include Charlie's Famous on South Michigan Avenue in Kenilworth; Hot Dog Johnny's, Route 46, Buttzville; Big Daddy's Hot Dogs, Main Street in Little Falls; Goffle Grill, Goffle Road, Hawthorne; Tony's Specialized Hot Dogs, Lake Street and Park Avenue, Newark; Tommy's Hot Dogs, Grant Avenue, Carteret; . For more, check Roadfood.com, HollyEats.com and egullet.com

Pine Valley Golf Club in Camden County,  ranked as world's top course since 1985 by Golf Digest magazine in its surveys taken every other year, slipped to second place behind Pebble Beach in new list published in May.   Ron Whitten, architecture editor at Golf Digest, said "Pine Valley did nothing wrong to drop from the top spot. Pebble Beach improved its position in the conditioning category as it was groomed for last year's U.S. Open, and it impressed our panelists with its ambiance." Whitten also said margin between Pebble Beach and Pine Valley was so small that another change in position could easily occur when the next list is published in 2003. Augusta National Golf Club was third on Golf Digest list, followed by Cypress Point, near Pebble Beach, Oakmont (near Pittsburgh), Shinnecock Hills (the Hamptons, Long Island); Merion East (Ardmore, Pa.; Winged Foot East (Mamaroneck, N.Y.); Pinehurst No. 2 (Pinehurst, N.C.); and Oakland Hills South (Birmingham, Mich.).

Pine Valley remains #1 among top 100 classical courses (built prior to 1960) in March 1999 Golf Week ranking and #2 (to Scotland's Royal St. Andrews) in 1997 "Best of Golf" ranking of Links Magazine and golfweb.com .  According to golfclubatlas.com, Pine Valley "...has both more right and less wrong with it than any other course in the world. It must be included in any manuscript on golf course architecture because it possess more world class golf holes than any other course."  A private club which does not host professional tournaments, you must play with one of its 1,000 members, or join its multi-year membership waiting list, to hope to play Pine Valley.  

Baltusrol Golf and Country Club in Springfield, with two 18-hole championship courses, may be better known to general public than Pine Valley  for its hosting of 15 high-profile national championship tournaments since its opening in 1895, including the 2000 US Amateur Championship and 1993 US Open. The Lower Course at Baltusrol was ranked #37 among world's top 100 courses by Golf Magazine, Like Pine Valley, gaining membership in Baltusrol to join its movers-and-shakers of the business and entertainment worlds is not easy; while playing the course normally requires invitation of a member, Baltusrol also hosts a select number of charity benefit tournaments which are open to those willing to support the cause without being a guest of a member.  

Of public courses, two courses both part of the Monmouth County Park System--Hominy Hill Golf Course in Colts Neck and Howell Park Golf Course in Farmingdale--tied for highest rating of NJ courses in Golf Digest magazine reader survey and are consistently ranked among top 50 public courses in US. For more, check the top 10 at the excellent Web site www.jerseygolf.com.

La Martinique in Stratford, Camden County, makes MSN.com's "top ten" list of US bowling alleys. Its 80 lanes and varied amenities for patrons draw hundreds who fork over $14 for two hours on its lanes with electronic scoring. One recent online reviewer summed up: "This is a complete family bowling center. You can bowl, eat, play video games, or pool. The pro shop is outstanding and reliable. The prices are excellent and the lane conditions are always consistant (sic)." (no one said bowlers need to spell).