Brigantine, NJ butcher shop to appear on Food Network again

BRIGANTINE — “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” better known as DDD airs every Friday night on The Food Network and this week it's featuring the Jersey Shore.

If you haven’t checked it out, host celebrity chef, Guy Fieri takes cross-country trips to visit some of America’s finest “greasy spoon” restaurants that have been around for decades.

This Friday, Oct. 28., at 9 p.m., DDD will feature for the second time Ernest and Son Meat Market, an old-fashioned butcher shop in Brigantine, in an episode called “From Sausage to Sweet.”

“We appreciate the opportunity and are excited for everyone to see it!!! Thank you for all the support as always,” said owner Mel Cortellessa on Facebook.

Ernest and Son, 3305 Brigantine Blvd., Brigantine is the ideal neighborhood butcher shop. Everything is cut and made fresh to order, from sausages to beef jerky. The butcher also makes sandwiches to order including the Tailgater, featuring homemade sausage with grilled peppers and onions, according to the DDD website.

The butcher shop was founded by Ernest Storino and his son Sam in 1977. Then, in 1985, Brigantine native, Mel Cortellessa was hired at the age of 13 as a stockboy and cleanup kid. Cortellessa learned the trade and bought the business in 2007.

The top-quality meat shop was featured on DDD once before in Season 21, Episode 13, “Oldies but Goodies” in December 2014.

Jen Ursillo is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at jennifer.ursillo@townsquaremedia.com

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