Battle of the boardwalks – which Jersey Shore seaside funplex reigns supreme?

Spinning, roaring, stomach-churning rides. Fried, cheese-covered, frozen and sugar-coated treats. Sea air, sand and sunshine. Mix them all together, and you have the Jersey Shore boardwalk, a recipe for summer fun that’s hard to beat.

If you haven’t visited a boardwalk, picture a state fair. Now place it next to a beach and have it open every.single.day throughout the summer months. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.

As a born-and-bred New Jersey resident, I grew up going “down the shore” (how any authentic Jerseyian refers to the beach), spending days jumping the waves and evenings heading to the boardwalk.

As the years have rolled by, I’ve indulged in boardwalk fun all the way down the 130-mile New Jersey coast. From the MTV-famous Seaside Heights in the north to the doo-wop history of Wildwood in the south, I’ve spent hours both as a kid and then as a parent walking the boards.

At some point each summer, the same debate has popped up as my friends and family enjoy the waves, treats and rides: Which Jersey Shore boardwalk is the best?

This year, instead of just contemplating that eternal summer question, I decided to put the locations to the test.

Full disclosure: When I began the ultimate boardwalk quest, I was going to hit every boardwalk in the state. But then I realized that, with hundreds of miles of wooden boards running along sandy stretches of beach, testing every one would become a full-time job, so I rethought my approach.

After much consultation with my Jersey peers, I went with three big hitters:

• Ocean City: Considered the most family-friendly boardwalk.
• Wildwood: Known for having the most, and most thrilling, rides.
• Atlantic City: The oldest boardwalk in the state.

For these big three, I compared several categories: food, top rides, unique attractions and beach access. Then I ranked each on a scale of 1 to 5 star(fish).

Five family members came along for the ride — ranging in age from 2 to 72 including one 18-year-old we sent on the biggest rides and whom we had eat the greasiest food (he’s fine, I promise).

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In the name of research, most of our group walked nearly five miles on each boardwalk (the 2-year-old either ran full speed or rode in the stroller), enduring a record-setting heat wave and then epic rainstorms. Upset stomachs were a given, as well as a budget for Tums. There were also some tears — but mostly from the toddler in our group who didn’t want to be parted from his favorite rides, which is always the sign of a successful outing.

So which boardwalk reigned supreme? Here were my findings.

Ocean City

A lot of destinations call themselves “family-friendly,” but in Ocean City, the moniker is well-deserved. Ocean City is a dry town, a carryover from an age of “blue laws” that regulated alcohol sales and consumption. In OC, that means you won’t find a beachside bar, a boardwalk nightclub, or even restaurants serving alcohol. There’s also no gambling (that means even skeeball games don’t come with prizes). What it does have: 2.5 miles of great food, free entertainment and kid-friendly rides.

Top food

Ocean City excels at all-ages boardwalk eats. There’s everything here from a coffee roaster spinning beans with a view of the beach to artisanal gelato to fresh crab cakes, plus pizza and at least half a dozen excellent fried potato options. Not to mention frozen custard, water ices, boba tea and fudge and candy shops.

My group ate an ocean’s worth of fried and frozen treats here. Two really stood out, though.

Johnson’s Caramel Corn: This is the kind of sweet, salty crunchy delight I continued to think about well after our massive, family-sized bucket was gone. Johnson’s makes fresh batches of buttery, caramel-coated popcorn all day long (every seven minutes according to their signs) in copper pots large enough that you’d think you could swim in them, then serves it up in a warm haze of burnt sugar for $7.50 for a small bucket and $11 for a large.

Tip one: If you ask for it without the lid, they’ll pile it to overflowing. Tip two: Watch out for diving seagulls if you go this route. With a lid on, the sticky corn could last a week before losing its snap — although our bucket only lasted two days before it was completely devoured. Everybody loved this one.

Stars: 5.

Manco & Manco’s Pizza: Because I am from the New York City metropolitan area, I have a lot of thoughts on pizza. This, I can frankly say, is not a New York or New Jersey pie. It’s a Philly-style tomato pie, meaning the sauce is on top of the cheese. I still think it’s fantastic. The hand-tossed, slightly amorphous, hub cap-sized pizza landed out of the oven and on our table in the enormous dining room — in what was once a movie theater — while the mozzarella was still bubbling.

The pizza eaters in…