N.J. food critic and host Ed Hitzel

Ed Hitzel, 64, of Mays Landing, N.J., known for tough but fair restaurant reviews as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of the Jersey Shore restaurant and food scene, died Monday, June 29.

Mr. Hitzel was stricken during dinner with friends at the Maplewood restaurant in Hammonton, N.J., whose spaghetti he frequently raved about. His wife of 33 years, Susan, told the Atlantic City Press that the cause was cardiac arrest.

The Longport, N.J.-raised son of an Atlantic City hotelier, Mr. Hitzel rose from copy boy in the 1970s to editing jobs at the Press. He left in the early 1990s to publish Ed Hitzel's Restaurant Magazine. He also hosted Hitzel's Table for One, a three-hour radio show heard Saturdays on WOND-AM (1400) as well as WTEL-AM (610).

Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan, who was scheduled to appear Saturday on the radio show, said, "Eddie Hitzel was always my first source for information on where to eat in South Jersey, because no one knew the restaurant landscape there - and the people that made it tick - as intimately as he did.

"You could tell from the weekly radio show that Eddie gravitated toward the positive. The more delicious, the better. But he cared deeply about quality, too. He railed against 'arrogant' celebrity chefs and casinos that cared more about dollars than great cuisine.

"He always looked for the genuine, promising to take me to his favorite places far off the grid from the tourist path. As any great food writer would, he regarded these finds as some of his proudest treasures."

Robert Irvine, the TV host whose U.S. start was in Atlantic City, said: "Ed was an amazing guy; he did so much for so many in Atlantic City and the surrounding community. His sense of humor and charismatic behavior made him loved by all. My thoughts and prayers to his family during this difficult time. He will be missed."

Besides his wife, he is survived by a son and a daughter.

Plans for services were incomplete.