When it comes to Italian food, South Jersey has a ton of great options.  The Atlantic City casinos have great restaurants and so do the surrounding areas.

From Atlantic City to Cape May, there are a bunch of great dishes, but three stood out to NJ.com writers Jeremy Schneider and Peter Genovese.

I also added a few places at the end of the article that I have been to recently, that you should check out sometime.

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The writers ranked the Top 24 Italian dishes, with three from South Jersey landing on the list, starting with the gnocchi pomodoro from Sapore Italiano in West Cape May, which came in at No. 17 on the list.

Something about tomato sauce and gnocchi always floats my pasta boat. The gnocchi pomodoro at Sapore Italiano was one of the surprise hits of our epic search for N.J.’s best Italian restaurant. The dish is proof you don’t need a long list of ingredients to make a deeply satisfying meal.

At No. 14 on the list is the rigatoni bolognese at Cafe 2825 in Atlantic City.

The winner of our N.J.’s Best Italian Restaurant showdownCafe 2825 remains relatively under the radar 30-plus years after opening. Old-school atmosphere, high-end dining, Cafe 2825 is small and cozy. You absolutely must order the mozzarella made table-side, then a meat or pasta dish, such as the terrific Rigatoni Bolognese, simple and sensational. (PG)

Finally, coming in at No. 2 on the list is the veal parmesan at Chef Vola's in Atlantic City, which was the highest-ranked dish from the area.

Chef Vola’s in on the short list of legendary New Jersey Italian restaurants. The portions are huge, it’s cash only, there’s no real website, and reservations must be made well in advance. The restaurant opened in 1921 in what was then a rooming house. What then-owner Joe Vola cooked “is what you got,’’ current co-owner Lou Esposito told me. The veal parm is the absolute best example of that classic Jersey dish. And don’t you dare leave without trying the banana cream pie. (PG)

While these are the three dishes they picked, there are plenty of other spots in the area you should give a try.

I have recently been to Casaldi's Cucina in Linwood, Marsini's Kitchen in Somers Point, Angeloni's II, Scannicchio and Girosole in Atlantic City and Rocco's Town House in Hammonton.

These places have some great dishes, but get out there and check out some of these great Italian restaurants in our area!

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