Food and Wine Corner

  Not Just Locals Only Hello my friends and compatriots, and welcome. It  seems like forever since I last imparted my words of wisdom. This  is largely for two reasons , one because I was too lazy and two because I feel I had nothing of import to report. I am sure that is alliteration or something, I should have paid more attention to Mrs Donahoe in my eighth grade English class instead of hurling spitballs.   Anyway  I’ve gotta tell you about my current crush,  the very fine rustic Italian restaurant Locale, located right here ( 51 Oceanport Ave) in Little Silver. I know what you are thinking , just what we need ,one more Italian Restaurant added to the other  2869  located on most  every corner , in every town in the state. Yawn. I get it , and you would not be wrong. You may ask. How is one supposed to navigate the open seas of underwhelming  spaghetti sauce? Well my peeps , that is what you have me for and I take my non paying job qu...

          BAD ADVICE  Ya know, ever  since I  have been doing this column, I always try my best  to give my readers  good advice. I owe it to  you all , because you have taken time  out of your life to read this . Thanks, by the way . Then I was thinking , “What would be the  worst advice that anyone has ever given you ?” Now there are many contenders for the worst words to live by but a  few come to mind  right off the bat. How about “What you don’t know won’t hurt you”. Now this is a good one , since it is my observation that most of the things  we worry about don’t seem to  happen at all, instead it's that unforeseen something  coming  out of left field that seems  to  kick your arse Six ways to Sunday.  Not far behind are these words of wisdom ,   “What harm can it do?”, since   it is my contention that as humans on this planet we generally have...

                    HOMETOWN (H)OMAGE Hello my friends and welcome. As some of you may or may know, my home town of Long Branch has a long and sordid  history of only  two things , charismatic wise guys with colorful names ( like the infamous Pussy Russo) and Italian fare to  die for . Ask any  old tymers  about the good ol  days and their eyes will glass over as they recall a young Frank Sinatra  and his cohorts slurping Manhattans  and  raising hell at the infamous Continental between bites of  Puttanesca or  Ossobucco. Although the  once great institutions of the past ( like Ilventos and Sirianni’s ) have vanished along with sub million dollar real estate , there are a handful of very worthy contenders that are continuing the tradition of drool worthy fare in our area. First off has to be the venerable and very tasty Trama’s Tratto...

   Making Their Bar R Bar Greetings my bargain seeking gastronomes and welcome to my favorite time of the year. Now, I might have said this before but that was just another one of my favorite times of the year. Anyhoo, are y'all ready for a party ? Well, welcome my friends to R Bar (114 Main St, Asbury Park)  , a Multi- “Fun” tual venue with live music, fabulous Greenhouse themed Roof Top bar and a very funky outdoor patio. This joint is friendly, fun and fabulous,  thanks to the deft hand of ringleader and managing partner Casey Ritchings who keeps the party going  and the inspired cookery of  Executive Chef Mike (yes he is fine ) Feinberg ( late of Marc Forgione's American Cut in Manhattan). In fact, in my not so humble opinion, “R”,  features some of the very best and most inventive Nawlins Cuisine you will ever have outside of The  Big Easy. Their  menu is replete  ( Good SAT Word) with Delta inspired delicacies galore like light an...

  We’ve Got To Get Ourselves Back To The Garden Hello my friends and homies , let me ask you a question, are all you all you all just feeling just a little bit anxious lately? Like you are waiting for the next shoe to drop , only one bit of bad news away from disaster? Like if you were a piece of Sushi you would be an “ Out of Control Roll” . Are you feeling , now how should I put this, Just a little freaking uncertain? Well my friends if it makes you feel better, there are very good reasons for this and one of them is quite close, buzzing and pinging in your pocket. Never before have we been so distracted, so disconnected from nature and the spiritual world. Little beknownst to us, there is an industry spending virtually a trillion dollars annually to capture your time and attention . While it may seem relatively harmless , there is a “ Toll for the Scroll”, a cost we all pay for our modern conveniences and that among other things is a loss of wonder and separation from the earth,...

                            LIVIN THE LIFE Hello my excellent friends and welcome to the very  best time of the year. Ah, Spring! The birds are singing, the buds are budding , the Yankees are cheating, the days are getting longer and everyone is is just so anticipant ( if that's a word).You can almost smell the plethora of fertilizer blowing off your neighbors lawn, and hear his wife chirping , “I told you it was too windy”. Even the word “Spring”  just connotes forward movement, leaping ahead, a new beginning and who among us wouldn’t want another chance to foul it all up again? Not Moi. FYI, Spring” or more accurately, “The Spring Equinox “ is called such because the sun is  positioned directly over the equator dividing  the periods of day and night time equally. Who knew? Not me, perhaps I should have listened more intently in science c...