THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS


                                   ( LOCAL EDITION)




Hello my favorite people. Did you notice that your dinner bill now  has three digits at the 


bottom no matter where you seem to go? Of course you have. Since you are paying the price of 


admission anyway  it has become  more important than ever to,  as my daughter in law says, 


“ make smart choices”. So , my friends let me ask you this, “ how many  times has this 


happened to you?” You finally decided to bite the bullet and  reserve a table at that pricey place 


that everyone says (possibly even me) is the best in town. You decide to throw all caution to the 


wind and sacrifice your first born to order that premium entrée  that your server has 


congratulated you for choosing. You wait patiently in anticipation and taste your first bite and , 


“EH ”. You look around for the waiter  hoping you’ll get the chutzpah to ask him  to bring you  


something else but there's nothing REALLY wrong with it . Then your friends ask you, How is it? 


" And you say, “ EH ” Then you hear the dreaded phrase , “You must have ordered the wrong 


thing”. Sometimes it is not enough to know  just where to go , but also know WHAT TO ORDER. 


With that in mind, and a small fortune spent , here is a list of my absolute favorite menu items 


that will vastly increase the likelihood that you will enjoy your meal. To this you might  ask “What 


makes you think you're so smart?”, a  phrase notably uttered by Mrs. Einstein to her husband 


Albert as he formulated the Theory of Relativity . To that I say , “Who is writing this article 


anyway , me or you ?”  Do you want to write it?  I didn’t think so. This also reminds me of a 


totally unrelated quote attributed to the noted philosopher and all around deep thinker Jim Carry 


 who once said “Behind every great man is his wife rolling her  eyes”. So without further ado 


here is my totally biased and inaccurate list of my favs  in no particular order for your reading 


pleasure or total disregard .






Best Sandwich 


Lobster Roll BLT  /  Seagrass Ocean Grove


Grilled Chicken  with brie, apple, bacon , spicy  mayo / Kitchen Witch - Monmouth Beach




Best Salad   


The Crackling Calamari  Salad  /   Bistro - Red Bank


Shaved Artichoke / Trama - Long Branch


The Hudson Canyon Salad with Seared Sesame Tuna / Woody’s - Tinton Falls 




Best Appetizer  


Creamy Spicy (not too)  Rock Shrimp with Scallion Pancakes  / Peking Pavilion - Freehold


Mussels with Tomato Gravy and Brooklyn Bread / Trama - Long Branch






Best Fish


Honey Salmon with Coconut Rice and Fried Plantains  /  Woody's - Sea Bright- Tinton Falls


Porcini Crusted Seared Dayboat Scallops with Shaved Truffles / Piccola Italia - Ocean


The Faroe Island Salmon with Sautéed Spinach and Crisp Potato / Stella Marina - Asbury





Best Steak (Without Breaking The Bank) $52 To Share



Corrina's Critically Acclaimed 24 Oz Aged NY Strip  / Peking Pavilion ( Yes The Chinese Place) 


 - Freehold 



 

Best Chicken 


Pollo Involtini stuffed with Spinach , Prosciutto, Fontina and Sage / Stella Marina- Asbury




 

Best Ribs


Mesquite Grilled Baby Back Ribs / Salt Creek Grill  /Rumson




Best Pasta 


Spaghetti in White Clam Sauce / Chef Vola - Atlantic City ( sorry , not local)



Best Bread


 Brooklyn Bread / Trama -  Long Branch



Best Pancakes


Lemon Blueberry Pancakes / Turning Point





Best Dessert



Pot De Creme ( Thick semi sweet chocolate custard )  / The Avenue - Long Branch


Vanilla Creme Brulee  / Piccola Italia- Ocean




Best Drink


Blood Orange Margarita / Avenue  - Long Branch 


Espresso Martini / Mix - Long Branch




Best Pizza ( sorry Vic's and Pete and Elda's )


Nunzio's - Long Branch


Galley Pizza - Asbury




So there it is,  for what its worth which may or may not be much. You decide .


Is it possible that you follow my recommendations and still get a crappy meal? 


Yes. Is that going to happen? Nope . And even if it does as my wife says ,” You are going to eat 


another meal tomorrow”.  BTW I would find very interesting to hear you rants and raves on 


my selections , particularly if you agree with me and a little less if you don’t . So that is all for 


now from your self appointed guide to all things self indulgent , reminding you to enjoy your time on


this planet and eat well my friends.



              Creamy Rock Shrimp with Scallion Pancakes / Peking Pavilion Freehold

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2024 at 4:24 PM

    Thank you for your reviews. Very helpful

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
                                             BREAKFAST  BATTLES Hello my hungry friends, it is time again for my meaningless culinary words of wisdom. Actually,  I almost didn’t get started this month because I was “Across The Pond “, doing some vital  empirical research for you which can be summed up in one word ,“Shakshuka”. In case you  don't know , “Shakshuka” is a North African -Style Poached Egg Dish  in A Spicy Tomato Sauce  which appears on every breakfast menu in the UK. That along with the second most popular  offering ,  “The Full English Breakfast”, a dish that  somehow elevates  Heinz  Vegetarian beans ,and Orangey eggs into the ultimate morning fare. This  brings me to the  subject at hand and one of my favorite meals, “Breakfast” . It's where you go when you are  bored , hungry and hungover and don’t want to wash 75 pots and pans. But where?” I 
Read more
Image
                                                                                  COMMITTED PIG OUT Hello my friends and  discerning gourmets everywhere. I was a little late from the get go   this month , but the thought of leaving you all alone  without my words of wisdom was  more than I can bear. So here goes.  Wanna a knockout lunch in a super cute town  less than  30 minutes away ?  Of course you do. Well welcome to the “Committed Pig” ( 165 Main Street in  Manasquan). Before you ask, the name comes from a parable in which  a chicken  asks the pig  if he wants to be  partners in a restaurant that specializes in ham and eggs. ”No” says the pig  . “because while you are  involved , I am  committed “. And committed they are , wowing you with  super decadent and scrumptious fair adorning  every plate they put in front of you. I tried one of  their 6 super rich toasted grilled cheese sandwiches with melted Brie and Homemade Fig Jam  while my wife opted for the Avocado, and Melted Muens
Read more
Image
                         GO WEST  YOUNG MAN (OR LADIES)               Hello my penny pinching Gastronauts. Are you sick of the same old, same old? Then it could well be time to throw caution to the wind, top off the T bird with that  sub $3  gas and as Horace Greeley ( editor of The NY Tribune and failed presidential candidate ) once declared “Go West Young Man (Or  Ladies) .”  Now by West, I mean Freehold not Oklahoma. Our first stop on our journey has got to be the fine new  Turkish Restaurant Marmara (3710 US 9 Freehold) named for the small inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It is the brainchild of Bill Ayaz a Manalapan resident of Turkish heritage who has transformed this large space (seating for 200)  occupied by Ruby Tuesdays into an authentic mecca of Modern Turkish fare.  It is, if you ask me, the only good reason to visit The Freehold Mall since Nordstrom’s shockingly shuttered their doors in 2020. First off, you are greeted with an enormously  puffy loa
Read more