Food and Wine Corner

  HOT TOWN , SUMMER IN THE CITY  Hello my fellow summer fun seekers. ( Say that 3 times fast).   Are you looking to hang out at a beach concert with 100,000 of your closest friends? No , you are not , but  the good news is neither am I. But  what I don’t mind doing is sipping some ice cold beer , munching on crispy fried clams with waffle fries while watching the boats go by. But where to go? I am glad you asked. BTW now I am not guaranteeing that you can actually park there ( and having a fistfight over the last parking space  could  kill your  buzz) so it might be expedient to finally use that outdated UBER app that your friends grandson installed on your phone four years ago .Yes, the APP is  black  and no, you can't share the cost of  the ride with 14 other people  cheapskate).So for what it’s worth  (or not , you decide ) here is my list of ,Water, Water Everywhere , the Shoreist of the Shore : Watermark Asbury, (800 Ocean Ave, Asbury Park) Roof Deck Heaven. Have a Mojito or M

                 Sweet  Dreams are Made of This …           Greetings my penny pinching Gastronauts, did you miss me? Well I missed you. So tell me , Mon Ami , do you feel like a bear emerging from  hibernation just  Jonesing to feel that warm sun on your face. I bet you do. Well my friends , it is time to party. How would you like to be sitting ala fresco at your favorite trattoria  in  sunny Piedmont sampling some freshly made Stracciatella ( homemade Italian Cheese) . Well you can , Tue Amiche, just ring up  the designated driver of your choice or what the hell, call an Uber ( because parking is a bringdown there)   and Andiamo your butt  over to the  fabulous  new Dolce Fantasia (521 Cookman Ave) in Asbury Park.  Now I can hear you thinking, ”Italian” , it is so boring, you can almost taste the aluminum can from the tomato sauce . Well my friends this ain’t that. This spot  will remind you of why you used to love Italian in the first place.  You can taste the authentici

                         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

                                                                                                  YOU CAN TUNE A PIANO , BUT … Hello my favorite people. As I racked my brain trying  to find something  interesting to share with you this month , I found I was kinda , “Outta  Ammo”. Then I had this bizarre thought , instead of something interesting ,  how about I find the most boring subject possible?  Now this was probably  a bad idea but it would tell me a lot about my readers. Either they really  don’t expect much or their lives are just  boring as mine.  Anyway if you are  still, yawn, with me, let's see where this goes. Now I fancy myself a pretty  good cook , but no matter what I do, my tuna salad will not win any prizes. I  have gone the mustard route , added  celery salt , scallions, Worcestershire   Sauce, you name it and it is still  like cat food in a bowl. It either had too  much mayo, not enoug

                           Everything Old Is New Again What do you get when you mix the area's  top chef with an ancient Long Branch tradition? You, my friends, get Nunzio's (230 Westwood Ave Long Branch ) . When I walk into this place its  like stepping into a time warp. It 1956 and my family and I going to the “ pizza parlor” for a fresh  “tomato pie”. I can almost hear the old men playing Bocce in the alleyway next door. The sites,  the smells , the jukebox , the plastic seats are all the same or are they? Yes and no. The pizza is  still thin and crispy with just the perfect char. The Antipast is still fresh and crunchy . But what's  this? Just whipped house ricotta with honey from Trama's own beehive ?  Homemade Focaccia  with Robiola Cheese and Truffle Oil ? Pretty fancy for Nunzio’s. Yep , the digs are same , the  family friendly vibe is the same but the food , well that's elevated. In case you don't remember   Pat Trama is the classically trained executiv

                                             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 

                                                                                  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