“I shot 6 holes in my freezer…
I think I got cabin fever…
Somebody sound the alarm!”
- Jimmy BuffettWhile we wait for the Foodie Girl to recover from her bikini wax and update everyone on our winter dining adventures, it apparently falls to me to talk about our just completed trip to the beaches of Northern New Jersey.
For me anyway this is the time of year I start to really think about warm weather, picnics and the beach. Every time the mercury tickles the 60-degree mark and I’m able to lose the jacket, I hope for summer (or at least spring) to come early so we can put all of the gray and brown behind us and replace it with green grass and warm nights. So leave it to me to rush the season and make plans to visit the shore in mid-March.
Eager to try some place different than Cape May, we went exactly 120 miles to the foot of New Jersey’s Sandy Hook and spent the evening in a town called Highlands. This town is aptly named since this is the only spot anywhere on the Atlantic coast (short of Maine I suppose) that features a hillside about 200 feet high that rises above the ocean reminiscent of St. Thomas or St. Maartin in the Caribbean.
A Room at th
e Inn
Through the magic of Google and some net detective work we decided to stay at a small B & B called
Sea Scape Manor. It turns out the research on the web was much easier than finding the actual Inn. After a few U-Turns (forget about making a left in the Garden State) we decided to turn off the GPS and use The Force to find our target. It turns out Sea Scape Manor is at the top of a steep hill through a residential neighborhood and a parking lot of a local high school.
Without getting into too much detail about the Inn, we’ll say our Innkeepers were delightful (thanks Cindy) and our room was charming (however a bit small) with a spectacular view of the ocean, the Sandy Hook Bridge and the Intercoastal. You can even see the sprawling skyline of New York just 20 miles or so to the north. The place could use a bit of sprucing up but I’m sure when spring blooms things will look much brighter. Once we got used to the steep hills, sharp turns and no turns we found the area easy to navigate with the feel of an old fishing town.
“We’ll go to Bahrs ‘n get some Lobsters” – Tony 
SopranoIt seems like every shore town has a restaurant like
Bahrs. Cape May has the Lobster House and Sea Isle City has Carmines, to name a few. It’s a classic seashore seafood restaurant. They have been around since 1917, with their dock and dining room facing out to the foot of Sandy Hook. They are known for their New England Clam Chowder (red) which the Foodie Girl reported had lots of veggies, was a little spicy with nice size pieces of clam and was overall very good. She even took a can home from their gift shop.
After the soup she was looking forward to the Lobster Roll, which is large chunks of lobster served on essentially a hotdog roll. This was good as well but did not compare to the world famous Lobster Roll served at ‘Pat’s Lunch’ on the causeway to Stone Harbor. (I dream of an Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, she dreams of a lobster sandwich at the shore. We all have our priorities.) These lobster pieces were not quite as sweet and contained a little more mayo than she thinks is necessary. The other negative was for some reason the bread came out toasted instead of in its natural bread-like state. Perhaps this is another specialty at Bahrs.
The Landlubber (not sure exactly what that means… should I be insulted?) among us had the French Onion Soup (very good, not too salty) and a delicious burger featuring meat from a local farm. Overall, we enjoyed Bahrs. The view was excellent and the servers were friendly and efficient even though they were wearing green in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. My guess is in warmer weather the deck is packed and boats stream by toward the bridge and New York Harbor. This is not what one would consider fine dining but definitely gives the visitor some local flavor.
Making Wine fro
m a Lemon at Sirena RestaurantThis beach area of North Jersey seems to feature a number of what we would consider middle of the road establishments but a small number of fine-dining restaurants. So leave it to the Foodie Girl to seek out the upscale
Sirena Ristorante in Long Branch.
This restaurant is in the center of what appears to be a brand-new fairly upscale shopping district right on the ocean. It’s just off the main drag (Route 36) that runs north south through each of these tiny shore towns. There are a number of other dining spots in this same little area that appears to be worthy of a visit as well.
The restaurant is really beautiful with a spectacular ocean view. Since it was a Monday night in the off-season we had no trouble getting seated right away. We wound up in a large, comfortable booth on the upper tier of seats that faced the water and the cozy fireplace. This is where we hit a bump in the road.
After a few minutes the two servers who appeared to be on the floor passed near our table several times without stopping by. Five minutes passed without getting approached, then ten. We observed someone who appeared to be a manager or host visiting other tables so we decided to hold off getting up and leaving until he came to see us. When he did make his way over he was mortified to learn that we had been there for a good 15 minutes without a visit from a server. Yikes!
After his most sincere apology we learned his name was Carl. He grabbed his server Jamie, a very delightful young lady, and quickly offered us some drinks. After a short discussion about wines (He must have figured I knew enough about wine to be dangerous) Carl preceded to bring us four different bottles to taste. (A crisp Sancerre, a Sangiovese Blend from Sonoma, a Napa Cab and a light fruity red from Montelpuciano.) Our angst over the long wait was melting away. After tasting all four, with four different glasses Carl brought, I could not make up my mind so I was treated to a complimentary glass of both the Sangiovese and the Cab along with the glass of Sancerre.
Time to eat. The Foodie Babe went for the Pan-Seared Diver Scallops with baby clams. It was served with a puree of something called gigante beans, which was almost like mashed sweet potatoes. She reported that this was an outstanding dish and the bean puree was simply fantastic. The Sancerre was the perfect match for the Scallops with apricot notes and good acidity.
I was thrilled to hear the evening’s special, a roasted short-rib ragout served with fusilli pasta. The only disappointment here was the pasta on my plate was not fusilli, not even close, but more like a very thick spaghetti without a curl in site. In fact the folks sitting at the table next to us made the same comment once their entrée came out to their table. This aside, it was an exceptional choice with generous and hearty sections of short rib in a tomato sauce blended just right with a sprinkle of Parmesan. I would order this again in a minute.
We finished up with some decaf (it was 9:30 already) and Zabaglione for dessert. This consisted of an amaretto custard, some very ripe strawberries and a biscotti. What a great way to end a night that could have been a disaster.
On the way out I stopped to chat with Carl, Jamie and another server named Sean (or Shaun, not sure). They all again apologized once more for the earlier issues, especially when they learned that this was our first visit to the area and we came in from the Philly area. I again assured them that we had a great time and wound up talking about movies for a few minutes before heading out into the cold.
You can check out Sirena Ristorante at
www.sirenaristorante.comThat’s it for now. We’ll continue to hope for an early spring and warm beach weather. Thanks for reading.
AZIE recently opened in the building once occupied by the West End Pub. First impression..WOW..The decor is beautiful. Clean lines, warm colors and full of natural light from the floor to ceiling windows. River Stones and Tile on the walls and bar. And no crowded seating, lots of room. I decided to sit in the bar area. The red couch that lined the wall looked comfortable, and the round frosted glass tables, again were not cramped together. Service was immediate even in the lunch hour. Nice size menu. Something for everyone but not over complicated.
