'TIS THE SEASON

Sometimes I feel that just as restaurants begin to warm up, they close for the season. I wish there was more time to get to know them, especially as they hit their strides. But, often, their floor crews head back to school (to study or to teach) as September rolls around and their chefs return to cities that empty in warm weather or to resort communities that do more business in winter.

And, of course, there's the population drop-off at our Shore as summer folks close up summer houses and daytrippers find other destinations. Of course we year-rounders enjoy the less-crowded roads, but restaurateurs ache over less-crowded dining rooms.

Every year about this time, I realize I'm not going to make it to X, Y and Z seasonal places. Not enough dining-out nights on the calendar. I try to shoehorn in another trip to Mustache Bill's in Barnegat Light, see if I can round up a crew to try that first-year spot in that beach town, and hope that mid-summer entry returns for an encore next year. It's too short, this summer of ours, and as I plan my eating for abbreviated August (I take a spell of vacation then), invariably I face a time-crunch quandary.

So today, at the close of July, I find myself wondering and curious: What are your favorite seasonal restaurants -- those open, for the most part, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, or maybe offering a limited schedule into October? Names, towns, those dishes you'll crave all off-season long?

cheers,
Andy
7.31.07

RESTAURANT FAVORITES

In a comment to a post below, Robin suggests I offer my selections for a promotion known as Readers' Choice awards. The suggestion sent me back 15, 16 years.

About a year and a half after I started writing The Dining Companion, I had what I thought was the bright idea of having a Best Restaurant competition. Readers would fill out a ballot and select their choices in a panoply of categories and we'd run a list of their picks as well as my picks. I figured we'd get maybe 200, 300 entries and I'd volunteered to count all the ballots in the dozen or so categories.

Well, after 1,600 entries were received and I'd done nothing for two weeks but count ballots, I asked for help with the remaining mountain of ballots. I learned, quickly, how restaurant mad y'all were.

But I also learned something else. My own picks in those 12 or so categories had legs you couldn't believe. Restaurants took out ads, hung banners, printed fliers proclaiming I'd deemed them the best restaurant. The problem, to my mind, was that some of those restaurants were ignoring their cooking in favor of their promoting, and foods I'd loved had taken quite a dive. A restaurant is an organic thing and it can change in a heartbeat. I was mortified seeing my name associated with a "best" I no longer felt was justified.

So I learned "best" lists aren't the smartest thing to do. Instead, at the end of every calendar year, I do a list of favorite dishes I've enjoyed that year. I write about the dishes that truly stood out during the course of that year, which is far more current and far more reliable than dubbing a restaurant "best." Too, a restaurant may not be across-the-board strong, but do one thing really, really well. I have no problem with saying that.

Thanks for the suggestion, Robin. It's one I myself would've pitched to a restaurant critic. I guess I feel, too, that it's pretty obvious from my reviews what restaurants I feel currently are operating at a really high level. And, as always, I welcome thoughts from all of you, whether you agree or strongly, adamantly disagree.

cheers,
Andy
7.28.07

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Folks tend to ask me, and understandably, about the newest restaurants in the area. I'm as curious as anyone about how the new kids our our restaurant blocks are faring, but I generally tend to wait a spell before going on a review visit. (Unless it's from a long-established chef with a solid resume of restaurants.) Now, I might pop into a brand new place, try a couple or few dishes, but that's mostly to see how a restaurant grows.

I've been thinking about new places because I've reviewed, and very favorably, a new restaurant for this Sunday's Dining Companion. There are some service quirks at this place and not every dish sparkles, but I found a goodly bunch of dishes that truly excited me. I was practically dancing as I sent the review over to the editing basket.

I'm always on the lookout for these kinds of places, but sometimes I am forced to wait. For example, I was thrilled to hear chef Fredric Byarm was back at local stoves at a place called Antoinetta's down in Cedar Run. (On the re-built site of his first big success, Marina Russo, to boot.) I waited for the place to settle a bit, then recently called (incognito, as always) to reserve a table. But, I was told, Byarm currently isn't cooking there. Huh? Well, a few more phone calls yielded a few different answers from a staff that truly seemed befuddled: He hurt his leg, I was told by one. He may or may not be coming back, another said. He's out for a couple of weeks, he's out for a couple of months. So I need to wait to see how things pan out at Antoinetta's. (If anyone from Antoinetta's wants to offer an update, please do so right here.)

Havanna Tropical Cafe, rising on the site of the old Havana in Highlands, is another newbie of interest. Just three weeks old and sporting a Cuban menu, I'm sure it'll attract those looking for bold meats and island acenting. Have you been? If so, what do you think?

Chef Wil Vivas, formerly of Bistro Ole in Asbury Park, has hung his name on a storefront in Belmar (in Belmar Plaza, to be exact, a few doors down from Oyama) and his fans already are asking me when he's opening. Care to offer info, Chef Vivas?

Trinity in Keyport is a big opening for that small Bayshore 'burg. I'm hearing good things about the chef, who is scouting local farms for locally grown produce, and I think that's one to watch. Who has tried the eclectic menu there?

So, where are y'all eating this weekend? Dining out? At home?

And, may we have some contributions from the frontlines? Meaning:

FARMERS: What's come in today and what will you feature this weekend on your farm stands? If you'd like to have chefs reach out to you, please note that, too. And do feel free to post your address and any relevant info under comments.

CHEFS: What specials are you offering this weekend from seasonal ingredients? Feel free to be as detailed as you'd like. Get our gastric juices flowing!

cheers,
Andy
7.27.07

SODA GOES POP

Have you been following the latest on soda? Well, yes or no, here's the news (I quote from an AP story) that's prompting all the chatter:

(R)esearch comes from a massive, multi-generational heart study following residents of Framingham, Mass., a town about 25 miles west of Boston. The new study of 9,000 observations of middle-aged men and women was published Monday online in the journal Circulation.
The researchers found those who drank one or more sodas a day - diet or regular - had an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, compared to those who drank sodas infrequently. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that increase the risk for heart disease including large waistlines and higher levels of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood fats called triglycerides.
At the start of the study, those who reported drinking one or more soft drinks a day had a 48 percent increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to those who drank less soda.
Of participants who initially showed no signs of metabolic syndrome, those who drank one or more sodas a day were at 44 percent higher risk of developing it four years later, they reported.

Now, I take flak from friends about the fact that I don't like cola beverages and eschew soda in general. My feeling is that all that sweetness dulls the palate for the nuances of other flavors. I don't have a lot of respect for folks who consider themselves food savvy, then wash down their dinners with cola. Nothing goes better with a wash of liquid sweet, natural or artificial.

But this study is giving soda-drinkers pause - and I'd like to hear the thoughts of both soda-drinkers and those who don't touch the stuff.

cheers,
Andy
7.24.07

A FEAST AT POLLAK

The laughs were delicious, the soliloquies stirring. At the end of "Chapter Two," I wanted to make a reservation for another night, to experience it all over again.

Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, is the setting this summer for an abbreviated season of Shadow Lawn Stage, and the current play, by Neil Simon, offers an extra-special reason to stay on this side of the Hudson for a spot of theater-going: Actors Bryan Cranston and Robin Dearden have come east from their home in California to perform with their best friends and happy collaborators Bill Timoney and Georgette Reilly of Belmar. It's an unforgettable "Chapter Two," the kind that makes you quickly turn the page in anticipation of chapter three - a reprise of the intermingling of incredible talent on stage.

The foursome are, at turns, belly-laugh funny and breath-stopping poignant. I roared, I teared, I left Pollak as one should leave a theater: completely consumed by the performances I'd just experienced.

Well, I think I expected no less. A scant two-and-a-half weeks ago, Bill cheerily ran down the steps of Bryan and Robin's rental home in Avon to greet me and help me unload food from my car. Georgette quickly followed, as Robin and Bryan put down scripts and started toting tubs of grub. It was Fourth of July, and the quartet had spent the day on the porch, running lines for "Chapter Two." I'd volunteered to cook.

We spent the next several hours eating, eating, eating and talking shop. (Let me tell you, if you think all actors are picky, weight-watching eaters, these folks will prove you wrong. I threw just about every spice and wacky accent at them, cooked enough for a Marine division - and they didn't hesitate and certainly didn't quit. If they weren't such fabulous actors, I'd suggest they go into food criticism.) Devoted to the theater, and committed to bringing Broadway-caliber productions to our local stages, the Cranstons and the Timoneys were using their summer vacations to make our evenings memorable.

It's a singularly sensational "Chapter Two." I'd reserve right now.

Performances in this limited engagement continue at 8 tonight, and also at 8 p.m. on July 25, July 27 and July 28. There also are performances at 7 p.m. tomorrow (July 22) and at 7 on July 29. For ticket information, call the Monmouth U box office at 732. 263. 6889.

cheers,
Andy
7.21.07

RATATOUILLE THE RIGHT WAY

Ratatouille is all the rage, thanks to the movie, but it's too often made as a mushy stew. There's a right way to make ratatouille, and I'm looking for home cooks (in particular) and professional chefs (as quote-worthy resources) who know and can talk about the proper ratatouille-cooking techniques. Please reply under comments right here or e-mail me at clurfeld@app.com. I'll be doing a story on the right way to prepare ratatouille (and more!) a little later this summer.

Some questions for y'all:

Chefs/restaurants: What specials are you offering this weekend? What seasonal ingredients are you featuring?

Diners: What restaurants are you trying? Any new places snag your interest?

Home cooks: What are you buying right now at the farmstands and farm markets and what are you cooking up?

cheers,
Andy
7.20.07

HELLO, MY NAME IS ANDY AND I'M A -------

Yesterday, employing methods stealth and unsavory, I hid in the roomy fridge of a friend lettuces and greens, then planted in the corners of her kitchen counters tomatoes both cherry and plum. This was a small part of the overstock from my kitchen, and I was looking to make the drop somewhere I wouldn't be watched and monitored. A safe house, so to speak. This secretively sequestered stuff, mind you, was in addition to the box of veggies I'd legitimately and openly brought in to her home under the guise of preparing lunch.

We are thick into farm market season and I'm an addicted buyer of from-the-farm produce. I go to a farm market or stand and I can't resist binge-buying. Give me 10 minutes and I will accumulate 10 bags of vegetables. No way can I eat all of this stuff before my next trip to a farm market (likely to take place within 24 hours), so I fob it off on unsuspecting friends. I prefer those who are too polite to protest. Luckily, I have a lot of really nice friends.

My fob-off yesterday did a little to help the space situation in my own home. Still, my fridge is so jammed full right now, I have to clear the kitchen of anything breathing before I dare open the door, lest a veritable avalanche of dandelions, squashes, romaine, chilies, peppers and herbs free-fall out. My collection of pottery currently holds tomatoes, eggplant, peaches, berries . . .

You get the idea. I'm a produce-buying addict. I can't help it.

Only I don't know how to describe myself to people who don't understand my addiction. Is there a word in the English language to describe someone who can't control him or herself when shopping at a farm market, a person who chronically overbuys far, far more than can be cooked and eaten? Is there a word that says I am to fresh produce what Imelda Marcos was to shoes?

Help me, please. Come up with word that could be the dictionary definition of an addicted farm market shopper. Post it under COMMENTS right here. Meanwhile, I'll be thinking of how to reward the cleverest, the most on-target reply.

Other than offering you my undying gratitude.

cheers,
Andy
7.18.07

ADVISING THE VISITORS - HELP!!

By the time I get the calls, it's almost too late.

"Friends are visiting," the faithful Shore-dweller says, "and we want to know where to take them to dinner tonight. We've already been to X, Y and Z, but we're looking for some place, oh, I don't know - can you help?"

"Tonight." Gulp. That's pretty soon, right? "Already been to X, Y and Z." That means there's been some disappointment/displeasure, since there's no urgency to go back.

This is, really, the quintessential summertime dilemma for those of us who live here year-round, so I thought we should start a log of Places to Take Visiting Folks. These restaurants should speak to the character of our Shore, should be reasonably priced and should serve food that's unabashedly, deliciously ungimmicky.

I'm going to kick things off with a few of my own suggestions, and then you all can pitch in with your own recommendations. Sound OK? (Mine, FYI, are in no particular order.)

Mustache Bill's Diner, Barnegat Light. It's open for breakfast and lunch and early lunch is my favorite time to go. Fried fluke - caught that day by local fisherman. Ditto for the scallops. Cream-chipped beef! No kidding! Get a bowl of it for the table. Everything here is homemade, "except for the French dressing," the chef-owner is fond of saying.

Mexico Lindo, Burnt Tavern Road, Brick. I, for one, am so grateful for the born-in-Mexico dishes folks have brought to these parts. It's meant that the Shore now has more than Velveeta Mexican. Come here for the memelitas. The poblano burrito. The huaraches. Whatever is new on the menu. This isn't Tex-Mex, mind you.

Oyama, Belmar Plaza, Belmar. Do Korean at lunch. The owner is Korean and she offers a few different "bap" dishes (rice mixed with veggies, accents) for the midday meal. My two favorites: The "bap" topped with raw fishes and the all-vegetable one. Rustic, simple, yet the flavors are enthralling. Asian cuisines are taking hold at the Shore, many in the form of splashy, fish-tank-sporting large dining spaces, but this tiny, rather homely, tucked-away spot is doing this very different thing. I love it.

Bay Avenue Trattoria, Bay Avenue, Highlands. Lots of local seafood, a very seasonal menu, specials that lasso your heart. Now, don't forget an order of Joe's Meatballs, but just do whatever fishes are that-day caught and you'll be swooning. Yeah, yeah, the place is supposedly Italian, but it's far more than that. Which is very New Shore.

OK, I've had my say. Now how about you all speak up? Restaurant name, location, favored dishes, please.

cheers,
Andy
7.15.07

BASTILLE DAY

July 14, and I'm thinking I'd like to make ratatouille and probably could (early eggplant and tomatoes are in, zucchini and bell peppers, plus the necessary herbs have been in), but I know if I wait a couple of weeks, the key vegetables will be so much better and therefore so will my ratatouille.

So, what then, should I do to toast Bastille Day? My 8-year-old sous chef says her favorite dish is something we concocted together a while back, duck confit ragout. (We start with a mirepoix - tiny-dice of carrots, onions, celery, herbs, slow-cooked in olive oil - then add a little chopped tomato and a lot of orange, in the form of zest, juice and sections from the fruit, some chicken broth and, finally, shreds of duck confit from hunky legs and more herbs. Cook till it all melds, then serve over noodles.) But though our duck confit ragout certainly would taste fine, I'd rather do something summery in tribute to the French holiday.

"Poulet verte"? That's "green chicken," a beloved dish in Southwestern France that uses herbs to their max. A salad of mussels with lots of greens and a smack of curry? Yes, that, too, is French, and popular in the Charente region. Barbecued spareribs, marinated in herbs, including thyme, mint, rosemary, sage and fennel, and cooked over a charcoal grill? Big, big, big in the Languedoc.

I'll keep thinking. French food, after all, is so much more than the cliches attributed to it. As we expand our culinary scope around the globe, there are good reasons - many, many delicious reasons, in fact - to explore ever deeper in that country where food always has reigned supreme.

cheers,
Andy
7.14.07

NOTES FROM NEW YORK

First of all, the Fancy Food Show isn't what you think it is. When someone learns I'm going to a food show, that the whole of the Javits Center in New York will be filled with food, their eyes widen, their jokes get silly, their bellies reverberate from the guffaws. "Uhh-uh, tough job you got. Uhh-uh. Eating all that good food."

Most of it comes in the form of condiments. A little vinegar here, a spot of mustard there, a dab of flavored mayo in between shots of chocolate-covered pretzels and flakes of smoked trout. It's about micro-bites downed with minted waters and fruity sodas. Javits is packed to the gills with buyers and distributors, each trying to scope out the next hot food item. There are thousands of booths, from mom-and-pop one-product set-ups to huge spreads from the tractor-trailers of food companies.

As I walk up and down the aisles over the course of three days, trying to pick out the good stuff from the gimmicks, I overhear the stomach aches in progress. By about 2 p.m. daily, some folks are in real trouble. Too much hot sauce atop cream puffs, peppadews following rose sherbet, lemongrass chips backing up honey vinegar.

Right now, I'm compartmentalizing. I'm sifting through my taste memory and filtering out the best of the best. The next two Wednesdays (July 18 and July 25), our Food section covers will feature products from the Fancy Food Show. Yesterday afternoon, when photographer Bob Bielk and I went through his hundreds of snaps from the show, I smiled at images of a couple of sisters from Paterson who wowed me with a great new product and a young culinarian from Holmdel who is part of a company developing sensational and environmentally sound condiments.
You'll read all about them, and lots of other foods and folks, in the coming weeks.

BUT: Sunday night, after the show closed up for the day and I had an hour to re-group, I went with a couple of pals to Hill Country, the new Texas-style barbecue joint on 26th Street near Broadway. Good food, good fun. We had moist brisket and ribs, superb Kreuz sausages, dandy mac-and-cheese, campfire baked beans, terrific coleslaw, a classic green bean casserole, topped with fried onions, completely yummy corn pudding - you catch my drift. The only disappointment was that Hill Country had sold out of deviled eggs before we ordered. I was crushed. I have to go back.

It's such a different kind of restaurant for New York, and I suspect it will inspire folks in that business to create more casual, easier-on-the-pocket joints that suit families, gangs of friends, twosomes looking for low-key eats. Plus, if you haven't tried Texas-style barbecue - dry-rubbed, no sauce - it's something to experience. That brisket mesmerized me.

OK: I'm heading south today for some fish-eating. Writing that just made my gastric juices flow; boy, do I love just-caught fishes, simply prepared. My stomach's recovered from the food show and I'm ready to do business again.

cheers,
Andy
7.12.07

EATING SEASON

I've spent the past few days visiting local farms for a story on the early crops of summer (it'll pub Wednesday, July 11) and gearing up for the Fancy Food Show in New York. I'll be eating my way through the show Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I feel grateful I've laid a healthy foundation in my stomach of kale, leaf lettuces, 8-ball squashes and the first corn of the season by doing this farm story. Goodness knows what I'll face during the food show - pounds of cheeses, chocolates, snacks, pestos, salsas, pastas, condiments, sauces - you name it, I'll eat it.

Before I take off, I'm going to try to catch "Ratatouille" at the Algonquin in Manasquan. Have you seen it?

I have to admit, I'm not much of a movie-goer. Mostly because I tend to spend my nights either in restaurants or my kitchen. It's not that I don't enjoy movies; it's just that it's hard to be in two places at once. But this "Ratatouille" sounds irresistible. I'm hoping it'll rev up my hunger for the food show.

I'll write you after the show - though, remember, as usual, I'll be doing a couple of Food covers on the trends and highlights. So here, you'll be fed out-takes. Leftovers? Hmm, I have to find the right word.

Meanwhile, I want to ask your opinions on something: What's your favorite casual seafood place? Not one of those tourist-type seafood palaces, but your most beloved seafood-focused spot? It might be seasonal, it might be shack-like, it might be very, very out of the way.

Farmers: Please post your just-picked specials right here. Chefs: What do you have that's special this weekend? Weigh in!

cheers,
Andy
7.06.07

P.S. Forgot to tell you - Sunday, after the first round of the show, I'm meeting a pal at Hill Country, the new Texas-in-New York barbecue joint on 26th Street. Anyone been? If not, I'll tell all after I get back. We need more barbecue joints out here!

FOURTH FEEDING

I'm cooking for folks with some varying dietary restrictions and preferences, so my menu for the Fourth will be not exactly of the usual burgers-dogs-chix grilled variety. And since I'm toting it to a beach house being rented by friends, I'm doing prep at my home and trying to make everything completely portable.

It's an Eastern-leaning menu - as in Asian. Summer rolls of various stripes, filled with fishes. Spicy mini meatballs with spunky dipping sauces. Shredded chicken zapped with Asian accents, to be wrapped in lettuce leaves and eaten out of hand. Slaws and salads, yes, but all light, bright and using spices and such commonly found in Thai cuisine. I made blueberry sauce from Earth Friendly Organic Farm blueberries, though - I think I'll serve it over lemon sorbet.

What are you eating for the Fourth?

cheers,
Andy
7.3.07

SUNDAY SHOPPING, COOKING, PLOTTING

This morning, we went out to Earth Friendly Organic Farm to pick blueberries. The sun, still slanted in the sky, was wonderfully warming, but not hot, a few chickens roamed about us, and the fat berries nearly fell off the bushes into our hands. "They should bottle weather like this," another picker said to me. Agreed.

Later, at Delicious Orchards, I surveyed the greens - lots of Jersey stuff, kale, dandelions, chard. Strip them of their stems, parboil the kale, then roughly slice the lot of them. Saute (in olive oil, toasted sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce) with chopped garlic, chives and ginger root. I'd gotten a huge bunch of Chinese chives at the Asian Food Center in Middletown and, boy, did they do right by the greens. If you're not eating greens, you are missing amazing food.

I also scored a big bag of "stuffing squash" at D.O. Aha! I'm betting that's a new name for farmer John Samaha's 8-Ball Squash. My favorite. Anyway, I cooked some orzo, tossed it with a little olive oil and spunky cheese I snagged the other day at Sickles Market, then stuffed the orzo mix into carved-out 8-Balls. Baked them for 35 minutes in a 350 oven and smiled when they emerged. Oh, yes, I did add one new ingredient I'm trying out: Peppadew Salsa I got up at Dearborn Farms. Just a couple of spoonfuls into the cooked orzo-cheese mixture. Sweet-hot-tart all at once. After I've played around more with the Peppadew Salsa, I'll tell you more.

OK, back to the kitchen. I'm going to make blueberry sauce. And, believe it or not, starting some prep for Fourth of July supper. My guests are a-traditional and so is my menu. Hey, it's called Independence Day!

cheers,
Andy
7.1.07