'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