Jersey Shore Daytrip: 3 Reasons to Love the Parker House in Sea Girt

Ropes line the sidewalks outside starting in the midafternoon, a sign that 20-somethings will soon invade the multiple bars inside the Parker House. But by day, this old Victorian home on the border of two upscale towns -- Sea Girt and Spring Lake -- offers peaceful patio dining as well as inexpensive specials down in the tavern. Here are three of my favorite reasons to go to the Parker House.

1. Twenty-five cent clams. Between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, the raw bar in the tavern serves clams on the halfshell for 25 cents apiece. Yes, that's $3 per dozen, and each clam is freshly shucked. Peel-and-eat shrimp is also offered at the raw bar for $7.50 per dozen, and Miller Lights are usually $2 per bottle. For me, it's a the ideal way to kick off an afternoon of biking at the shore. If the raw bar doesn't fill you, order a few sliders ($1.75 each) from the waiters in the green polos.


2. Sliced steak sandwich on the patio. Lunch under the covered porch is ideal on a summer day. Whether you're there for a crabcake sandwich ($9.75), black and blue burger ($8.50) or, my favorite, the sliced steak sandwich with garlic butter ($9.95), you'll enjoy your meal, as well as the view of the homes and gardens down Beacon Boulevard or First Avenue in Sea Girt. Get there soon. As we progress into the later summer months, the wait for a table lengthens.

3. Steamed lobster for dinner. We're partial to eating New Jersey  lobster dockside at Red's Lobster Pot in Point Pleasant Beach, but you can also enjoy Maine lobster at the Parker House. Dining at a table, you'll pay $25.95 for a 1.25-pound lobster, but at the raw bar, a 1-pound lobster is just $8.95.

The Parker House is also open for breakfast. The beach is just a block away, but at $9 per adult per days, beach badges are some of the most expensive in the area. Still, it's one of the more beautiful -- and quiet -- beaches in the area.

What's your favorite thing to eat or drink at the Parker House?


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Jersey Shore Daytrip: The Avon Pavilion

Few restaurants at the Jersey Shore bring you as close to the water as the Avon Pavilion. Open during the summer months only, this boardwalk restaurant in tiny Avon-by-the-Sea is open 7 days a week for the 2011 season as of May 12.

While browsing Chowhound message boards for restaurant suggestions in other towns, I came across a comment that suggested an inverse correlation between quality seafood and distance from the ocean: That is, the farther away you are from the ocean, the better the seafood is. The Avon Pavilion is a sure exception. At the helm in the kitchen since 1991 is Ken Samuels, a native of Asbury Park and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

I have been eating at the Avon Pavilion every summer for at least four years. While the standard menu has not changed much over that time, the Pavilion always offers daily specials. One of my favorite entrees from the regular menu is the San Tropez Shrimp -- bow tie pasta tossed with sautéed jumbo pink shrimp, Italian spinach, diced tomatoes, Spanish black olives and toasted pignoli nuts in a citrus veloute sauce (20.95).

This past weekend I made a dinnertime visit to the Avon Pavilion, ahead of the Memorial Day rush. Generally I would advise being in line at 5:30 p.m. when the restaurant opens, to ensure a good seat. Two weekends ahead of Memorial Day, the restaurant had a good crowd, but no waits for a table.

While part of the regular entree menu, crab cakes are often offered as an appetizer as well, and this is how I started my meal Saturday evening. These jumbo lump crab cakes are pure crab meat -- no filler -- and served with a side of roasted pepper creole mayonnaise ($10.95 for one). My friend started with a bowl of the "New Joisey" clam chowder. The menu's description of a "Jersey Shore zip" was right on, as this tomato-based seafood chowder was spicy.

For my entree, I veered from my usual seafood selections and instead tried a grilled strip steak from the specials menu. Plates here are always artfully prepared, and this was no exception. The tender steak was grilled medium, exactly as I ordered, and topped with lightly breaded, sauteed onions, and a light sprinkling of Maytag bleu cheese. All of Samuel's dishes seem to be garnished with a sliced strawberry, his signature I presume. And if this large plate was not enough, I was also served a side of roasted potatoes, string beans, broccoli and bell peppers.

The potions are generous and filling, but the desserts are also tempting. I finished the evening with my favorite: Toll House pie a la mode, a warm chocolate chip cookie tart topped with ice cream, Hershey's chocolate sauce and whipped cream ($8.95).

Service here is always friendly, with a good dose of Jersey personality -- and I mean that in a good way.

Avon Pavilion is BYOB. The nearest liquor store is Casagrande on Main Street, though selection is limited. Best to travel a few blocks north to Shore Wine and Liquor in Bradley Beach.

Avon's beach and boardwalk is quiet and laid-back. No games or vendors on the boardwalk, and no 20-somethings partying (for that scene, head one town north to Belmar.) Occasionally during the summer, a group of seniors plays old time music and dancing just a few steps south of the Pavilion. Parking is free in Avon, but beach badges are required after Memorial Day.

After dinner, a stroll on the boardwalk is a good way to unwind. But alas, on Saturday night, my car was in Sea Girt, so a bike ride awaited me.

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Pizza Rustica time on Staten Island

It's Holy Week, and on Staten Island, that means its pizza rustica time. For more about this Italian American Easter favorite--made with eggs, cheese, cured pork and parsley--and for a Pugliese recipe, check out my article in the March 16 issue of the Staten Island Advance.

My grandparents and great grandparents — from Abruzzo, Calabria and Tuscany — sailed through the Narrows nearly a century ago and boarded trains for Chicago. If they made pizza rustica in the old world, the tradition died sometime before I was born.

But in the New York area, the tradition is alive, well and enjoyed at this time of year.

“For us, if you don’t have pizza rustica, it’s not Easter,” said Bruno Pica, owner of A&S Fine Foods on Forest Avenue in Port Richmond Center. Continue reading

Tiny Donato's on Richmond Road, Aiming for a Comeback

The new menu isn't final yet, but Donato's on Richmond Road is newly reopened, after a monthlong renovation late last year. For years, the eatery was known as Ali's, and co-owner Matthew Cappabianca wants to restore the establishment to what it once was.

"We're using fresh chopped meat and better quality food," Cappabianca said when I spoke to him a few weeks ago. "We're using Heinz, Hellmanns, none of the cheap stuff."

Check out the rest of my story about Donato's on silive.com. 

How to Make Homemade Pasta

Making pasta is not nearly as intimidating as I had feared. Following Marcella Hazan's advice in "Marcella Says" and the instructions that came with the Atlas pasta maker, I successfully made two batches of fettuccini yesterday. Here's how:

Marcella recommends one cup of flour for every two eggs. One batch of "two-egg" pasta should feed three or four people, she says. I started by making a "four-egg" batch, that is, two cups of flour in a bowl and four room temperature eggs in the center.

First, mix the eggs with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour into the eggs. Once it starts to feel like dough, knead with your hands. You can use a food processor, too. The dough should not stick to your fingers. If it does, add more flour (I have found that I need more than a cup of flour per egg in order to get it right. Alternatively, you may need to add water if the dough is too dry, but I never had this problem.)

Move the dough to a cutting board and knead some more. Then wrap it in plastic and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

 After the dough has sat, divide it into several small pieces.

With the pasta machine's roller set to "1," the largest opening, run the dough through. Then fold it up and run it through again. Dust with flour if you think the dough is too wet or sticky. Repeat this 3-5 times for each small piece of dough and lay the pieces on a kitchen towel. This is the final step of the kneading process.

Once each piece has been run through several times, increase the roller setting by one notch, to "2," and run each piece through once at the higher setting. The pieces will start to get longer and thinner. Increase to "3" and so forth, until the pieces are as thin as you want them. I was making fettuccini, so I stopped at "5" for a thicker pasta. Even at this thicker setting, the dough was translucent--I could see the pattern of the towel through the dough. 

 If a piece of dough gets to long, cut it in half with a knife and continue.

Once the dough rolled out, Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Turn it over once partway through, so that both sides are exposed to air. Once the 15 minutes has passed, you're ready to crank it through the part of the machine that cuts it.

Put a kitchen towel down on a cookie sheet and lay the pasta flat. Once I had a full "sheet" of pasta, I placed a paper towel down and started a new layer.

Try not to let the pasta stick together. Let the pasta dry for at least an hour. When you're ready to cook it, remember, it only takes 2-5 minutes in boiling water. Toss with your favorite sauce and enjoy!

Polish Food in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on a Cold Winter Night

The best way to get through winter in a cold climate is to enjoy it. I've tried making guacamole in the winter. I've tried grilling. I've tried visiting the Jersey Shore. But pretending it's summer isn't nearly as healthy or effective as embracing the cold. Summer will come eventually.

Those of us who love to cook and eat can find plenty to enjoy at this time of year. Polish food, with its emphasis on pork, potatoes and cabbage, is one of those foods best enjoyed on a cold winter night. And fortunately for those of us in New York, we have a neighborhood where Polish restaurants, delis, grocery stores and other businesses still line the streets: Greenpoint, Brooklyn, reportedly second to Chicago in its concentration of Polish immigrants.

Last night, I had dinner at Krolewskie Jadlo, or King's Feast, 694 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn. According to the chef,

Next to the regular dishes like pierogis or stuffed cabbage I wanted to serve dishes that would show that polish cuisine is not only about potatoes and cabbage. The traditional polish cuisine is as rich as polish history. 

And the menu is surprisingly diverse. I started with a rich, red Ukrainian borscht ($2.75),  followed by an appetizer of bacon-wrapped plums, roasted and caramelized ($5.50), and an entree of grilled sliced pheasant breast, topped with a balsamic fig sauce and neatly arranged around a sweet potato puree, and a beet puree on the side ($13.50; the flash photo below does not do the dish justice). I finished with a pear poached in wine and bourbon ($3.75) and a pot of hot mint tea.

Diverse, affordable and satisfying, this meal was best enjoyed on a subfreezing winter night, with snow flurries falling.

Christmas Windows at Lee's Tavern -- Going, Going, Gone :(

It has been exactly 24 days since I have been to Lee's Tavern, my usual Friday night hangout. While I'm eager to have a sausage, basil and fresh mozzarella pie and a pint or two of Sam Adams Winter Lager while catching up with my friends there tonight, I'll be sad to see the Christmas window decorations wiped away.

Eleanor Palemine does an amazing job with them, every year since she was in high school. This year, she painted a partridge in a pear tree amid falling snow, along with Christmas trees, reindeer and the smiling Santa on the front door. When I suggested to my editor at the Staten Island Advance that she send a photographer out to take some pictures of the windows, she instead sent me to write a story.  Here's a quick quote from the story:

""It started out being all about the children, and it still is," Palemine said. "But adults have grown to appreciate it quite a bit. It's good to promote an atmosphere where people can relax and feel the Christmas spirit. I really believe that." 

In case you missed it, you can read the entire story here. But if you missed the windows, you'll have to wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Cafe con Chocolate from The Mission SOMA, San Diego

Ibarra chocolate + The Mission's house coffee + whipped cream = a perfect start to breakfast in San Diego's East Village on a rainy December morning.

The Mission was actually our second choice for breakfast, after the nine of us found an hourlong wait at Cafe 222. But it was a solid choice, especially for me, as I often crave Mexican food. The food here isn't Mexican per se, but some of it is Mexican-influenced. I ordered breakfast burritos, which came with a side of black beans.

My 11-year-old brother, on the other hand, ordered a more traditional choice: French toast over a berry puree (after he asked me what berry puree was).

Thank you, Gina and Brian, for suggesting this spot. Good choice.

New Year's Eve Oysters, From Fisherman's Cove

As a kid, I can remember my grandparents and my uncle eating raw oysters on New Year's Eve. They came out of a plastic container, and I found them slimy and gross.

Fast forward a few decades and to a different coast, where I ended 2010 with raw oysters on the halfshell, freshly shucked from Fisherman's Cove, the fish market inside the Met supermarket on Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island. The oysters are still slimy, but my matured palate now enjoys them. They were $9/dozen, all arranged neatly in a long aluminum pan, ready for me at 5 p.m. on New Year's Eve. I bought my lemons and cocktail sauce from the Met. Arranged on a large plate over ice, they were a perfect start to a multicourse New Year's Eve feast.

Red's Lobster Pot, Point Pleasant Beach

Say the word lobster, and the state of Maine immediately comes to mind. But these tasty crustaceans are actually caught off Atlantic waters as far south as North Carolina. Recreational anglers can trap as many as six lobsters per day in Garden State waters. Commercially, millions of dollars worth of lobsters are harvested in New Jersey every year.

I rarely see locally caught seafood on menus in the New York/New Jersey area, but Red's Lobster Pot in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. proudly serves New Jersey lobster on its menu. The 1.75-pound steamed lobsters are served with corn on the cob, cole slaw and drawn butter for $30 at this dockside BYOB.

Full service dining is available inside, but I much prefer the informal outdoor seating, right on the Manasquan River. Red's is far enough away from the Jenkinson's boardwalk for peace and quiet, but close enough for a walk to Kohr's Frozen Custard for dessert afterward. 

Red's Lobster Pot is located at 57 Inlet Drive, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ.