Best of Asbury [NJ]

Tuzzios in long branch could be a candidate. I took my friend from Brooklyn here yesterday and he loved it. It’s old school and you feel like you’re in the movie good fellas. It’s a classic “red sauce” Italian place in my eyes. I had the meatball with rigatoni. To be honest, you probably can do family style and order 1 dish per two people. If you’re looking for fine dining and ambiance, this isn’t the place. If you like to feel like you’ve stepped back into the 60s and enjoy large portions, this could be a contender.

Have you been to prime rib night on Weds?

$24.95 for Prime Rib, salad, two sides, dessert and coffee:

http://www.tuzzios.com

I’d say that’s worth checking out.

We further note @joonjoon that Tuzzios has a white clam pie !

I’m actually not a huge prime rib guy. As you may have seen, I am a steak fan though. I get a prime rib maybe twice a year or so.

Sitting duck does a half decent prime rib special

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Really ?

Said by the guy who eats 5lb Tomahawks in a single bound…

I’m not saying they are bad at all, but enjoy some char action :slight_smile:

I shall hold you to that. :smiley:

Thanks all for the suggestions.

@The_Happy_Wizard Been to Piccola several times. For reasons known only to my better half, she’s just not that into it, but a good suggestion.

@NotViking Also been to Jimmy’s many times over the years. I personally think it’s overpriced for what it is, but may give it further thought.

@CurlzNJ - still haven’t been to Reyla. I need to feed mostly plain/picky eaters. Haven’t looked at Reyla’s menu recently, so not sure if it meets that requirement.

@joonjoon Per my comment above, mostly plain/picky eaters. Need somewhere “safe” for a group.

@corvette_johnny Love Tuzzios. It’s a long, long-time family favorite. Hoping to find somewhere where my gang doesn’t usually dine.

Personally I’m not crazy about Asbury. There are a bunch of good sandwich, bar food and pizza places (Bond St, Brickwall, Porta, Mogo, Talulas, Franks deli) and then a lot of over priced touristy venues with averagish food (Cubacan, Sirena, Festhalle etc.). Bringing up the rear we have the McCloones & Schlossbach venues.

The places below cater to groups and have what I consider to be acceptable food.

Jimmy’s is a little spendy but at least it’s reliable, you know what you’re going to get and nobody will be dissapointed.

At the Table has killer fried chicken, but they do a lunch buffet on Sundays that is popular with the post church crowd, so that’s a problem.

One place considered but not mentioned previously is Porta. It’s mostly for pizza, and you wouldn’t want to go at night, but they do have a party room and it won’t break the bank.

https://pizzaporta.com/asbury-park/

Porta
911 Kingsley St, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
(732) 776-7661

https://goo.gl/maps/p3ZbGmAK5vQ2

I also see Moonstruck has a party room, but that’s more a place to take the SO for date night. It’s spendy, and food/service is hit or miss.

I haven’t tried Reylas, but I would take @CurlzNJ word on this.

Finally, you should avoid like the plague anything with Robinson, McCloone, or Schlossbach involvement.

Otherwise, here is a list of event venues in the Asbury Park Area (east Monmouth/Ocean)

Sorry meant to say Stella Marina, Sirena is in Long Branch.

Sorry to say, but if you have to cater to some picky/plain eaters, Reyla isn’t the answer. Porta could be, however! I’d definitely consider it, esp because they do have one small private room if you don’t want a long table in the main room.

I also like Bonney Read and Barrio Costero in AP, but I don’t think they have party rooms.

Barrio is avant Mexican, and the Bonney has a bit of a bar vibe, so prolly not what @jsfein is looking for.

Not a big fan of Crossnorange and Pascalsabines. For me they fit into the overpriced touristy venues.

Finally @CurlzNJ, I can see we gotta try Reylas.

Hey @CurlzNJ @joonjoon have you tried Plaza Tapatia?

http://tapatiarestaurant.com

Plaza Tapatia

707 Main St, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
(732) 776-7826

https://g.co/kgs/zy1Azn

The menu is pretty extensive, albeit with the usual Oaxqueno influence.

Given dominance of Oaxaca on local menus, I keep wondering why we don’t see more and better mole dishes around here. After all, it’s the land of 7 moles.

It is a source of severe disapointment.

@jfein, How about Posillipo? They relocated from AP to Ocean in 2015. We ate there right after they opened, and I thought the food was quite good.

Posillipo photo set

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The now-closed Viva Bigotes made good mole. The family was from Oaxaca. La Valentina gives good mole too, IMO.

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+1 on Posillipo. I was disappointed when it closed in Asbury and happy when they reopened in Ocean. I’ve been there often since they reopened and never disappointed in the food. The service is sometimes a little bit off but always friendly.

If you are willing to go a little further south I would check out Fratellos in Sea Girt and Blend/Peach Pit in Manasquan. They both have rooms, are extremely pleasant, have good food, and would cater to middle of the road palates. Afternoon private parties at Fratellos run $ 15-20 per person per website.

Simkos in Brielle and Harpoon Willy’s in Manasquan are further possibilities with rooms. Harpoon Willy’s has party menus in the $15-20 per person range posted on their website. The HW burger is awesome. Lunch entrees at Simkos run $10-15.

As noted, Asbury would not be my first choice for a family gathering, as I find it touristy, gimmicky and over priced.

Just checked out Reyla’s menu after much prompting from Curlz. What a liquor menu they have. How exciting it is to see Ouzo offered! And Arak (which I’ve never had and always wanted to try).

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I first had Arak at illili in NYC… Fabulous restaurant!

Simkos is moving to Neptune and a new steak house is opening in its old location.

The last time I was simkos my burger was so bad I didn’t even eat it. I just ate the bacon. Apparently the cook fell asleep and served me a hockey puck.
I never send food back so I just let it go.