My best, recent dining out experience came last week when I visited my friend Mike (f/k/a/ ChefMd) at his new place Redemption, in Asbury Park. We sat in the barroom at happy hour, demolishing plate after plate of goodies. Eight, in total. Corn, chorizo stuffed dates, fennel salad, chicken “chips” (fried skin), falafels, bacon crack, Wagyu hot dog, and duck ‘al pastor’ tacos on blue tortillas. The tasty, whimsical food came as no surprise after all these years of eating the chef’s food. The ninety-one dollar check (including four beers), on the other hand, sure was a pleasant one.
Hopefully, this can be a start. Now, I’ve gotta see if I can round up any other old friends. . . .
What’s up my friend…I almost didn’t recognize you without the “G”, I guess like me you are trying for a fresh start? lol
I’m glad you enjoyed your experience at Redemption, I have to try to make my way over there. I just don’t go into Asbury Park that often, if I start heading that way my car just finds itself in Jimmy’s parking lot.
I myself have been spending a fair amount of time at Raven and Peach in Fair Haven, and Shipwreck Point. Although Shipwreck switched their lamb chops (American for Australian?) and I’m not as fond of then as I use to be. Still a hell of a steak though.
I left the “G” behind as a token of good faith. Truth is, at my age, it’s probably a good idea to lose a little of the roundness around the middle anyway.
Redemption is cool. I’d be lying if I said I was happy that Md’s no longer right down the street, but the new place is a good fit - and, I’ve always dug that old bank building. Redemption’s got a sincerely fun, “Fuck it - it’s always Happy Hour somewhere” vibe to it that works great for both its whimsical fare and its nouveau-Asbury home.
As an aside, I was worried this thing would turn into a self-indulgent blog. I mean, talking to one’s self in public is never a good idea. Now, it’s like two old bastards bullshitting at a bar. Maybe we should sing the praises of just old school joints for a while? You know, leave the fresh openings for another day? Speaking of which, did you see the hostess when you came in?
Going back to Redemption this Sunday and looking forward to trying more of the menu as well as having more of that great ramen. I read on their website that they have a special Sunday football menu too so I will check that out.
Hey, jsfein and seal, it’s good to see you guys. Honestly, it’s extra cool to wake up in the morning and see old familiar faces on this thread. After all, this where I first swam ashore and set up rudimentary shelter. Each new day brings others who have survived the shipwreck and managed the to crawl out of the surf onto this beach (or at least that’s presently how my brain likes to see it).
Truth is, I had nothing but a “signal fire” of a title. I stared at a blank box for a while, having absolutely no idea what to post. Thank god there are others here now to fill in some text.
Here I thought it was rather cozy with just the two of us on the Island. I guess now as Wilson was cast off the raft to drift aimlessly, I too shall be but a memory.
So, I guess they are less strict around here about keeping on topic about food ;o)
But…
I was talking with ChefMD and he said that he would be happy to do a pochetta or something else special if we wanted to do a group dinner at his new place. Any interest?
Everything’s a little less strict around here - that’s part of the charm. Besides, each day we’re all here figuring out how things are going to work, to evolve. To that end, one of the things I’d love to see happen on this Site would be reminiscent of CH back in say '06 - '07 or so, when local chefs were comfortable contributing without fear of being instantly deleted. Guys like Brandl, ChefMd, DrewBB, etc could just be food dorks too (Hell, even Nicholas occasionally removed the stick from his ass - well, at least pulled it out some). As you may remember, Drew was the guy who put 10th Avenue Burrito on the map.
As for Md’s offer, that sounds pretty cool. We, however, are going to need to build up our community a bit first, or he’ll be able to feed us with one double-cut chop. Along those lines, anybody know a way to get in touch with fourunder? Others?
Shit yeah, I haven’t worn pants since joining. I know for a fact Drew at least still lurks on Chow, long story I’ll share over a drink. Regarding Four, I’m already on it my friend.
Sup ex hounds! I’m here too. I haven’t really been anywhere recently that I haven’t talked about before. I still really, really, really want to do a chowhound/hungry onion Chinese banquet meetup though. Man that would be epic.
Even though I stopped participating on CH, I’ve continued to lurk. The new format has pretty much killed the NJ board there.
I don’t have anything of value to add to the conversation right now because, believe it or not, we have not been to any NJ restaurants at all this year! At least, so far. When we do eat out in NJ, it’s rare that we go to Shore spots though last year, we had dinner at Pascal and Sabine which we enjoyed. Here are the photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/11863391@N03/albums/72157646299262683.
I hope others from the CHNJ gang will join HO. I’m thinking especially of bgut1 and mmgpsych. I might contact them to see if they’re interested.
Btw, jr, in case you haven’t seen it, someone just posted on CH about Green Meadows.
Thanks for the welcome, jr! When I saw that you were here, joining was a no brainer.
And, no, I hadn’t noticed that the o.p. was a first timer. It does bug me when someone posts that a restaurant’s food is “great” (or “poor”) but doesn’t offer any details to support that claim.
(Curlz waves hi to the crew)
