To be perfectly honest, last summer/fall, we were describing Piancone’s as as good as or better than Anjelica’s and better prices. Creative, beautiful food plus some classics from Piancone’s, Bradley Beach. Haven’t been since then. Their happy hour (don’t tell) was one of the best around.
My neighbor went last night. I will ask for his report and update.
This is definitely true in AP; I walked across town today, and by the time I was at the corner of Cookman and Grand, I detoured, because while it’s not the regular volume, it was way too crowded for my comfort. Sadly, the same is true for the boardwalk–I stay away on the weekends and only go walking on the boards if the weather is bad.
Seafarer was the second bar we went to last Monday. There was also a fifth bar.
That sounds like a good Monday!
We had some more excellent takeout from Bistro D’Azur. They had a special of 2 filet mignon dinners with asparagus, crispy Spanish chips, bread, salad, and cookies for $79. We also ordered a watermelon and feta salad as well as a seafood salad. It all went great with an excellent Spanish priorat. Below is a link to details and pictures.
They recently opened their outdoor seating area. They did a beautiful job of matching it up with the colors of the restaurant. The only thing preventing us from dining out there is that they mostly have very tiny 2 top tables and there is not enough room for us to put anything on the table. We like to bring our own wine and glasses. I guess we will stick to takeout there until
phase 3 opens up indoor dining.
In Red Bank as well. People walking by who stop to visit their friends dining at a table pretty much makes the whole distancing thing useless.
I definitely enjoy the food at Piancones. They know how to dress a salad and there are always ripe tomatoes.
Also best happy hour in town. 2-7 most days.
Stemming from my post here a few days ago, I posted this to my blog tonight:
The Future of Eating New Jersey
As restaurants start to open for outside dining, I, as a food blogger, am obviously raring to go. However, the point of this blog exposes a bit of a conundrum I am facing. I created this website to review restaurants. Along the way, I have befriended many in the restaurant industry and saw this hobby-turned-non-paying-job as a chance to promote small businesses. I have never let this concern come in the way of a review. While most are overwhelmingly positive, I do maintain a sense of integrity and honesty by posting a negative review if need be. But in these turbulent times, a review posted to a large enough audience just might be able to make or break a struggling business, and there are more restaurants struggling than your social media feeds full of triumphant and hopeful posts will let on. This is not something I am ready to deal with. On top of that, restaurants who are trying outside dining for the first time will need at least a month to fully work out the kinks. By then, though, we may see another spike in Coronavirus cases. I am far from an alarmist, but part of me is thinking, “Enjoy it now, because we will probably be in lock-down again by September.” That aside, I am most likely going to continue to wait and see, at least for a couple of weeks.
There are a plethora of restaurants on my to-do list. The basis of this blog is to keep trying new places and add to my list of scores, but when I am finally out and about, I will want the familiar. I want to see the servers, hosts, and cooks that I am used to seeing, to check in with how they are doing, to dig into that special meal I’ve been dying for, and of course, to support the business which made me a customer in the first place. Will people want to keep reading about the same old places? Furthermore, if I am going to try new restaurants and end up having a negative experience, at what point will it be alright to say, “Yeah, this was not very good”? If I am only going to write about positive visits, then this blog, like so many of the local papers, journals, and magazines will become nothing more than an outlet for puff pieces. That is not journalism or food criticism— it is tacky clickbait.
A recent takeout meal from Kunya Siam in Atlantic Highlands.
While I have been busy with posts in the last few months regarding my own cooking, I have not reviewed/been to a new restaurant since April. This is the longest drought of my entire life, and not just in food blogging. During this time, I have come to realize much like everyone else, what I can and cannot live without. I am seeing what matters to me. Dining out is not as important as I thought it was. While I will always eat out and will always be a food nut, the focus of Eating New Jersey may turn to my own cooking and adventures rather than restaurant reviews. I have also noticed the abundance of extra money in my wallet since I stopped eating out (this is not a cheap hobby, and the money I make on advertising and link placement covers the domain costs and little else). The simple act of ordering takeout once a week, having a few drinks out on my newly beautifully adorned patio, and then heating up the food to eat with a good buzz is just as good as the nights at the bar (minus the atmosphere of some establishments which cannot be replaced). Maybe working through the pandemic instead of being shut-in has given me a perspective not based in stir-craziness. I am eager to eat out, not desperate.
So, this is not a farewell. This is not the end of the site. This is not the end of my restaurant reviews. But I did want to touch base with everyone and say the times might be changing. We will see how our situation in New Jersey progresses. No matter the direction we head, I hope you will stick with me.
Stay safe, be well, and eat something wonderful.
If we’re dining in a tent, are we dining outdoors?
Valid question, I suppose. I’m not sure what the line is here. I saw a picture online of Pazzo in Red Bank which has always had “outdoor” seating but there are those tent walls that come down to make an enclosed space. I would argue that a tent would be outside dining by the sheer temporary-ness of it. But what do I know?
I assume it depends on whether or not the tent has side flaps (but I’d say no if that’s the case)… most of what I’ve seen are umbrellas or canopies, so there’s still plenty of air flow.
Judging by what I’m hearing from the younger set regarding various bar scenes, I’ll guess this will not be the last we see of things like this happening.
Indoor dining to resume on July 2nd starting with 25% capacity.
We’re doomed.
Donovan’s has instituted live music…including Moroccan Sheepherders on Thursday. No mention of how they’ll adhere to coronavirus rules. Per this article, will the live music audience have to be seated in order to be served alcohol? Donovan’s is a bar. Per covid19.nj.gov, bars and restaurants may currently open for drive-through, delivery, takeout, and outdoor dining. We’re doomed.
Nice write-up Greg and really hits on some of the conversations we have been having at my house too. We used to eat out at least 3 dinners a week and now I can count on one hand the number of times we have gotten takeout since March.
Agreed–as usual, @gcaggiano 's voice is a good one! I changed my overall approach to eating out a few years ago and stopped doing takeout or dining out solo, so while I haven’t missed the food itself in the last few months, what I’ve been missing is the camaraderie and social aspects of restaurants and bars. I’m still not jumping to eat out (even outdoors) yet, though, and seeing how many people aren’t adhering to some of the most basic guidelines, I’m not in a big rush.
Pre-virus, a typical week for us was cooking five nights, one takeout, and one dine out at restaurant or bar. So having to cook almost every night now is not much of a culture shock. We still do takeout once a week just to give ourselves a break.
The biggest problem has been keeping it fresh with new cooking ideas. There have been more app/wine and cheese nights for the simple reason of trying to change it up.
My birthday is July 2. If all goes well, I may just have to give it a shot. But a lot can happen in two weeks.
How’s this for irony: the last day for indoor dining in March was Justin’s birthday. The first day of reopened indoor dining is mine. We might have gone through this whole thing without missing a special occasion dinner! (Anniversary aside which I wanted to cook anyway)
