In news that’s totally irrelevant to me, Moonstruck an Asbury Park mainstay for over 30 years has been sold.Previous owners were really good guys but I never entered the current location for some reason. The old location was fun though.
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I went once, not long after we moved to AP in 2012, so it would likely have been in 2013ish. We never returned.
Hopefully the new folks improve on the food
After thinking why I never went when they moved from Ocean Grove to AP it was because they never took reservations and the lines were too long for a table.Never understood the attraction of Moonstruck.
Funny, when I mentioned to friends who live in OG that it’s closing, they said “Guess we need to get over there soon, as we have a gift certificate that we received from a neighbor a while back.” When I said they’d best make a reservation, they said that’s why they haven’t gone yet - because the restaurant doesn’t take them. Pros/cons, I suppose.
I went once before I moved here because a friend wanted to go on a Sunday afternoon for the piano singalong. Never felt a need to go even after moving here. I know people love it, but I laugh every time an article or news report refers to it as a ‘new American/Mediterranean restaurant.’
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Yeah I guess it holds a certain amount of nostalgia for people.
When we moved here I had heard a lot about Ole Bistro, we went once, wasn’t impressed and it closed shortly after that.
I guess at the time Moonstruck was one of the only places around for a nicer meal.
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They were among the first to open downtown that wasn’t divey
Bruce’s cache was starting to bring people in and it was off to the races for developers
Bistro Ole WAS terrific - around 2005. Then there was a big drama and it changed hands and went downhill.
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Yeah that’s what we heard, sad I missed them when they were on their game
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Couldn’t agree more. Ole was fantastic for many years before the drama (to put it mildly) got in the way.
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Two words: Firecracker. Shrimp. 
Quick heads up about a new burger joint in Middletown. Burger Kraze is in the little shopping center behind the gas station on Rt. 35 and New Monmouth. Isaac who I’ve known from the dry cleaner in the same plaza for years opened it up. I wasn’t expecting much but the burger is really good. Smash burger style, great meat and fresh ingredients. Korean style hotdogs are pretty awesome as well. Didn’t get a great pic but if you are looking for good fast food, this imo is a much better option than the current iterations of Shake Shack.
His website lacks a menu currently but if you have real good eyes you might be able to read it on insta.
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Heads up Freehold UMI Hot Pot & sushi buffet has opened and is really good. I’m not a big buffet guy and certainly don’t have any inclinations to got to an all you can eat pace but gf dragged me here and I actually enjoyed it immensely. The place is huge and spotless. Hot pot, sushi , bbq, ramen and some really weird shit that was not on my radar tonight.
Everything was fresh and constantly being refreshed. Only weak spot was desert but at about $40 a head well worth it. I’m going to enjoy this place on a regular basis
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WOWSA! 
(Yes, @ hungry onion that IS A complete sentence.)
Local 130 opens their place in Convention Hall in AP today, Shucked by Local 130, no website for the menu
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Yup! And Offshore Coffee opened in the old AP Roastery space today, so Convention Hall is getting back up to speed! Mutiny BBQ coming soon…
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Samaha’s opens May 21, according to their web site. Of course, their web site also says they’re open from May 28 to October 30, so who knows?
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Spinelli’s Farm Stand on Route 516 in Old Bridge is open. All they currently have is white eggplant and zucchini, but this is earlier than they opened last year I think. They just opened–and by “just” I mean that when I bought some zucchini about 15 minutes ago, I was their first customer of the season! Reminder: Most items are in baskets at $3 a basket. You drop the money in a locked box with a slot, so have exact change.
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Fireside Grill in Marlboro is closed.Not a great personal loss as I never cared for it but man the owners put millions into this place.
It wasn’t a very “visible” location. People driving on Route 79 would see it, but most of the traffic is on Route 9. (The only times I saw it was when I was driving to the MVC for an inspection or the RealID.)
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I’m less than 1/4 mile from there and ate there 2x mediocre food and when they tried a Japanese concept I hated the room and walked out .Hopefully something useful happens to the site.
