Welcome, @Monmoutheater ! I was on CH many years ago as well, but lived in NNJ at the time and was here on Hungry Onion long before I moved to Asbury Park 3.5 years ago. You’ll find a TON of info about restaurants in the area on this board, and we always welcome feedback–even on old threads, so if you find one on a place you know about and can contribute an update or start a fresh topic, please do!
While there are individual threads on restaurants serving steak, you may enjoy The Big Ole Steak Thread, although nobody expects you to start at the beginning. 
I completely agree with you about the restaurants in AP; just today I was asked about my favorites, and the truth is, there are just a handful: Talula’s, Porta, Medusa, MOGO, Ada’s (Ethiopian) and Reyla are my go-tos, but of course they each have a rather specific vibe. Taka also does a good job with Japanese food, but I’m not a big sushi eater. As always, it depends what you’re in the mood for.
I 
Aarzu in Freehold for Indian food, and Sichuan Cottage in Marlboro for legit Szechuan. Siam Basil in Sea Girt for Thai. You’ll find many of us are willing to travel for a good meal, and we’re pretty good about being honest when we try new places (good AND bad). Yelp doesn’t hold much weight here.
Also note that we refer to ourselves as HOs–but don’t let that scare you; you’ve found a good group here and we look forward to hearing more from you!
