I agree, call early and leave a message. I figured there wouldn’t be a wait on a Wednesday but I redialed many times before I got a live person. I initially left a message but I don’t think they have time to get back to messages right away once the new menu gets posted.
Unless you are trying to get a limited special I don’t think it matters. Also I have never had a problem getting an early pickup time. Note: one of our dishes yesterday was the mushroom pasta. Even though they listed the ingredients on the menu, I had the older version stuck in my head so I was suprised to get more of a pesto pasta. Everything was well packaged and great, as usual.
Thanks for your input! I’d definitely go the leave a message route. If it takes several hours for them to get back to me, no problem since our preferred pick-up time would be around 8 p.m. And we’d choose items that are always on the menu which I presume they wouldn’t run out of.
• Surf in Rumson is still getting it right:yum: The Surf burger was juicy and delicious… and the buttery fresh lobster roll was outta this world ! Not to mention the fantastic socially distanced outdoor seating … complete with a food truck they equpped with a large tv for sports games . Great night
Another shoutout to The Buttered Biscuit for their setup…it’s the only place I’ve dined at thus far (twice now), and while they only have about 10 tables, I do feel like we were well-distanced and safe.
We have been to Il Posto in Neptune about three times. I think they do a good job and won’t seat more than 8 at a table, we had a group of ten and they broke us up into two tables and did the same for a group of police officers there for someone’s retirement. I was waiting for them to make an exception but they stuck to the protocol.
Add Cafe Panache in Ramsey to the list. We had an excellent dinner outdoors under a big white tent, with their indoor tables with white table cloths and chairs, spaced 6 feet apart. The servers wore masks throughout. Details and pictures in the main WFD link below. What's For Dinner #60 - The Hot August Nights Edition - August 2020
Went to Barnacle Bills tonight for a socially distanced burger action. Food was as expected and their tables are properly spaced, but most are picnic style seating which bothered my back after awhile.
Saw this guy sitting across from me, if it’s who I think he’s from Jersey. Anyone want to confirm who I think it is??
As @gracieggg has stated, Semolina in Red Bank is doing it right. It was our first restaurant dining since March. We went early (5:15) and were done by 7. And the food was straight-up really good. I think Semolina’s late Summer menu has consistently been its best and we had multiple dishes with local Jersey produce (buffalo mozz w/ Jersey tomatoes, Jersey peaches and tomato panzanella, corn & ricotta agnolotti. The white chocolate budino for dessert topped it all off. We took a quick scroll down closed-off Broad St to see what our comfort level would be at the restaurants located there and we were just not yet ready for the volume of people and the general lack of masks being worn (YMMV). But Semolina on its side street just off Broad worked out great for us.
That’s who I thought it was admittedly though, I didn’t know his name. (I liked the original host better…ssssshhhhhh) I wanted to start cheering once his food was served to make it a more familiar enviroment for him however my fellow diners veto’d the idea.
Four of us had lunch at Surf yesterday due to these photos. Made a reservation for 2, their opening time, and found several tables with patrons already. Tables nicely spaced and employees wore masks. A complementary starter of homemade chips and a spicy salsa verde was a pleasant surprise. We had a burger (should have taken photos but we were too hungry). The burger was 6 inches tall as served! Two big onion rings on top and a giant pickle on top of the bun. Nice presentation. The rest of us shared mahi mahi tacos and al pastor tacos and a basked of fries. French fries were amazing. Tacos were excellent. We look forward to going back to try the many other tempting dishes on the menu, including that lobster roll!
In many cases it seems as though people can’t support their local restaurants because their local restaurants are not supporting them by following the rules.
And frankly, the sloppier restaurants are about following the rules where you can see them, the more you have to wonder what is going on behind the scenes.
Not restaurant-related, but Walmart, Home Depot, and CVS have announced that they will serve customers who refuse to wear masks, so I guess I won’t be going into them real soon.
Look, I understand that staff in these stores are being threatened and even shot at, but that doesn’t change the fact that this decision makes those stores less safe for other people. If they decided not to stop people from firing guns in the store, I’d understand, but I wouldn’t go there either.
And the same applies to sloppy restaurants: they can cater to those who are careless, but they’ll lose the careful.
We’re following the safer at home recommendation and haven’t been out for dinner since February. And, we used to go out on average once a week. I do need to grocery shop but have crossed off those markets where I’ve found staff and customers too casual about masks, social distancing and so on. Once this pandemic ends, I won’t be in any hurry to return. Lately, I’ve noticed an enormous disregard for mask wearing which means I’ve gone back to on line ordering, delivery and curbside pick up. Seems once rules were relaxed, many people went back to how things were in 2019.
I’m a pretty decent cook and baker. Can work with that’s on hand in the pantry, fridge and freezer. In that respect, I suppose that sums up HO. But, what do people do who can’t cook? Eat out? Take out? Microwave frozen meals? Live on chips and salsa? Dunno.
Could be worse. I’m grateful for and inspired by this group. WFD chez moi tonight - bacon cheeseburgers on the Weber. Country captain tomorrow night.
Beer and wine every night with an occasional A&W root beer thrown in.
Before the pandemic, we ate out five or six times a week. The only sustained cooking I did was for Passover. Now it’s like Passover has never ended (but without all the additional rules).
We have done some take-out and prepared foods from the supermarket, and use Indian pouches, and I have a couple of dozen meals I’m cycling through. We have our big meal at lunch and often skip an evening meal all together. We miss eating out, but are not eager to brave the crowds.
