Restaurants DOING IT RIGHT in the pandemic

What time did you call, and how long did it take for someone to answer?

Lol I called around 12
Left a message on machine.
Then I waited and they called back 2:00-2:30
In between I occasionally called and only rec’d busy signal.
Was getting worried as I was shooting for 5:00pm pickup for early dinner.

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Thanks for that info! One of the reasons we’ve opted not to do take-out there has been the reports of the difficulty getting through to them. No way was I going to dial and redial a ridiculous number of times. Based on your experience, it appears it’s best to call before they come in, leave a message, and have them call us back. Also, good that they offer specific details re: the pick-up procedure.

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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.

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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.

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• 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 :pray:t2:

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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.

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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.

And an added bonus, they have live music

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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

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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??

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That’s Casey Webb from Man vs Food! I heard he’s from NJ!

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That was my guess as well… Didn’t know he was from NJ!

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Grew up in Little Silver

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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.

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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.

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This is me in AP. I hate that I’m generally not supporting our local restaurants, but I just can’t right now.

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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!

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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.

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I do agree, but in this case, it APPEARS that the AP restaurants are generally going a good job; just too many people in one block for my taste.

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Oh yay!! So good!! :pray:t2:

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