Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

SEA BRIGHT: JERSEY GIRL’S SHORE FOOD TOUR

deb-smith-033016-3-500x375-5397213Deborah Smith, author of “The Jersey Shore Cookbook,” outside Ama in Sea Bright last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

morsels-medium-9902233The flavors of the Jersey shore really burst into fullness in the summer, helping to draw millions of visitors to our sun-splashed sands.

Somehow, though, it seems no one had thought to ask the most iconic beachfront restaurants for their top recipes, with the idea of sharing them in book form.

It took a Jersey Girl from Red Bank with an insatiable palate to finally tie it all together. jersey-shore-cookbook-033016-500x375-2598243Smith’s book, above, features a lobster salad recipe by Ama’s Chef Chuck Lesbirel, below. (Photo above by John T. Ward; below by Chuck Lesbirel. Click to enlarge)

ama-lobster-salad-220x165-1106517This month, food blogger and Deborah Smith published “The Jersey Shore Cookbook,” a collection of signature recipes from well-established coastal restaurants, some of which have drawn diners for generations — and all of which have some story to tell about surviving Sandy.

Her book promises “fresh summer flavors from the boardwalk and beyond” — but not too far beyond. Smith limited her survey to restaurants in bayshore and oceanfront towns from Keyport to Cape May in order to maintain a tight focus.

“It’s not boardwalk food,” Smith told PieHole. “I wanted to showcase the real Jersey shore —fresh fish, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit.”

But neither is it all linen-tablecloth. The 50 restaurants featured include “everything from diners to fine dining,” said Smith. Those nearest Red Bank are Ama, in Sea Bright, and Bahrs Landing, in Highlands.

The aim was to identify the best of the best while assembling local lore into an anthology that might make for a great gift or or coffee-table volume, said Smith.

“I wanted to know what the locals know,” she said. “What’s the best seat in the house? What’s the best thing on the menu? When’s the best time to show up to avoid the crush?”

Also included are accounts of how each establishment managed to survive or recover from Hurricane Sandy, which spotlight the determination and resilience of their owners, she said.

Smith (nee Houck), grew up on Peters Place in Red Bank and graduated from Red Bank Regional in 1984. And she has deep roots on the Greater Green.  Her late grandfather, Bev Anderson, founded Anderson’s Appliances, a now-vanished Broad Street retailer, as well as a precursor to the now-gone Tradewinds beach club in Sea Bright. Her mother, Lonnie Gordon, still lives in town, as does her uncle, Jack Anderson, owner of Jack’s Music.

Now a resident of Point Pleasant Beach, Smith appears to have inherited the entrepreneurial gene. She’s the founder and publisher of Jersey Bites, a food blog with 30 contributing writers from all over New Jersey, and runs her own social-media marketing business.

She’ll be next door to her grandad’s former beachclub site when she appears at Ama from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday for the local debut her book. A $50 ticket ($75 for two)  gets you an autographed copy (retail value, $22.95) plus a tasting and a cooking demonstration by Ama chef Chuck Lesbirel, whose lobster salad is featured in the collection.

The book “is for everybody who loves the Jersey shore: the people who live here, the people who visit, the people who used to live here,” Smith said. “One reviewer called in ‘nostalgic,’ which I really liked.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
DEM GOV HOPEFUL FULOP VISITS RED BANK
110 people braved the ice on Super Bowl Sunday morning to head to Triumph Brewery to hear Steve Fulop’s case for why he should be our ...
REAL BRICKS!
Pardon our nerdiness, but we were excited to see the facade of the long-vacant building at 42 Monmouth being renovated with a facade that ap ...
NAVESINK SUNRISE
Sunrise colors Sunday over the Navesink. Shot from Maple Cove. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
PET OWNER TO RED BANK: SCREW YOU
(photo and text by Partyline contributor Anna Cruz; headline by redbankgreen) Remember to scoop the poop!  
A HAIR DRYER IN A TREE?
(Photo and text by Partyline contributor Nicole Taetsch) If someone is missing a red hair dryer, it’s hanging from a tree on Oakland S ...
FROM DEEP LEFT FIELD..
(Photo and words by Partyline contributor Peter Cavalier) Shapes, Angles, and Colors: an Artist’s Canvas Where: A frigid Saturday morn ...
SUNSET ICE BOATING
Sunset ice boating Saturday. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
ICY NAVESINK BLISS
Ice boating is back, baby! (Photo by partyline contributor Boris Kofman)
TEACHERS GET COUNCIL KUDOS
The Mayor and Borough Council honored five teachers from the Red Bank Borough Schools who were selected for the Governor’s Educator of the ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HEAD BIDS ADIEU
Eleni Glykis in her last day on the job in Red Bank Thursday (photo by Brian Donohue) redbankgreen stopped in the Red Bank Public Library to ...
TO TOWER HILL!
Parents and kids flocked to Tower Hill on Monday morning, taking advantage of the federal holiday and perfectly timed Sunday snowfall.
BROAD STREET IN WHITE
Taken during the snowstorm Sunday. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
Stunning Sunrise at Marine Park
Sunday’s sunrise from Marine Park. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
WALL STREET CLOSED FOR LEAK
Wall Street in Red Bank closed for water leak.
INDOOR SOCCER KICKS OFF
Pre-k and kindergarten aged kids were at Red Bank Middle School bright and early Sunday, participating in the indoor soccer program hosted b ...
SUNSET OVER FROZEN NAVESINK RIVER
Sunset colors Saturday evening over the ice shot from  Shrewsbury Ave. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
ICY VIEW FROM TRAIN WINDOW
View of the partially frozen Navesink River Saturday afternoon from NJCL Train #7244. (Photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)
RBR BEATS RBC IN BOYS HOOPS RIVALRY
 Red Bank Regional's boys basketball came out with the win at home against their crosstown rivals Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday in Little Si ...
FRIGID DINNER FOR WATER LINE WORKERS
Work continued into the late night hours on Bank Street Tuesday night as a crew replaced several water lines to homes under the town wide le ...
SNOWY THREE KINGS DAY
The three kings in the St. Anthony of Padua Nativity scene have a dusting of snow on their crowns as well as the gold, frankincense and myrr ...