Super duper sundaes at the new Scoop N Scootery at 21 East Front Street. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Two voids in Red Bank’s culinary scene that a certain hungry reporter has lamented for years – the lack of Korean barbecue and a Carribbean/South American place – are being filled.
But wait, there’s more!
That wonderful news comes on the heels of a spectacular grand opening of a ballyhood new ice cream shop now settling in for its first summer. Oh, and the new juice/cocktail lounge is getting ready for some vinyl-spinning fun inside the Anderson Market.
It’s a gastronomical bonanza of openings and ‘coming soons’ in this edition of Retail Churn. Keep reading for all the mouth-watering details.
A new Venezuelan eatery, La Taguara, is getting set to open at 166 Monmouth Street, next to the Bagel Station & Deli.
The owners, Red Bank resident Diana Padilla and partner Rafael Rey, operate three Sweetpepper food trucks serving Venezuelan food.
This will be their first brick-and-mortar shop.
“We are so happy we found a spot there,” Padilla tells Churn.
The menu on the website lists a host of items that have been tricky to find without travelling outside of Red Bank.
A photo from the Sweetpepper food truck’s Facebook page showing tostones and empanadas.
Think empanadas, pernil, arepas. Padilla said they’ve gotten their permits and are finishing up the renovations for an opening soon, but they haven’t set a date.
Scoop & Scootery, an ice cream franchise that started in Boston and became known for its over-the-top sundaes and delivery service, has been up and running at 21 East Front Street since a blowout grand opening celebration on April 24.
We visited Scoop & Scootery two days before their grand opening. We didn’t have a chance to write this until after the actual event, so they didn’t get any pre-opening publicity from us.
But, boy, they clearly didn’t need it. Even with cold, rainy weather seemingly dampening the demand for ice cream, the offer they broadcast on social media of free sundaes for the first 75 customers brought a looong line of folks outside the shop for opening day.
Now that they’re settling into a more normal routine, owner Kim Barcenilla is looking forward to riding the wave of social media love the place’s eye-popping sundaes are clearly very good at generating.
Barcenilla is a Middletown resident who had a successful career in advertising. “I had a corporate job before this,” she tells Churn. “I was just looking for my way out and came across this and was like ‘oh my gosh, this is amazing. This totally makes sense.”
Scoop & Scootery now has six franchise locations, including in Boston, Fort Worth, Jacksonville and Arlington, Virginia. Their specialty is ice cream delivery, using a flash deep freeze technique to get the stuff super cold for the trip to your house.
Oh, and they’re open until midnight. You now have a way of manifesting your most indulgent late-night cravings.
In other Churn news:
• Pollara, a new pizza/Italian restaurant, is reportedly looking to open soon at 76 Monmouth Street, right across from Jamian’s and Five Dimes Brewery, and two doors down from Elsie’s subs.
Pollara owner and New Brunswick native Jon Smulewitz ran highly acclaimed eateries in California before returning home to the true Promised Land of Jersey.
The Asbury Park Press reports:
Jon Smulewitz’s Pollara will be a small, mostly takeout spot he says will represent each of his prior concepts: Dopo, an Italian restaurant in Oakland, California; Adesso, an Oakland wine and salumi bar that earned a James Beard Foundation Award nomination in 2010; and Pollara Pizzeria in Berkeley, California.
He plans to serve Roman pizza, a by-the-slice style Smulewitz learned to make after discovering it at the famed Pizzarium in Italy, as well as round, New York-inspired pizzas, baked pasta dishes and bread. Pollara also will serve housemade ricotta and salumi, including guanciale and pancetta.
Eaterny.com says the Red Bank location will have fewer than 20 seats.
• There’s a new Korean barbecue spot along with other changes in the ever-evolving space inside Anderson Market. Seoul BBQ Korean Grill opened last week.
The menu includes items like the vegetable bibimbap, (marinated oyster, shiitake, and portabella mushrooms with mixed veggies over rice served with bibimbap sauce and sesame oil on the side, $13) and a bulgogi platter (thinly sliced marinated ribeye grilled with onions and topped with scallions served with white rice, $17).
They’re open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 8 pm inside the market at 200 Monmouth Street.
The best seat in Red Bank: Anderson Market on a perfect spring day. (Photo by Brian Donohue)
Market operator Chris Viola called the new stall part of a lineup change that he expected when he converted the former Sickles Market space into one where parts could be added and subtracted so the offerings and vibe continue to evolve.
“That was always the vision,” Viola said. “Realistically, we knew we were going to have to adjust to see what the market wanted. One hundred percent, we continue to evolve. “
As part of that process, the bakers Nick & Sons packed up their pop-up stand after a six-month stint. And the butcher stall previously operated by The Butcher & Bull is now operated in-house.
The latter move, Viola said, should allow people to pop in for a wider selection of rotisserie chickens and grab-and-go items as well as a steak to whip up for dinner.
When we visited Tuesday, workers were finishing preparation for a big new arrival in the market, a juice & cocktail bar.
The large space in the west side of the market section of the building will feature lounge seating and a juice bar by day that will be converted into a vinyl dj cocktail lounge by night.
Metrovation, owners of the Anderson Building, purchased the liquor license for the space from the old Danny’s Steakhouse down the street.
Viola (pictured below inside the space) said they’re awaiting final approvals from the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission and should be ready to open in the next few weeks.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
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