WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A LITTLE FRANCESE
Chicken Francese served with a side salad and plenty of bread at Palumbo’s in Little Silver. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
Alongside the tracks of the Little Silver train station in a handsome, stone-facade strip mall with plenty of parking, Palumbo’s Pizza is more than its name implies.
Inside the Ayers Lane restaurant, you’ll first hear quiet strains of Italian background music, setting a tranquil, family friendly atmosphere. The staff behind the counter converses in Italian too. PieHole takes this as a sign to join some other customers in the dining room and make lunch a more leisurely affair.
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From the lunch special menu: beef with black bean sauce. The artwork, below, is by the delivery guy. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
If it’s not already on your radar, you might never notice 
A bacon cheeseburger deluxe on an everything bagel, above, and a chocolate chip bagel with a schmear of Nutella cream cheese, below, at Hot Bagels Brooklyn’s Finest. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
An original-recipe pie fresh from the oven. Carlos Rosas tosses dough for a pizza, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Self-styled devotees of 
Global Eatery’s mix-and-match international choices include Mexican enchiladas, Korean beef in a cabbage wrap and Italian meatballs. Below, a customer fixes a salad to go. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
With a focus on office workers and schoolkids in downtown Red Bank, Mark Arabadjis has gone global.
Above, a smoked-brisket sandwich, left, and a pulled pork sandwich. Below, smoked maraschino cherries at the bar. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
PieHole had been itching to try 
Dean’s Market grab n’ go harvest salad with a cheerful raspberry vinaigrette. Jenna Rae Alexy, manager, seen below, has lost 100 pounds while working at the store… just saying. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Popping into 
Pumpkin-filled ravioli is one of the lunchtime specials at La Pastaria, seen below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Go to Red Bank’s 
The phad Thai lunch special at Siam Garden, seen below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
With the Thai New Year celebration (Songkran) just around the corner on April 13, PieHole thought it was a good time to visit 
The vegan, one of the many selections on the menu at Earth Pizza, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
When Paul and Lisa Finkler 
Pollo Azado with casamiento at Fredy Jeremy’s, seen below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Tucked into a nondescript, partly vacant strip mall next door to a car wash on Newman Springs Road in Red Bank, 
Bangers and mash, one of the Irish menu options at the Dublin House. The dining room dedicated to T.J. McMahon, seen below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
A midweek lunch meeting at the 
A Mediterranean chicken salad platter from Greekamolé, which is owned by Jimmy Elenis, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Three months after the debut of 
The Greenwich Village, a Sonny’s sub filled with Italian ingredients. Below, Kenny Gambella. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Just days after opening its doors without fanfare, 
The Acai PB&J bowl from Freshica’s Juice Bar, owned by Jessica Dalmedo, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
It might seem counter-intuitive to put a juice bar in the same building as a luncheonette known for its porkroll, egg, and cheese sandwiches, but Jessica Dalmedo, owner of 
The apres-holiday crowd at the 
Red Bank has seen its fair share of restaurants come and go over the years. Loyal customers wax poetic about eateries long gone.
