WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? GOOD GRAVY AND FRIES

The Prime “samwich” of sliced Angus beef, with fries and a memorable gravy, at Taylor Sam’s. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

WFL what's for lunch? When a reader tells us about a new favorite eatery in Red Bank, PieHole pays attention. And at a recent party, an enthusiastic fan suggested that we hustle over to the two-week-old Taylor Sam’s at 20 Broad Street. So we did.

The interior looks little changed from that of its predecessors at the address, The Spot and Mac Attack Cheesery, but the menu at the newest addition to the downtown restaurant scene is distinctive, owner Scott Spivak tells us.

“Everything is 100-percent from scratch,” he said. The dishes we tried lead to instant fandom as well.
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December 23, 2016 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

LINCROFT: HISTORIC INN CLOSES

The Lincroft Inn, a watering hole for travelers for more than three centuries, served its final meal Monday. No reason for the closing was given on the Facebook page of the Newman Springs Road establishment, where chef and owner Terry Daverio announced the end, and where dozens of patrons are sharing memories.

Known as the Leedsville Hotel in the 1800s, the inn was in continuous operation since 1697, according to a 1953 article in the Red Bank Register. It’s been owned and operated by the Daverio family since 1927. Terry Daverio could not be reached for immediate comment. (Photo above by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge).

September 15, 2016 - 3:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: OLD-TIME SODA SHOP PLANNED

Fizz Soda Fountain, featuring burgers, shakes and a 1940’s-era soda dispenser, is to replace the Red Bank Sub Shop, at 8 Monmouth Street. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Throwing in the towel on the increasingly competitive market for subs, a Red Bank eatery is going old-school.

Canio Paradiso’s Red Bank Sub Shop, at 8 Monmouth Street, which closed for renovations earlier this summer, plans to reopen next month as Fizz Soda Fountain.

August 19, 2016 - 10:24 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? WINDWARD DELI, HO!

A seasonal grilled chicken salad and a cup of Rhode Island clam chowder from the Windward Deli. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

It’s easy to pass by the Windward Deli, set back alongside the railroad tracks at Drs. James Parker Boulevard and Maple Avenue in Red Bank. So PieHole is doing you a favor by telling you to stop in.

Plenty of parking in front of and behind the building makes it easy to swing by for not-your-usual take out deli grub. A small courtyard with inviting picnic tables surrounded by verdant shrubbery offers an additional reason to grab lunch and eat al fresco.

June 17, 2016 - 9:59 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? CREATIVE BAGELRY

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)

By SUSAN ERICSON

051016hotbagels1 James Beard, “the dean of American cookery” according to the New York Times, once said that “too few people understand a really good sandwich.”

Nikos Zaires and Mike Gambale, owners of Hot Bagels Brooklyn’s Finest in Red Bank, understand, and they’re turning that humble sandwich into a higher art, making creative use of quality ingredients layered on fresh baked bagels and other bread varieties in their month-old deli.
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May 13, 2016 - 10:42 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? GLOBAL CONCEPTS

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)

By SUSAN ERICSON

042616globaleatery4 With a focus on office workers and schoolkids in downtown Red Bank, Mark Arabadjis has gone global.

Araabadjis closed the Sicilia Café on Broad Street late last year, less than six months after he bought it, and has now opened Global Eatery in its place.
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April 29, 2016 - 11:35 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SUBWAY ARRIVES FOUR YEARS LATE

Four and a half years after it won planning board approval, a Subway sandwich shop finally opened for business at 60 Broad Street in Red Bank Thursday morning.

The debut ends a saga that included years of inactivity, an eviction by the landlord and the signing of a second Subway franchisee. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

April 28, 2016 - 11:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SUBWAY TO RETURN

Move-in-ready for years, the storefront will finally get a Subway shop, said the landlord. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The Subway sandwich shop that never arrived is finally about to pull into Red Bank, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned.

Or, to be more precise, a Subway franchisee will replace the one evicted three months ago after failing to show up for more than four years, according to the landlord. Read More »

March 15, 2016 - 1:50 pm | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? GRAB ‘N GO VARIETY

While another customer ladled hot soup into a container, below, PieHole opted for a rainbow roll all packed up and ready to go at SuperFoodtown. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

You need a cheap lunch, and time is limited. For many residents and worker bees on the Greater Green, Red Bank’s Foodtown supermarket is a veritable oasis of grab n’ go options.

Open since 1977, the store, at Broad Street and Maple Avenue, added a new-to-the-area salad bar as part of a renovation in 1996. Several other quick-lunch features have been added over the years, expanding the range of choices.
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February 26, 2016 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? WHITEFISH ON BIG BAGEL

A sesame-seed bagel teeming with whitefish salad, lettuce and tomato from the Bagel Station, seen below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

121715bagelstation2 Red Bank has seen its fair share of restaurants come and go over the years. Loyal customers wax poetic about eateries long gone.

Bagel Station on Monmouth Street, across from the train station, has managed to keep its doors open for 28 years now. Rolling with the times, the breakfast and lunch spot is as relevant as any of the newcomers to town, and more affordable than many.

January 8, 2016 - 9:24 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SUBWAY DEPARTS WITHOUT A STOP

The sandwich shop has sat ready for months, said the landlord. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

More than four years after it was approved, a never-opened Subway sandwich shop has been evicted from its prospective home on Broad Street in Red Bank, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned.

The action puts a period, if not a satisfying answer, on one of the downtown’s persistent mysteries: whatever happened to the Subway?

December 9, 2015 - 5:45 pm | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? SLICES OF TOAST

What’s for Lunch? Or breakfast, while we’re at it. PieHole washes back two meals with good strong coffee at Toast in Red Bank. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

November 6, 2015 - 11:13 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? TOAST TOSSED SALAD

A Chopped Greek salad with grilled shrimp, above, and a plate of hash and eggs, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Peace, Love and Pancakes: How can you go wrong with a slogan like that?

The newest foodie haven in Red Bank, Toast is slinging all three, along with hash and other comfort foods, in a glossy retro-American-meets-Scandinavian style luncheonette in the former home of the Broadway Diner on Monmouth Street.
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November 6, 2015 - 11:00 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? AUTHENTIC MEXICAN

Enchiladas in salsa verde at La Chaparrita, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson and John T Ward. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Authentic Mexican food that brings serious heat, if that’s what you want, can be found at La Chaparrita, a grocery store and restaurant on Red Bank’s West Side with an affectionate slang Spanish name meaning “shorty.”

Lunch at one of the three cozy tables in the Shrewsbury Avenue gem is probably not so different from your mom’s — that is, if your mom has music blaring while she prepares hundreds of tamales just steps away.

September 18, 2015 - 11:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: WTF? UPS ITS OWN CHALLENGE

Jason Unterman keeping the lunch tab low at Jr’s Burgers in Red Bank. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

morsels medium Whether it’s sticking to locally-sourced produce or trying to avoid gluten, it’s not uncommon for people to set food-related goals.

As previously reported by PieHole, Jason Unterman has imposed another kind of limit on himself: eating at a different lunch spot somewhere on the Greater Red Bank Green every week, and trying to keep the tab under $10. But the developer at Red Bank-based Defined Logic has managed to lead his colleagues on more than 200 such outings, and has the blog to prove it.

Now, with some changes to the endeavor he calls WTF? – for Where’s the Food? – Unterman met with PieHole at Jr’s Burgers on West Front Street recently to share some of the wisdom he’s gleaned after all those restaurant meals.

May 15, 2015 - 10:39 am | Comments ()

LINCROFT: LUNCH AT THE INN

A pastrami Reuben at the Lincroft Inn served in the antique dining room, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

From outside, the Lincroft Inn, located on Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of Middletown, appears a lot like many of the buildings in the strip malls surrounding it: blandly contemporary.

But step inside, and the exposed rafters and wood-paneled walls exude an Old World charm that’s real, because it dates back to 1697, according to the backstory provided in the vast tome of a menu.

As PieHole discovered on a recent What’s For Lunch outing, the inn offers a range of dishes, from elegant Continental fare to a grubby Jersey favorite: a porkroll and cheese sandwich.

March 27, 2015 - 10:30 am | Comments ()

SHREWSBURY: NAME THAT HOME-STYLE MEAL

A dish known as “Carl’s Hankerin’ Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Peas and Carrots” from My Sister’s Kitchen, where Michelle Paone, below, is co-owner and baker. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

When Michelle Paone rented the space next door to her New Outlook Salon in Shrewsbury some months back, the idea was that it would house a catering business, with her sister working as the chef.

Family obligations on her sister’s side led to the deal falling through at the last minute, however, leaving Paone partner-less. But then Rich Lopazanski, a “fabulous cook” and Paone’s husband’s best friend since elementary school, stepped into the role of chef, clearing the way for the opening of My Sister’s Kitchen about two months ago.

The sister may not have stuck, but the name did – just like the old-school, stick-to-your-ribs meals the kitchen now produces six days a week.

March 18, 2015 - 1:17 pm | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? ‘BIG EASY’ EGGS BENEDICT

The Big Easy Benedict at the Turning Point. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Appetite and easy parking were all the motivation PieHole needed to stop in for a quick breakfast-for-lunch at the Turning Point on Prospect Avenue in Little Silver.

Grabbing a stool at the sturdy oak coffee bar next to a woman who had just ordered a big bowl of oatmeal for lunch, we weren’t the only ones seduced by the smell of fresh coffee, the breakfast-all-day options and the clever menu selections.

“I don’t know why,” she said, “but the oatmeal here always comes out creamier than at home.”

March 6, 2015 - 9:05 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A WALT STREET CUBAN

The Cuban sandwich, served in a retro-fun basket, comes with chips and a pickle, while the order of Crabby Fries is served in an oversized cone. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

In the man cave Walt Street Pub on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, women held forth on which dish is best.

“I order the boneless wings,” said barmaid Kelly Martin. “Mild, though, always mild.”

Sitting next to PieHole at the bar, Jen Disney, informed us that “the beef chimichangas are the best. We go elsewhere, but always come back here.”

Jen Rodriguez, our waitress, said her son, “who is one of the pickiest eaters ever,” gets the chicken cheese steak, but she likes the chicken burrito.

February 27, 2015 - 10:21 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? PICK A # @ BRENNAN’S

The smoked-salmon on sesame-seed bagel from Brennan’s. Below, the menu board behind the deli counter. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Brennan’s Deli in Rumson is all about the numbers. 110514 brennans3 The board hanging above the deli counter lists 26 sandwich options – and those are just the regular suggestions; a daily special that can also be found on the website.

Having no time for a leisurely lunch this week, the takeout option brought PieHole to this old West River Road favorite. And while we ordered a number 17, a quick chat with owners Caryn McCann and John Yurish brought some of these numbers into perspective.

November 7, 2014 - 11:56 am | Comments ()

WHATS FOR LUNCH: SOUP’S ON

The oversized Reuben lunch platter with fries, above, and French onion soup, below, from CJ McLoone’s. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

The calendar flips to September, and just like that, thoughts of bathing suits and salads are gone, replaced by hankerings for sweaters, coats and heartier lunches.

A soup-and-sandwich pairing is a favorite for many who want a little more than just a quick bite, and to this soup lover, it doesn’t matter that it’s still hot outside: September is the start of soup season.

CJ McLoone’s on Shrewsbury Avenue in Tinton Falls offers a soup of the day, oversized burgers, and many typical sandwich options.

September 5, 2014 - 7:04 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? INBETWEEN BREAKFAST

The Inbetween aces the hollandaise sauce on the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Sharing a table at Red Bank’s Inbetween Café is par for the course. This little luncheonette is much too busy to stand on ceremony, and even if you do manage to nab a table, unless there are six in your party, a stranger is likely to sit down right next to you.

Such is the happy situation we found ourselves in on our latest visit to this English Plaza institution. The two young strangers sitting at the table with us were familiar, and yet, I couldn’t place them.

July 7, 2014 - 1:25 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHO’S MAKING YOUR NEXT SUB?

Now open in Red Bank’s City Centre Plaza: Jersey Mike’s. Yeah, a chain. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

Does Red Bank need another sub shop?

The folks at the Jersey Mike’s chain clearly think so. They opened a store in City Centre Plaza on Water Street Wednesday, adding to an already deep bench of sub shops in town.

January 16, 2014 - 9:36 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: GROWING MENU AT WHIPPED BITES

Nick Napoletano gives PieHole a sneak peak of the new savory crepes menu at Whipped Bites. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

Whipped Bites is busy. The dessert café and creperie on the corner of Broad and Monmouth streets in Red Bank has been in a near-constant state of transformation since this summer, when Nick Napoletano and his girlfriend Erica Lieberman took over the lease on the space from chef Marc Fontaine, who had been making crepes in the location.

When the couple first took over the space, it was a hodgepodge collection of tables and chairs, with empty refrigerator cases and a small sign in the window that read “crepes.” Despite the less-than-inviting space, the Nutella crepes were enough to keep PieHole coming back again. And again. Though frankly, we’d eat Nutella crepes while crouching over a cardboard box in a shipping container and still ask for seconds.

But over the past few months, the couple has revamped the café into a comfortable, welcoming space that invites you to take a seat and leisurely enjoy a coffee with your crepe or dessert.

Napoletano says the café is doing a brisk breakfast business, especially for Sunday brunch when it offers specials like Grand Marnier French Toast or Champagne-infused Belgian Waffles, and draws a steady after dinner crowd on Friday and Saturday nights.

Now, after sweetening up the space and honing the dessert side of the business, Napoletano is in the process of revamping the savory spectrum of the cafe’s menu. PieHole caught up with him as he was finalizing the new menu.
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January 7, 2014 - 12:23 pm | Comments ()

PIEHOLE: RICH EATS ON THE SORTA CHEAP

David Burke Fromagerie manager Alexander Loehing walks us through the limited-time fixed price lunch menu at the Rumson dining institution. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

When he isn’t talking about cooking a turkey in a dishwasher, star chef David Burke runs a number of high-end restaurants, including one in Rumson, that are out of reach financially for some food lovers. But for diners with champagne tastes and beer budgets, there’s a tried-and-true way to eat as the swells do: the prix-fix lunch special.

PieHole popped in at David Burke Fromagerie to see what $29 will get you at midday – and to make sure it doesn’t come out of the dishwasher. Now serving here.

November 26, 2013 - 3:03 pm | Comments ()