This is another one of those “catching up” reviews. We stopped at Toast in Asbury Park on our way home from this Atlantic City trip back in March. I actually had been to their Red Bank location two or three years ago at 1 PM and was rudely told by the hostess “We’re closed” despite several tables eating and their sign saying they were open until 2 PM. I didn’t have to argue– that was enough for me. She walked away and so did I—happily. I’ve avoided all of their locations ever since. But this is a new year and a new spot, and after spending about a half hour trying to decide where to grab lunch while walking around town, I finally conceded to Toast.

Well, neither of us left disappointed this time. I’m not a fan of breakfast places in general, because most tend to leave me with a “meh” feeling (remember The Buttered Biscuit?). However, that was not the case here. I ordered the carrot cake (my favorite dessert) pancakes and they were outrageously good. I don’t think I can come up with an adequate description for how delicious they were. These were not simply carrot cake flavored pancakes, but actually carrot cake pancakes. The taste and texture were the real deal. Served with extra cream cheese frosting and warm maple syrup put it over the top. I think I was dancing in my chair a little. I also had a side of maple bacon, which was the only disappointment of either of our meals. The portion was small for the price and the flavor was neither here nor there.

Justin had the brie and bacon omelette which he also loved. There were whole chunks of brie inside, including the rind– why do people always get rid of that? He immediately said he would come back again for that exact omelette, and I feel the same way about my pancakes. I would seriously drive the ~40 minutes again just to eat them. Both of us left stuffed, and I absent-mindedly left my to-go container on the table. I’m still upset about that. 3.5 out of 5 stars.