Let me start out by saying that this blog is in no way affiliated with Matawan’s new Pride of the Sea Fishery. Nor is this blog affiliated with any of its competitors or has anything against the business or its owner. This blog is independent. While I focus mostly on restaurant reviews and food pictures,…
Category: Quick Hits
Travel PA 2019 Part 2: The Old Candle Barn
One of our first stops after getting breakfast at Dienner’s when we arrived and satisfying my urge for Pennsylvania Dutch scrapple that I cannot get back home was the Old Candle Barn in Intercourse. I had been here many times as a child. Our house was decorated in country at one point. I remember trying…
Travel PA 2019 Part 1: Finally Exploring Lancaster City
With a couple of restaurant reviews from this recent trip already up, I wanted to tackle Lancaster City. As I have said, I’ve spent my entire life visiting Lancaster (since I was in the womb). When I went with my parents, we always stayed in the country and hardly ever ventured into the city. I…
Restaurants We Miss: Zinn’s Diner (Denver, PA)
This morning, I was looking through some old Lancaster County travel brochures I collected as a child. I’ll be leaving for a three-day trip there tomorrow. Most of them were from the early 2000’s. I then discovered I had a brochure from Zinn’s Diner, marked 2002. This place closed the next year after a 53…
This is What’s Going on at Hazlet’s Former Park Tap and Grill
While it will forever be known as the location occupied by Park East, a lively bar and grill overshadowed by rowdy crowds and numerous police incidents, Hazlet has seen a slew of restaurants come and go at the intersection of Keyport-Holmdel Road and Route 35. Having lived literally up the street for 23 years, I…
Lidl IS Worth It
I cannot think of a more perfect business to have been built in the ashes of that dreadful Red Oak Diner. Despite months of protests and multiple appearances from a gigantic inflatable rat, consumers pour into Lidl, Hazlet’s new supermarket, in droves. As a mild fan of Aldi and regular disgruntled shopper at Shop Rite,…
Gabriella’s Italian Steakhouse Coming to Middletown
Spring is a time for renewal, and the same can be said about restaurants. This cold winter, we have already seen the coming and going of several. Some are chains, others are small businesses. This spring, there appears to be a wave of even more new restaurants arriving to our area of Monmouth County. The…
Hazlet Bids Farewell to Tim Horton’s
As reported today by The Journal, the Hazlet Tim Horton’s location has gone out of business. This comes without any warning or announcements. After a very brief three-year run, it seems the Canadian-based chain could not compete with the myriad Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, and more full-service Wawa’s and Quick Chek’s in the area. Since there…
No Better Bang for Your Buck than The Sitting Duck & Pour House
The Sitting Duck in Long Branch and Pour House in Tinton Falls are sister dining establishments. They boast similar if not identical menus. While I have not yet been to the latter, the first place mentioned has become one of my recent favorites. The deal was sealed this summer, when I ordered a soft shell…
Farewell to the Claddagh
Another beloved institution to its locale has bitten the dust. Demolition began a few days ago and continues today on the Claddagh, an Irish pub in Highlands, NJ. I only visited there once, probably four or five years ago, but it was a cool place and I enjoyed driving past it seeing a little piece…
