Summer 2019 Issue
CELEBRATING MIRACLES
Each spring, with the winds of March, I get the brash idea to turn my backyard into a full-on mini-farm. I picture obedient rows. Organic strawberries. Defiant sta...
Red Bank New Jersey Road Trip
Where an urban aesthetic meets a mellow vibe
When I was a kid, our first family dog was Molly, a wire-haired terrier mutt with a vague resemblance to a Gremlin and the countenance of an estate heiress. Her namesake was the Molly Pitcher Inn, the 20s-era banquet hotel perched on the banks of the Navesink River and known for its decadent brunches.
At the Molly, my single mom waited tables to support my sister and me. I remember her gorgeous as she left for work in a crisp, white button-down, her dark hair swept into a French braid. As it happened, the Molly would change her future, and by extension, my own. There, she met the smart, wisecracking bartender who would become my dad. In the parking lot after a shift, he fashioned a makeshift ring of cherry stems and glass. The real ring would come later, along with the two brothers (and namesake terrier) that made our family complete.
Through my eyes as a child, the Molly seemed impossibly sophisticated. There, I first sidled up to a long, polished bar and requested a proper drink: a Shirley Temple, extra maraschinos, please. Poking into the ice-filled glass with a cocktail straw to surface the bright-red fruit, I’d peer sidelong at drinkers of a certain age who bantered with my soon-to-be dad. To a kid then living in a one-bedroom apartment along the NJ Transit train tracks, it was an unfathomable world.
Of course, the Molly was also home to my first paid gig in food, as a costumed elf hired to help the big guy during Christmas brunch. It wasn’t all glitz.
Near enough to the Atlantic to enjoy maritime sunlight (along with a cocktail dockside at the Molly Pitcher Inn), Red Bank is 25 miles from Manhattan as the crow flies. In its compact downtown, an urban aesthetic meets a mellow vibe, high- and low-fioptions sharing street space. This makes for an intriguing mix of restaurants that’s ever-changing, from perennial favorite Restaurant Nicholas and its more casual Bar N to Dennis Foy’s new Café Loret. This summer, Little Silver’s Sickle’s Market is also scheduled to set up camp with Sickles Market Provisions right across from the train station. Here’s how to spend a day exploring the city’s culinary scene, Shirley Temples optional. Pro tip: Be sure to cross the tracks and explore the west side of town. Some of the best bites in the city are found there.
The Molly Pitcher Inn
9am
Cold Brew with a side of wanderlust at Rook Coffee Roasters
Rook Coffee Roasters has taken the shore by storm, new locations opening at a fast clip. That’s partly thanks to its earthy-rich New Orleans Style Cold Brew, which Rook started shipping nationally in February. Lightly sweetened with low tones from the chicory, it’s just the right amount of decadent. Another reason to visit the downtown location? It’s just two doors from a certain green-toned national competitor, a rock ’n roll move.
Taylor Sam’s
9:45am
Home-cooked breakfast at Taylor Sam’s
For an elevated riff on the diner experience, head to Taylor Sam’s. This friendly, travel-themed spot—with coffee drinks named after NJ Transit and the PATH train—emphasizes scratch cooking and is deservedly popular with locals. Perhaps they understand the brilliance of Paco’s Breakfast: a beef-and-egg empanada topped with queso fresco, black beans, corn and house salsa. It will leave you wondering why breakfast empanadas aren’t everywhere.
11am
Riverfront Read
As in many riverside cities, it takes a bit of effort to access the water, but it’s worth it. The deep azure of the Navesink offers a restorative contrast to the city streets. If you’ve brought little ones, head to Riverside Gardens Park. There, the Red Bank Public Library’s Story Walk presents rotating children’s books along a winding path. The books, protected under permanent display stations, can be surprisingly relatable for grownups. Earlier in the year, the featured tale was Goodnight, Already! by Jory John and Benji Davies, which recounts the trials of a sleepy bear kept awake by the overeager duck next door.
12:15pm
Lebanese lunch at Zaitooni Deli
The impending arrival of a branch of Sea Bright’s Yumi Sushi has the town buzzing. In the meantime, find your way to Zaitooni Deli, Laudy Hage’s love letter to Lebanon, from which she and her family emigrated in the 1970s. Tucked down Mechanic Street, it’s easy to miss. Once you’ve had Hage’s baba ghanouj, nutty with sesame and laced with smoke, you’ll never forget it.
The Local Line
1:30pm
Meet the makers at The Local Line
You’ll notice a dash of creative tension in a downtown that unites bankers, service-industry vets, tech types and artisans. To engage the latter, head to The Local Line. Kristen Stahl features all-Jersey art, jewelry, home goods and food products from more than 130 makers, including Outer Limits Hot Sauce and BBQ Buddha. “I keep it Jersey,” Stahl explains, no exceptions made. “I love local artists, and there is so much talent right here.” To tap your own creative potential, attend one of the store’s workshops, which cover everything from calligraphy to herbal infusions. Watch for Stahl’s cheeky doormats, with quips like: “This house runs on: Rook, Target, Amazon Prime.” Sound familiar?
Lady K’s Bake Shop
2:15pm
Sweet stop at Lady K’s Bake Shop
Opened in 2018, Lady K’s Bake Shop joins beloved mainstays like Antoinette Boulangerie. Your jaw will drop when you see the artistic wedding cakes displayed in the petite, refreshingly feminine shop, where shades of pale rose, copper and marble dominate. French-inspired with a penchant for whimsy, bakers Kayla Barbuto and Laura Catena are visual artists in sugar and flour. Barbuto was midway through a nursing program when she enrolled at the Institute for Culinary Education in deference to her side hustle. Order a small banana bread cake or a half-dozen pastel macarons and ponder the wisdom in their lipstick-pink neon sign: “All that’s sweet is good in this world.” Indeed.
3pm
Visual art, two ways
Worth an appointment is contemporary-focused Detour Gallery, which has an art fair ethos (and is otherwise open on Saturdays). To experience the frontier in digital creativity, check in for a virtual reality session at SMA Digital Art Space, which opened in November. Kevin Patrick, a former keyboardist for Blondie, has created a future-forward studio that is part digital playground, part ed-tech classroom. Put on a VR headset, enter another realm and try your hand at 3D design in programs like Quill and Oculus Medium. “I’ve been in trans-media tech for a long time,” explains Patrick. “I’m a big patron towards VR art—this is a hang. It’s a community.” If it’s your first time, don’t be shy. Patrick and his team are friendly guides.
5pm
Happy Hour at The Cheese Cave
The Cheese Cave’s BYOB $5 Friday samplings draw raves. Bring your own wine, beer or boozefree bubbly, or pick up a bottle from Amalthea Cellars in the shop. Then, savor owner and monger Stephen Catania’s weekly selections. “One of the things I like to do in May is feature female cheesemakers in honor of Mother’s Day,” Catania says. “Not that every cheesemaker is a mother, but they’re a mother of their cheese.” One of his favorites is Sophia, a sweet, ripe Loire-style goat cheese made by Indiana’s Capriole, founded by Judy Schad. “She’s considered one of the original goat ladies,” Catania explains. Also look for Capriole’s O’Banon, a chestnut leaf– wrapped gem soaked in bourbon. It opens like a flower, a delicate leaf imprint left behind. If you’re not ready for a full meal when you leave, Catania recommends people watching and a lotus bun at nearby Teak.
Via 45
6pm
Progressive Dinner
Come dinnertime, farm-to-table fans recommend B2 Bistro & Bar and newcomer Semolina, while Via 45 draws praise for seasonal riffs on Italian slow-food tradition. Those looking to give back while they feast head to JBJ Soul Kitchen, the nonprofit community restaurant run by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (see Edible Jersey “Local Heroes,” Spring 2019), where diners can pay a meal forward to those in need and those seeking a healthy meal can trade volunteer time for a chef-prepared dinner.
Alternatively, head to the west side for a taste of Red Bank’s Mexican scene. Tino’s Mexican Kitchen (formerly Lino’s) enchants with fire and wood smoke, a sizzling rotisserie turning out tender roast chicken licked by flame. The soft house tortillas offer a lesson in why homemade beats the factory version every time. Down the street, International Mexican Grocery, a.k.a. International Mexican Food, is not a grocery, and it’s hidden in plain sight beneath a red, white and green awning. Spatulas clang on the flat-top and families crowd the smattering of tables; the team here makes unforgettable tacos and a quartet of rainbow-hued hot sauces. Served traditionally with cilantro, raw onion and slivered pineapple, limes and radishes on the side, their tacos al pastor has a fan club. To drink, opt for rainbow-hued Jarritos or Sangria Señorial, an alcohol-free soda that tastes like the real thing.
8pm
Night Cap at Red Tank Brewing Company
Craft breweries are cropping up in Red Bank. The first was Red Tank Brewing Company, opened in October. (It was quickly followed by Triumph Brewing Company in November, with more to come.) Owner John Arcara—who launched Red Tank with wife and fellow photographer Lovina—traces its industrial-chic-meetspunk vibe to his role as a dad. “We like the radical, beat-up old stuff, but I love glam and dripping chandeliers with crystals,” he says with a grin, bedecked in a plaid sportscoat and Sid Vicious pin. ‘’I have three daughters. There’s a lot of rainbows and unicorns.” Brews here cover a range of styles skillfully, thanks to Brooklyn Brewery alum and head brewer Adam Young. Its downtown location veers from the typical craft setup, making for an interesting crowd. Women in gowns sipping Molly Pitcher American Ambers are not out of the question. Cheers to that.
Red Bank hosts food-focused events throughout the summer, including monthly Food & Wine walks from July through September. Visit redbank.org/events for highlights.
ATTRACTIONS
Detour Gallery
24 Clay St.
732.704.3115
detourgallery.com
Riverside Gardens Park
West Front St. between
Maple Ave. and Broad St.
SMA Digital Art Space
30 Monmouth St.
800.341.8469
stemmusicacademy.com
FOOD & DRINK
Antoinette’s Boulangerie
32 Monmouth St.
732.224.1118
antoinetteboulangerie.com
B2 Bistro & Bar
141 Shrewsbury Ave.
732.268.8555
b2bistro.com
Café Loret
128 Broad St.
732.430.2250
cafeloret.com
The Cheese Cave
14 Monmouth St.
732.842.0796
thecheesecave.co
International Mexican Grocery
92 Shrewsbury Ave.
732.383.5416
JBJ Soul Kitchen
207 Monmouth St.
732-842-0900
jbjsoulkitchen.org
Lady K’s Bake Shop
4b West Front St.
732-333-6528
ladyksbakeshop.com
The Local Line
16 Wallace St.
732-996-6737
thelocallinenj.com
Molly Pitcher Inn
88 Riverside Ave.
732.810.0313
themollypitcher.com
Red Tank Brewing Company
77 Monmouth St.
732.865.9500
redtankbrewing.com
Rook Coffee Roasters
10 White St.
732.268.8574
rookcoffee.com
Restaurant Nicholas
160 Route 35
732.345.9977
restaurantnicholas.com
Semolina
13 White St.
732.945.6816
semolinarestaurant.com
Taylor Sam’s
20 Broad St.
732.383.5541
taylorsams.com
Teak
64 Monmouth St.
732.747.5775
teakrestaurant.com
Tino’s Mexican Kitchen
222 Shrewsbury Ave.
732.530.9772
facebook.com/Tinos-mexicankitchen-300215897424082
Triumph Brewing Company
1 Bridge Ave.
732.852.7300
triumphbrewing.com/red-bank
Via 45
45 Broad St.
732.450.9945
via45.com
Zaitooni Deli
11 Mechanic St.
732.842.4400
zaitoonideli.com
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