Getting to know the Shore's newest restaurants
Happy Thursday, readers! Welcome back to another Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
Since we were together last, I spent some time digging up details on more than a dozen new restaurants in our area. I have to say, it is going to be a delicious summer! Here are just a few spots to check out:
Lomito in Beach Haven: Max Oehlmann's lunch and dinner restaurant, which took over the space previously occupied by Mexican restaurant El Swell, has a menu of Latin American-inspired street food. Each dish sounds more delicious than the last: Adobo wings with tomatillo salsa-queso fresco sauce for dipping, street corn salad, quesabirria tacos - can you say YUM?
The Greek's, Point Pleasant Beach: Chris Bozadzis, who grew up traveling and fell in love with food along the way, is cooking Greek food out of his twice-weekly pop-up dinner restaurant at I'm A Local Beach House Cafe in Point Pleasant Beach. Think gyros, spanakopita, moussaka, chicken skewers with pita and tzatziki, Greek fries and baklava.
Sprout House Kitchen, Highlands: I'm not vegan, but plant-based foods – and the people who cook them – fascinate me. The flavors, textures and creativity that goes into vegan cooking is impressive, and you'll find it at Samantha Bernstein's mobile kitchen. On Thursdays and Sundays at The Sandbox at Seastreak Beach, she's cooking mushroom pulled "pork" sandwiches, braised lentil tacos with cashew-based chipotle sour cream, and a tofu bahn mi with pickled vegetables. Genius.
Speaking of plant-based food...
Last week, members of our features team from across New Jersey met for lunch at Proving Ground in Highlands. We were celebrating the upcoming publication of our Summer Guide, a yearly project that highlights all things summer at the Jersey Shore (look for it this Friday in Gannett papers across the state!).
Most of us are food writers, so we enjoyed quite a spread. The sea scallops wrapped in brown sugar-glazed bacon were delicious, and the white wine sauce on the mussels was so good, we asked for more bread for dipping. But the dish I'm still thinking about is the Buffalo cauliflower.
I'm a Buffalo wing girl: bone-in or boneless, I love them. But I would order this cauliflower over wings, it's that good. The florets are marinated in buttermilk, fried and tossed in hot sauce, then served with pickled celery.
Definitely try it if you ever dine at Proving Ground, where the view is just as lovely as the food.
Coming soon...
At the opposite end of our coverage area, in Beach Haven, is The Chicken or the Egg. Known locally as the the CHEGG, this beloved restaurant is undergoing some changes.
General manager Sergey Chegodayev recently walked me through the new additions, which include a dining room that will double the amount of diners the restaurant can hold and a new pizzeria.
Both should open around Father's Day, he said.
Any suggestions?
I'm looking for help with an upcoming story on hometown restaurants. You know the place: the waitresses know customers by name, the coffee mugs are mismatched, there are probably housemade pies and jams for sale on the counter. These restaurants are anything but flashy or fussy, just cozy. Send me your favorite - including why you love it - by email to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com. Thanks!
That's all for this week! Until next time, find more local food stories at:
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Sarah Griesemer is a food writer for app.com. Email her at sgriesemer@gannettnj.com. For more on where to eat and drink, please subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Getting to know the Shore's newest restaurants
