Mexican eats, pierogi for Ukraine, and a farewell to a beloved pub
Hello, foodie friends! I hope you're having a great week.
I wanted to kick this week's newsletter off by reminiscing about a meal I had last weekend. As fellow fans of all things delicious, I figured you'd be on board!
My family loves Mexican food, from fresh guacamole and tortas with stretchy Oaxaca cheese to saucy enchiladas and street tacos. There are quite a few Mexican restaurants in our part of Ocean County, but La Cabañita, which opened a little over a year ago in the Manahawkin section of Stafford, is our favorite.
Owners Dolores Alvarado and Rene Bautista serve dishes from their native Veracruz, alongside recipes from other regions of Mexico. We've enjoyed their birria tacos dunked in rich consomé, steak-topped sopes, nachos with housemade chorizo, creamy horchata, and hot, crispy churros with vanilla ice cream.
Our recent visit was just as tasty, thanks to spicy chicken enchiladas with a side of tasty carnitas, a chorizo burrito that could easily feed two kids (or one hungry husband), and crispy chimichangas stuffed with steak, rice and beans, which are top notch and not an afterthought as they sometimes can be.
Now that I've made us all hungry, here's more food news from this week!
Pierogi for Ukraine
As the war between Ukraine and Russia rages far from our New Jersey homes, most of us feel like there's not much we can do to help.
But in late March, volunteers gathered at Joe Leone's Italian Specialties in Point Pleasant Beach to make pierogi, which were sold in the store to raise funds for Ukranian refugees.
Nearly 60 people, including 30 high school football players, cut rounds of dough and stuffed, cooked and packaged more than 1,000 dozen pierogi for the cause. The market's produce and cheese vendors donated ingredients.
The pierogi sold out, raising more than $20,000. Leone plans to deliver the money in the coming weeks, when he travels to Poland to cook with renowned humanitarian Chef José Andrés.
The money will benefit Ukranian refugees fleeing across the Polish border.
"My love connects through food," Leone said. "I'm all about feeding people, that's what I do. I feed people's souls because people connect with food."
Food reporter Gabriela Laracca watched as the volunteers prepared the pierogi last week.
"Witnessing dozens of passionate volunteers tirelessly making dozens of pierogi to help families suffering, and having the opportunity to write about it, was one of the most moving and inspirational moments I've experienced this year," she said.
Farewell to Ron's West End Pub
When Randy and Suzanne Heinzman announced that they had decided to close their family's 40-year-old Long Branch pub, nearly 200 messages quickly flooded the Facebook page of Ron's West End Pub.
Regular patrons shared years-old memories of first dates, summer nights, and celebrating Christmas Eve at the pub. Before he died in 2010, Randy's father, Ron, would read a poem and make a toast each Dec. 24.
"It became more of a party every Christmas Eve. We loved it," Suzanne said. "It felt like the whole town was here."
She and Randy kept the pub running after Ron's death, but even though they came back strong after the COVID-19 pandemic affected bars throughout the state, the rising costs of running a business and the upkeep needed to maintain the building, which was built in the 1800s, became too much.
"I kept it until now, and it’s just a good time for us to wrap it up," Randy said.
Another Turning Point is on the way
Back in 1998, Kirk Ruoff of Monmouth Beach opened his first Turning Point restaurant on Prospect Avenue in Little Silver. It was a small place called Turning Point Coffee & Tea Salon.
Since then, the business has grown to 21 restaurants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, including seven in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Soon, that number will be eight: The newest Turning Point will open this summer in Toms River, replacing Ruby Tuesday in the Orchards at Dover shopping plaza on Route 37. The building will be renovated inside and out, and the restaurant – Toms River's second Turning Point – will feature a "community table," two fireplaces and a breakfast bar, as well as outdoor seating.
As for the food, we recommend the eggs Benedict – both the traditional and the Big Easy, made with cornbread, chicken chorizo and Cajun hollandaise – plus the pancake flight, bacon lollipops and specialty coffee drinks.
"There is just not a lot of places that are like ours," Ruoff said.
Thank you so much for reading! 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: Mexican eats, pierogi for Ukraine, and a farewell to a beloved pub
