It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Sarah Griesemer, Asbury Park Press
·4 min read

Hello readers, and welcome to September — a.k.a. my favorite time of year!

It is 73 degrees and breezy outside, and I'm sipping my first pumpkin-flavored coffee of the season at a beach town coffee shop I haven't visited since May. The crowds have thinned, the kids are in school, and I'm loving it.

The downside of this time of year is that Shore restaurants are starting to close for the off-season. I will have a list of seasonal restaurant closures to share next week, but in the meantime, be sure to visit your favorites before it's too late.

Breakfast avocado toast at How You Brewin in Surf City.
Breakfast avocado toast at How You Brewin in Surf City.

Quick bites

A few tasty tidbits I have learned since last week:

  • Seed Shop: Seed to Sprout, a vegan restaurant in Avon, has opened an online shop, seedtosproutnj.com/seed-shop. Customers can purchase housemade coconut bacon, granola and protein powder; recipes for plant-based pizzas, salads and brunch dishes; and Seed to Sprout-themed merchandise.

  • "Fire on the Hill" vodka: Toms River Fire Company No. 1 is collaborating with Garden State Distillery for a private label vodka, "a hot and spicy blend that pays homage to our firefighters." A limited number of bottles will be available for $25 each; to order, email co1fireonthehill@gmail.com.

  • More Coffee Corral: Red Bank coffee shop Coffee Corral added a second location this week, opening inside Monmouth Medical Center (300 2nd Ave. in Long Branch). There's coffee, baked goods and breakfast sandwiches, plus text-to-order service (send your name and order to 732-929-7789).

  • Pizza pop-up: The newest addition to The Asbury Park Food Collective, a commercial kitchen that hosts caterers, food trucks and ghost kitchens, is vegan pizza shop Parmagianni. The pies are available at events — find them at Sunday's Vegan In NJ market in Neptune — and stay tuned for a story with owner John Razzano.

Bring on the chowder!

For more than 30 years, chowder fans have flocked to Long Beach Island each October for the annual Chowderfest. For a long time, restaurants would make gallons of their best red, white and "creative" chowders for guests to sample at the festival.

It was a fun and festive format that had to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, folks have the month of September to visit participating restaurants, purchase their chowders and vote online for their favorites. Winners will be announced at a daylong festival Oct. 1 in Beach Haven.

Interested? Here are this year's participants:

  • Red chowder: Country Kettle Chowda in Beach Haven, Daddy O Restaurant & Bar in Brant Beach and Dockside Diner in Long Beach Township

  • White chowder: Country Kettle Chowda, Russo’s Italian Restaurant in Ship Bottom, The Chicken or the Egg in Beach Haven and Tuckers Tavern in Beach Haven

  • Creative chowder: Country Kettle Chowda, Delaware Avenue Oyster House in Beach Haven, LaBamba Express in Beach Haven and The Old Causeway in the Manahawkin section of Stafford

New England clam chowder from Country Kettle Chowda in Beach Haven. Definitely get the bread bowl.
New England clam chowder from Country Kettle Chowda in Beach Haven. Definitely get the bread bowl.

Get clamming

I have lived in Ocean County, relatively close to the water, for most of my life, so I'm pretty embarrassed to admit that I only recently learned you can pull clams out of the Barnegat Bay.

I found out by accident, actually. My family had a pontoon boat for a short time, and one summer day we were anchored off Island Beach State Park. We were playing around in the water, feet in the sand, when my toe bumped against something hard and smooth. I reached into the water and pulled out a clam!

We were so excited, and on our next trip (after obtaining a license), harvesting clams quickly became a game. I would find them with my toes and my boys would dive down and pull them up.

Sophisticated operation, it was not, but we found enough to share.

Food writer Gabriela Laracca is much more experienced at clamming than I am, so if you're interested in harvesting your own shellfish, check out her story on clamming, crabbing and mussel harvesting in New Jersey.

That's all for this week! As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your story tips and ideas at sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, and you can find more local food content at app.com and on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Sarah Griesemer is a food writer for app.com. For more on where to eat and drink, please consider a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: It's the most wonderful time of the year!