Deborah Smith, The Jersey Shore Cookbook: Fresh Summer Flavors from the Boardwalk and Beyond (Quirk Books, 2016, 176 Pages)
If you’re in search of a little leisurely summertime beach reading, Deborah Smith’s The Jersey Shore Cookbook may be just what the doctor ordered… “I wanted it to be a book to sit down with, pour a glass of wine, read recipes and stories and daydream about the Shore,” notes the author, a born and bred Jersey Shore native who resides in Point Pleasant Beach.
Ms. Smith, who founded JerseyBites.com in 2007, has gathered together an interesting selection of 50 recipes from 50 different and highly diverse Jersey Shore dining establishments. The 50 recipes cover a variety of meals – from breakfasts to side dishes to desserts – and stretch geographically from the Broadway Diner in Keyport, the “Gateway to the Jersey Shore,” to Red’s Store in Cape May Point on the Delaware Bay. Restaurants in 29 towns are noted. Cape May leads the way with the five eateries represented, while Asbury Park and Atlantic City finish a close second with four each. And the restaurants run the gamut, from super casual joints like Bubba’s Dogs in Sea Isle City to upscale iconic establishments like the Knife and Fork in AC. Then, of course, there is also a nod to exciting newcomers like Asbury Park’s Porta and Avalon’s Diving Horse.
My favorite recipes…? The Jersey Guy Breakfast Club Sandwich, Broad Street Diner, Keyport… Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup, Langosta Lounge, Asbury Park… Diving Horse Tomato Salad, The Diving Horse, Avalon… Golden Tilefish Sandwich, Joe’s Fish Co., Wildwood… Flounder Oves, Oves Restaurant, Ocean City… Panko-Parmesan-Crusted New Jersey Scallops over Arugula Pesto, The Crab’s Claw Inn, Lavallette… Blueberry Cobbler, Talula’s, Asbury Park… and last, but certainly not least, my all-time favorite dessert: Key Lime Pie, Inlet Café, Highlands.
But even if you’re not into cooking, you will certainly enjoy reading the fascinating blurbs about each restaurant and their owners/chefs; and these, in turn, may give you some ideas about new dining possibilities during your next sojourn to the Jersey Shore. I have visited (and reviewed) a number of restaurants listed in the book; and I would highly recommend the following: Marie Nicole’s, Wildwood Crest… The Shrimp Box, Point Pleasant Beach… Louisa’s Café, Cape May… The Ebbitt Room, Cape May… The Blue Pig Tavern, Cape May… Brandl, Belmar.
In addition to those restaurants noted in The Jersey Shore Cookbook, here (in no particular order) are some of my personal favorites at the Jersey Shore: Belford Bistro, Belford (my hometown)… Tisha’s Fine Dining, Cape May… Black Duck on Sunset, West Cape May… Whispers, Spring Lake… Anjelica’s, Sea Bright… Windandsea, Highlands… Dish, Red Bank… Restaurant Nicholas, Red Bank… Piccola Italia, Ocean… Shipwreck Grill, Brielle… La Spiaggia, Ship Bottom.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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