Summer is finally here and what a banner Memorial Day weekend we had. Tis the season for barbecue cook-offs, local festivals and copious amounts of Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. Yours truly spent Sunday at Monmouth Park Racetrack tasting Hot Dogs and Hamburgers as an official judge of the Munchmobile’s Hot Dog Show Down. Pictured here is the Judges’ pick for Top Dog from Mamma Marci’s Gourmet Mobile Kitchens in Hoboken. The People’s Choice award went to The WindMill’s classic dog with sauerkraut.
While I was chowing down at Monmouth Park, our own Alison Heller was bearing witness to the infamous Curly Fry Eating Competition in Wildwood. You’ll read more about her somewhat disgusting day in tomorrow’s post. On the horizon for Food Festivals is Red Bank’s Riverfest on June 3-5th and Belmar’s Seafood Festival the weekend of June 10 – 12th. I’ll be at the Shoprite LPGA Classic this weekend at the Dolce Seaview Resort in Galloway, New Jersey. Ah, summer. Look for our list of “Foodie Things to Do in New Jersey” every Friday on Jersey Bites for more edible events.
Speaking of summer, nothing screams summer, like Ice Cream. So, this month we will be asking the Jersey Bites team to give us the scoop on their favorite Ice Creameries from Cape May to Bergen County and everything in between. Of course, we want to here from you too. If you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for a local shop who is dishing out some serious frozen treats, leave a comment here or on Facebook. Essex County Editor, Rachel Bozek, decided to make the sacrifice and spend some time with the owners of Batchmakers in Cedar Grove. As you can see, it was a real struggle getting the team to take on Ice Cream.
A new team member I am thrilled to welcome is, Sheila Hill, who will be covering Monmouth County restaurants and events. Sheila is an experienced blogger (You can follow Sheila’s adventures in motherhood at her personal blog www.piecesofamom.com.) Her Pennsylvania roots run deep, but we won’t hold that against her. She’s now a true blue Jersey Girl and you can follow her on Twitter @PiecesofaMom. Sheila’s first assignment (besides eating ice cream) will be scouring the Red Bank Farmers’ Market for what’s in season and what to make of it. Our resident produce expert, Tom Kovacevich , will also be giving us his Strawberry picks so you don’t want to miss his berry best tips.
The rest of our team members will be hitting some new and not so new hot spots. Deanna Quinones will be giving us the news on the latest restaurant to hit Morristown, Red Dog Tavern, an offshoot of Rod’s Steakhouse. Beth Christian takes us to Hong Kong Fusion in Cherry Hill and Victoria Hurley-Schubert brings us to Princeton’s Hon Sushi. Candida Sadigh stumbles upon Mediterranean Middle-Eastern cuisine at Four Seasons Kebab House in Montclair while Alison Heller flip flops it to Shoobie’s Good Eats in North Wildwood.
Rachel Bozek marked the May release of Zagat New Jersey Restaurants 2011-12 Survey, as well as the latest New Jersey Shore Restaurants Survey, by scoring an interview with Tim Zagat, Co-Founder, Co-Chair, and CEO of the ever-informative series. Can’t wait for that.
As you can see, we’ve got a busy month ahead of us. As an update from last month’s Bites from the Editor, we’re still working on our Restaurant Directory. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, its that website development is like building a house. Take the date the builder gives you and add on three months or more. Never fear, we’ll get there.
And Finally, the winners of our Restaurant.com $50 E-Card Giveaway. (Yes, of course I made you wait untill the end. ) The Lucky winners are: Lucy Banta who wants to try Negeen Persian Grill and Jill who plans to use her winnings at the Stable in Ridgewood or Madres cuban cusine in Teaneck! Congratulations and Enjoy Ladies!!
Here’s to a great summer all. Let’s make the most of it.
Deborah Smith , Founder and Executive Editor of jerseybites.com. Launched in 2007 as a home for her growing collection of recipes, Jersey Bites soon grew into a hub for all things edible in the Garden State. Deborah is also the owner of Parents With Nannies, Inc. which operates a network of nanny employment websites established in 1999. In her spare time, (Ha) she works as a Social Media consultant and speaker. You can learn more about her services and marketing through social media on her blog www.DeborahLSmith.com
The Court Jester in Aberdeen
t years, I have gravitated towards asking for a special outing with family members rather than birthday gifts. We get so busy that it is often hard to remember to take the time do something just for fun. Since I am a certified chocolate addict, I suggested to my son Michael that an afternoon with Mom on the 
e entrance to Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, which is filled with all manner of excellent food purveyors and is worth a special trip on its own. We began our chocolate journey by getting some chocolate education from Jaylene, our bubbly and enthusiastic guide. She told us a few facts about the history of chocolate and let us sample a cacao bean. After getting our taste buds all worked up, she brought us into the market for our first chocolate stop at the Famous Fourth Street Cookie stall. There, we were treated to a huge chocolate chip cookie that was brimming with choice chips. Needless to say, our cookies were devoured faster than you could rip open a candy bar wrapper.
With tour company owner Valerie along for the stroll, we continued on to the next stop in our chocolate quest: Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates. The chocolates are made in the back of a cute little gift shop called Verde, located at 108 South 13th Street in Philadelphia. We each got to sample all of the amazing flavors. In addition to ingredients like lavender and mint, there was also chocolate infused with bacon. I never thought of this combination before (I know, my bad) but, Wow, were they good! How appropriate to enjoy bacon when you are totally “pigging out” on chocolate!
Barbeque season is finally upon us. Fire up the grills and pick up some steaks. You’re going to want to show off your grill skills to the whole neighborhood. With this easy recipe for a tangy, spicy Kansas City style sauce, you’ll be the talk of the block all summer long!
After a long, cold winter, it looks like spring is finally here. That means that it is time to get the grill out, and also time to head out to our wonderful New Jersey beaches. This also means that it is time for those three little words many of us dread hearing: bathing suit season. Perhaps you baked your heart out to get through this winter, or maybe you ran out to restaurants whenever there was a break in between each snow-pocolypse event. Whatever the cause, you may be dealing with a little…shall we say…poundage?
Debbie’s Damn Good Baby Back Ribs
Getting down to business, our appetizers included a delicious Burrata & Raspberry Salad (arugula, pistachios, mint, vincotto & EVOO), and Fried Artichokes. The creamy burrata with the tart raspberries and peppery arugula was luscious. And the fried artichokes were the best I’ve had since discovering the gold standard of fried artichokes at the trattorias in the Jewish Ghetto of Rome a few years ago – crisp artichoke hearts dressed with parmesan, parsley, and lemon (delicioso!). We also sampled the hearty Salumi Plate, an overflowing platter of tender prosciutto, salami, soppressata, pepperoni, cannelini beans, olives, and Italian cheeses.
