Having watched Toms River chef, Erik Weatherspool, dice the competition on The Food Network’s “Chopped,” I decided that I had to try his Washington Street restaurant, Bistro 44. My dining partner and I were not disappointed. The food was sublime, the upscale atmosphere relaxed and the service impeccable.
I’ll start with the most important part of the meal: dessert. Our curiosity was piqued. We ordered the Orange Tiramisu and the Citrus Basil Crème Brule. Our waitress was absolutely spot-on with her recommendation of the Tiramisu. The creamy filling and lady fingers were divine with a bright orange flavor that lingered on the palate, not overly sweet or creamy, perfectly balanced. We were a bit disappointed with the Citrus Basil Crème Brule. The sugar was slightly overcooked so the burnt flavor overpowered the delicate basil custard.
For our lunch entrees, I ordered the Tilapia Salad with heirloom tomato, corn and sunflower seeds and vinaigrette dressing. The fish was perfectly seasoned, flaky and moist. The light vinaigrette didn’t overpower the delicate greens and accented the tomatoes (my first heirlooms of the season).
My dining partner had the Crab Cake Salad, which came with two small crab cakes on a bed of mixed greens, cucumbers and tomatoes with a vinaigrette dressing. The salad was enjoyed with a cup of corn and crab soup which had large chunks of crab and wasn’t overly creamy; light but filling and very tasty.
We left full, but not stuffed, having had a perfect summer lunch. We agreed to add this to our list of great places in the area and look forward to going back (hopefully the Tiramisu will still be on the dessert menu).
44 Washington Street
Toms River, New Jersey
Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Regional Editor Ocean County, is a true Jersey girl. Raised in Marlboro,Vikki has lived in the area her whole life. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and is happiest when feeding a houseful of friends and family. A journalist for 10 years, she now serves on the staff of the Princeton Packet. Vikki is happiest on the road, so it should be no Surprise she is a travel agent specializing in Disney destinations. Follow her on Twitter @vikkihs.
Free food. Good, free food. Good, free, Greek food. It sounds too good to be true, but on a damp August evening in downtown Montclair, it was reality. On August 24, Greek Taverna’s second annual “Greek Night” drew a crowd of more than 1,100 hungry guests, many of whom waited upwards of 90 minutes in line for a few minutes at the generous buffet.
Peter Hajiyerou, who owns and runs the restaurant with his wife, Wei Chen, said the event came together with the hard work of their staff and some helpful family members. He went on to explain, “We had about ten servers, eight cooks, my wife and me, and the hostesses.” In addition, he said, two of his uncles and his brother helped to keep everything running smoothly.
So why did Peter and Wei open the Greek restaurant in the first place? “I was tired of going to Astoria,” Hajiyerou said. “Everything you see is what I like. Authentic, what my mother and grandmother used to make when we were little kids.”
I kept waiting for the catch. Were they going to hit people up for donations? Didn’t happen. Were they trying to promote some other, unrelated event? Nope. This now annual celebration is just a kind gesture to a supportive community. Of the crowd, Hajiyerou said, “We want to make sure they leave happy.” Mission accomplished.
BYOB. Private party room available.
I have a new love in my life; well, actually two new loves. My first introduction to the Two Guys Jersey Tomato Sauces was when their PR company sent me a bottle to sample several months ago. I loved the sauce, but life got in the way and I sort of forgot about writing a review. Not sort of, I did forget. But when I bumped into the owner at the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival (and happily saw them doing so well), I remembered my review. So yesterday, when I saw a bright red stack of the jars at my local Foodtown, I knew it was time to give these boys the credit they deserve. I bought two jars and taste tested to my hungry heart’s content.
ur friends Sue and Steve. After starting our meal by splitting two delicious salads and an order of onion rings, it was time for us to make our wing decisions. Mild, hot, spicy, or scorchers? Ears, tails or wings? (Ears are breaded cutlets with wing sauce and tails are chicken breast tenders with wing sauce.) Blue cheese, celery or extra sauce? No matter what we decided, we knew from past experience that the wings would be tender, moist and delicious. We were not hungry enough for the largest order of wings. However, when our son Michael and daughter Meghan joined us, they miraculously managed to finish the large order, which is proudly served in a dog bowl!
One of the nicest things about living in South Jersey is the wide array of summer food festivals that take place each summer. There are blueberry, strawberry, peach and cranberry festivals at churches, community centers and other venues. One of our favorite summer festivals is the Peach Festival hosted at the Mount Laurel Friends Meeting. This year, our friends Sue and Steve joined us in our pursuit of Jersey peach perfection. It is low key-there are no rides or craft vendors (although there is a booth where a brisk peach selling business occurs).
Yes yes, I know – it’s the middle of the month, and you’re just getting to this now?!?!? Relax – there’s still plenty of great things left to do to tickle your taste buds. Trust me…and don’t look at me like that; it’s going to be OK.
