=Mark

Will you have a car? Vietnamese: Pho Le - http://www.pholeusa.com/ Butcher: Monmouth Meats - http://www.monmouthmeats.com/ Sushi: a few miles south on Shrewsbury Ave is Kanj - http://kanjisteakhouse.com/ Thai: Park next to Siam Garden in the Galleria; Get a round trip train to Woodbridge and dine at Mie Thai next to the Woodbridge train station - http://www.miethai.com/ Mexican at Senor Pepper's (With tables) - http://www.exit109.com/~mstevens/Takeout/sr_peppers.pdf or North of the Border (no tables) - http://www.exit109.com/~mstevens/Takeout/fronteradelnorte.pdf Seafood: Ray's in little Silver a few miles east Be sure to check the schedule at the Count Basie Theater - http://www.countbasietheatre.org/

10th Ave Burrito recently moved to a new location on the righthand side of the same shopping center (formerly occupied by Viva's). It is a much larger venue and now has a liquor license.

This eclectic Jersey Shore Cal/Mex establishment was recently Featured on the Food Network series. Did dinner there last week. Was a great meal! Started by getting orders of guacamole and cheese with roasted jalapeno to go with the chips and salsa already provided (note: the "hot" salsa served here is actually quite hot; I like it!). Bottles of Cholula hot sauce adorn each table. The overall style seems to be Cal/Mex, but there is enough variation to set it apart from any particular genre. I guess you could call it Jersey Shore/Mex... Along with south of the border specialties there are a couple additions like the wings and beer battered onion rings, both done really well. The wings are available in either housemade adobo sauce (see video above) or a chipotle barbecue sauce. They were both very good and there was some disagreement at the table as to which was the overall favorite. The onion rings were large and plentiful and the beer flavor was evident. Most of us opted for Tacos, including the pork mole, steak, choriso and tilapia. Since the last time I had visited in the Summer they have now opted to offer corn tortillas as well as flour (What? Chef/Owner Brian will take Guy Fieri's advice but not mine? What's with that?) :-) One of our group also ordered the Chicken in Adobo Cream Sauce, which was a huge portion! The strips of chicken were served over rice with cheese and a creamy sauce with a great flavor that we ultimately found included cloves and cinnamon, as well as many other seasonings. We also ordered a serving of Spicy Mac-n-Cheese Pasta tossed with Chorizo and spicy mac sauce, nice kick and very filling. The place was not very busy when we arrived at 6pm, but gradually filled up. Even the owner of Jersey Shore BBQ a couple doors down stopped by for a visit. The service was excellent and attentive, and Brian the owner moved about the room greeting and chatting with the patrons. All in all a great time was had by all! The portions were generous and there was an obvious pride in the operation. The bill came to $30 a person, which included leftovers for another day. A nice addition to the shore scene... Official 10th Ave. Burrito Co. Website be Here

This recent addition to the Two Rivers area of Monmouth County features some of the best gourmet burgers to be had! The former chef of BOOM Burgers in BelmarA, Matt takes pride in the best burgers on the Jersey Shore. A sit-down restaurant with table service. Excellent soups, salads, steaks, fries, onion rings, chili & shakes. Ask for extra napkins as these are the juiciest, best tasting burgers you've had in a long time... Lil' Masters Grille 560A River Rd Fair Haven, NJ 07704 (732) 747-2300

Stopped at Ada's Latin Flavor on Broadway and 5th St. in Long Branch for lunch a couple weeks ago and had one of the best Cubano sandwiches in a couple years. Judging from the roast pork in the Cubano, I'd have to bet that the Pernil is excellent too. Small, clean and brightly lit, this little Dominican gem is a valued addition to the downtown Long Branch area. Empanadas, Mofungo & tostones. Grilled sandwiches incluting Cubanos, Steak and Chicken Breast. Service was good and I had a nice chat with Ada, the owner. How an Ethiopian American accountant ends up running a Dominican restaurant may be improbable, but I'm glad that's how it worked out. Since then I've had the Pork Rib with Garlic sauce special, and the Bacalao with red paprika sauce. Also have enjoyed the beef empanadas and tostones. Looking forward to working my way through the rest of the menu... Pictured: Takeput empanadas & pork ribs

I had gone there a number of years ago. Sat for like 10 minutes and was never given a menu or silverware. They pretty much refused to acknowledge my existence. Got up and walked out.

Finally made it to Shirin, a small storefront on the southbound side of Rt. 9 last night, and was quite impressed. After being seated noticed the table next to mine was speaking Russian. Good sign... The place is small, clean and nicely appointed (OK, the continuous droning of Russian pop videos was a bit much). Started with the King's Herring which was served with thin sliced lemons and red onions and sprinkled with dill. Fresh and flavorful. I was going to try the borscht, but as it was rather warm out I opted not to. I ordered the Lamb Shish Kebab which was served on an arm length skewer, which added a bit of logistical planning to deal with without causing possible injury to other diners... :-) The lamb was tender and flavorful and was served with sauteed onions and a small container of "shish kebab sauce" which was sort of a tangy plumb chutney. Both the herring and lamb were served with oven roasted potatoes with a lot of garlic and dill. All in all, the food was good and I'll certainly be back to explore the menu further...

My go-to burger place in the Monmouth County area has to be BOOM in Belmar. A serious sit-down restaurant with table service. Their meats are custom blended by Pat Lafrieda Meats of NYC and is always fresh, never frozen. No waiting, clutching a number, for overcooked prefab hockey pucks...

The last time I was there they had 3 different types of fish for grilling on the specials board...

A great new Greek place has opened in the Ursala Plaza shopping center in Long Branch. It's a family owned establishment that really puts their heart into the cooking. Our waiter was very knowledgable about the food and was pretty amusing to boot. We started with the Kalimari and dolmedas. For entrees we did the spanikopeda and Pork souvlaki. Again, everything was excellent. The only real problem was with the spanikopeda; the portion was just huge! Caused me to avoid dessert. Luckily, said waitguy advised my friend to order a special dessert that was not on the menu. Ekmek, which was a combo of baked shredded phyllo, syrup, pastry cream and slivered almonds. She was swooning and I had a taste. I don't really have a sweet tooth but this was excellent! Looks like this will be a keeper... The menu be Here.

We were thinking of hitting Vivas in Belmar and had heard there had recently been some changes in the staff. Was wondering if anyone had been there in the last month or 3...

Recently heard about this place, and given it is only a few miles from my house and the curious lack of Thai restaurants on the Monmouth County Shore I figured it was worth checking out. Located in the former location of the eminently forgettable King Wok Chinese Restaurant, this establishment has been open for about 5 months and has no connection to King Wok. It is a small well appointed dining room that seats about 50 patrons with semi-fancy wicker place mats and linen napkins. The hostess was friendly, knowledgeable and seemed truly interested in what the place was doing. I decided to start with the Spicy Mussels, Sautéed and served on the half shell with Thai basil and chili sauce. They were quite good. The only minor quibble I had was that the adductor muscle had not been separated from the shells, which resulted in a bit of wrestling. On the positive side the plate of condiments including chile pepper flakes, pickled chiles and Siracha chili sauce was brought to the table without having to ask for it. As an aside, one of the diners at the next table had noted that his Tom Yum Gai soup was excellent. I then moved on to the Kra Prow with chicken, Sautéed with bell pepper, chili, onion, and Thai basil. It was also good, though it could have been spiced a little more aggressively (This is a common occurrence with my dining in Thai places. I usually have to go a few times to convince them to make it as hot as I like). The condiments solved this issue in the short run... The portions were good and I've got enough leftover for lunch today. One other minor quibble, they didn't have any unsweetened iced tea, but this is not unusual in many Asian places. They seemed to be doing a steady take-out business and offer delivery of orders over $25. Manow Asian Bistro All in all it seems like a good deal, and combined with Saigon II seems to be the beginning of a small focus of good Asian dining spots in Lincroft.

Manow Asian Bistro opened in Lincroft, finally giving Monmouth county a decent Thai place.

Boom just updated their Website & Menu... BOOM High Quality Burgers & More

Nicholas is the epitome of stuffy and pretentious. The food has not really held up but the service is overblown and overwrought. They take themselves way too seriously...