tautog

Many of the places down the shore get fresh fish. Fewer know how to cook it. Mostly they cook the sh** out of it, so freshness doesn't really matter.

For burgers I favor Barnacle Bills in Rumson. Don't eat them out that much as mine fresh from the grill beat 99% of those in restaurants. For softshells I tend to favor the better sit down type restaurants than seafood shacks. Most of the cheaper places use too much coating and the crab comes out a bit soggy. Zelbys in Belmar and Pete's at the Atlantic Highlands do it pretty well for cheaper places.

White House Subs is very good for subs. Good cold cuts and excellent fresh rolls. Worth getting some take-out if you're in AC. The Broadway is a pretty nice place, but I can't figure out how it would make a top 20. Good bar food and a mix of patrons, but I only go there because it is close. Red's has nice lobster and fixings, but not spectacular. Never had the linguini w/ clam sauce though. Circus Drive In has pretty good food, but wouldn't travel either, burgers and softshells are merely good.

FYI. The Striped Bass buys some of the best seafood available in the area. For many NJ commerical tuna and swordfisherman, they are the second choice for their best produce, the first being Japan of course.

Think it might be smoked cod rather than haddock due to the winter restrictions on the commercial haddock fishery. In my opinion, fried smoked cod seems to busy and strong. Have one or the other. Right now I am enjoying some smoked amberjack and a cold bass ale. Yum.

My only problem with Sparks is that is more clubby than a place like Jordan's. Once last year I went to Sparks with a companion. Seh ordered the filet and got 2 small overcooked ends. I pointed the problem out to the waiter and he replied that someone had to get them, apparently my date was less important than the martini swilling suits that surrounded us. This was clearly unacceptable given the price level of the dish. I did not quite rise to the level of asking to see the manager as my date was uncomforatble complaining. Later I wrote a letter explaining the situation and never received a reply. Jordan's has always been uniformly good once you get past the odd front staff. I also enjoy the Old Homestead, both for the meat and the atmosphere.

Roberto's should definitely stay on any list. A nice mix of creativity with the classics. Not morbid at all, but still improving in my opinion. I wonder if you have ever thought of doing classic dishes at certain places, instead of whole restaurants. If you do, I would endorse the gnocchi w/ pesto at Monte's in the Village. the rest of the menu is good red sauce cuisine, but the pesto is fantastic and the gnocchi just the right mix of heaviness with lightness. Vincent's for fried calamari with hot sauce only would be another suggestion.

I used to watch the submarine races right by the Hoffbrau. Rooney's is pretty decent but pricey. They do get good tropical fish like grouper and snapper though. Barnacle Bills in Rumson is riverside but only a few tables have a decent view. Salt Creek Grill in Rumson has more of a view and decent New American type food. The Original Oyster in Highlands has a nice marina view and good seafood. I especially like the praline encrusted snapper, though I do not usually like sweet fish dishes. It is rather hard to find though, but you can usually get a table if you call a few hours ahead, even on a summer weekend.

Have had burgers at both Frankies and Barnacle Bills. Barnacle Bills is better, hands down. Also has much better non burger options for those who are not in the mood, especially if cioppino is available. Was also surprised that the review made it seemed like some of the other places were serving bigger burgers than Barnacle's. Hard to believe given that Barnacle's are listed as 10 oz and are probably closer to 12 oz.

Please refrain from purchasing live blackfish. Poaching supplies shops and average fisherman are being given less chance 2 bring few fish home. Blackfish under 14" are illegal and common in live fish shops. Black sea bass are legal, good and are ok if over 12." Cod are legal also, however quick 2 lose freshness.

109 off GSP. Barnacle Bills

No purges.

Once had 52 Americans (beer of da homeless) in college, 5pm-2am. Was and is da Pi Lamda Pi record.

Was wondering how Salon 1985 is drinking? I have 2 in m wine rack and 2 special occasions coming up.

Escolar is perfectly edible, even tasty. It is a deepwater fish that is a member of the tuna family. However it is very rich and oily, in a good way. You should only eat it as a tasting or appetizer. Having a 1 lb escolar steak could cause a side effect, like eating any other really rich food.

Yeah, now that I'm almost 30, I'm starting to identify with a large lobster. But they still are damn tasty. Feel like Homer when he was crying while devoring his departed pet lobster.

Patsy's in Harlem, not the bad chains, is the best in NYC in my opinion. Deninos is probably second because it is really consistant while other good pies like the Original John's or Totonnos are great one day and mediocre the next. Pepe's has the best clam pie, the regular pie is better than most but not to Pasty's standards. Lombardis also makes a very good clam pie.

Pearl of the Sea is a good dive. Used to be even seedier when the strip club next door was open. Haven't been there in a while, do they have a liquor license yet, or are they still serving homemade Portguese wine on the hush hush out of brown paper bags and pouring it into soda cups. I love the manilla clams there, will sometimes just have two orders rather than get other stuff.

Actually it is a matter of economic maximization. A sport fisherman pays about $55 a lb for the striped bass they harvest and commercial fishing puts much less money into local business and state and local governments. Hundreds of charter and party boats emply people. Fisherman buy lots of expensive gear, buy coffee, newspapers, sandwiches, etc. Striped bass were destroyed by commercial overfishing and thus few sportfisherman ever want to see this fishery opened up again in New Jersey. Don't think Bruce Springstein was ever much of a factor, never saw him at any of the meetings, nor has he donated to any of the NJ sportsman's groups. The fact that NJ restaurants cannot serve wild bass originating from other states is troubling to me. However I understand the reasoning behind the decision, i.e. commercial fisherman will cheat and catch bass here and say it came from Rhode Island. Since NJ has little manpower to check out the origin of the stripers, they banned it all to protect against cheating. Nevertheless there is plenty of wild striped bass being served in Chinatown and New Jersey shore restaurants that comes from illegal sales by hook and line fisherman. What ultimately should be done is the creation of artisanally farmed fish like producers are doing with produce and meats. That way a higher end product can be created for the few Americans who like flavor in their fish, w/o harming the multi-billion dollar recreational fishing industry. If they fed farmed fish more natural feed, they would taste wild.

In the old days, 10 years ago..*L*. You could get 6 to 8 1 1/2-2lb culls for a 12 pack of coors light off the lobstermen. Now they sell culls for 4.99 a lb. You used to also get a better price per pound for larger lobster but now they are more expensive. If you visit the docks in a place like Pt. Pleasant Beach, you can still sometimes find lobstemen who are willing to cut out the middlemen and sell at about 3 bucks a lb. I enjoy 3-4lb lobsters the best as they have a good meat to shell ratio. Big lobsters are not tough, it's just that most people overcook them, i.e. cook a 3lber 3 times more than a 1lber when it should be about twice as much. When I was a teenager, I caught a 19lb lobster while diving a wreck. Was very tasty, not tough at all, though I do feel a bit bad looking back that I didn't release a 60 to 70 yr old creature, oh well.

Have to agree that Barnacle Bills makes a superior large burger, 10-12 0z, cooked perfectly to order with a nice charred crust. Just have either the cheddar sauce or swiss cheese, not much on a lot of toppings myself. Only had better at Smith and Wollensky on the rare occasion when they have things on the ball of course.

For those down the shore, Regina Pizzeria in Atlantic Highlands makes a very good pie, both thin and thick crust. When I order out I always tell them well done and get there a few minutes to tell the old man manning the oven to make sure it's well done. He is one of the few who is still fussy about his product and will make sure you have good blistering and a bit of char on that crust. Only downside is that the cheese is not as good as the sause and crust. If you eat in, the pizzeria is also a good sit down Italian-American restaurant.

All 3 of the places mention here serve up very good food at good prices. Fifteen or twenty years ago about the only good food in Highlands was cheap all you could eat steamers. Now the steamers are pricy and scarce and you can get good cuban and cajun food, go figure.

As a Rumson resident, I can tell you that Barnacle Bills makes one of the best burgers around. It is at least 10 oz and grilled perfectly to your order. The cheddar cheese is hot, messy and tasty. You get all the free peanuts you want and throw the shells on the floor. And a burger and a huge basket of fries is about 10 bucks which is pretty good for a nice sit down restaurant with quality beers and tap and a decent wine selection. It also has surprisingly good seafood specials like ciopino(sic) and the Asian ownership does a good job of buying good quality seafood. It is a local place but well worth visiting if you are in the area. It does however, get crowded on the weekends, especially during the summer.