Drew's Bayshore Bistro

[=Mark]

Have been wanting to try Drew's Bayshore Bistro in Keyport for a long while, and finally got to try it out. It is located on Broad St. in the former location of Hippolyte Cafe.

Chef/owner Andrew Araneo received his professional culinary training at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, , and has worked at prominent New Jersey restaurants, including Joe and Maggie's in Long Branch and Whispers in Spring Lake.

The menu consists of contemporary American cuisine with a decided slant towards Cajun/Creole. We started out with the Soups of the Day, a spicy Lentil soup, Gumbo and a cream of Broccoli. They were all thick, hot and tasty! .

For appetizers, I had the Pulled Pork Strudel, which is as tasty as it sounds; Smokey Pulled Pork & cheddarjack cheese in crispy phylo with pickled jalapeno cole slaw.

Drew sent out a helping of Voodoo shrimp - sauteed shrimp in a spicy worcesteshire cream sauce over jalapeno cornbread as well as a portion of his nicely spiced Jambalaya. Knowing my penchant for hot and spicy, we were sent out a container of Drew's house made habanero sauce. Smokin!

For an entree I opted for the Short Ribs, which were served with garlic smashed potatoes and green beans. One of the other dining companions had the Shrimp Creole, while another had sauteed crawfish over penne with a vodka sauce.

For dessert we split a slice of Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice cream.

The service was very good, though things seemed a little rushed at first, with appetizers coming out shortly after the soup. Then things evened out and it was smooth sailing. The staff was friendly and gracious. The portions were quite large and very well prepared.

All in all, we had a really enjoyable meal.