By Eileen Moon
As the sun comes out to play and pandemic restrictions ease, many of us are ready to dig out those sandals and flip-flops and head into the great outdoors.
Those of us lucky enough to live here know that summer is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Forget all those jokes about New Jersey. Forget “The Sopranos” and the cast of “Jersey Shore.” We know better.
Here in Monmouth County, we have a front row seat, enjoying views unlucky inlanders have to travel to find. In fact, many of them will soon be headed our way. All the more reason to get a jump on the season and head toward the water now for some wining, dining and relaxing. Local restaurants are adding staff, tiki bars are planting palm trees and musicians are tuning up in preparation for sun and fun. And you don’t have to spend a lot of money or get dressed up, if you’d rather not. While elegant dining is always an option, summer is the season for casual.
Here are a few places perfect for picnic table fun:
At Sandy Hook, Irish-born Barney Sheridan has opened his sandwich, sundries, ice cream and takeout shop for the second year. McFly’s on the Hook, located in the Fort Hancock section
of the park, steps away from the lighthouse, has benches and picnic tables outside perfect
for a summer lunch or a restorative ice cream cone after a long bike ride.
The family-run business is the first “brick-and-mortar” store to open at the park since Super Storm Sandy wiped out the beloved Seagull’s Nest in 2012. “We’re the pioneers,” he said. Sheridan, who emigrated to the U.S. from the Dublin area 38 years ago, launched the business after he retired, investing his pension in restoring the historic building that houses McFly’s. “Our motto is, ‘pioneers saving history,’ ” he said.
“You can sit on the bench and look at the lighthouse on one side and Sandy Hook Bay on the other.” Housed in Building 53, which was once the Post Exchange for Fort Hancock, it’s a perfect stop-in on the way to or from taking a tour of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse – the oldest operating lighthouse in the nation, which has been in service since 1764 – or after a morning under the sun on one of Sandy Hook’s Atlantic or bayside beaches. While it doesn’t serve alcohol – alcohol is no longer allowed in the national park – it carries a variety of “T-shirts, trinkets and trash,” perfect for a day at the beach as well as fresh-made sandwiches, cookies, sodas and milkshakes. “We do sell a wonderful cold-brew coffee,” Sheridan said.
McFly’s is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. If the summer is busy enough, he’d like to expand his hours. “I’d love to be open seven days again,” he said.
In Highlands, Seastreak Ferry has opened Sandbox at Seastreak, transforming the old Connor’s Hotel property into a bayside beach bar dotted with palm trees, picnic tables and 100 Adirondack chairs. Opened in summer 2020 as an “open-air hangout” with a makeshift bar, the business was an immediate hit, said Seastreak vice president of sales and marketing James D. Barker. “We figured everybody wanted to be outside, so we just set up a temporary bar on the beach and people immediately started coming out.”
A big draw for the Sandbox is the live music calendar featuring local musicians who play from noon to 9 p.m. weekends and 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Sandbox also offers some ticketed events that are coming back after a huge turnout for them last year. Brian Kirk’s Dunes Day is on the schedule along with Tramps Like Us, said to be the most popular Springsteen tribute band around. “We’ve made the stage a little bit bigger this year,” Barker said. They’ve also added four cabanas that large groups can rent in advance for birthday parties and other special occasions.
The Sandbox is both family-friendly and dog-positive. Kids can swim at a sectioned off area of the beach, and well-behaved dogs are welcome to hang out in the sand and enjoy the afternoon as well.
Patrons can bring their own picnic food (alcohol is available for purchase at the bar) or they can order from the rotating roster of food trucks that serve everything from lobster rolls to footlong hot dogs to vegan sandwiches and wood-fired pizza. The bar offers nine signature cocktails, each one named after one of the Seastreak ferries, Barker said. And this year, they’ve added “merch” – Sandbox T-shirts and hats are for sale at the bar.
“The vibe is family friendly, and you know you’ll have enough space. The kids can run around and play, too.”
Down the road at 1 Atlantic St. the Seafarer tiki bar welcomes flip-floppers dockside at the marina, with barbecue from Local Smoke food truck, firepits, live music and specialty cocktails. Like the Sandbar, it is kid and dog friendly.
Boondocks Fishery, Red Bank, located at Irwin’s Marina in Marine Park, reopened May 24, serving up lobster, shrimp and ribs picnic style on its riverside deck. The paper plate and picnic table restaurant is BYOB.
In Rumson, Barnacle Bill’s at 1 First St., has also taken the party outside with casual dining on their patio overlooking the Navesink.
If you’re in the mood for an elegant dining experience – or simply feel like eating indoors, but still with water views – there are enough options to keep you busy all summer. Many restaurants offer a mix of casual choices and chef-created specialties that include options for vegan, gluten-free, carnivorous or just plain persnickety diners. In the summer, of course, seafood leads the parade, but rare is the restaurant that hasn’t invested time, talent and effort in creating an option for almost anyone. The extra “secret” ingredient in any of their offerings is the view.
Close to the Oceanic Bridge at 4 Bingham Ave., Salt Creek Grille in Rumson features spectacular sunsets seen from its wide windows above the Navesink. At the harbor in Atlantic Highlands, the best views are On the Deck, a second-story restaurant overlooking the Seastreak Ferry Landing with an outdoor bar and views of Manhattan in the distance.
Below On The Deck, at ground level, Sissy’s restaurant offers breakfast and lunch on an outdoor patio, a stone’s throw from the party fishing boat fleet.
In Highlands, On the Deck’s sister restaurant, Off the Hook, overlooks the Highlands bridge on Route 36, offering a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Joining the bayside lineup down in town are the legendary Bahr’s Landing and the Proving Ground, each of which offers a mix of traditional dining and tiki bar fun.
Over the bridge in Sea Bright, the Ocean Avenue lineup on the Shrewsbury River side includes 2nd Jetty, McLoone’s Rumrunner, Beachwalk and Eventide Grille at Navesink Marina. Each of them provides the kinds of views that take center stage on travel brochures.
On the Atlantic Ocean, David Burke’s Drifthouse is open to the public at Driftwood Cabana Club, offering “elegant-beach casual” dining with a coastal Mediterranean theme and views of the ocean blue. Also on the oceanside, Donovan’s Reef is a legendary destination for barefoot fun, with a tiki bar right on the beach.
Just down the road in Monmouth Beach, the Beach Tavern at Channel Club Marina lays claim to sunsets over the Shrewsbury with indoor and outdoor dining, tiki fun and live music.
As wonderful as it is to be by the water, Monmouth County also has some hidden gems for those off the shore. In Holmdel, wine aficionados can enjoy some casual elegance outdoors at Fox Hollow Vineyards (foxhollowvineyards.com), established by the Casola family. With generations of farming expertise in Monmouth County, the Casolas turned to vineyard cultivation in recent years, opening their winery in 2016.
Occupying some 94 acres in the heart of Holmdel, Fox Hollow is an adult-only destination, although well-behaved dogs are welcome, too. The wine-tasting area sits on high ground overlooking the vineyards and offers indoor and alfresco seating. For cooler evenings, a firepit waits to warm visiting wine drinkers; evenings and weekends feature live music on the patio.
Fox Hollow offers its own wines by the glass and happy hours from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, along with a light menu featuring charcuterie platters, personal pizzas, wraps, paninis and chocolate desserts.
With the summer just beginning, now is the time to dig out your sandals and sun hat and head outside to enjoy the delights of summer in New Jersey – it has been a long, long time.
This article originally appeared in the May 26 – June 1, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
