At the beginning of 2021, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time until we would be back to dining indoors and returning to a way of life we had all blithely come to take for granted.
However, during the warm spring, summer and very temperate fall, there was no pressure on restaurant goers to be eating inside since it was not only very pleasurable to be outside, but clearly, a less stressful choice. Who knew that a year later we would still be faced with making choices about eating indoors or doing takeout during the chilly months? Whether you are pulling up a chair or pulling up to the curb for takeout, here are my choices for best food of 2021.
The following list is comprised of both indoor, outdoor and takeout dishes we had the pleasure of eating during the last year.
It was not a hardship to eat outside on a warm August night at Abbiocco, a new riverfront restaurant in Monmouth Beach at the Channel Club. The Polpo ($18), a generous serving of tender, perfectly grilled octopus, served with large white Greek beans (Gigante mannati) sitting atop a sauce of savory red bell peppers, tomatoes, with a light touch of cream (salsa rosa) was seriously good, so much so that we finished it way too fast. Octopus can often be chewy and flavorless, but here it was cookbook perfect and worthy of a return visit all by itself.
Another favorite from this past year, the Tuna Tower ($16) from Victory Park Tavern in Rumson, featured cubes of impeccably fresh sushi-grade tuna with avocado and dressed with a tangy citrus-zest gastrique, garnished with some crunchy waffle chips on the side. The richness of the tuna and creaminess of avocado was counterbalanced perfectly by the gastrique. Variations of this preparation are often seen elsewhere, but here this satisfying appetizer
was spot on. Large enough for two to share, but a feast for one.
From the extensive menu at Tino’s Mexican Restaurant and BBQ, Red Bank, Tacos Al Pastor ($12), a classic dish hailing from chef/owner Tino Vera’s home state of Puebla, was excellent. Tender, house-made, warm corn tortillas were filled with pieces of pork and pineapple which had been marinated in a chili sauce and then grilled; it was spicy, but not overly so, and had great texture and contrasting flavors of sweet and savory.
Who knew a simple ear of corn could become a memorable dish, creating cravings for a replay?
From One Willow in Highlands, the Mexican Street Corn ($14), which was served as a single charred ear of corn on the cob, deftly coated with mayonnaise, lime juice, cotija (Mexican cow’s milk cheese), Tajin (Mexican chili pepper and lime seasoning), cilantro and Valentina (Mexican hot sauce), elevated street food to a whole new level of delicious. More, please!
Speaking of simple foods reinvented, from Branch Cantina at the Wave Hotel in Long Branch, we discovered Cantina Guac ($15). Nice chunks of mango and jicama, with toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) mixed into a creamy avocado guacamole spread, and scooped-up to eat with crunchy tortilla chips. Even though it was a substantial portion, it didn’t last long at the table, since it was hard not to make an entire meal of this.
While we were there, we discovered, just one street to the east, The Baked Bear, an ice cream shop with a wonderful twist. Customers choose among 12 types of homemade cookies and brownies baked from scratch, including Snickerdoodle, Red Velvet and Funfetti and 13 ice cream flavors, including Blackberry Crumble, Toasted S’mores and Caramel Pretzel Fudge, to build their dream of an ice cream sandwich; then select from a wide variety of amazing toppings. You can even have your luscious creation warmed up if you desire.
We really liked the Burrata appetizer ($14) from Rooney’s Oceanfront Restaurant in Long Branch. A ball of incredibly creamy Burrata, decorated with blueberry puree, perched upon a base of kabocha squash puree, shared the plate with slices of buttered brioche, which carried grilled figs and dried blueberries. The interplay of various textures and flavors made this unique and very tasty.
An entrée from The Pearl at The Oyster Point, Red Bank, dispelled the notion that hotel food cannot be interesting. Mahi-Mahi Tacos ($21.95) arrived as three crunchy shells filled with moist, meaty, perfectly cooked fish, a tangy mango jicama slaw and a drizzle of creamy chipotle gouda, served with a salsa verde and black bean salad. We did not expect such an adventuresome dish in this setting, and were very happy we ordered it.
If it was a challenging year for restaurant diners, it was even more so for restaurants, which, in some cases, had to juggle eating-in, outside dining, curbside pickup and even delivery. All of this with a much-reduced number of staff in the kitchen and the front of the house, less availability of many ingredients, their increased costs and smaller menus to allow for these changes. Nevertheless, many of those which were able to remain open and weather the new facts of pandemic life still produced some memorable dishes in 2021, as noted above. Of course, there were other foods I ate in the past year that were also very good and worthy of a return visit. Those will be addressed at a future date.
Bob Sacks, longtime food and wine buff, writes about food, wine and restaurants in this column. Follow him on Instagram @dinnerwithbob.Â
The article originally appeared in the January 6 – 12, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
