From the Desk of the Editor: Introducing Columns on Restaurants, Wine and Movie Trends

To Our Readers,
I’m delighted to introduce two new additions to our already stellar columnist staff, both of which will assist you in making intelligent decisions about how to enjoy your entertainment hours.
The Bob & Bob restaurant review column, to run every other week, will guide you to the best eateries in The Two River area. And you’re in extremely good hands and I speak from personal experience.
Bob Sacks, a Rumson resident, is a cosmetic and restorative dentist in Oakhurst during his working hours. His passion, however, is wine. He’s been collecting and tasting fine wines for more than 40 years and has traveled extensively to the winemaking regions of California, Oregon, Washington, France and Italy. He also seeks out fascinating food and wine pairings on his trips and has conducted numerous curated wine tastings in the Two River area. The result – his palette is as sophisticated for food as it is wine. But no worries, he has lots of recommendations that won’t break your pocketbook.
Bob Sickles shares that passion for wine but his true love is food. A third generation owner-operator of Sickles Market in Little Silver, he knows good, fresh and properly prepared food better than most. Sickles received NASFT’s Outstanding Specialty Food Retailer, which says the man knows field to table. Bob’s family has owned Sickles since 1908, but the site dates to 1663 when a King’s Land Grant was given to Bob’s ancestors to farm the land. He takes food seriously and his roots run deep as a recognized food and garden expert. As an example he has served as a judge for such prestigious organizations as the James Beard Awards. Enough said.
I’ve had the pleasure of dining with these gentlemen and their choices were so much better than mine it was taste altering!
Bob & Bob are picking random restaurants throughout the area and add a much-needed dimension to the paper.
Also, meet Ashley Peter, the author of Reel Remarks, a monthly column about non-mainstream film as well as movie trends, and the history of modern films. Ashley is incredibly knowledgeable and writes as well as she speaks about her passion for film and all things about it. She’s encyclopedic about the topic. Ashley will also be writing stores about events involving film festivals in addition to her regular column. Topics will range from reviews of non-mainstream movies to music in film, to how modern films use old techniques used in classic films and lots in between. Ashley, who grew up in Middletown, currently splits her time between Brooklyn, N.Y., Los Angeles, Calif., and the Two River area.
And she too comes well credentialed. Ashley, who attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, worked as an assistant at “Saturday Night Live,” specifically assisting head writer Seth Meyers and political comedy writer James Downey. During her SNL tenure, she was fortunate to be involved in some specials, including the infamous return of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Following SNL, she worked for Martin Scorsese and was chosen by Scorsese to be his onset apprentice for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Currently, she’s working on HBO’s upcoming drama series, “rock and roll” created by Terence Winter and produced by Scorsese and Mick Jagger.
She supplements Joan Ellis’ insightful reviews of mainstream films, Scene on Film, that appears weekly in the Two River Times.
These are simply part of our continuing process to bring the best of the community to light. Please read our new contributors and let us know how you feel about the new columns and if you agree with their opinions. Go to our website at tworivertimes.com, send me an email at jcalendar@tworivertimes, drop me a line at 75 West Front St., Red Bank, or give me a ring at 732-219-5788.
We’re listening.
Let’s have coffee.
Jody Calendar
jcalendar@tworivertimes.com
(732) 219-5788