Two River Tastes - search results

By Tori and Sasha Sickles When it comes to the holidays, there is no tradition we leave unturned. Santa will get his cookies (home-made), the...

If your tap water tastes a little different for a while, don’t panic.

’Tis the season for celebrating. Between Thanksgiving and the arrival of the New Year, there are ample opportunities for socializing.

You may have heard about the “dark dining” trend – eating a meal without seeing your food, either blindfolded or in a darkened room – to enhance the other senses and increase gastronomic pleasure.

The ideal way to enjoy food is to eat what is in season.

When two very talented chefs decide to team up and create a tasting menu dinner, you can expect something special. And that is exactly what occurred recently when chef Chris Calabrese of Nettie’s House of Spaghetti of Tinton Falls and chef Bradley Rodriguez of Spring Lake Seafood joined forces to offer a seven-course Seafood Tasting dinner at Nettie’s.

There are lots of ice cream shops in the Two River area, so it seemed like a fun endeavor to select a half dozen or so, get a couple of pints from each one, and hold an ice cream tasting. We did not include pre-packed ice creams, which are readily available in the freezer section of area food markets and grocery stores; we chose only hand-packed pints and taste-tested them at home. Young and old weighed in on their favorites.

The Jersey Shore is a welcoming location for film and television productions and many would like to keep Atlantic Highlands in the mix. But a proposed high-cost permit fee for filming in the borough could turn Hollywood away.

If you enjoy discovering new culinary favorites from previously existing restaurants – or from newly opened area restaurants – as much as I do, 2022 was a good year for us. It was fun to look back and make a list of the most memorable dishes I ate. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.

My recent visit to Gaia Bistro in Monmouth Beach, suggested by a friend, was one such occasion. No small part of the pleasure was in meeting and talking with the chef/owner Michael Tornillo.