Tag: Restaurant Reviews

This group of wine lovers does not need much of an excuse to get together to share their wine with fellow winos!

Does a luxurious restaurant décor make everything taste better, or does it raise one’s expectations for the meal to an impossibly high level?

No one is more passionate about fish and seafood than Chef Bradley Rodriguez. He wants to prepare, serve and sell fresh, sustainable, locally sourced fish in ways that maximize its potential.

It had been far too long since a group of local wine lovers got together at an area restaurant to share a multicourse tasting menu paired with interesting wines from their own collections.

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.

As good as Chef David Viana’s Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge is, it’s not exactly a short ride from the Jersey Shore, so it’s more of a special occasion experience that is well worth the trip.

Having dined with great pleasure at Maya, the recently closed, exceptional oceanfront restaurant on the Caribbean Island of St. Bart’s, with its emphasis on fresh, simply prepared local foods, I had a feeling of déjà vu to eat at Maya, located in the Wave Hotel, Long Branch, also facing the Ocean.

The name Mumford has been synonymous with good eating for over 30 years at the Jersey Shore.

When we envision a neighborhood restaurant, the frequent image is a small, casual, warm and cozy little spot on a street corner, or a storefront in a small shopping mall. Then how can a large beachfront restaurant in Sea Bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying expansive ocean views, and a lively, extensive bar area, manage to capture that intimate “Cheers”-like setting?

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.