By Eileen Moon
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – This town has long been blessed by the food fairy. The 1-mile strip of First Avenue that starts at the corner of Route 36 and ends at Sandy Hook Bay offers a wealth of culinary delights that range from the humble bagel or hot croissant for that Monday morning commute to feasts of fresh-caught seafood, handmade pastas, succulent steaks and cocktails perfect for a dressed-up Friday or Saturday night.
With summer fast approaching, the food fairy is at it once again, waving her wand over two new offerings that add to the list of fun and fine dining places in town.
The Atlantic House
At the corner of First and Center avenues, The Atlantic House is set to open its doors in the totally renovated building that formerly housed Memphis Pigout.
New owner Richard Crocker, whose past restaurant projects include partnerships in Hudson Hall, Jersey City, and the Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten, is putting the finishing touches on the restaurant after two years of renovations.
The once all-brick side of the building has been opened up, with windows pouring light into a space that features original brick walls and exposed wood beams from the building’s original construction.
Crocker’s vision for the restaurant is one that combines the comfortable with the creative – a setting that can accommodate a casual happy hour, a cozy table for two, or a major celebration.
The downstairs features dining tables and high tops with a center bar that has both purse hangers and charging stations stoolside. Views of the kitchen will be obscured by a custom wine wall at the back of the bar. In the front, wide windows open in to the restaurant, bringing the breeze from Sandy Hook Bay and making the interior a part of the life of the town.
The corner location backs up on the municipal parking lot and is just across First Avenue from the town’s multiplex movie theater.
“We really like the town,” said Crocker. “Ever yone can walk around here or ride their bikes. It’s reminiscent of an old-fashioned town.”
Crocker named the restaurant to celebrate its connection to the ocean that links the Jersey Shore to his mother’s hometown of London, where he was born. “It’s a nautical theme,” he said. His family moved to Mexico when he was 2 and settled permanently in the states a few years later.
Some of the offerings on the menu here reflect that heritage, like the Scotch eggs made with organic eggs from local farms and wrapped in pork sausage.
Chef Brendan Neville is committed to marrying creative themes with the finest fresh and locally sourced ingredients available, from Doug Douty’s Lusty Lobster to Beyond Organic Farm in Freehold.
“You taste their greens and it makes all the difference,” said Neville. “It could turn a non-salad-eater into a salad-lover.”
Among the seafood selections he’s developed for the menu is a deconstructed, steamed Clams Casino with gnocchi dumplings. Carnivores will enjoy the Atlantic House grass-fed burger with Bay’s English muffin, complemented with special sauce and a house-made, turmeric pickle.
“There’s a lot of room for creativity here,” Neville said. “I think it’s going to be a good fit.”
From the restaurant’s second level, accessible via elevator as well as two stairways, patrons can relax and enjoy views of the harbor from the deck and wide windows. There’s also an open-air balcony perfect for summer sunsets.
“This is going to be really wonderful for private parties,” Crocker said.
He sees the downstairs level as offering a more laid-back environment perfect for a drop-in after a busy day at work or a date night where a couple can linger without feeling rushed. “Some people want to be able to talk and here it will be nice and quiet.”
The Atlantic House is planning some opening events to introduce itself to the neighborhood.
“I think the community will let us know what kind of place this is going to be,” Crocker said. “We want you to come here and enjoy it.”
Higo
A few steps down the street from The Atlantic House, noted restaurateur Michael Krikorian has opened Higo (pronounced “high-go”), an internationally-inspired restaurant that incorporates a careful selection of flavors and food styles from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and other Asian traditions.
Krikorian, who created the Copper Canyon and Gaslight restaurants in Atlantic Highlands, said he had long wanted to introduce an Asian restaurant as thoughtfully curated as his previous offerings.
Photo by Eileen Moon
Higo is located in the former banquet room space of the Blue Bay Inn hotel. Designed by architect Thomas Hauser, who also designed the Blue Bay, the restaurant features tables for two and four as well as a communal table that can seat groups of 12-14 or individual diners who enjoy connecting with other lone diners or small groups when they dine out. It’s a distinct advantage for hotel guests visiting from out of town, who can enjoy a fine dining evening in the company of strangers who may soon be friends, Krikorian noted.
The ceiling of Higo is adorned with red origami cranes – a symbol of good fortune in Asian culture.
As the weather warms, diners should make plans to enjoy the outdoor patio area at the restaurant, where they can enjoy dinner under a canopy of lights as a firepit keeps any cool breeze at bay.
Krikorian is well known in Atlantic Highlands as the brains behind Copper Canyon, a restaurant that first opened across the street in a space now occupied by Christine’s, also a legend in the downtown.
When Copper Canyon opened in 1998, Krikorian said, patrons were unfamiliar with Southwestern cuisine and the many tequila selections the restaurant offers. It soon became a local success and a destination restaurant around the Two River area.
“Copper Canyon is always going to be my baby,” Krikorian said. “But to be able to branch out and do things like this is really wonderful.”
While “Higo” may sound Asian, Krikorian actually named his new restaurant in memory of his grandmother, whose name in Armenian was “Haiganoush.” He named the restaurant in her memory because it was his grandmother who inspired his love of cooking.
Ruperto Vicens is sous chef for the new restaurant, with Jason Cho as sushi chef.
With Higo the new kid on the block, Krikorian is offering the Higo menu at Copper Canyon and the Copper Canyon menu at Higo for the month of April so diners can get to know each menu and combine options as they wish.
While the restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday evenings now, it will begin opening for lunch and dinner May 1 and be open Tuesday through Sunday after Memorial Day.
In addition to “fantastic” sushi, Higo offers what Krikorian calls Far East street food, shrimp dumplings, satays, salads, curry chicken bites and other flavor combinations of the other side of the globe. The sushi menu also includes vegetarian selections, like a vegetable roll with beets and avocado under a mango ginger sauce. “It’s just phenomenal,” he said. Other menu items include steamed pork belly bun with pickled veggies and hoisin sauce and a Thai-style pork chop.
“It’s sweet, sour, salty. Everything has a bit of a crunch to it,” Krikorian said.
And no need for BYOB; Higo also serves beer, wine and sake. In May, they plan to offer takeout and delivery as well.
With three successful restaurants on one block of Atlantic Highlands, Krikorian can’t be in the kitchen at all three places every hour of the day. But, he said, he has a dedicated team working with him and he still gets to enjoy the fun of creating recipes during his mornings in the kitchen.
“It’s an exciting time,” said Krikorian, who lives in town. “This place is going to be phenomenal.”
