Left at the Fork

the road | the food | a new direction

Month: August 2019 (Page 2 of 2)

Still the best thing to eat at Greasy Nicks: cheeseburger with fried onions.

Checking in at: Greasy Nick’s, New Rochelle NY

August 9, 2019 / / 1 Comment

What once seemed like a temporary but important setback for Greasy Nick’s — they neglected to renew their liquor license a few years ago — is now permanent. There’s no longer beer, cheap or otherwise, available at the roadside eatery! A can of downscale beer was always as integral to the Greasy experience as the fried onions on the cheeseburger and the soggy corn-on-the-cob swimming in a lake of margarine. If you’re the type who prepares for such things, remember to bring your own, or else go with soft drinks. Continue reading

Barone specializes in seafood. Here plump shrimp and scallops are combined with marinara and homemade pappardelle, then garnished with baby arugula.

Checking in at: Villa Barone, Robbinsville NJ

August 8, 2019 / / 0 Comments

When Villa Barone is full, which is often, the place can be deafeningly loud. This evening we discovered a solution: try to secure a table in the corner of the room. With no diners on two of the four sides we found we could actually hear each other speak. This remains our go-to casual neighborhood Italian restaurant. Bonus: BYOB helps keep the prices down. Continue reading

The Pancake Sampler gives you the chance to try three of PJ's 22 pancake options. Pictured here are Fresh Strawberry (good), Old West Buckwheat (awful), and Potato Pancakes (weak).

PJ’s Pancake House and Tavern, Robbinsville NJ

August 7, 2019 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

PJ’s is one of those longtime Princeton breakfast institutions that seem to exist in just about every college town: not especially known as a haven for breakfast epicureans, but popular. They’ve been branching out lately, expanding to five restaurants in the area with the recently opened Robbinsville spot. They’re also trying to break out of their breakfast-only identity, with what they call a tavern menu and outdoor bistro-style seating. Judging from the Robbinsville  location, we’d have to say the tavern-like atmosphere kills the breakfast mood more than it helps the lunch/dinner vibe. Continue reading

Watermelon flavor ice, straight from the soft serve machine

Checking in at: Polish Water Ice, Seaside Heights NJ

August 6, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Polish Water Ice’s specialty is water ice that’s made in and served from soft-serve machines. It’s a growing chain with two locations on the Seaside Heights boardwalk, where they aggressively offer free samples. The texture really is super-smooth for water ice. All the flavors are based on sweetened, neutral-tasting grape and/or apple juice, with stabilizers and preservatives. There’s no peach in the peach ice or cherry in the cherry ice – the flavors are all artificial. Continue reading

Seaside Heights' unique twist on the Philly cheesesteak is the use of pizza bread in place of the hoagie roll.

The Original Steaks, Seaside Heights NJ

August 5, 2019 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Philadelphia cheesesteaks are traditionally served on long rolls. While it’s rare to encounter one on some other kind of bread, it’s not unheard of. One of the best cheesesteaks in the region is served on a round hard roll, just across the river in Camden’s Donkey’s Place. And here in Seaside Heights, the dueling cheesesteak joints known as The Original Steaks and Steaks Unlimited, across the street from one another, employ pizza bread as the absorbent vessel for the thinly sliced beef, goopy cheese, and well-cooked onions. Continue reading

The plain slice is the way to go at Maruca's.

Checking in at: Maruca’s, Seaside Heights NJ

August 4, 2019 / / 0 Comments

We’ve loved Maruca’s plain slice for many years. With a little more-than-usual focused attention it became clearer to us that mild cheddar is part of the cheese mix. We don’t know that for a fact but our tongues are telling us. We hadn’t noticed this before (or was this slice atypical) but the crust, under the pie but not at the edge, had a croissant-like flakiness that was very appealing. Maruca’s, with no slow-fermented doughs or wood-fired ovens, is non-artisan pie at its best. Continue reading

You can smell Italian sausage and frying onions up and down the boardwalk. Dentato's is among the best.

Dentato’s Clam Bar, Seaside Heights NJ

August 3, 2019 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

There’s something about dining within view of the ocean that stimulates the appetite for some local shellfish. And at Dentato’s Clam Bar on the boardwalk, the shellfish is … well, we don’t have a clue. We’ve never sampled any, and anytime we’ve been there we’ve never seen anyone else sampling any either. We’ve HEARD of people eating clams at Dentato’s, and they may well be wonderful. But as long as they keep delivering one of the best Italian sausage sandwiches at the Jersey shore, those clams will just have to wait. Continue reading

An orange/vanilla twist cone is supremely refreshing on a hot summer's day on the boards.

Kohr’s Frozen Custard, The Original, Seaside Heights NJ

August 2, 2019 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Kohr’s Frozen Custard, The Original… Kohr’s Frozen Custard Inc. … The Original Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard … those are just three of the many Kohr’s custard stands you’ll find up and down the east coast, mostly along boardwalks in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Are they the same company? Are they related in some way? Continue reading

Boardwalk cuisine par excellence!

Jersey Roll, Seaside Heights NJ

August 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Pizza, cheesesteaks, frozen custard, Italian sausage sandwiches – that’s been our Jersey boardwalk menu for as long as we can remember. And that menu has served us well. Today, however, the honor roll will have to make room for a fifth member of the fat and salt brigade. The pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich at Jersey Roll, towards the north end of the Seaside Heights boardwalk, is not only worth saving precious boardwalk stomach real estate for, but can compete with any in the Garden State. Continue reading

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