My Trip to Red Bank

Last weekend I would have recently returned from my brief getaway in Red Bank/Sea Bright/Holmdel, NJ.  There were quite a few places that I had the opportunity to visit, so I thought I’d document them here in the event that any of you are looking for a relatively short distance trip to the beach.

I stayed at the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank for $149 per night. I checked in on Thursday evening and left early Saturday morning so I could return for a concert in Hershey that afternoon. It was a nice hotel.  It was clean and modern.  They had a restaurant that overlooked the bay area (the hotel was right next to the bay), although I did not eat there. Based upon the rest of the clientele and the look of the place, it was apparent that it was more of a business destination.

I give the place an A on hospitality. All of the staff at the front desk was very nice and engaging. I will say, though, I didn’t like that the staff would come in during the evenings to drop off cookies on my night stand.  It was unexpected and I just don’t like people walking in and out of my room when I’m not there, especially with my stuff all over the place. It simply doesn’t allow me to relax into the room.

My room was clean and was really nice. The bathroom was a little small, but the bed was comfortable and it was clear that things were well-kept. The caveat? It was extremely noisy at night. This was a complaint on Tripadvisor too, but I tend not to take many criticisms on public forums too seriously.  The first night that I was there I kept on waking up from the noise of the traffic on the highway near the hotel. I might as well have been sleeping on the shoulder of the road. Furthermore, I could hear consistent bumping and banging out in the hall and in other rooms. The second night this didn’t bother me much since I had tired myself out from the day’s activities.

Finally, location.  The hotel is a little too far from the antique/restaurant stretch of Red Bank to walk.  However, there is quite a bit of street parking there, and it is free after 6pm.  The set-up reminded me of downtown Carlisle.

Over all, I’d probably stay here again if I had to. I think the price was a little steep based upon the noise alone, but I’d pay it again if it meant that I’d have a clean room and didn’t have to pay $300 just to stay right next to the beach. Call me crazy but I’m OK with staying a few miles from the beach if it means saving me a few hundred dollars.

The first night I was there, I ventured to Raritan Bay Waterfront Park in South Amboy (thanks, Rich!!!).  It was a really well-kept park that was right along the water.  It had a really nice walking/running stretch right on the beach if you like some scenery.  I don’t recommend swimming/tanning here. 

I ate at Blue Moon in South Amboy. The menu and food was nothing to shout about.  I ordered a roast beef classic sandwich.  However, I really enjoyed the laid back ambience.  It was a cozy bar.

The next day I drove to My Kitchen Witch in Monmouth Beach for breakfast, which was about 7 miles from my hotel. It was delightful!!! It is half café, half smoothie bar. Both have a healthy-eating focus.  They advertise which foods are gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, etc. I ordered green tea, the multi-grain pancakes, and their thick, classic bacon. Everything was delicious. The pancakes (2) had the texture of cornbread. They were thick and they came with grapes on top.  There was syrup on the table and they gave you a pat of butter. The bacon was also phenomenal.  I saw everyone raving about it on Tripadvisor, so I thought I’d add it as a side to see what the big deal was. They put brown sugar on top and so you have the sweet and salty thing going on, and the slices are definitely thick.  I highly recommend this place for breakfast.  The smoothies looked delicious as well, but I didn’t have enough room to try one.

After breakfast, I headed back down the street to Sea Bright beach, which had advertised free public parking.  I was lucky enough to get a spot around 11AM since they were filling up fast. The beach tags cost $8. It was clean and I found that for how many kids and families were on the beach, it wasn’t that loud.  Also, people were friendly. A lot of people brought coolers with them, but if you were like me and didn’t think that far ahead, there was small place right off the beach called Woody’s that you could get hot dogs, fries, ice cream, sodas, water, etc. There were also bathrooms right off the beach.  I really enjoyed my experience at this beach and will definitely keep this place as a consideration in the future.

For dinner I went to Phole, which was a Vietnamese restaurant in Red Bank.  It was OK.  I’ve had better pho.  I ordered the vegetarian kind.  Also, don’t get the bubble tea.  What is bubble tea you might ask? Good question. It is a tea-slushie with flavors (I chose mango) and large balls of tapioca (hence the “bubble”).  Call me old-fashioned, but I tend to like my drinks to be completely liquid.

On Friday night, I went to the Jason Mraz concert at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel.  I really liked the venue. It had inside seating for the folks who paid for the assigned seats (like me) and they had a really nice lawn for folks who paid for outside seating.  The only complaint that I have is that I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera in.  Now, I wouldn’t complain if there wasn’t a significant amount of people who had cameras my size (large) and smaller in the venue once I got in. I’m not sure how some of them got them in because it was clear that they couldn’t hide it anywhere on their person.  I was actually pretty upset about this and still am. I don’t mind having to leave my camera in the car, but don’t tell only a select portion of the people to not bring their cameras and let everyone else in.

That about wraps up my trip.  I definitely recommend Monmouth/Red Bank/etc. as a destination point.  It was quaint and enjoyable. I know I want to go back.

Recipe: Streusel Raspberry Muffins

This was the breakfast that I made my mom for Mother’s Day. I tried to stick to a cheesy alliteration (Muffins with Mom, har har har). I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by these and they were a huge hit with my family.

First of all, they are a heavy muffin. They are also a little bit on the dry side, so I would definitely have the milk or coffee by your side when you eat these. That’s the only downside, though. They are really catchy and the raspberries in the middle keep the taste refreshing and help to break up the sweetness. I really enjoyed these and would definitely eat/make them again.

Baking them wasn’t difficult at all. I would suggest though, that the more raspberries you put in the middle, the merrier. I only put 3 or 4 in the middle and felt as though I could’ve put 5 or 6 in the middle of each and would’ve been better off. Also, I couldn’t get the batter to stretch to a full dozen. I got 11 muffins, so just keep that in mind when you pour the batter in the pan.

Here’s the recipe:

“Streusel Raspberry Muffins” (from 25 Years of Favorite Brand Name Baking)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup milk

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 egg, beaten

1 cup fresh or individually frozen unsweetened raspberries

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 12 standard muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. Prepare Pecan Streusel Topping (recipe below); set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in large bowl. Combine milk, butter and egg in small bowl until blended; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon half of batter into muffin cups. Divide raspberries among cups, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle Pecan Streusel Topping over tops. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.

Pecan Streusel Topping

Combine ¼ cup each: chopped pecans, packed brown sugar, and all purpose flour in a small bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter until mixture resembles moist crumbs.

Rating: A

Recipe: Risotto Frittata

Technically, a breakfast food, I wound up serving this for dinner as a side dish with chicken. It reminded me of a Southwestern omelet without meat. It was delicious. The egg added a dynamic to the dish that was very complimentary. The risotto was also fantastic. I highly recommend this dish.

Pros: Delicious. The product is amazing (in fact, you can tell by the picture, I didn't actually get a photo before me and my family ate the dish, hahaha). It was also fun to make.

Cons: LOTS of clean up. It also takes a very long time to make too. Also, the egg was a bit of a hassle. The recipe says to just pour the egg on top and let it sit for a couple of minutes. My suggestion is to stir it through the risotto. It took much longer than a couple of minutes to cook the egg on top and as a result the risotto started to burn on the bottom.

I would serve this for a small brunch. I think it would be great for the holidays, as well.

Here's the recipe (from Appetizers, Finger Foods, Buffets, and Parties, 2009)

Risotto Frittata

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 large red (bell) pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
3/4 cup risotto rice
1 2/3-2 cups simmering vegetable stock
2-3 tbsp butter
2 1/2 cups button (white) mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6-8 eggs
salt and ground black pepper

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, until the onion begins to soften but does not brown. Add the pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes, until softened.

Stir in the rice and cook gently for 2-3 minute, stirring constantly, until the grains are evenly coated with oil.

Add a quarter of the vegetable stock and season with a little salt and pepper. Stir over a low heat until the stock has been completely absorbed. Continue to add more stock, a little at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid completely before adding more. Continue cooking and adding the stock in this way, stirring constantly, until the rice is al dente. This will take about 20 minutes.

In a separate small pan, heat a little of the remaining oil and some of the butter. Add the mushrooms and cook quickly over a medium heat until golden. Transfer to a plate.

When the rice is tender, remove from the heat and stir in the cooked mushrooms and the Parmesan cheese.

Beat the eggs together with 8 tsp cold water and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil and butter in an omelette pan and add the risotto mixture. Spread the mixture out in the pan, then immediately add the beaten eggs, tilting the pan so that the omelette cooks evenly. Cook over a moderately high heat for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a warmed plate and serve in wedges.

*My tip: When having the rice absorb the stock, you can cover the pan for a minute or so ONLY (less is preferable). Stir frequently. This helps the rice soak in the stock faster in my opinion.

Recipe Grade: B (due to timing inaccuracies)

Runnin' on Dunkin!

Lately, I've been pretty much addicted to Dunkin Donuts' coffee. I think it pretty much has moved up to be my number one coffee place (which is saying something because I never thought anything could replace a good Caramel Macchiatto!). Why? Well, for one thing the coffee isn't too strong nor is it too weak. The taste is perfect. Furthermore, I love, love, LOVE that they put the perfect amount of cream and sugar in EVERY time, giving me a perfect experience with each cup. Let's not forget my favorite part- it's cheap!! I love that I'm not paying $5.00 for [maybe] quality. The thing I hate about Starbucks is when my coffee is good, it is fabulous, but when my coffee is bad, it is horrible. When I'm paying that much money for a cup of coffee, I don't want to risk it. I want a sure bet. Dunkin Donuts does that for me for cheap. The only down side is that I feel sometimes the coffee is a little too hot when I get it, but with a little patience that easily goes away.

Second thing about Dunkin Donuts-I love their lunch sandwiches! For anyone that knows me, they know I kind of have a thing for trashy food. I will sacrifice "healthy" for taste (at least until a doctor tells me otherwise, ha!) more often than I probably should. That being said, I was told that the Dunkin Donuts flatbread sandwiches were pretty good, so I decided to indulge. I bought the Turkey, Bacon, Cheddar. First, it is in the shape of a triangle and it is in a convenient size so you can hold it in your hand without it falling all over the place or being too much of an inconvenience. I feel like it's kind of Dunkin Donuts' answer to 7-11's taquitos. At any rate, I'm not usually a fan of turkey, but I have to say this was delicious! I was concerned the cheese would taste really fake and gross, but it turned out to be pretty good. Once again, it was definitely better quality than I anticipated for cheap. The only downside? The size. I'm pretty petite (surprisingly!) and I felt like I should have had two for lunch instead of one. If you get one, it's more of a snack than a lunch. Other than that I thought it was really, really good!

Bravo, Dunkin, bravo!