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.

Days 3-5: Beach Bummin' and Venturing Out

The third day here at Ocean City was mostly made up of beach time. Predictably, there were considerably less people. The water was a little chillier and it was a little choppier, but over all a good experience. After the beach I ventured to the Food Lion again to pick up some items to make spaghetti. Once again, I found the customers and employees to be extremely rude and obnoxious. Most of the night was spent in my room, but I did venture out to get sone ice cream at a place on Coastal Highway. I forget the name of it (sorry, it's been a couple days). The ice cream was very good, though. I wound up getting peanut butter ripple.

The fourth day was cloudy and an over all bad day to go to the beach. I wound up heading out to Berlin, Maryland since the tourist books hyped it up so much. All I have to say is when you get there, don't blink or else you've probably driven through it already. Not seeing a point to getting out and walking around to look in the windows of all the antique shops (which is all they seem to have), I decided to cut my losses and just head back to my room to regroup. Afterwards I decided it might be a good idea to check out what Delaware had to offer instead. Destination? Rehoboth Beach. It's only about a half hour or so from Ocean City. When I got there, I was extremely impressed with the beach's quaint feel. I strolled up and down Rehoboth Ave, dodging in and out of shops that contained spa products, beach crafts, wind chimes, clothes, and other cute things. I did wind up purchasing from a shop called "Scentchips", which sells soy based potpourri that you can either melt in a burner or have sitting around to liven up a bathroom or bedroom. I will warn you, though, that your olfactory senses will be over stimulated by the time you walk out if there.

For dinner I went to the Purple Parrot, which is also on Rehoboth Ave. They serve things like wraps, quesadillas, sliders, burgers, etc. Basically, your typical bar food. I thought the food was really good. I ordered the Grilled Beef Quesadilla, which had bits of steak in it. I thought it was delicious! I loved the salsa that they served with it too. The food was still a bit overpriced to me, but not as overpriced as Ocean City. The staff was also very friendly and seemed more lively than those who work in OC. Over all, a great place to eat.

Rehoboth was a great adventure, and probably the shining beacon in this trip thus far. The people were nicer, the shopping was good, and I was able to relax a little bit more. Great destination.

Today (day 5) turned out, unexpectedly, to be a great beach day. The weather was beautiful and there was hardly anyone there. It provided me with some very welcome relaxation.

All caught up! Until tomorrow...

Day 2: Bringin' Down da House...of Pancakes

My second day here started with a breakfast/brunch at the House of Pancakes. I ordered the banana pancakes with a large milk. I got 3 large pancakes with bananas mixed in the batter. They were really, really good. They were also extremely filling. I took most of it home for breakfast tomorrow. The service was also very fast, although not particularly friendly (I'm learning this is the norm though). It was also reasonably affordable. Over all a great start to the day.

After I got done with breakfast I ventured to the beach. I will say that the best way to get there is by walking or bicycle. It seems that car parking is rather scarce. Also public transportation seems to be pretty cheap ($3 for an all day pass).

The beach was pretty crowded but surprisingly clean. The water was really cold, and today there was a bit of a chilly breeze. I did enjoy my time there though and was able to get a pretty sweet tan and catch some afternoon z's. Unfortunately it is supposed to rain for most of this week but I'm hoping to catch at least one more day out there.

After the beach I showered up and headed to the boardwalk. I ate dinner at "Guys on the Beach". It was a pizza/wings/Greek food place. I had a Shamaba sandwich, which was basically Caribbean jerk chicken in a pita with hummus, lettuce, and black olives. It was amazing! The boardwalk fries there were also really good. It tasted like they were made in sunflower oil. It was a pretty costly venture, though, but the service was good and the food was fantastic.

The boardwalk itself was fairly unimpressive to me. I walked down the half that didn't include the amusement park with the hopes of just getting in some shopping, but I was extremely disappointed. The shops were basically all the same (cheap quality, novelty beach ware for super expensive). Extremely disappointing.

My night ended by venturing to the local Food Lion to buy some basic groceries for the week. My suggestion for any future Ocean City goers is that if you are particular on your diet, bring some of your own food. The food store had mostly extremely fattening foods, promoting snack foods for parties as well as mixers and cheap shot glasses.

My over all consensus on this trip so far is that everyone here is extremely unfriendly. The employed do not seem to be happy about the season and the tourists are some of the most selfish and ignorant people I have ever seen. Also the shopping is awful. Even the main street here (Coastal Highway) has very repetitive and overpriced items. Finally, unlike most beach locations, this one doesn't seem to have a good candy outlet. The best one we could find was Wockenfuss, but it's quality was lacking.

With that, here's to keeping an open mind for tomorrow.

Day 1: Ocean City, Maryland

I want to start off by saying that this is my first time in Ocean City. Thus, this week's blog will be filled with a lot of first impressions, and hopefully a lot of good reviews and ideas on what to do if you choose to vacation here.

Today was a long day of driving. Granted, it was only supposed to be a 4 hour drive, but it turned into an extra hour because I tried to avoid Baltimore and the NASCAR traffic. I drove through Delaware instead. The good news though is that I did successfully avoid the traffic and I had absolutely no problem coming in to town.

So, what was my first impression upon getting here? Clearly, it is a party destination. There appears to be a lot of activities, shopping, and night life. Also, where's the beach? Typically I can smell or get some clue of where the beach is, but I find this town peculiar in that it doesn't have the typical environmental beach indicators. I am very impressed with the amount of young people here. I am also very impressed as to how many bicyclists there are. Hopefully I can find a good place to rent one.

I kicked off my vacation by going to Phillip's Seafood Buffet and Restaurant. I was quite impressed. The selection is vast from crab cakes to Maryland blue crabs (I tried one of these but felt extremely guilty after realizing that I had to literally dissect the poor thing) to fried chicken and soup. The food was also quite good. The crab cakes weren't too overdone and it was clear that the crab legs, blue crabs, and the crab imperial were all customer favorites. They also had an array of desserts from ice cream to cookies to fruit. I was quite impressed.

The downside was that it was a little pricey (although I felt it was worth it) and I didn't feel as though the service was all that great. I felt the staff was kind of rude. Also, I was disappointed in the salad bar. It was really small and there was hardly any variety. Finally, although minor, my drink was very watered down. I just ordered a Pepsi, but it tasted like a bunch of ice had melted in it before it was brought out.

Over all I would definitely recommend Phillip's.

I hope that I will be able to get in a lot of activities this week. I already am planning to do a kayak Eco- tour and visiting the boardwalk is a clear must. I will definitely keep everyone updated as the week goes on.

In the meantime, signing off...stay classy!

A Taste of Italy

Italia, Italia! My new favorite restaurant is Gabriella's off of Jonestown road. The first time I went there was at the beginning of June and let me tell you...I was amazed. It was like heaven in my mouth. The recipes are so simple, which makes it all the more elegant. I had the Shrimp Asparagus. It was absolutely delicious. The Clam Linguine is also to die for. You can choose between red or white sauce. I usually get the white, which is like a garlic butter. It is amazing. Their red sauce is also delicious. It tastes so fresh! Everything there--even dessert-- is so simple, it's just divine. I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant.

How could you go wrong with pizza?

So, the other day my family and I went to this pizza/pasta/salad bar in the Union Deposit area (next to Panera's where the old Lonestar Restaurant used to be). We had seen ads for it on TV a few times and figured, why not? Well, when we got there, let me tell you...a red flag should immediately go up if you have to pay for your meal before you even get to see the food.

First impression upon walking in? This place is a dump.

And my first impression proved correct. It was dirty and disgusting. The place was set up in a cafeteria style setting. It didn't look clean. It was being run by a couple of high schoolers at the time, which don't get me wrong, I usually don't care. However, it was obvious they didn't exactly have a vested interest in the clientele. I could tell the food was out for awhile judging by the discoloration and the lack of freshness. The food that I did eat was gross. The sauce was worse than the crap you usually get at the school cafeteria. I even gave the salad a chance. Disgusting. The vegetables tasted almost like mildew and were clearly not fresh. The only thing that I felt was edible were the breadsticks, and even those were a bit too chewy and stale for my liking.

Over all, I would NEVER recommend this place. Definitely a thumbs down.

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!

Broadstreet Market

If you haven't heard by now, the Broadstreet Market in Harrisburg, PA has been closed due to poor inspection ratings. Apparently, a large rodent problem was found.

My take?

I'm happy that action is being taken for the sake of public health, however, if the rumors are correct, I don't support why the inspection was taken in the first place.

Rumor has it that the Mayor of Harrisburg, Linda Thompson, is looking to sell the market. I am TOTALLY against this. The Broadstreet Market is one of the best points of Harrisburg. It is made up of two buildings, one is for food vendors and one is for other vendors (jewelry, clothes, dolls, some produce, baked goods). In the first building, there are all sorts of vendors with all sorts of food- Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, fish, some baked goods in there as well, candy. They have a sit down place in the middle where you can buy your food and eat it there. Essentially it is like a cafeteria. My dad used to (and still does I think) buy fresh fish from there. It is delicious. I remember as a kid going there every Christmas Eve and while my dad would buy fish for the fish fry that night, I would peruse the candy stand and pick out a few things I wanted and my dad would let me get them. I remember usually walking out with a brand new set of waxed lips :).

At any rate, the second building is made up of all sorts of local vendors. They sell jewelry, antiques, produce, baked goods, clothing, etc. Essentially the second building is like a flea market. It is a good way to support the local economy.

The Broadstreet Market has been a defining point of Harrisburg for years, and to have it be sold for some other use is outrageous. Granted, it has gone down a little in recent years, but I think that's all the more reason to use this inspection to clean it up and make it more appetizing for people to come and enjoy what the local vendors have to offer. I hate to see something that is so unique, defining, and generally good about the city get handed off.

My conclusion- If the rumors are correct and Linda Thompson is going to sell the market, I suggest you hit up the Broadstreet Market before it goes up for sale, just to get the experience in, especially if you've never been there before. I know I will once it opens up again.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Here's the link to the article that was the basis of this post: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/02/broad_street_market_in_harrisb.html

A Taste of Korea

Last night I was out with my boyfriend at the Spring Garden Korean Restaurant in Camp Hill. I've been here before but not for awhile now. Once again it was amazing! I ordered the spicy pork with vegetables under the Chef Specialties section. It was delicious!! Just as a warning, though- it IS spicy.

My favorite part of the dinner, though is the appetizers they serve. I am in love with the bean sprouts. They are covered in this sauce and scallions, and they taste amazing. I can't ever get enough of them. They also serve kim-chi, some zucchini with some somewhat spicy sauce, some potatoes in some sweet sauce, amongst other things. The best part is they sell all of their appetizers for take home if you want them. Needless to say we definitely bought a container of beansprouts on our way out, but unfortunately I left them at his house when I left this morning. How depressing! Ha-ha!

My over all take? I definitely recommend it. It is a little pricey, but it's worth it if you're looking for Asian food that's different from your regular Chinese or Japanese.