Laguna Grill & Martini Bar, Brigantine

The island of Brigantine, NJ is small... very small. There have never been very many options to stay on the island AND have a 'nice' dinner out, and with the closing of Steak 38 the options became fewer still. That being said, you can always count on Laguna Grill & Martini Bar. While the deck area is basically a late night party bar (DJs, drink specials, the whole 9), the indoor restaurant itself is very nice, and has a delightful menu. They're open all year long and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

While I have been to Laguna for lazy breakfasts, fancy dinners, and late night drinks, on this particular visit we were there for lunch. Matt and I were joined by J and M and we were just interested in finding somehwere to eat where we could all grab something fast but good. There was snow on the beach and J wanted to get a better look at it, so we couldn't beat Laguna's location... it's right on the water and has huge windows, so you can see the whole shoreline. Matt and I both ordered sandwiches... a grilled veggie panini for Matt and an Italian style one for me. Matt's was great... loaded with lots of the standard grilled sandwich vegetables (ya know, zuchinni, eggplant, roasted pepper) and topped with melty mozzarella cheese and a pesto mayo. Mine was stuffed with sliced mozzarella, fresh tomato, prosciutto, pesto, and roasted pepper. Both were pressed perfectly and were nice-n-toasty. The pesto sauce on each of them really brightened up the flavors of the respective veggies, and the salty ham on mine was the perfect balance against the creamy, mild cheese. Throw some crunchy waffle fries onto each plate, and call it a day. Very satisfactory lunch fare.
M went with a burger, and it looked insane. It was a giant burger, literally smothered in bacon and cheese. While I did not try this bad boy, I could tell that M was really enjoying it. He said it was cooked perfectly and from the looks of it, I believe him! J ordered a personal sized buffalo chicken pizza. I don't know what person this was sized for, but the pizza was bigger than we expected it to be... two people could absolutely share one. The well done crust was adorned with a generous helping of spicy, breaded chicken. Both bleu cheese and cheddar made an appearance on the pie in their natural states, and of course there was bleu cheese dressing for dipping. There was just the right amount of heat, the crust was chewy and delicious, and the chicken was tender. A totally successful pizza, indeed.

While the lunch fare at Laguna is as casual as can be, the dinner options are a lot more advanced. Items on the menu include sushi, steak au poivre, shrimp wellington, and tuna spring rolls. The 'deck' is a favorite for locals, and is open late night all year long. The rum runners at Laguna re not to be missed... by far my favorite Summer time drink, EVER. If you ever find yourself on the little rock that is Brigantine be sure to check it out!

Laguna Grill & Martini Bar

http://www.lagunagrill.com/

1400 Ocean Ave

Brigantine- 08201

609- 266- 7731

Los Amigos, Atlantic City

Have I ever declared my undying love for Mexican food to you all? I have? Well allow me to do so again. I adore Mexican food. Spicy, cheesy, meaty, colorful... it's my ultimate comfort combo. Down in Atlantic City I am always impressed when places can make it without the help of being housed in a casino, and Los Amigos is one of them. The building itself looks deceptively small, and is painted up in crazy colors. It's located right across from The Walk, which is where all of the outlet stores are, and it's a great place to pop in after a day of shopping.

On a recent visit we played it safe and ordered old standards.... quesadillas and burritos, but Los Amigos does indeed offer a wide variety of delicious Mexican cuisine. This is going to be a pretty short description, because, as it turns out, the burrito and quesadilla that we happened to order were extraordinarily similar (can you tell which is which?). They were both stuffed to the brim with their beefy, cheesy goodness, ad topped with the signature garlic sour cream (so good). Beans and rice finished off the plate and we were in heaven! To me there are few things more satisfying and soul warming than Mexican food.

Our friend B was a bit more adventurous and went with the fish tacos. The fish in these changes daily depending on what is fresh, and he ended up with salmon. The blackening spice on the fish was delicious, and provided a really nice crust on the fish. The hunks of salmon were covered in an avacado cream, tomato, cabbage, and onion. The crunch combined with the soft and almost buttery fish was a really pleasant combination. B's only complaint was that he wishes there was a bit more food for the price (this plate runs about $17). While the tacos were fully loaded, he would have appreciated one more on the platter.

The other friends we were with ordered similarly to Matt and I. MR ordered a burrito and MS ordered ground beef tacos. They were all enjoyed, as were the homemade chips and salsa, as well as the pitchers of margaritas. Good food with good friends always equals good times in my book.

If you're looking for a Mexican meal in South Jersey you would be hard pressed to find a better place than Los Amigos. In addition to the standard classics that we all enjoyed, they offer options like Southwest crab cakes, chipotle pork tenderloin, and shrimp and crab enchilladas. They have a full bar (which is a HUGE plus when eating Mexican food, at least in my eyes! What goes better with spice than cerveza?) It's colorful, it's friendly, and it's super close to the action that Atlantic City has to offer.... walk to the casinos or shopping with your belly full of burrito!

Los Amigos

http://www.losamigosrest.com/

1926 Atlantic Ave

Atlantic City- 08401

609- 344- 2293

KC Prime, Lawrenceville

I love steak (I mean... who doesn't?) but I was finding it really difficult to find a decent steak house in New Jersey. Then I found KC Prime in Lawrenceville. Hell-oooooo lovely. The place is really nice inside. Lots of dark woods, over sized booths, spacious but elegant. We were eager to get seated and order.

Matt started off his meal with a standard house salad... nothing too fancy, just cold and crunchy and good. I ordered the wedge salad, my favorite of the steakhouse staples. A half of a head of icebeg lettuce, tomato, bacon, and bleu cheese? YUM. It's my favorite flavor and texture combinations. Crunchy, icy, cold, salty, tart, tangy, zesty, creamy.... yeah. Don't mind if I do. I would have liked a little more bacon but, hey... who wouldn't?

For dinner Matt ordered the filet mignon and it came with a side of sweet potato bourbon mash. KC Prime is kind enough to offer both an 8oz and 12oz cut, and he opted for the smaller of the two. He ordered it medium rare and thats just how it came out. It was seasoned perfectly and was everything a nice cut of meat should be... soft and tender and melt in your mouth delicious. The bourbon mash was a bit heavy on the bourbon (at least in my opionion) but Matt really liked it. The plate wasn't particularly attractive... it actually looked really sad and empty, but who cares because everything was so tasty.

I had come in planning on a big ol' piece of meat, but when I saw the description for the filet mignon sandwich my mouth immediately started watering and I knew it just had to be mine. 6 ounces of filet mignon piled on top of a ciabatta roll, covered in caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, with melted brie cheese and drizzled with a shallot and tomato sauce. Go back and read that again. Drooling? I was too. It came with their version of fries (which are really more like giant potato chips) and these were lovely. Thin and crunchy and salty. I really liked them. The real treat was the sandwich, though. So many flavor combinations (my favorite part of any dish, of course). The meat was supple and moist, the cheese creamy and soft, the mushrooms earthy and thick, the bread crusty, with a bit of bite. There were sweet onions and the tangy sauce, and it was just... well, it was damned good.. I miss it now. I'm sad it's not here with me, while I write to all of you.
To end our meal we ordered what has since become known only as 'THE dessert'. It's described as a warm dark chocolate brownie served with dulce de leche ice cream and home made whipped cream. That description doesn't come close to describing this brownie. This was SO good in fact, that I wrote down what we said while eating it, which can do a better job of explaining it's tastiness than I ever could again. "This must be what the angels eat in heaven." "Shh. No talking while we're in it's presence." "We don't deserve to eat anything this delicious.... no one does." "If God had dessert he'd be jealous of this." I don't care what you eat if you ever visit KC Prime.... if you leave without ordering 'THE dessert' you have done yourself....nay, your country, a great disservice.

Go there. Seriously. There is no reason not to. They have sandwiches and salads if you'd like a lighter (and let's face it, cheaper) meal, and steaks and seafood if you're in the mood for classic steakhouse fare. The place is decorated well, and really inviting, the service was a downright treat, and they offer a prix fixe menu that is very impressive. Also, they have THE dessert. Isn't that reason enough? Go forth and order!

KC Prime

4160 Quakerbridge Rd

Lawrenceville- 08648

(609) 799- 6023

The Brothers Moon, Hopewell

Thanks to Mike I was able to obtain ALLLLL of my old pictures (and documents, and music, and videos) off of the old crashed computer, so the next few posts will be from a while ago. My appologies if my memory is at all hazy (but since Mike rules so hard I also have my notes.. so I should be ok!)

Matt and I had been hearing about The Brothers Moon for a while, but since it was a little pricier than normal 'week day' restaurants we had to wait for an excuse to go (any old excuse would do.... we didn't have to wait TOO long!) It's located in an adorable town called Hopewell, which has a seriously cute downtown area with little shops and stores and restaurants. The Brothers Moon tries to use all local, sustainable ingredients, which is awesome, and always appreciated by Matt and me. We couldn't wait to go.

When we were first seated our waiter kindly brought out some bread and it was..... terrible. It was awful. It tasted like it had been sitting on a cold counter for hours, it was stale and bland and for the first time, possibly in my life, I said something to the waiter. It was THAT bad. He appologized profusely, brought out the amuse bouche (which was a delightful crab salad over a veggie slaw) and got us new bread. Now THIS is what I was talking about. The new batch was buttery and flakey and warm and delightful, but I was still confused as to how the 'yuck-o' bread could have made it out to a customer at all.

Anyyyyyyway. To start Matt ordered the tomato soup, made with (what else?) fresh Jersey tomatoes. The consistency was beautiful, almost creamy, but not at all heavy. It was super super tomato-y, and tasted really fresh (like plucked right out of a garden fresh), but it wasn't seasoned well. It was fresh, but bland. Once he hit it with some salt and pepper it was a lot better, but it should have had a hint of seasoning in the first place.
My appetizer was a crab quesadilla. This thing was HUGE... when I ordered it I expected an appetizer size quesadilla, but no no, my friends... I got a dinner plate sized masterpiece. This was very good. The filling was pretty simple, really, just fresh crab meat and cheese. Not spiced, not saucy, just fresh and tasty. They threw some lettuce and tomato on the plate, in case I wanted to spruce it up my very own self, but the crab meat really carried the flavor. This was very filling and very good. Yum. Crab meat... never dissapoints. For dinner Matt ordered the roasted chicken (not surprising, huh?) It was served over a bed of delicious autumnal salad.... it had roasted fennel and onion and corn and all sorts of warm and happy things. For me the salad was better than the chicken, but I am sure that doesn't surprise anyone, either. The texture was soft but not mushy, the corn was sweet, the fennel was nice and anise-y. Matt really liked the chicken... he said he skin had a nice crunch and the meat was tender and juicy. Again, a bit light on the seasoning, but nothing that he couldn't solve with salt and pepper. It was good but didn't crack our top ten for roasted chicken.

My dinner was deeeeeelicious. I ordered the beef tenderloin and it was outrageous. It was topped with stilton cheese and grilled onions. The meat itself was cooked perfectly medium rare, just like I wanted it. It was pink and juicy and buttery and every delightful thing that a good cut of meat should be. The cheese was tart and creamy and rich and the onions were sweet and soft and the combination of them and the tenderloin made for a very happy mouth. The mashed potatoes were really good, super creamy and whipped (I usually like a little chunk in my spuds, but these were certainly acceptable, too!). The veggies were fresh with a nice bite. It was overall the best thing that we had the whole night.

I am not sure if The Brothers Moon would be my first choice the next time we are looking to go out for a nice dinner. While the rest of the meal made up for the bread incident, it doesn't mean it was forgotten. Plus the lack of seasoning in 2 out of 4 dishes (poor Matt can't catch a break) seemed odd for a restaurant we had heard such great things about. The service was very good, and I can understand that the prices are on the higher end because all of the ingredients are very fresh, and the majority are local. The food just wasn't great... it was good... especially the steak (YUMMMMM steak) but it wasn't mind blowing or spectacular.

The Brothers Moon

http://www.brothersmoon.com/

7 W Broad Street

Hopewell- 08525

609- 333-1330

Frog and the Peach, New Brunswick

Well folks. This is it. My review of Frog and the Peach, one of the best restaurants in New Jersey as voted by.... oh I don't know,... anyone with a mouth? No, in real life this place has recieved accolades from The Artful Diner, The New York Times, Gourmet, Zagat and probably dozens more. Tucked away on a side street, surrounded by upscale apartments, Frog and the Peach may just be the most dazling gem in New Brunswick.

We decided to each go the appetizer and entree route, so that we could sample a little bit of everything. The Sister and Mom both ordered the beet carpaccio salad. It was adorned with apples, walnuts, and a delightful sheep's cheese. The dressing was a mixture of mustard and Creme Fraiche and was the just the right balance of tangy and creamy. A bite of everything together provided a fantastic combination of textures and flavors...crunchy, salty walnuts with tart apples and cool, fresh beets and tangy cheese and creamy spicy mustard. This was a delightful starter and I am very happy that they chose to share with me.

Matt got the pumpkin gnocchi to start. They were served over a bed of parsnips and leeks and it was a downright delight. It actually TASTED LIKE AUTUMN! How cool is that? A few simple ingredients doused with a helping of sage butter sauce, and it actually tasted like a season feels. I LOVE that food has the ability to do that! It's so amazing to me. Anyway, the gnocchi were pure perfection... soft but not smooshy, and pumpkiny without being overbearing. This dish was great. I think I liked it more than Matt did (he admitted later that he was less enthused because he was experiencing buyer's remorse.... he regretted not ordering the short rib appetizer!) His loss was my gain though. I thought this was a hit.

Dad went with the spiced flatbread, a vegetarian dish. It didn't look very pretty... in fact it looked kind of like a big sloppy mess, but it tasted delicious. There was an herb paste shmeared onto the flat bread and while the color was icky the flavor was a delight... very Mediterranean. On top of the paste were chickpeas, olives, yogurt cheese, and peppers. It was toothsome and herbacious and overall good. I would have liked to see a touch more cheese and a few less chickpeas, but taste wise this was lovely.

I ordered the F&P classic smoked salmon dish and it knocked my socks RIGHT OFF. The fish was not too salty and not too smokey and not tough or hard to cut and had no discoloration and was just awesome. It came with a little truffled egg salad and some spicy, horseradishy mustard and some house baked brown bread pieces. I, of course, combined all of these things and made the worlds tiniest (and tastiest) lox n shmear. Delightful. So perfect.

For dinner Mom ordered the hanger steak (how cool is a mom who loves herself some red meat?) It was marinated in balsamic and drenched in an onion veal jus (and I do mean drenched... a little too much sauce for my tastes!) The meat was cooked perfectly... nice crust on the outside and rich and buttery inside. To me, though, the most interesting aspect of this dish was the side that came with it.... bleu cheese stuffed tater tots. These were absurdly good... crunchy tater tots exploding with super sharp, super melty bleu cheese. Each little tot was a flavor bomb of happiness. Yum.

The Sister decided on the monkfish (ya know... poor man's lobster?) Everything about this dish was amazing. I was jealous that I didn't order it myself. I just salivated a little while remembering it. The fish was buttery and succulent... there are just no words in my vocabulary that can do it accurate justice. The plate was accented with several clams, and the clams were accompanied by super thick, uber delicious bacon pieces. The sauce that laid beneath all of this culinary magic was downright drinkable. No complaints about this dish. None. Delicious. More please.

Matt went with the duck breast and spicy duck sausage, all in a dried cherry duck jus. The duck was cooked perfectly with a crunchy outside and tender inside, and the sausage was very good (although I wouldn't exactly call it spicy). The problem was the sauce. It tasted good.... there was nothing wrong with it flavor wise. There was just SOOOO much of it... it was drowning the food. The sweetness was just too overpowering. This was the least succesful dish that we had the whole evening. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination... it just couldn't come close to the rest of the meals. (Poor Matt!)

While I was smitten with The Sister's dish, everyone else at the table voted Dad's the winner of the evening. He opted for the Moroccan grilled lamb loin, and it really was superb. The seasoning was spot on and really did give it a somewhat exotic feel. The pilaf it came with was also very good. While I really liked this, the rest of the table LOVED it. So majority rules... this was the winning dish!

Last but not least was my dish. I ordered the grilled shrimp ragout, and it was fantastic. Huge shrimp (and I mean really, really big!) were stacked on top of a mixture of beans, tomato, and sausage. The sauce was salty and smokey and the sweetness of the shrimp really contrasted well with the meaty sausage. The presentation on this was also beautiful. The sauce is what made the whole thing pop, though. It was one of those 'let me drag my bread through this one more time' kind of sauces.

For dessert we went with the ginger rice pudding (good rice pudding, but to be honest I tasted NO ginger whatsoever.... I would say it was very vanilla-y if anything) and and apple crisp with a brown butter ice cream. Now THAT was something special. The brown butter ice cream on its own would have had me over the moon, but pairing it with the hot and crispy pasty filled with ooey gooey apple filling? Forget it. Game over. We were officially full and happy.

Frog and the Peach is one of the best restraurants in the tri-state area, and certainly one of the finest (let's face it, probably THE finest) that I have ever been to. Plus they heart the Earth! F&P was one of the first restaurants to install solar energy panels. They try to always use fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients. This is a special occasion place as a rule, but do keep in mind that they have a bistro menu (available in both the dining room and the bar area) that is reasonable and impressive. Do yourself a favor. Once in your lifetime give Frog and the Peach a shot. I assure you that it will be a culinary experience that you will not soon forget.

Frog and the Peach

http://www.frogandpeach.com/

29 Dennis Street- New Brunswick

732 846-3216