They’re here...

June 2007

By the time you read this, the Jersey shore will have become inundated with seasonal visitors, heralding the arrival of the 2007 season.

Having spent twenty-one of the past twenty-four summers of my life on a barrier island, I feel qualified to offer up my Official Gabriel Guide to Surviving Summer at the Shore. So, without further embellishment, here we go.

Rule #1: It’s not Disneyland. As you revel in the lack of responsibility so requisite for a thriving vacation, kindly remember that not everyone is so fortunate, nor here on holiday.

Hard as it may be for your sun-sodden senses to comprehend, there are those who live here, yearround.

We have children, pets and properties - nay, homes - that are of great value to us. And some of us protect them quite zealously, thank you.

Or, in more salient terms, when you stumble back to your rental condo after Last Call, keep in mind that a neighbor may be rising for work just a few short hours later.

Think about that before you clumsily relieve yourself in their rhododendrons, if for no other reason than that they can respond by rudely raising you from your alcohol-induced slumber long before you had planned. Talk about harshing your buzz.

Rule #2. The beach is not a toilet, ashtray or trashcan. Is there anything more disgusting than digging your hands, or feet, deep into the warm, soothing sand, only to find either a saliva stained cigarette butt or the unpleasant remains of doggie’s early morning trot on the beach?

Acquaint yourself with the term “Carry In/Carry Out” and live by those words. Bring a small trash bag with your family to the beach, and remove whatever refuse you may have created. Teach your kids to do the same. It’s more than simple courtesy, or even the law. This is about honoring the natural beauty of the environment - the reason why millions of people travel here yearly - and preserving it for the future. Trite, yes, but true.

Rule #3. Enjoy yourself, really! (Spend money.) The Atlantic City region is experiencing the latest, greatest in its historical series of boom and - we hope not this time - bust cycles.

The biggest difference between this and any other phase, however, is the present level of infrastructure and investment almost guarantees it will endure, well past the time I’m here to berate you. (Spend money.)

With sophisticated, nationally recognized restaurants, world-class shopping and several new casino complexes in the works, our little island is officially a truly hot property.

And none of it would be possible, without you, our economy-infusing seasonal visitors. (Now, spend money!)

Rule #4 A Little Courtesy, Please: Random good deeds may, as the old adage assures us, never go unpunished, but that doesn’t have to stop one from trying.

With hundreds of thousands of people in a space normally inhabited by one-tenth that amount, things are gonna happen. Sometimes, annoying stuff that delays you from getting what you want done, when you want it.

That doesn’t mean you have the right to behave like a boorish pig either. Case in point; a fine gentleman I encountered Memorial Day weekend whilst getting a haircut, who called me a name rhyming with “smash-pole” for having the audacity to inform him that I was ahead of him in a line.

The next time you see a hapless mom lugging one of those hefty baby carriers across a hot, steamy summer street, try deferring, and letting her pass. You’ll get where you’re going a little slower, but will feel better about it for having done so. Or perhaps when a senior citizen meanders more slowly than you would like, resist the urge to assault their ears with your car horn.

Consciously try being nicer, and karma will spin good results in your direction.

Where’d all these Skates come from?

Skates in OC: We don’t mean the Rollerblading type, but instead the sea creature, or more correctly Raja jenseni.

Over the last several years as residents of Ocean City’s extreme south end, we’ve encountered a strange, almost magical nautical phenomenon.

That would be the proliferation of sea skates; particularly the small baby type so prized by chefs, in the general vicinity of that town’s old 59th Street Fishing Pier.

Said structure, now unusable for several decades, once offered an amazing abundance of local wild life, and was a spectacular spot to while away a summer’s evening.

These days, that area is the preferred habitué of in-the-know local surfers, and a popular beach for Eastern Euro visitors who know that the State Park next door provides a free - as in no tags required - beach.

In point of fact, it was a youthful German who hooked a monstrous flapping, four foot monster late last summer, setting off a frenzy of sightings in the soft green waters.

Watching the waves, one could sometimes see dozens of smaller ones riding majestically inside the cresting swells. Skates “fish” in this manner, capturing prey as they rise with the tidal movements, a surreal, ballet-like movement.

Flash forward to this past winter and spring. Running along the isolated sands, I’ve found, on three different occasions, skates sadly washed ashore. The most recent occasion wasn’t so tragic; I managed to rescue a doormat-size one before the chattering gulls could find their meal.

Worth the trip...

On the subject of meals, here are a few quick culinary observations to start the summer season.

The best cup of coffee we’ve had in eons? Avalon Coffee’s Wildwood outlet, at Pine and Pacific Avenues. This was a nutty, balanced, potent Costa Rican blend, perfect for my mid-morning pick-me-up.

In addition to Wildwood, Avalon Coffee has five other locations, all in the southern tier of Cape May County. We look forward to the day they will venture north and enter the Ocean City market.

On the more exotic edge, try Rama Thai, in the English Creek Shopping Center, Egg Harbor Township. Nestled between a Burger King and a gallery of car dealers, Rama is in the same building as the former Chef John’s.

We’ve dined there twice of late, and can heartily recommend both their lunch and dinner fare as being the most authentic Thai outside of the Philly region.

Finally, congratulations to one of the most talented chefs in our region, Neil Elsohn, formerly of Cape May’s legendary Water’s Edge.

Elsohn now plies his gifted hands at venerable Mickie and Minnie’s, on the White Horse Pike in piney Cologne. And what better spot for a dynamic chef to land than in the midst of Atlantic County’s farm belt, where the world’s most spectacular produce can be obtained, inexpensively, only minutes away?

Next month: my first trip to Las Vegas, and South Jersey’s largest athletic tournament.

Frank Gabriel may be reached at Thaibasil@AOL.com