My "Best Of" Summer '07...

October 2007

If you didn’t have fun this summer, I truly feel sorry for you.

In fact, if you didn’t manage to squeeze some good times out of one of the most spectacular seasons of my four-plus decades - more on that later - you might want to have someone shave your head, search for and locate your “Fun” switch, and see if it’s been inadvertently deactivated.

I heard a startling statistic, sometime around Labor Day (when all the suckers out there think summer is ending!) that something like twenty five out of thirty possible weekend days were filled with abundant sunshine in ’07.

That trend continues well into September. As I compose this column, on the official penultimate weekend of the summer, our temperature still swells to over eighty degrees. Better yet, the frothy Atlantic remains as warm as it ever was, at a balmy seventy- five.

All things considered, it’s been a pretty amazing three and a half months.

Along the way, I’ve collected some high points that are worthy of sharing, so without further adieu, my quasi-complete Best of Summer ’07.

Best facelift and upgrade:

The Atlantic City Bar and Grille, located at South Carolina and Pacific Avenues in A.C.

We hadn’t visited this place in close to half a decade, and the transition is pretty spectacular. Once a rather drab, dark, nondescript barroom and tavern, it now features a classy, modern sports bar theme. The attached dining room is equally bright and cheery.

Food during our lunchtime visit looked delicious as we watched customers happily scarf it down, and created an even more favorable impression upon our keen olfactory sense.

We were told by veteran daytime barkeep Deb Segich - another reason to visit, guys, trust us - that the facility’s upstairs nightclub is even more upscale. This is in keeping with the general redevelopment theme that is, as we speak, reshaping the face of Atlantic City for decades to come.

Runner up:

Vince’s Restaurant, JFK Boulevard and the Promenade in Sea Isle City.

Veteran chef Jim Henry’s towering, year-old three-story construct offers some of the best ocean dining views at the Jersey Shore.

Pssst. I can tell you from personal experience, the food is better here in fall than any other time of year. But you didn’t hear that from me.

Best day/overnight adventure bargain:

A trip across the sparkling, cobalt Delaware Bay aboard one of the vessels of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

If you’ve never taken this twenty or so mile, seventy or so minute trip, you are missing out on a unique reminder of our local nautical heritage.

Trekking on one of the modern, comfortable ferries also allows driver and passengers alike an opportunity to savor travel itself, rather than simply slogging through on the way to somewhere.

I was reminded of this when my son and five of his youthful companions took a midsummer birthday trip for overnight camping at a grandparent’s home in Delaware.

The Ferry is particularly recommended for local travelers heading to the Baltimore/D.C. metroplex and points further south. Rather than traversing New Jersey for the privilege of sitting in traffic on Route 95 South, take the Ferry, and spend the time in pleasant conversation or placid aquatic reflection.

From Lewes, you can easily meander through an idyllic section of Eastern Maryland and mosey your way down the Atlantic seaboard, paralleling Route 95 or picking it up just outside Baltimore.

Best bakery delight:

Streusel, cherry cheese or apple, from Dot’s, in the 3100 block of Asbury Avenue in Ocean City.

We literally stumbled upon this artisanal European sweet cake one early AM, stopping for coffee after Labor Day when nothing else was open.

The football-length loaf of sticky, buttery goodness is accessorized with a gooey elixir of fruit, or even better, fruit with a mascarpone-style cream cheese.

I got lucky finding one already made and sitting pretty in the clear glass case, but you’ll want to call in advance, since Dot’s is only open weekends at this time of year. Their phone number is 609-399-0770. Tell them you want a streusel and that Gabriel sent you. (In case you are curious: streudel = a crumb-cake topping, streusel = a more pie-like, latticed crust.)

Best fun place to take a kid to eat:

Stewart’s Root Bar, Tilton Road in Northfield. While this is not one of the franchises' venerable drive-in operations, several are still open regionally in Vineland, Tuckerton and Camden County, the large, spacious, clean facility is still the closest thing you’ll find to eating in a real, vintage 1960’s burger joint.

And don’t let the above verbiage confuse you, this Stewart’s has an extensive, six page menu that nicely touches all the bases in the world of casual food. Maybe even a bit beyond, as evidenced by our recent lunch special, a spicy falafel (fried green chick pea patties, a sort of middle Eastern veggie burger) on pita bread with a yogurt dip. A wide array of shakes and floats, all fashioned with their famous fountain drinks, completes the nostalgic dining experience.

Plus, the place is a treasure trove of art, pop culture, entertainment, and sports memorabilia certain to keep you and yours entertained while you wait for the food.

There’s even a novel HO Scale train zooming around the dining area on a custom-crafted elevated platform. It’s a great spot for a Saturday afternoon out with the family, or a weekday night meal on the way to, or after a movie.

Restaurant goings...

Chef June Wilkes Red Raider Café, located at Eighth and Ocean Avenues in Ocean City, closed in late August. The business had been open slightly more than a year, in what has become a tremendously competitive downtown restaurant corridor.

This was the first venture for Wilkes, formerly employed at Claridge Hotel’s Luna, Northfield’s Owl Tree, and Somers Point’s Sails.

A prominent local businesswoman - whose family has operated nearby for nearly a century - told us that she would miss the restaurant’s glorious specialty soups, but postulated that their price points may have been too high for the environs.

Personally, we think referring to yourself as “5 Star and Executive Chef” on external signage, as was the case here, is rather a bit like tempting fate.

And comings...

Pulini’s Pizza has opened at the intersection of Route 50 and Schoolhouse Road in rural Tuckahoe.

The tiny hamlet, part of fast-growing Upper Township, was home to three separate food operations in it’s abbreviated downtown only a few short years ago - Dadio’s Pizza, The Old Towne Diner and The Tuckahoe Brew House coffee bar - but of late found itself utterly devoid of dining options.

The new venture should do well, based on both the growing local population and natural geographic location.

Thousands of shore bound travelers, many of them families, take summer weekend sojourns on the busy highway through town on their way to Ocean City, Sea Isle, and points further south.

More...

Following up on last month’s news of legendary Bain’s Deli debuting in another restaurant wasteland of late - center city Vineland - Dinner For Soul, a Southern style bar-b-que and soul food operation, is now open for business only a few blocks away at 601 South 8th Street. The menu includes most staples of the genre: chicken, ribs, fried fish, plus sides like collard greens, candied yams, mac and cheese, and black eyed peas. A list of ‘menu additions’ includes some of the more obscure, but uniquely Southern items, such as pigs feet and chitterlings (‘chitlins’ in popular parlance).

It’s also one of a very few places we know of locally that serve the deep-fried Dixie delight, hush puppies, and is similarly offering their own house made doughnuts. While we haven’t had a chance to sample their fare as yet, reports from our cadre of informants are initially positive.

Bar-b-que, being our personal favorite American food, should tell you to stay tuned for more info.

Eagles season still alive...

Just for the record: Despite a disappointing first three out of four games, I am sticking with my prediction that the Philadelphia Eagles will advance at least as far as the NFC Championship game.

After solidly thumping a high-scoring Detroit Lions squad, we were finally able to see the genesis of what "could be" from the Eagles the rest of this season.. Of course, that was followed up by the mess at Giants stadium a wekk later. After a bye week to regroup and heal, the game against the Jets will tell the story on the rest of the season.

A little faith, fickle Philly sports fans, please?

Frank Gabriel may be reached at Thaibasil@AOL.com