Wood Avenue, Linden, NJ

Big Stash’s Bar & Restaurant: Post mortem (Linden, NJ) It’s now been over a year since the doors closed at this iconic Polish American eatery on the west side of the Tremley Point section in Linden.  Most of you would probably recognize the area by the chemical towers that lined the New Jersey Turnpike like trees.  Big Stash was an after work gathering place, for a quick beer before heading home from the Bayway Refinery.  The homes surrounding the restaurant were owned by hard-working Eastern European immigrants. Remember, when the parking lot across the street was all homes?

Big Stash is where we had lunch with friends after my father’s memorial service in 2006.  I’ve lived away from Linden since 1970 but still found a reason to stop by for a hot corned beef sandwich, brown mustard and a side of macaroni salad.  Simple fare but consistently good!  The macaroni salad was excellent .  .  . maybe the best.  A combination of finely chopped bell pepper and real mayonnaise (not that salad dressing stuff) are some of the ingredients.  If someone has the recipe, please pass it on.

OMG!  I stopped for dinner on my way home to PA on July 8^th 2015 after a business meeting in NYC.  It was around 5 PM and there were parking spaces on Wood Avenue in front of the restaurant.  There’s usually only space in the lot across the street.  Panic overtook me.  I rounded the block again hoping that this was all a hallucination.  Had Big Stash's close?  I pulled over to barrow (you should always pass protect your internet) someone’s local Wi-Fi connection.  To my horror Google endorsed the loss.  I was a week too late!  Another “family owned” business is gone! 

Gone are dinner and my corned beef fantasy! What other restaurant can you get: Frog Legs, Kielbasa & Kraut, Pierogi, Corned Beef, Liverwurst & Onion Sandwich and Stuffed Shells all on the same menu?  Sure, the dining room is dark and hasn’t changed in over 50 years but that’s part of the ambiance.  Where can you opt for either cafeteria (self-serve) or table service and have a long-time waitress take your order.  Big Stash was always a clean, pleasant, reasonably priced and neighborhood restaurant.

No chain-restaurant will ever replace the food and friends at Big Stash.  Bummed!

Keep Food Frolicking! 

Pork Roll Heaven

Pork Roll at the Shore: Memories of growing up a “Jersey Boy” and smelling pork-roll cooking on a Saturday morning are palatable.  Fast forward to marriage, children and living in metro Philly .  .  .  then there’s that family summertime ritual.  The Saturday evening trip to the Jersey Shore (Ocean City, NJ), with amusement rides for the kids and you guessed it, Taylor Pork Roll!

Enter my brother-in law who is my food & adult beverage cohort and fellow Taylor Pork Roll connoisseur.  Together we seem to be on the receiving end of an occasional (okay, often) reprimand for our culinary and/or beverage indiscretions.  Well, that scolding came quick after we ordered that culinary Shangri-La, the coveted Taylor Pork Roll & Cheese sandwich, slathered in yellow mustard.  Sandwich in hand while walking the “boards” at the shore (not the beach).  OMG, heaven on a roll!  There’s something special about smelling the salt air, chasing the Gulls away and racing after children .  .  .  nostalgic for sure.

Okay, I get that the sodium and fat level is higher than advisable but we all make choices and more importantly, “fat transfers flavor.”  God knows, that's why we love Taylor Pork Roll, “down at the shore.” That’s “how we roll!”

Keep on Food Frolicking!

"Get in My Belly, good"

Bern's Steakhouse: When I'm in Florida and travelling in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, Bern's is my "go to" dining destination. I was first introduced to the restaurant in 1994 by a friend at Morrison's Cafeterias. Bern's was in a "dicey" neighborhood at the time. That's all changed now.

I’ve hosted my parents, clients and immediate family at Bern’s for dinner a few times over the past 20 years.  Bern’s has to be one of the most consistent carnivore cafes; for mouth-watering, “get in my belly” steaks and a daily selection of fresh local “west coast” fish.  By the way, ask your waiter for a tour of the kitchen and you’ll be amazed at the cylindrical aquariums filled with those fresh fish!  Also, stay around for the Wine Cellar tour.  Bern’s may have the largest wine collection of any restaurant anywhere in the USA (that’s a fact Jack!).  As the “Donald” would say, “it’s HUGE!” Did is say, they grow their own micro-greens on their farm.

Bern’s roasts their own coffee, so don’t fill yourself up on steak before you venture upstairs to Harry’s Dessert Room, where Bananas Foster, calls.  The Piano-man takes on all requests and keeps the background mellow.

Okay, I try not to deviate from a winning food formula.  I had the NY Strip (medium rare), Black Truffle Creamed Corn (you gotta, try it), and Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes (none pictured, above) and ' Yes," it’s $$$$+

Keep on Food Frolicking!

Dutch Ways Family Restaurant (Meyerstown, PA) - Wow, what a nostalgic trip back in time!  This place brings back memories of "covered dish" dinners at church on a Sunday evening.  All the casseroles you can think of and a few unique Pennsylvania Dutch dishes, which are a twist on the classics: Sausage Pot Pie rather than chicken.  They have a "manned" stir-fry station with all of the "fixins!"  The price is $9.99 and it's AYCE.  Seniors even get a discount.  Say, "WHAT!"

Hey, you can also order off the menu: burgers, BLT's, etc., but that's just not adventurous.

The food is okay, the price is more than reasonable and the nostalgia is over-the-top!  It's rather humbling to see folks hold hands and pray before their meal. I hope you get a chance to enjoy a memory from your childhood.

 

So, keep on Food Frolicking.