Eastern Eats: Part III

Our last day was Sunday and keeping in line with our main objective of the trip (eating and drinking), we had to go out with a bang.  Back in Jersey and after a long day of graduation festivities on Saturday we decided it was in order to have a nice brunch and some breakfast drinks to take the edge off.

My Aunt had foreseen that a brunch would be necessary and had made reservations at Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park.  The place was in a very scenic location - right on the boardwalk, across the street from the Stone Pony (The Boss's old stomping grounds) and right down the way from the Asbury Park Convention Hall (as seen in 'The Wrestler').   It was a grey, rainy day but that only added to the character of this town that has gone from nice, to seedy, to nice again throughout the years.  Thanks in part to the current redevelopment that is going on, we found ourselves walking into a bright, airy and eclectic restaurant to feast on brunch fare with a lobster twist.

The menu had a lot to choose from - everything from Stuffed French Toast to Eggs Marion, which was poached eggs on an english muffin topped with asparagus and lobster.  All the dishes sounded new and exciting, but I finally settled on Papusas and Garlic Shrimp and Bob went for the Lobster Enchiladas.  For the table we got an order of the Lobster Mac and Cheese that had come highly recommended by my aunt.

The service was kind of slow, but we didn't really mind because we had Mango Mimosas and some of the best Bloody Mary's that we had ever tasted to tide us over.  Plus, the Lobster Mac came out pretty quickly and went down even quicker.  It was a tasty blend of creamy artisan cheeses, sweet lobster meat and Garden State fresh peppers, corn and tomato.  We all decided that a few bites of this Langosta delicacy were not enough and promptly ordered another round.

After the Lobster Mac had come and gone from my life I felt comforted by the fact that I still had my Papusas to look forward to.  When they were finally placed in front of me, I cut into the little cornmeal cake stuffed with cheese and lovingly placed one of the tender, white wine marinated shrimps on top and prepared my taste buds for landing.  I was not disappointed - it was like my little food plane exploded with exotic flavor.  After that first bite the Papusas disappeared pretty quickly, almost like they had vanished into thin air.

Bob's food took a little longer to arrive, so everyone at the table decided that they would share a bit of their plates with Bob.  I think he had a bit of everyone's food before his Lobster Enchiladas arrived.  Being half-full, it took him a bit of time to finish his plate, but sure enough he had polished his plate off in his normal fashion.  I know it was good because he didn't really say much in between bites, probably because he had a lot of catching up to do.

Although we were all stuffed, someone at the table insisted upon dessert.  Bread Pudding and a scoop of ice cream.  Even though I was very full, I can attest that dessert was well worth it.

After dining, we headed back to my Aunt's house to sleep away our food-induced grogginess and prepare for heaven on earth:  Kelly's Reuben Sandwiches.  After completing our naps and making an effort to create a new hunger, we headed back to Kelly's (our favorite Neptune bar). We sat in the corner and ordered our beers and sandwiches.  We also started off with some Potato soup which was damn fine.  Now it was sandwich time.  You can either have a half Reuben or a full Reuben.  For a normal person, a half is more than enough.  Bob and I split a full.  When the Reuben arrived at the table, everyone's eyes lit up at the giant mound of cheese, underneath which lay a plentiful amount of corned beef and rye bread.  Between sips of beer and mouthfuls of Reuben deliciousness, we began to reach the limits of what our stomaches could take.  Full from brunch, but unrelenting in pleasing our palates with delicious sandwich goodness, we pushed on.  Needless to say that we came up a little short in our efforts to clean our plates.  Defeated, stuffed and weary we knew that a trip back to Kelly's would be necessary next time we are in Jersey in order to avenge our appetites for the most delicious Reuben in the states.

Well, that wraps up our trip. The next day we waddled onto the plane. Luckily, we both still could fit in one seat.