The Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ,

Where -

The Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ, 21st & LBI Blvd. 609-492-4388

What -

The Deli Rye Melt

Build -

A half-pound Black Angus burger, house made Russian dressing, six slices of American cheese, thick cut deep fried dill pickles, thick cut Portabella mushrooms sautéed with onions and a dash of Maggi sauce, and seeded Rye bread pan-fried in butter until crispy.

Comments -

The Deli Rye Melt is one of those sandwiches with just the right combination of ingredients, flavors and textures. They all come together like the planets aligning, and the end result is pure Heaven.  

I'm going to rely on the photos to walk you through this one because I'm speechless and uncharacteristically out of words...yes, it's that good. I may have had a better burger in my 52 years of walking this earth, but I really can't remember when. 

The burger by itself is like a fine steak; top it with chunks of peppery Portabella mushrooms (equally steak-ish) and onions sautéed just enough to still resist the bite. All this paired with the creamy richness of the cheese and a hint of tartness (compliments of the pickles) is like an orchestra of flavors playing a symphony in your mouth... 

The BC rating scale gives The Deli Rye Melt an easy 10 out of 10 for the BHF this week.

Seriously, if you haven't been there yet, you need to go. I report the BHF burgers, but their specialties lie with their fish.... and now they have created the most incredible fish tacos you'll ever eat (available at lunchtime only).

http://www.beachhavenfishery.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beach-Haven-Fishery/159167407447016

Nosher-Rye Deli, Allendale, NJ

NOW CLOSED!
Where -Nosher-Rye Deli, 51 W Allendale Ave, Allendale, NJ 07401 (201) 995-1204
http://www.nosherrye.com/

What -
The Reuben Burger

Build -
A half pound burger topped with pastrami, sauerkraut and 2 slices of American cheese on a Kaiser roll. Served with a heaping of homemade fries and onion rings, lettuce, tomato and onion on the side.

Comment -
Here is an excerpt from my first encounter with The Nosher-Rye Deli a few years ago (this still stands very true)...

If you are tired of being forced to drive to New York city just to get good pastrami and tired of the prices at Katz's Deli, The Carnegie Deli, Ben's Best, Harold's and all the others that are now charging upwards of twenty bucks per sandwich, (I was at Katz's in January 2012 and paid $17.50 for a pastrami sandwich - really?) well then, have I got a deli for you...
The Nosher-Rye Deli is serving up pastrami that is every bit as good as the "famous" NYC establishments - and at $8.95 per sandwich, you can't go wrong. The sandwich is just shy of being as big as the NYC big boys, but it's more than ample and very satisfying. The value (not including what it costs to drive and park in NYC) just can't be beat. And for an extra 55 cents you can keep the thin people happy with the "lean cut" pastrami.On to the Reuben Burger...I'm not one to get "combination meats" very often since at least one of the meats is usually always over or under done, or it overpowers the other. The Reuben Burger was unfortunately one of those...
The Pastrami was spot-on with both taste and quantity, but the burger fell short, way short. It was cooked too much - way too much. Oh the humanity! You can imagine my disappointment. All the time I was choking this burger down, I was thinking how awesome it would have been if cooked a nice medium rare. What a shame. The sauerkraut and Russian dressing were just right and the roll very fresh although I would have liked to see the cheese melted thoroughly. Finally, I topped mine with a slice of raw white onion and an onion ring to help the dry burger patty go down. All in all a decent tasting sandwich. You can see from the photos that the onion rings and fries speak for themselves... VG.The Nosher Rye Deli's Reuben Burger gets a 7.5 due to the overdone burger...

(could have easily slid into home for a 10/10).

What a great concept...

My Reuben from 2012....  (I prefer the full sour as opposed to the half-sour in the photo).

Spray Beach Bagel and Deli

Where: 
Spray Beach Bagel and Deli 2611 Long Beach Blvd Beach Haven, New Jersey

(609) 492-6800

What: 
The Cheese Steak Bagel 

Build:  
Grilled Rib Eye Steak, sauteed onions, American cheese, Swiss bagel. NFK.

Comments: 
What can I say, awesome, awesome, awesome. 

It's not easy to find a cheese steak sandwich that's not disappointing in some way. That's why I am always a bit apprehensive about ordering one, especially in a resort area (Long Beach Island) where the majority of the businesses are seasonal and as a result it's usually hard to find really good food. (Let's face it, when most of us are on vacation, we seldom count our change, that's why we are on vacation in the first place, to enjoy a different atmosphere and spend and enjoy). 

Having said that, we sometimes encounter food establishments that are geared to serve mediocre food, charge a premium, then say: "thank you, we'll see you next year" as they are patting you on the ass and ushering you out the door.

This is not the case at SBB&D. They seem to actually care about the food they are handing you over the counter. I was eyeing the dozen-plus variety of bagels behind the counter and came across a bagel with Swiss cheese baked into the top of it. Done. I was just about to ask for a bacon, egg and cheese on that thing when my father-in-law suggested getting a cheese steak instead - this idea was genius I tell you, pure unadulterated genius. 

I promptly ordered one, poured myself a coffee and sat down outside with all the anticipation I had as a child on Christmas eve. I was surprised to see the proprietor, Mr. Russ, walking toward our table with our order. How nice was that? - the proprietor served us, talk about customer care.

Okay, that may have been way too much preamble, but I needed to set the stage for this nugget of goodness - now on to the sandwich. 


It was a stormy night in Maine, the waves were crashing on the rocks and after that third and final thunder clap shook the house I knew we were in trouble - oh, sorry, wrong story... on to the review...
Now scroll down and look at some of the close-ups of this beauty...

The steak was a chopped rib eye, with a texture much like you get at any sandwich shop, HOWEVER, it was of a high quality and loaded with steak flavor. The onions were plenty, the way it should be with a cheese steak, but best of all, the cheese, the glorious creamy white American cheese - the ratio of cheese-to-steak was near 50/50 which in my book brings any ordinary cheese steak to epic proportions. And finally, the crispy Swiss cheese baked onto the top of the bagel hit this would-be single out of the park. This baby gets a solid 10/10 on the BC rating scale.

As usual, whenever I encounter a sandwich this good I stop back as soon as I can to check for consistency (all too often the second attempt is disappointing) but given the family run, caring aspect of this establishment, I'm sure the second will be every bit as good as the first.  

Good Food and Good Memories Still Served Up at Maggie's Town Tavern in Little Falls, NJ...

Where: 

Maggie's Town Tavern, 10 Van Ness Ave, Little Falls, NJ 07424
(973) 256-7708 http://maggiestowntavern.com/

What: 

The Town Burger

Build:  
Half pound old fashioned "chop style" burger patty (?) served on a Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese and Taylor ham.

Comments: 
This burger had the potential to blow my doors off, but alas, is fell short. As with most restaurants, finding consistency in food quality, presentation and service is never easy.

Just a little more care in preparing this burger and it would have rated a 10/10. The meat was very fresh but it was a bit bland - it tasted like there were no seasonings added to the meat at all.  A little salt and pepper added before cooking goes a long way when I'm cooking, just sayin'.


Also, a pet peeve of mine - red onion. I don't like them - so when I read the description of the "Legendary" half pound burgers, I was very happy to see the printed words, "white onion".  I thought, "wow these people know a burger is better with a nice thick slice of a sweet Vidalia".  Love it. 
On the lighter side, my roll and toppings were all very fresh and tasty. They could have and should have served this burger with 4 slices of Taylor ham instead of two which would really make this a stand-out burger, but now I'm really asking for too much. 
And this is not a dig on Maggie's, but what's with the green leafy lettuce replacing good old crunchy iceberg lettuce? They say Iceberg lettuce doesn't have all the nutrients that the leafy stuff does, so what? It's ten times better on any sandwich - and it's cheaper! The majority of people paying for meals nowadays grew up on Iceberg lettuce - give it to us!
Overall a good meal, I'll def be back. This beauty gets a 9/10. (yeah, I went off on the onion, but it was only an onion and the tables salt and pepper shakers helped the burger meat).
Lastly, I have no idea what an old fashioned "chop style" burger patty is.

But no - no, no, no white onion, my burger was served with red onion. Now I ask you, why in the hell would you go out of your way to print on your menu, "WHITE ONION" when you could have just advertised "ONION"? My guess would be you're pretty serious about insisting on serving your "legendary burgers" with white onion - for whatever reason.  No matter how small an issue this is, the point is that I was told I was being sold one thing, but I was served another. It's ten minutes to three in the morning, I'm too upset to go on with this onion rant. 

My friend's crabcakes - she said they were good.

My wife's tenderloin - not so good. It was basically pot roast and she asked for a baked potato. 

Definitely a cozy joint...

Awesome Pizza - From a Gas Station in Wayne, NJ !

CRAPPY PHOTO ALERT!

Where: 
Time Out Café, Wayne, NJ

What: 
The Classic and the San Francisco Pies.

Build: 
The Classic: classic red sauce, mozzarella.    The San Francisco: classic red sauce, artichokes, mozzarella, ricotta, chopped garlic.

Comment: 
Yes - this pizza came from a gas station... 
My only issue: Although the Time Out Cafe advertises the use of imported Italian Caputo flour, ("the best in the world") the dough is pre-made.  BUT - in spite of this, it was surprisingly good with no detectable pre-made flavor, in fact, the only giveaway was the dimpling on the bottom of the crust from sitting on a cooling grate at some dough factory. This for you pizza aficionado's is sacrilege, but when all other local pizza joints are charging upwards of 15 bucks for a large pie, this tasty beauty can be delivered to your doorstep for only $8.99 - that isn't a typo, it's really only $8.99 for the 18 inch plain pie. (Starting to forget about the dough aren't you...) And they are adamant about  their "no tipping required" statement on the menu. (but who the hell doesn't tip?)
The sauce had a homemade flavor and was not overpowered by dry seasonings. The cheese I'm guessing was a low moisture mozzarella and it was laid on thick. The brick oven supplied a perfect crispness and the rest was history. A very (very) good pie for the money.
Next up was the specialty pie: I ordered a 10 inch San Francisco. With artichokes, ricotta and chopped garlic added to the classic pie, this was another winner. The flavor of all the toppings blended perfectly and at $6.99, it was another home run. 
There you have it, two pizzas can be freshly cooked, delivered to your doorstep and enjoyed all for $17 and some odd change. 

PS...

The Time Out Cafe also offers 10 inch breakfast pizzas - (I'm going to have to check into this)