Due Mari (New Brunswick, NJ)

I'll just put it right out there and say that Due Mari probably has the most consistently fantastic food I have ever eaten. 

And paired with the comfortable ambience and extremely knowledgeable and always-accommodating staff, I will be so bold as to say it is hands down my favorite dining experience.

There are comfortable leather chairs. Clean but unfussy tables. A huge circular bar in the center of the restaurant that simply makes you want to sit down and order a drink. And stay there a very long while. 

I'm particularly enamored with Due Mari because that's where I held my October 2010 wedding reception. And it was perfect.

No catered dry salmon for this bride. Hells no. I do not exaggerate when I say the only thing I really cared about out of that whole wedding mumbo jumbo was THE FOOD. 

I picked the recently-opened Due Mari because it was a large open space that could accomodate 100 people and a dance floor (a challenge in the New Brunswick restaurant scene) and the food is just incredible.

As the name suggests, the specialty here is seafood. However, I dare you to find something on the menu that isn't excellent. The pastas are all homemade in-house and GOOD GOSH they are so good it will drive you crazy for days thinking back on the orgasmic meal you just consumed.

I've eaten there quite a number of times, including the wedding, and have never been disappointed.*

Last Sunday for dinner with my in-laws I enjoyed the following:

Fried calamari. Oh. Yes. Comes with marinara and a lemon cremai and it's perfectly crisped and not at all chewy and I promise you will reallllllllllly like it.

Even this very basic mixed greens salad tasted so light and fresh...perfect way to pretend you are being healthy (post fried calamari).

The brilliant goddess of a waitress actually encouraged us to split entrees... they could split anything, and serve it on these adorable little duo plates. So those of us who can NEVER make up their minds when it comes to menu selections had the glorious opportunity to actually have 2 things.

The shrimp and lobster ravioli with artichokes, leeks and herb butter was very good.

But the sea scallops with wild mushroom risotto, fava beans, and baby greens was out of this WORLD.

These two choices were the perfect balance of seafood and pasta.

(AND - they can also do a FOUR-WAY pasta split. So, if you and your three dining parters are game, the kitchen will happily give you each a plate with 4 little bowls of pasta so you can taste everything. Perfection.)

This is the Torta de Limone, with lemon curd and whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Oh yes. It is perfect.

Other things that are AMAZING:

- The branzino. The accompanying veggies change, but it's light and delicate and you will actually have room for dessert after.

- The organic roast chicken. It was on the fall menu. I don't even LIKE chicken much, but this birdie was mighty good. Perfectly tender and falls off your fork and into your mouth and sends you right into ecstasy.

- The garganelli pasta. If ever there was a perfect pasta dish, this is it. Served with parma prosciutto, mushrooms, peas, and white truffle butter... holy mother. This stuff is incredible. Always a favorite. (Let's just say I ordered the Branzino at my own wedding, and then spent half the night eating the garganelli off my mother's plate)

- The chocolate fondue (pictured at the very top). A pot of perfectly rich chocolate to dip, with homemade (incredible) graham crackers, homemade marshmallows, strawberries and bananas. Perfect for sharing.

- The Budino di Cioccolato. Not your mama's lava cake, that's for sure. Warm chocolate cake, toasted marshmallow, with caramel and vanilla gelato. Yes. That's right. And the cake is only mildly sweet, making room for the sweetness of all those heavenly accoutrements.

Belmar Seafood Festival (Belmar, NJ)

This past weekend was the Belmar Seafood festival. The forecast said rain and t-storms all day, but happily the sun triumphed, making for a breezy, sunny, beautiful day to battle the hungry crowds and stuff yourself full of seafood.  The festival showcased food from over 50 vendors - with everything from whole lobsters to fried oreos to alligator bites. Tables were set up around Lake Como...a band jammed in the gazebo...and a fenced in Drinks Tent fenced in the booze-drinkers from the rest of the child-dominated crowd.

I got a mango madness smoothie. Pretty good, refreshing on a warm day... not quite worth $5.50, but hey, you're paying for the experience.

 

But the crab cake slider I got from Mud City Crab Cake Co.? Oh sweet mama.

These crab cakes are baked and grilled, not fried. So, no breading. No oily mess. No heartburn.

No. This is straight up hunks of crab.

Served on a perfect little roll (no wonder bread slackers here), with bacon, avocado, and jalapeno tartar sauce. Hell yes.

A friend tried the coconut shrimp - also incredible, with a sweet thai dipping sauce.

You can bet your booty I will be visiting the Mud City establishment at some point this summer.

Then, since I was completely unable to overcome my craving, I succombed to the fried Oreos.

Oh how I wish I had only eaten one.... even two....

Words of wisdom: 3 fried Oreos equals too many fried Oreos.

Is there nothing better than munching on fresh seafood and then wandering the boardwalk and looking out at this?

I think not.

*Apologies for the sad-ass cell phone photos. If I had remembered to bring a real camera, or if Verizon let me upgrade my old-school decrepit phone for a smartphone, they would be a wee bit less awful.

The Little Tuna (Haddonfield, NJ)

I was in South Jersey on Saturday - land of reesees peecees and I'm done my homework - visiting friends. We went into Haddonfield for lunch. Man is that town adorable. Very quaint and historic looking. One can almost forget she is in the uncharted waters of the southern half of the state.*

We ended up at The Little Tuna right on the main street and ate outside on the sidewalk. Super cute. The tables and chairs were slatted and wooden and kind of looked like they were going to collapse the moment we sat down but no worries - we all survived; the furniture was sturdier than it appeared.

In short, everything was delicious. Everything on the lunch menu looked amazing and was reasonably priced.

Alas, I have no photos because I was so busy shoving food into my mouth and delighting in the perfect temperature and stimulating conversation that I was too lazy to break out the (crappy) cell phone. Apologies.

I started with a cup of their famous lobster bisque soup. And oh yes. Ohhhh yes. It was mighty good. Creamy and not overly-salty... a sadly common occurrence in soup, especially seafood ones. Giant chunks of lobster - not the usual Where's Waldo-esque hunt for lobster remnants, but truly large hunks of lobster floating happily on my spoon. Awesome. Get it. A cup is very filling. I probably could have had that and a small salad and called it a day.

But no. That'd be no fun. So a friend and I decided to split two things. The Blackened Fried Group wrap was awesome - a tinge spicy, perfectly cooked fish, really tasty fries on the side. It comes with stoneground sauce (a mix of mayo and mustard) - but I got it on the side. The Garlic Charred Jumbo Shrimp salad was tasty - with a "limey Caesar dressing" - but I found the shrimp to be a bit too salty/garlicky for my liking.

The service was fast, outdoor ambiance was lovely, and very reasonably priced. A perfect Saturday lunch.

*Just kidding! But really - South Jersey is kind of a different beast....