Peanut Butter Overload on the left and a waffle cone with S'mores and Cookie Dough...courtesy of Miss Stephanie's Blackberry

From what I can remember, the building just south of Colonial Bakery on Route 35 North has always offered frozen creamy confections. It’s changed hands and monikers several times – from Mrs. Walker’s in the early 1990s (I have fond memories of digging into a cup of black raspberry ice cream while watching the launch of Nickelodeon’s SNICK during one of Mrs. W’s early summers) to a brief stint as Strawberries.

Now, Summer Sweets occupies the charming roadside bungalow-turned-scoop shop and has since 2006. On their site, the owner details her discovery of the building and admits that her dad advised knocking it down. We’re willing to forgive this statement (as well as the site’s casual use of grammar and the spelling of Lavallette) because Summer Sweets’ brightly painted walls, cartoonish ice cream cut-outs (as detailed by the authors of Ice Cream People) and cheery interior are just so doggone cute. Read the rest of this entry »

Naturally, you'll find plenty of produce at the Seaside Park Farmer's Market

Just a few years ago, Seaside Park residents had to travel to any of the area supermarkets to procure food suitable to create a balanced meal.

While typical shore staples (read: cold cut subs and limes for Coronas) have always been readily available and appropriate for carrying home within your beach cruiser’s basket, healthy “on to go” options were previously difficult to find.

Times have changed.

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A South Seaside Park institution

Beginning today, South Seaside Park will come alive a little earlier than usual with the commencement of live daytime entertainment at the Berkeley Restaurant and Fish Market, located on the corner of Central and 24th Avenues (adjacent to Island Beach State Park), a Seaside area institution since its inception in 1937.

If Island Beach State Park is full (like it is today), turn to Berkeley...

“This weekend will feature our first party of the summer,” said Chris Barulic, 32, who operates the family restaurant along with his mother, Carol, and father, Nick. “We’ll have cover bands every Saturday and Sunday in our parking lot, featuring mellow ‘off the beach’ music.”

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...promises that they "won't suck."

I’ve been in taxi cabs all over the world, from Munich, Germany (late model BMWs) to the deep south of the USA (a pick-up truck with a roll-bar protecting the bed and covered in mud), with experiences that obviously run the gamut, so I rarely have expectations when I hire a cabbie.

Being a talkative person by nature, I usually engage taxi drivers in conversation, even if there is a language barrier, in the hopes that I’ll be asked to sign a waiver after the trip is over for a segment on HBO’s Taxicab Confessions. They’ve seen it all, and I’m always up to hearing compelling stories. Of course, just as the type and condition of taxi cabs vary, so do the interactions with the driver.

Just over a year old, Atlantic Taxi, based in coastal Monmouth County, is a company that aims to please its customers, with clean vehicles, on-time service, and friendly drivers. It has launched a wide-reaching social media campaign to reach potential Jersey Shore customers, with a presence on Twitter and Facebook, which is the reason why I was so interested in learning more about this innovative taxi company. Read the rest of this entry »

Normandy Beach's Kaboodles Ice Cream Parlor serves up scoops, sprinkles and silly names to boot.

The concept of going out for ice cream is absolutely married to summers at the Shore. Sure, there’s FrozFruit bars, Screwballs and novelty character-shaped frozen dessert novelties to be had on the beach during the day, but when the sun goes down, you hanker for a cone. Before any of us could drive, my friends and I found our main source of entertainment in walking up and down Route 35 North in search of ice cream. There was Mrs. Walker’s (now Summer Sweets), Milky Way (now a real estate office) and Salty’s (still the same!) if we felt like trekking. Today the options are just as plentiful, if not more so. Read the rest of this entry »