belated birthday dinner

Although my daughter celebrated her 30th birthday last June, she and I finally got to share her birthday dinner. Last fall I gave her tickets to see the Broadway play, "Hamilton." We were to do a pre-theatre dinner, however, there was a slight change in our plans and dinner was postponed.
 
Fast forward to 2018, I gave her the option of lunch at DelPosto in New York or somewhere else. She decided that she wanted to try Modine in Asbury Park. I had just been there in late April to celebrate my daughter-in-law's birthday.

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​I had mentioned to my daughter that Modine was known for their fried chicken. After reviewing the menu, we decided to share several small plates.
We selected Col. Newsom's Country Ham Biscuit Sliders (4 per order).  The ham was topped with a slice of Cabot cheddar cheese and a sweet and spicy pepper jelly ($8). We also tried the shrimp toasts (4) that had a combination of Szechuan spice and scallions ($9) and local diver scallop hush puppies (6) accompanied by a Comeback sauce ($11). All of these dishes were delicious. The country ham is a bit saltier and drier in texture than the ham we're all more familiar with.  The Shrimp toasts were delightful, a bit spicy and served hot. The scallop hush puppies were light as air and the Comeback added another layer of flavor and bit of heat. The Comeback sauce reminded me of a kicked up version of remoulade sauce.
 
We were getting quite full following our small plates, but we did manage to order Modine's Half Smoked Fried Chicken ($24). Modine's chicken in buttermilk brined, cold smoked and fried. It comes to the table in with a nice crunchy exterior and then if you like, will drizzle some hot honey over the meat. It gives the chicken a hint of heat and sweet. The chicken is accompanied by a light and fluffy biscuit. For sides we chosen; Coconut Ham Hock Curry Collards ($6 if ordered separately). They were so good, it was my first time eating collards. We also had the roasted red beets ($6, if ordered separately), which were equally tasty.
 
We didn't have any room for dessert, despite the fact they all sound crazy good. There was a Coconut Cream Layer Cake (v), Big Easy Chocolate Chicory Cake (v), Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie (v), and Strawberry Shortcake (vgp) all $8 each or a seasonal fruits pie for $10. On my previous visit my husband and I shared the black bottom banana cream pie and it was divine.
 
We had a wonderful evening at Modine's. The only drawback is the noise level. It wasn't a full house, but with all the hard surfaces it can be a bit loud. However, as the night wore on and people left, the noise level subsided.