Donna Walsifer
working from the end to beginning
I am very behind in posting my recipe reviews of the meals I’ve prepared so that I can share them with you. Before blogging about recipes, however, I am going to start with two recent dining experiences while they’re fresh in my memory.
Last Friday evening my husband and I had the most wonderful time at the Autumn Harvest dinner held at Beach Plum Farm in West Cape May, New Jersey. The farm was started in 2007 by Curtis Bashaw and Will Riccio. The farm uses regenerative agricultural practices and grows over 100 kinds of fruits and vegetables along with chickens, eggs and Berkshire hogs. Besides a market store, they have a kitchen that prepares a menu of breakfast and lunch items. However, there’s much more to this farm such as cottages to rent and a variety of experiences all year long whether at the farm or through the Cape Resorts, of which they are a part.
Last Friday evening my husband and I had the most wonderful time at the Autumn Harvest dinner held at Beach Plum Farm in West Cape May, New Jersey. The farm was started in 2007 by Curtis Bashaw and Will Riccio. The farm uses regenerative agricultural practices and grows over 100 kinds of fruits and vegetables along with chickens, eggs and Berkshire hogs. Besides a market store, they have a kitchen that prepares a menu of breakfast and lunch items. However, there’s much more to this farm such as cottages to rent and a variety of experiences all year long whether at the farm or through the Cape Resorts, of which they are a part.
My husband and I went to experience their farm to table dinner held on Friday evening, September 5th. Dinners are held each season; including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The menu features seasonal crops from the farm along with their organic meats, organic produce and herbs. We dined under the stars but depending on the weather you could dine in their hoop house. Dinners are BYOB served family style on long communal tables. Platters of food are placed so a group of four adults can share.
The menu for the evening was as follows: Farmhouse Salad with watermelon vinaigrette, Orchard Wood-Grilled Eggplant with romesco sauce, burrata, pistachio and basil oil, Grilled BPF (Beach Plum Farm) Chicken Kebabs with cucumber, yogurt and fine herbs, Roasted Heritage Pork with garden herb chimichurri, black lentils and smoked bacon, Grilled Broccolini & Garlic Confit garnished with Roasted Lemon and dessert was Crème Chantilly & Blackberries (blackberries were from Hammonton, NJ).
The salad was a riot of color from the red roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers to the tomatoes, greens, blackberries and watermelon. The salad was light and refreshing. Our next course was the burrata accompanied by grilled eggplant on a bed of romesco garnished with basil oil and pistachios. The wood-fired vegetables had a smokiness that was complimented by the sauce. I forgot to take a photo of the chicken kebabs which were scrumptious! The accompanying yogurt sauce had a touch of heat which was offset by the freshness of the cucumber. The pork tenderloin was moist and succulent. I enjoyed the black lentils that accompanied the entree and the chimichurri sauce was the perfect foil for the pork. The side dish of wood-fired broccolini was the perfect accompaniment for the meal. It too had a luscious smoky flavor from the wood-fired grill. To close out the meal we had blackberries topped with a Crème Chantilly that was light with just a hint of sweetness topped with a puff pastry round to add some texture to the dish. The berries were sweet and delicious.
Both my husband and I had a lovely evening under the stars enjoying delicious food and chatting with our seat mates. The chef came out at the end of the meal to chat with the group as a whole and came around to interact with the guests. Chef Russell worked in his family’s deli on Staten Island and was in the Merchant Marines for ten years. We can’t wait to go back next year in a different season for this wonderful experience.
This month my husband and I also dined at RBar in Asbury Park. This compact restaurant offers a dining room on the first floor and outdoor patio. On the second floor there’s a greenhouse and a upper-level patio with dining. The curated menu features some wonderful southern dishes as appetizers and entrees. For example, blue crab beignets (My daughter had these and said they were delicious), crawfish street tacos, gumbo and crawfish pasta, but RBar offers more scrumptious choices.
While everything sounded delicious, my husband chose the Wedgie Salad with bacon bits, sun-dried tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, chives, dill, R Ranch dressing and croutons. The salad was a towering two wedge feat; the presentation was so pretty and large. I chose the Broiled Oysters that were topped with shrimp, lump crab meat and house made breadcrumbs. Oh my gosh, these were delicious. The flavors were perfectly balanced and rich. For an entrée, my husband chose the Steak Frite Au-Poivre which was an 8-ounce portion of peppercorn crusted skirt steak accompanied with fries, sauce au-poivre and a horseradish aioli. My husband said the meat was so tender he could cut it with a fork. I selected the Fried Chicken that had a buttermilk batter on boneless thighs accompanied with slaw and my choice of a baked potato. The chicken was moist and tender and the coating was nice and crunchy. However, I felt either the chicken or the coating could have benefited from a bit more seasoning. Overall, a wonderful meal and worth visiting again to try some of their other delightful offerings.
The menu for the evening was as follows: Farmhouse Salad with watermelon vinaigrette, Orchard Wood-Grilled Eggplant with romesco sauce, burrata, pistachio and basil oil, Grilled BPF (Beach Plum Farm) Chicken Kebabs with cucumber, yogurt and fine herbs, Roasted Heritage Pork with garden herb chimichurri, black lentils and smoked bacon, Grilled Broccolini & Garlic Confit garnished with Roasted Lemon and dessert was Crème Chantilly & Blackberries (blackberries were from Hammonton, NJ).
The salad was a riot of color from the red roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers to the tomatoes, greens, blackberries and watermelon. The salad was light and refreshing. Our next course was the burrata accompanied by grilled eggplant on a bed of romesco garnished with basil oil and pistachios. The wood-fired vegetables had a smokiness that was complimented by the sauce. I forgot to take a photo of the chicken kebabs which were scrumptious! The accompanying yogurt sauce had a touch of heat which was offset by the freshness of the cucumber. The pork tenderloin was moist and succulent. I enjoyed the black lentils that accompanied the entree and the chimichurri sauce was the perfect foil for the pork. The side dish of wood-fired broccolini was the perfect accompaniment for the meal. It too had a luscious smoky flavor from the wood-fired grill. To close out the meal we had blackberries topped with a Crème Chantilly that was light with just a hint of sweetness topped with a puff pastry round to add some texture to the dish. The berries were sweet and delicious.
Both my husband and I had a lovely evening under the stars enjoying delicious food and chatting with our seat mates. The chef came out at the end of the meal to chat with the group as a whole and came around to interact with the guests. Chef Russell worked in his family’s deli on Staten Island and was in the Merchant Marines for ten years. We can’t wait to go back next year in a different season for this wonderful experience.
This month my husband and I also dined at RBar in Asbury Park. This compact restaurant offers a dining room on the first floor and outdoor patio. On the second floor there’s a greenhouse and a upper-level patio with dining. The curated menu features some wonderful southern dishes as appetizers and entrees. For example, blue crab beignets (My daughter had these and said they were delicious), crawfish street tacos, gumbo and crawfish pasta, but RBar offers more scrumptious choices.
While everything sounded delicious, my husband chose the Wedgie Salad with bacon bits, sun-dried tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, chives, dill, R Ranch dressing and croutons. The salad was a towering two wedge feat; the presentation was so pretty and large. I chose the Broiled Oysters that were topped with shrimp, lump crab meat and house made breadcrumbs. Oh my gosh, these were delicious. The flavors were perfectly balanced and rich. For an entrée, my husband chose the Steak Frite Au-Poivre which was an 8-ounce portion of peppercorn crusted skirt steak accompanied with fries, sauce au-poivre and a horseradish aioli. My husband said the meat was so tender he could cut it with a fork. I selected the Fried Chicken that had a buttermilk batter on boneless thighs accompanied with slaw and my choice of a baked potato. The chicken was moist and tender and the coating was nice and crunchy. However, I felt either the chicken or the coating could have benefited from a bit more seasoning. Overall, a wonderful meal and worth visiting again to try some of their other delightful offerings.