Every year we hop on the Parkway and get ourselves to Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, the place from which I was spawned. It's a weekend trip that we really look forward to, primarily because it gives us a chance to eat at places we normally wouldn't, even more primarily because our friends have a nice boat (everyone needs a friend with a boat...and those with pools come in handy as well...having either is expensive and a hassle). And those frozen drinks midday at the Tiki Bar aren't too bad, either.
A year or two ago on one of those boat/frozen drink trips, we found ourselves at the Shipwreck Grill in Brielle (just over the bridge from PPB). Twice in that weekend in fact. The first meal was so good that we immediately booked the next night. And just as these things normally go, the second night didn't live up to the first. But given our mostly good experiences there, we thought we'd give it another shot a few weeks ago, and boy oh boy was it good.
Let me start by saying that the Shipwreck Grill immediately gets extra bonus points for resisting the apparently incredibly powerful temptation to spell "grill" with a gratuitous "e" at the end. "Grilles" are found on cars, and cars generally have little to do with cooking. Yes yes owners, I know, it makes your restaurant sound really fancy when you spell "grill" as "grille", or maybe it's the vaguely British or "Ye Olde Time" thing that you're going for, but you really look silly. Silly, silly, silly. Stop it immediately. And while you're at it, please don't describe your cuisine as "New York City style" or your atmosphere as "Soho chic." You look silly then, too. Focus on making decent and interesting food. It's really not that hard. It's not. Seriously. Start that, stop the other crap. Thanks.
I'll get on with it now.
A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of attending our friends' (I'll mention their names: Wee and Morgan...for the benefit of Wee and Morgan) wedding in Newport, Rhode Island, at The Castle Hill Inn, where they were serving, among other delicious treats, local oysters from Narragansett Bay (I was told that was where they were from...I didn't check the label). I mention the name of the venue not because I think you need to know or care where I spend my time or where my friends got married, but rather because they did a bang-up job. These oysters were small (a good thing in my book) and incredibly bright and briny and overall the best oysters that I've ever, ever eaten. During my cocktail hour feeding frenzy, I lost count at about 28, along with a few appropriately paired glasses of bright and crisp sauvignon blanc (I want to say it was from New Zealand, and even if I'm wrong, that would be an appropriate choice, given the minerally qualities of that wine and those oysters). Had I had the gumption to stand in line 5 more times, that number surely would have hit 40 or 50. Since then, I've been trying to duplicate that experience (sans that convenient price of "free" at the wedding), and figured it might be worth a shot Brielle's Shipwreck Grill.
Still getting on with it...
As luck had it, on this recent visit that I mentioned a while ago, they had oysters from that general area (Rhode Island). I figured they might have similar qualities given the location and close-to-the-same-time-of-yearness. I was right, and the oysters were spot on, although served a little not-cold-enough for my taste. They were, however, carefully shucked, and each shell had a nice amount of briny liquor. As an aside, if I could figure out how to duplicate whatever it is that an oyster does to turn seawater into this delicious liquid, I'd be a rich man. Or at least I'd be very happy as I'd have an endless supply of briny liquor. All of this blogging (once a month lately it seems), however, will probably push off any plans to create such a mechanical oyster. You're free to take my idea for a mechanical oyster if you'd like. Do give tommy:eats credit, and email me for the address to which to send gallons of the stuff once you sort it all out.
We moved on to the Alaskan King Crab legs and pasta with clam sauce. I'll get the pasta right out of the way as there's nothing more to say than it was excellent and ranked right up there with NYC's Esca. Maybe not *quite* that good, but pretty damned good. Al dente pasta, clams, pancetta, maybe some butter. What's not to like?
King Crab Legs. I'm told they're always frozen. I don't know about that and have neither the time nor desire to go to Wikipedia to find out if that's the case. What I am sure about is that 2 friggin' pounds of King Crab legs is way more than anyone needs as an entree. Our server suggested that 1 pound was an appy size, and 2 pounds would be an entree size. Yeah, for 3 people. And at about 24 dollars a pound, oh boy, that's a lot of 'spensive crab leg.
But, these legs were very good, making me question my assumption about the "King crab legs are always frozen" thing. At the very least there's a cooking or heating process involved, leaving any restaurant open to screwing them up. I contrast these legs with those I recently had a Legal Sea Foods (a favorite restaurant of mine), and the Shipwreck's simply blew them away. Additionally, the 48 dollar price tag actually seemed like a bargain after I saw the paltry serving we got at Legal for 35 dollars or so.
Shipwreck has a couple of interesting wines by the glass. I enjoyed the hell out of a Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc, whose acidity and brightness went perfectly with the oysters. The list is more interesting than most options in the area. A refreshing change from those cookie-cutter lists you find practically everywhere.
The servers at the Shipwreck have always been pleasant and efficient. They introduce themselves, which I think is nice. A lot of people, apparently, don't like this, and rationalize their disdain with brilliant nuggets like "I have enough friends and I don't care what a server's name is." Those people aren't very nice.
The Shipwreck has a very substantial oval bar, which has been packed on every visit with happy drinkers and eaters. You know, my people. The room is, um, nautical, casual, and quite attractive, with a soaring vaulted ceiling.
The place is clearly popular, and for good reasons: they're making interesting and good food, and they don't throw around gratuitous e's.
Shipwreck Grill : Their website works! website doesn't seem to work, so I have no idea what the address is (Chef Dave sets the record straight below) : 720 Ashley Ave : Brielle, NJ : 732.292.9380
