Blogfinger

A line out the door at the popular Hot Bagel Bakery in Oakhurst. Sunday, 7 am. 8/28/22.  . Paul Goldfinger photo.

Dedicated to  new Grovers who can learn a lot about their town from a fellow Grover in Ocean Grove. Go to Blogfinger.net and tell your friends. It’s always been free.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor. Blogfinger.net

This  summer season I have been paying attention to  more than bikinis.   The truth is that we bought season badges and have not gone to the beach once. Too damn hot.

You have all undoubtedly noticed NY plates out the wazoo, not only in the Grove,  but all over the Jersey Shore.

In the past, that would be a rare sighting, and I am an amateur student of demographics, and when we first moved to the Grove we saw  gradual changes occurring in town including  more young couples, more retirees, younger home owners, more second homers, more crappy homes getting restored, and evidence of a higher socioeconomic strata.

To me, that was a good sign and  I saw The NY Times disappearing from the news-stand every morning.

But I also was watching the cars, and noticed an influx of BMW’s, Mercedes and other flashy autos including my Porsche 911. There’s even a Rolls who lives in the Grove.

It’s funny but people do notice the cars in their town and neighborhoods.  And I took that to be an indicator of the gentrification here, and, specifically of our historic town . Newbies were investing in remodeling of bedraggled historic homes, and many of the streets began to actually look special.

But this summer season, 2022, because of COVID, work from home, escape the dangers and high taxes in urban areas, especially from New York , N. Y. cars  were seen all over including OG.  Their plates were easy to spot.  (orange–rear only) but now they are white and say “Excelsior.”  That means “Ever upward.”

Do you agree that NY drivers have revealed themselves to have a certain driving personality: aggressive, selfish, cut-me-off, nasty, too fast, abusive, tail-gate,  ignore traffic laws, etc.?  Best bet is to get out of their way.

But speaking about bagels–New Yorkers know about that and they seek the best bagel shops at the shore.

The Hot Bagel Bakery is a kosher  shop  in Oakhurst which  attracts many NY cars;.  I shop there and enjoy seeing the New Yorkers in action.  They line up, even early in the morning to buy a wide variety of baked goods,    The HBB is usually chosen as one of the best bagel shops in the area, and one of their most special characteristics  is that 2 Irishmen own the business.  Their bagels are fat and pale, but they have character (crunchy crusts and chewy interior) and people line up to buy them.  They are on Monmouth Road at the intersection with West Park Ave. The baking begins at 2 am, and the shop opens at 5 am.

Some people say that a bagel is at its best only if toasted, and there is some truth to that, but here is how I like them, and even in my family everyone has their own preferences.

a.  Garlic bagel, well done. (ie “dark”).  Cut in half. The bits of garlic are crunchy, especially if toasted.

b.  Scoop—dig out the stuffing;

c. Put a generous dollop of whipped sweet butter or cream cheese  inside.

d. Have it with good coffee. (There is a Rook coffee shop across the street). You will get your coffee served in a cardboard cup, and that makes it taste better.

My last observation this summer, besides the beach modesty issue, is how plentiful Tesla electric cars are down here at the Shore.  I don’t know if that’s because of all the New Yorkers, but it makes you wonder, especially with all the concerns about electric cars which have been surfacing lately why so many are being purchased.  At this point in time, you are better off with gas power.

From   “70, Girls 70.”     “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup.”