Sisters at “Cousins Maine Lobster” on the AP boardwalk enjoying lobster rolls while the crazy rockers at the Stone Pony almost drove us back to the Grove. Paul Goldfinger photo. Friday Oct 14, 2022. Click to enlarge.
By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger–a food review, a music review and a photo shoot on the A. Park boards. And we parked in OG and walked to AP–a variation on a theme.
We went over to the Asbury boards, around 6 pm near the Casino on Friday .
As we walked through, there were two observations. One was the presence of a photo shoot—wedding pictures with the Casino as background. What’s so glamorous about this place? But the beautiful wedding party was the main focus.
Wedding photo shoot. Paul Goldfinger photo in Asbury Park. 10/15/22. click to enlarge.
The second was the thought, “Aren’t we lucky to not live anywhere near the Stone Pony?” A very loud and raucous amplified rock band was performing outside, and the noise spread out in all directions. It was so disturbing, but I guess they are used to it over in Asburyland.
We would have returned to the quietness of Ocean Grove, but we wanted to try Cousins Maine Lobster, a casual seafood restaurant on the boards open since May and specializing in guess what? But don’t go there if you expect whole lobsters. You can buy them live at Wegmans.
You can dine inside or out. Or you can take-out. We chose alfresco. It was a bit chilly that Friday, but eating outside at an ocean front restaurant is usually a visual treat.
It reminds me of what Hemingway said about Paris: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
So we had a moveable and modest feast at Cousins. Their menu is wonderful with a varied seafood array. But you can even get a chicken sandwich. Here is their link:
www.cousinsmainelobster.com/locations/asbury-park-nj/
We were three, and we all had a cup of soup (lobster bisque or New England clam chowder) followed by a lobster roll, warm or cold. It is a BYOB.
The food was excellent, and the sandwich was pure lobster meat with a bit of mayonnaise dressing on the roll. The coleslaw portion was small but tasty.
But if the inside environment in which you dine is important, then go to Bonney Read on Cookman and pay more, but we believe that the lobster rolls here are better and they are cheaper. At Bonney’s we spent $30.00 for a roll, and their pricing is “market price.”
Our dinner for 3 was $100.00 with the tip. Each roll cost $22.50. The cup of soup was $7.00 each.
My lunch at Cousins. Eileen and I chose the cold version of lobster roll. Blogfinger photo. 10/14/22. Sister Hope, from Maryland, home of cold crabs, ordered her lobster warm.
The ambience here, however, if you are fussy, was a bit of a turnoff. If you subtract the unique seafood menu, this could be a hot dog stand, which it was in its past life. All the food was served on paper with plastic utensils. And they gave us plastic cups for our wine.
I had a strange conversation with the manager. I wanted to know more about the food preparation. He proudly said that the meat was shipped from Maine where the lobsters are “humanely processed.” The meat is removed from the shells and “flash frozen.”
They arrive at this franchise location in boxes, once per week, and carefully kept frozen until needed. The turnover there is quick, so no lobster meat is sitting around for long. Cousins had a successful first summer in Asbury Park.
But I was taken aback when I wondered how the meat was cooked. Is it steamed before freezing or is it steamed here? The manager told me that it is not cooked at all!
We know what steamed lobster looks like, and our lunch was obviously cooked, and cooked perfectly. No restaurant would serve raw lobster. But he insisted that it wasn’t cooked. So go figure!
Yet, we will go back.
EMMYLOU HARRIS: