By Paul and Eileen Goldfinger. Editors. Blogfinger.net. Ocean Grove. Re-post from July. We went back today 12/7/23, and the quality and satisfaction remained. We added a couple of photos.
Out for lunch: “Toast ” in Asbury Park at 516 Cookman Avenue. Paul Goldfinger photographs. Blogfinger.net
Toast staff: Friendly, happy, and competent. Blogfinger.net photo. 2/10/23
Melissa is an aspiring photographer, so we chatted about my Leica camera. I invited her to submit one of her images to Blogfinger.net. Click once to enlarge*. Paul Goldfinger photo 12/7/23
There is a bar where one can eat/drink. The decor is simple and cozy. Blogfinger photo. 12/7/23
I don’t know how Asbury Park can hope to have successful restaurants when parking is so hard even on an early Thursday afternoon in season. But one kind-of-an-answer is when the restaurant is very special as in the case of “Toast.” Then you find a solution including parking in the Grove.
Eileen suggested parking in A. Park—turning the tables. We found a space in AP a few blocks away from “Toast,” and it was worth the walk.
Today, 12/7/23, we found a space in front. They are open in the am and the early afternoon.
The new AP parking app is excellent once you set it up with your information such as license plate and credit card.
When you arrive to park, you don’t even have to get out of your car to complete your request. And you don’t even need to remember your license plate. You do have to enter your requested time, but I couldn’t figure out how the app knows when you leave. It turns out that the solution is “old school”: a parking official rides around and checks plates.
There is a learning curve in being smooth in using the app. The first time I tried it I had to ask a couple of young fellows sipping beers on the sidewalk for help.
“Toast” appeals to us because of its casual and friendly atmosphere while serving wonderful comfort food. They speak of their menu as “breakfast and brunch.” This is not exactly a restaurant review, since all we tried during our two visits was the BLT.
Both Eileen and I ordered excellent BLT’s made with fresh ingredients including perfect bacon. It was served heated with very good hot fries. I’m always looking for perfect BLT’s as well as Manhattan clam chowder, onion rings, hamburgers and corned beef hash. Their coffee was very good, although we had to ask for another cup/hot–the first one was luke warm
The service was fine, and we had an odd conversation with our waiter: (our July visit)
We: “We’ll have BLT’s on toast.” I thought that saying “on toast” might have been a bit redundant for a BLT at that restaurant, but the waiter seemed a bit befuddled as we specified “toast.”
We: “You do serve your BLT’s on toast don’t you?”
He: “Uh, uh…..not sure.”
We: (To each other) You would think that a restaurant with the name “Toast” would have an answer for us.
He: “I’ll check.”
He: Returns: “Yes our multigrain bread will be toasted.”
We: We have always had BLT’s on white toast, but we didn’t want to belabor the issue. As it turned out, the toasted multigrain bread was tasty and crunchy, although it should have been toasted more than just barely. The ingredients: bacon, mayo, lettuce and tomato were all fresh.
The menu at “Toast” is beautifully displayed and enticing, with breakfast on one page and lunch on another. Many dishes are innovative–lots of interesting choices.
I recall when they opened, and the buzz was about lobster rolls. We will try them there soon, because we love lobster rolls. They are still on the menu.
We were pleased with our lunch and we will come back. (And we did!)
* Melissa’s shirt reminds me of Dover (NJ) Medical Center where I often worked as a cardiologist in their CCU. On Sundays the nurses would wear football jerseys. One Sunday a nurse walked in with a shirt that said, across her chest, “GIANTS.” My reaction was to ask her if she was bragging. So, you had to be there…
“ELISA AND ZELDA:” By Alexandre Desalt. from the movie The Shape of Water: