“Enjoy” at the Black Swan in A. Park.
Paul and Eileen at the Black Swan: Shepherd’s Pie, onion rings, fish and chips with Moby Dick on a plate. Blogfinger photos.
There were few early diners at the Black Swan. Service was fine. Blogfinger photo.
Eileen and Paul Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net. 3/15/24
We don’t eat out much, preferring to dine at home in the Grove. It’s too much trouble to go to a restaurant, too expensive, and often not worth the money.
But yesterday we went to Asbury because there were certain items we craved at the Black Swan. The restaurant is on Mattison at Cookman. Just go across the New Jersey bridge, walk a block, and there it is. But it was supposed to rain, so we drove figuring no trouble parking on a Thursday.
But it was difficult to find a space. We drove around for a while; some streets had no street signs, and finally I found a spot down a side street- Bond St. two blocks from the Swan. A landmark: a sign at the bar revealed a giant eyeball.
What a relief! But not so fast! I had mastered the pay parking over there, so it looked like we were set, but the electronics via the Asbury app didn’t work. We got an error message; something about a “failed connection.”
So we took a chance by leaving a note on the dash. I knew that despite the digital design for parking, there is a human element to round out the process. Someone has to ride around and see if you paid. And perhaps the human touch would save us from a ticket.
We walked two blocks, and most of the establishments we passed had few people inside, so the parking glut was evidently due to residents. AP strives to create parking for their new condos—and they do have some permit parking. They care about their citizens.
Tonight in Ocean Grove there was plenty of parking at the north end, so evidently the reason Asburians park near my house isn’t necessarily to save money; it’s to find a space—and then walk.
The Black Swan is a bleak place. The door in doesn’t look like a door: a musician coming to work got us in. It’s like “Hernando’s Hideaway.” Then there is a dark flight of stairs where, if you are a bit of a klutz, you had better be careful when leaving.
Inside it is low light, but mostly it is loud, even though there were few customers there. We stayed away from the bar where it is VERY noisy.
First we shared a Cesar salad, and it was spectacularly good.
Then Eileen ordered fish (haddock) and chips, and the fish was very good, but the piece was large enough to feed four panhandlers in the Grove. It came with some ordinary fries, but a side of excellent onion rings made up for that.
I always get the same thing there: Shepherds Pie. The meat is a mix of ground beef, lamb, peas and carrots. And it is topped with mashed potatoes. It is almost a shame to dip your fork into the potato artistry. They also give you a small cup of traditional English mashed peas which are useful not for eating, but only for conversation. I took home 1/3 of the pie.
But if I had to kill my pet lamb, I would get the Prime Rib Carver or the Chicken Tikka Masala.
We shared a glass of fine Oregon pinot noir and a Diet Coke. For $12.00 the wine portion was skimpy. Later, I wanted an espresso, but they only had regular coffee.
When the live music began, it was a duo called “Enjoy” They were a singing guitar and a keyboard player. It was sweet dinner music which significantly improved on the loud recorded noise at the bar.
If you go, do not sit at the bar unless you don’t mind the noisy bar scene. But you can communicate with your dinner date by calling on your cell.
Going back to the car, there was no ticket.
CAROL HANEY from The Pajama Game.