My Second Hometown - Toms River

Toms River is a large-scale township fit into a small town personality. It has both antiques and boutique stores and also one of the largest malls in the area. It is built on community involvement and family values. Money Magazine recently named it the "Third Best Place to Live in the Nation", Reader’s Digest said it’s the "23rd Best Place in the Country to Raise a Family", and Fortune Magazine declares it "One of the Five Best Places to Retire."

The historic downtown area hosts numerous community events, such as "Cruisin’ Downtown" on the second Wednesday of each of the summer months to view local car owner’s antique and nostalgic prides of joy, the Chili & Salsa Cook Off in May and the NJ State Ice Cream Festival in July, both held in Huddy Park. There is also the Annual Canoe and Kayak Race down the Tom’s River (hence the name of the town) and the Halloween Parade, which boasts the title of being the second-largest in the world.

Here you can also take a lunch or dinner time cruise on the elegant "River Lady" , an 83-foot paddle wheeler, visit one of our museums, get tipsy at Basil T’s or Joshua Huddy’s brew pubs or for the more sophisticated visit Bacchus School of Wine for wine tasting seminars.

We recently became home to the Ritacco Center". The 3,500-seat arena has hosted events such as professional and varsity sporting events, top name music concerts and trade shows. It has been open for less than 2 years and is a hit in the community.

Quick Tips:

If you are visiting this fine town, just 15 minutes and west right over the bridge from the infamous Seaside Heights boardwalk, I would suggest either the Quality Inn or Holiday Inn. Both are located right on the main highway, Route 37, and accessible to everything. If you prefer, we do have our first bed-and-breakfast, called Victoria on Main, located right in downtown Toms River. www.victoriaonmain.com

For a complete list of the events in the area, try the Chamber of Commerce website. www.oc-chamber.com This will also provide you with a list of the area hotels, events and points of interest.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to travel in the area is by car. The highways are pretty busy, especially around rush hour. If you visit the downtown area, there is street parking, but I recommend the various free parking garages and lots. I would suggest you park and then walk the downtown area to experience the local shops, restaurants and museums.

There is also public bus transportation provided by NJ Transit into and out of the town. I believe you can also sail into the town and dock your boat at one of the local marinas. This is fairly popular when visiting the Lobster Shanty on Water Street for dinner.

On a recent chilly but sunny afternoon, a few coworkers and I decided to check out a new downtown restaurant that had recently opened up a few storefronts from our office.

Touting itself as "Toms River's Newest & Best Sports & Sushi Bar," we were hoping the place lived up to its self promotion. Eating around noon gave us the opportunity to avoid the local school kids whose lunches end just before noon and the municipal traffic that rushes around town starting at 12:30.

The hostess sat us right by the window, which gave a view of the bustling downtown district. The decor was lovely and warm. Brown embossed ceilings and walls complemented the rust red and beiges that were in the seats and carpets. A bar ran the length of one side of the room, across from a mixture of booths and individual table seating. Here, a short order cook could be seen preparing orders that were presented to him by the wait staff and from telephone orders called in by local businesses.

A small salad bar was near the rear of the room, and beyond that, a sushi bar was awaiting patrons. Three to four flat-screen TVs could be seen scattered around the room near the ceiling, showing a mix of news, basketball, and hockey games.

Looking at the menu, the selection was varied, starting with appetizers, such as smoked duck quesadilla ($8.95) and fried wings in a variety of sauces: BBQ, Asia, and buffalo ($6.95). A soup and salad special was offered ($8.95), but the salad bar selection was not all that original. 

Seven different pizzas ($5.95-$8.95) were offered on the menu, and steaks ($16.95-$25.95), chicken ($6.95), and burgers ($5.95-$7.95) were all listed as well. Sides, such as sweet potatoes, broccoli, onion rings, and baked potato, were a la carte at $1.99 each.

According to the menu, the sushi bar had entrees ranging in cost from $4 for a seaweed salad to $17.95 for Nigiri Deluxe, which consisted of eel, flying fish roe, and salmon roe. I really don't know that much about sushi, so no opinions there. I'll leave that to the more adventurous.

I decided to try a buffalo burger, which had been marinated in buffalo sauce and topped with blue cheese, lettuce, and tomato ($6.95). A side of fries and the requisite pickle was included. The burger was delicious if you like hot and spicy. My lunchmates each had a bacon/cheeseburger, which they both enjoyed.

For dessert to take back to the office, we chose the hot chocolate cake ($5.50), which is served with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and a dash of raspberry sauce.

Everything we had ordered was tasty and the service was good. The only issue I had was that I had asked for water with lemon and received seltzer, which I don't enjoy. So be sure to ask for flat water or seltzer, depending on your preference.

On a recent birthday, a girlfriend of mine offered to treat me to dinner at a new restaurant that had opened in the last year or so. We picked a fairly early 5:30 pm Thursday evening hoping to avoid the weekend crowds.

We took the elevator to the second floor eatery and a lovely waterfall next to the host desk in the tiny foyer greeted us. We were seated immediately at a table overlooking Main and Washington Streets in downtown Toms River. The décor was classy and inviting with slate floors and warm reds, browns and yellows making up the color scheme. The kitchen was located at the far end of the room opposite the entrance and in full view of the patrons. A private "VI"" booth that could seat approximately six people was located in another corner. There was a privacy curtain that could be pulled for extra intimacy if desired.

Our evening and time choice was excellent as there was only two other tables occupied. There was a room off the foyer that was hosting a business party, but we did not hear a peep from them during our entire visit.

We decided to each choose from the $21.00 price fix menu which included a bread, soup, salad, entrée and dessert. The menu changes from season to season. My friend, Carolyn, chose the butternut squash soup and I chose the Cuban black bean soup to start. The bowls were huge and the soups delicious. The butternut soup might have been bland except for the red pepper flakes and the black bean was meaty with chorizo and seasoned with lime and sour cream.

We each tried the house salad, which was tasty but not spectacular. What was the highlight was the brisket we each decided on for the entrée. It was served in a red sauce with julienne mixed vegetables and a wonderful cornmeal encrusted potato pancake on the side. The vegetables were cooked just right and the potato was deliciously crunchy on the outside with a warm and soft middle. The brisket was so good and so tender you did not even need a knife.

Again, for dessert we agreed and chose the "house special" s'mores. A wonderful graham cracker ice cream, homemade marshmallow on the side and a delectable drizzle of chocolate sauce completed this bit of dessert heaven.

Slowly has taken a step away from the fast food business of many restaurants today and is trying to bring back the art of conversation and the enjoyment of tasting each component of a meal. There is a whole movement to bring this type of eating back to the public and can be delved into more fully by visiting www.slowfood.com. Make sure you have a couple of hours to spend here, as the food takes time, but is well worth the wait.

www.slowlynj.com

River Lady
One Robbins Parkway
Toms River, NJ 08753
732/349-8664
732/349-1720

I attended a surprise retirement party for a friend this week on the River Lady. It was a lovely evening to be out on the water for a couple of hours. While the air was humid, I knew it would be quite comfortable on the authentic replica (oxymoron??) of a paddleboat.

Meeting the rest of the party at the dock prior to climbing aboard, we all reminisced about our friend who was getting ready to retire from our company and begin spending more time with her husband. We were advised to arrive approximately 30 minutes before our trusty vessel was scheduled to leave port at 6pm for our 2.5-hour-long dinner cruise up and down the Toms River.

Toms River received its moniker from a gentleman named Thomas Luker, who used to operate a ferry service across "Goose Creek" in the late 1700s. That creek eventually was called Toms River and became a river that serviced a community of the same name.

Not long after we set sail from the dock, we were served our drinks and salads. The dinner followed not long after and consisted of a choice of chicken franchaise, filet of salmon, or penne vodka. I chose the chicken. It was prepared prior to our sailing by a local caterer called Café Italia. Considering that the food was probably a few hours old, it was pretty good. I had a nice-sized piece of chicken, a couple of seasoned red potatoes, and a mixture of green beans and carrots. There was a bar dedicated to our floor. Beer and wine were the only alcoholic beverages available and could only be served after we set sail. Soda and water were plentiful and always available. The cost of drinks was about $3 to $4 a pop. Water was no cost. Dessert was a slice of delicious cheesecake and coffee or tea. Dinner, dessert, and tip were all included in our price of $30 per person for this event.

Seating was such that our party of approximately 50 people had the whole upper floor. There were about 10 tables of five people per table. Downstairs consists of regular dinner customers, with cabaret seating for six to eight people per table, with a dance floor in the center of the room. The upper floor had an opening looking down onto the first floor, but was covered with a large hard plastic bubble to keep people from falling and a handrail to help keep you steady.

During our cruise, we were presented with a historical commentary from the captain of the seaside towns we passed, including Ocean Gate, Beachwood, and Island Heights. Unfortunately, due to the table we choose near the rear of the boat, we did not hear too much due to the low rumbling of the paddle wheel and the celebratory din of the partiers.

Although I could hear very little of what the captain had to say, the views were wonderful and very relaxing. Who could ask for more than a dinner on the water with friends? Some of the homes we saw were beautiful and ranged from older Victorian styles to the modern monsters of the day. I would guess all were in the multimillion-dollar ranges. While I would not want to swim in the Toms River, as the water is extremely brackish, it is a popular place for boaters, wave runners, and sea kayakers. We passed sailboats, yachts, and cigarette boats.

A view of one of the local golf courses in the ritzy area of Toms River NJ

I was concerned, as the weather was in the upper 80s, even at 6pm, with high humidity, but with the wind blowing through the open floor plan, it was actually very comfortable. There are no windows on the top floor, just an open-floor plan with hand and foot rails to keep you from falling over the sides. If the weather did get very blustery, the crew was prepared with clear covering that rolled from the ceiling and created a see-thru wall so none of the views were sacrificed. This also protects in case of rain, which does not cancel a cruise, unless it is dangerous weather.

There are bathroom facilities located on the ground floor, and smoking was allowed only on the forward deck away from the eating area.

The company does offer dinner cruises from May through November on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings. Price is $30 per adult and $25 for seniors over 65. They also provide historical cruises every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons. Advance ticket purchase is required. I can only suggest that you choose a seat away from the rear of the boat and the paddlewheel, where you will be better able to hear the captain and his comments.

The location is very easy to get to from the Garden State Parkway. Just get off at Exit 81 and follow Water Street east to the third light and make a right on Robbins Parkway about 5 minutes from the exit.

For more information, check out the River Lady website for any questions you may have. This is a very nice place to go on date or to spend an afternoon doing something a little different while not spending a lot of money.

Check out my overview of Toms River for more things to do and additional photos of the River Lady and the surrounding area.