A Great Friday

We started the day at THE best thin-crust pizza joint

in NJ, Pete and Elda's, (The pizzeria part of the place

is known as Carmen's, but everyone calls it Pete

and Elda's Pizza). Located on Rt. 35 in Neptune,

it's about as Jersey Shore as you can get.

It must get crazy there on summer nights, because

there are three neon signs lining the door jamb

on the way out proclaiming, "No bar drinks beyond this point!".

My beautiful wife who orders a Guinness about twice

a year, hoping that it will taste as good as it did in

Dingle and Ballycastle

This is the main event. Crust so thin it resembles

Matzoh, but thinner. No need to fold the slice lengthwise

before taking a bite..it's so rigid that it will stab the back of

your throat if you're not careful. The slices disappear before

your eyes and you'll be wishing you'd ordered more!

The Circus Drive-In on Rt. 35 south, Wall Township,
on the way down to the Point Pleasant Boardwalk
from Neptune. This place has been here since my
parents were young. Great slice of Jerseyana,
and nice to see them catering to the " Fish on
Friday" crowd. Cod continues to be a staple
in fishmarkets across the country but at a noticeably
higher price, due to catch-phrases such as
"Line-caught" and "Dayboat". God Bless America.


By far, seemingly the most popular ride at the
boardwalk. That damn great white whale.
Starbuck: "To be enraged with a dumb brute that
acted out of blind instinct is blasphemous."
Ahab: "Speak not to me of blasphemy, man;
I'd strike the sun if it insulted me. Look ye, Starbuck,
all visible objects are but as pasteboard masks.
Some inscrutable yet reasonable thing puts forth
the molding of their features. The white whale
tasks me; he heaps me. Yet he is but a mask.
'Tis the thing behind the mask I chiefly hate;
the malignant thing that has plagued mankind
since time began; the thing that maws and
mutilates our race, not killing us outright but
letting us live on, with half a heart and half a lung."

Dude, it's only a ride.

Man o' War

Another Jersey Shore institution. Kohr's has
been serving frozen custard since, well, for a
hell of a long time. Best of the best, no doubt.
Orange and vanilla twist in a regular cup is
all you really need. Trust me.

She who prefers it in a cone instead. The twisting
mechanism on the machine was not working today,
so we settled for top and bottom. She hardly
noticed the difference.

Dinner was seared local sea scallops and wild-caught
local shrimp with a broccoli-parmesan mash
turned out of a ring mold, and served with
vermouth butter sauce flavored with cilantro and
lemon zest. Jersey fish at its finest.
Good to be home after a long but great Friday.