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NJ Monthly Voted Best of the Best These days, the quality
of restaurants along the New Jersey shore rivals that of inland
venues. Besides their pretty settings, they offer the freshest
seafood around. Labrador Lounge, a funky seaside restaurant just a block from the sand dunes and the breakers, is one of the best for food. The exterior of the Labrador Lounge doesnt command attention, despite the fancifully painted tables outside.
Owner Marilyn Schlossbach has let her culinary muse take her to different destinations at the shore. Formally Cafe La Playa in Belmar, the Labrador Lounge moved to Normandy Beach where it now plays to the summer crowds of nearby Normandy Beach and Bay Head. Labrador Lounges multi-cultural menu, borrowing from Mexican, Thai, Italian and French cuisines, is as eclectic as the dining room decor, which includes a church pew, Asian artifacts and signature T-shirts. First to arrive at your paper-topped table is a warm French baguette with sun-dried tomato-imbued olive oil and a head of meltingly sweet roasted garlic. Engaging starters include plump Thai-inspired spring rolls in rice skin-wrappers, bursting with finely shredded veggies and grilled shrimp, and perfect for dipping in the tasty peanut and soy sauces. The vegetable Napoleona warm tower of portobello mushroom, grilled onion, sweet bell pepper and fresh mozzarellawill seduce you with its smokiness. A beautiful beet carpaccio features layers of paper-thin slices of ruby-hued beets over a nest of baby greens. Gyoza and tortilla soup are other openers to consider. For dinner, baby back spareribs are very tender, with the falling-off-the-bone meat napped in a complex sauce that delivers smoke, sweetness and a delightful nip of chili pepper. Bitter greens and skinny sweet-potato fries further hark to the dishs Southern roots. A monster shrimp burrito festively garnished with an orchid blossom is a happening of melted cheese, black beans, white rice, broccoli, black olives and shrimp. Its smothered with guacamole, chive-laced sour cream and fresh tomato salsa. Whole grilled grouper shines, arriving on an amusing fish-shaped platter that is surrounded by star fruit stars and diced red bell pepper. Its moist white flesh is delicious, although occasional mouthfuls are overpowered by its thick, spicy sauce. Toasted Israeli couscous and steamed baby veggies make delicious plate mates. The kitchen will impress you with the Asian-glazed duck breast, its meat fork-tender when often it can be rubbery. It comes with an Asiago cheese and mashed-potato pancake.
The modest little cup of cappuccino creme brulee with a crunchy shell of burnt sugar and intense coffee custard, is an object of lust. Tri-City News The news is related to our lead Asbury story last week, when we reported on the coming of Marilyn Schlossbach to Cookman Avenue. For the past 20 years, Schlossbach, 39, has been behind some of the most progressive restaurants in our area (Oshin, Labrador Lounge, Rosalie’s Kitchen). A surfer and environmental activist, Schlossbach is simply one creative chick. Schlossbach wants to be
in Asbury because of our urban feel, as well as the proximity
to the beach. Dining Companion ATMOSPHERE: SERVICE: BEST DISHES: PRICE RANGE:
CREDIT CARDS: HOURS: RESERVATIONS: WHEELCHAIR ACCESS:
NON-SMOKING SECTION: What the stars mean Everything new is old again, or so it seems as we walk into the cozy dining space that veers left off a java bar where familiar faces smile warm greetings.
I get this deja-vu-all-over-again feeling as we sit at one of the paper-covered tables that are so close-clustered, servers must need to be waif thin just to negotiate all the tight corners. There are little jars holding crayons on every table, inviting folks to sketch and doodle, but the menu's the inevitable draw. And darned if it, too, doesn't stir in me a sense of comfortable familiarity. Aw, it's no secret: The Labrador Lounge has skipped south. ... The restaurant born in Belmar, but dormant for several years, has resurfaced in the Normandy Beach section of Dover Township, again under the stewardship of the peripatetic, ebullient Marilyn Schlossbach. Remembering the names of all her beachy restaurants is as hard as, say, remembering every surname of a much-married soap-opera diva. First, in the late-'80s, there was Oshin in Avon, then Rosalie's Kitchen in Bay Head, then that first Labrador Lounge, then Karma Kafe, also in Belmar, then Cafe La Playa, a block or two south of Normandy Beach in Normandy Beach, then Rosalie's Kitschen (ever so briefly) in Spring Lake Heights. Cafe La Playa endured until Schlossbach purchased this site, just a short hop south, and decided to put on the dog, once again. Past and present The mushroom bisque, thick, rich and built upon a stock of earthy, beefy wild mushrooms, is a perfect example of kitchen success. It's seductively creamy, but at its heart is the essence of mushroom, with no unnecessary flavor distractions. We resist asking for a second bowl, if only to allow time and tummy space for the tender Asian gyoza, vegetable-stuffed wontons that have been fried oh-so briefly, then set atop a silky seaweed salad and served with a sweet-tart dipping sauce. Unlike too many harshly fried dumplings that suffer from domination of dough, these taste first of vegetables. We also wolf down the green papaya salad, a tangy tangle of super-skinny strands of tropical fruit topped by a splay of juicy grilled shrimp. The only disappointment in the opening rounds was a high-profile appetizer, lobster-asparagus quesadilla. The lobster-presence factor was meek, owing to too-tiny bits of lobster that tasted, when isolated, watery and washed-out. There were snippets of tomato and onion obscuring the asparagus, and mild goat cheese lining the tortilla. The whole thing was topped by a lackluster yellow-pepper salsa that added little to the overwrought package. My favorite entree was a special I hope finds a permanent home on Labrador Lounge's down-memory-lane menu: red-wine-marinated, bone-in chicken. It's a dish that fuses homey with feisty, partnering as it does simple, succulent wine-infused chicken parts with chipotle-laced mashed sweet potatoes. Ring it high on the yum scale and keep it coming all winter long. New Zealand rack of lamb is tickled with a raspberry-balsamic demi-glace, but even though the side show of sauteed greens -- mostly Swiss chard -- is delightfully bitter and buttery, the lamb could be more tender, easier to cut and possibly gamier. Sesame and crushed peppercorns crust the lushly rare sushi-grade tuna that's subtly accented by a faint ginger-lemongrass glaze. It's lovely as is, but might prove more vital if the fish was allowed a second swipe of the glaze. Love everlasting Moist and huggably fresh, it's got just the right balance of fruit to bread to custardy binder to make it the standard-bearer of bread puddings. Only the pecan pie was a so-so confection, weighing in at a trifle cloying, in spite of the nicely spiced cinnamon ice cream served on the side. Labrador Lounge is vintage Schlossbach: There might be a couple of dishes that aren't solid hits, but that's never, ever for lack of a strong swing at the plate. So Lab Lounge II is a keeper, and a keeper with cousins in the offing -- Schlossbach and Co. plan to open a market-cafe and a restaurant (called Langosta Lounge) next year in Asbury Park. Long may this family flourish. Readers may write to Andrea Clurfeld at the Asbury Park Press, 3601 Route 66, Neptune, N.J. 07754 or at clurfeld@app.com.
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