New food and fuel in Asbury Park

This lovely dish you see is the Dogfish Head gelato from Porta in Asbury Park. I've written about this place before - they were doing the Christmas tree/pizza/beer or wine deal in December (they sold out of trees, by the way).

As impressed as I've been with Asbury Park, it's getting a lot better with places like Porta and Cafe Volan, which is a coffee shop that sells growlers of coffee (this is a growler if you've never seen one), opening in the last year or so. I'm working on a few projects up in the Park. Exciting time to be there.

For your calendar: Slow Foods Fourth Annual Winter Festival

FOODIES! This one's for you. On January 21, the Washington Inn in Cape May is hosting the Slow Food Fourth Annual Winter Feast, which is put on by Slow Foods South Jersey Shore.

For $50 per person ($70 if you want wine pairings), you'll get a five course meal of local and in season (yes, in winter) foods, including lamb, a local fisherman's stew with roasted garlic aoili, shaved winter root salad and beach plum cheesecake.

Slow food doesn't mean snails (though that's the group's logo). It means eating local and fresh foods - I know a lot of readers do this anyway, which is why I think some of you might enjoy this dinner.

I'm so bummed I can't go.

If YOU want to go, get your tickets soon. Last year's dinner sold out.

Ho ho ho

Before heading to Rhode Island, we did a quick trip to Cape May to wrap up holiday shopping. We stayed at the Victorian Motel. I'd never stayed there before, but it's located right behind Congress Hall so I've seen it. Not bad - very serviceable and clean motel close to the center of everything.

We got into town verrrrry late on Friday night, and in the off season, our options were limited, so we hit the Ugly Mug for some bar food, and then the Brown Room at Congress Hall for a post dinner drink. I snapped this photo on our way out:

Pretty.

The next day, we did a 10 mile run (from the hotel to Sunset Beach, then to the Lighthouse and back with a leg thrown in down Beach Avenue to check out construction of the Convention Center), followed up by brunch at Tisha's. We wrapped up our shopping at Whale's Tale, Madame's Port, the Fudge Kitchen, the Toy Shop and Sensia.

Nice trip. I wish we could have stayed longer, but that was not our pre-Christmas trip this year.

New York City via the Jersey Shore

I was in New York this weekend for a two-day writing seminar. Instead of paying many hundreds of dollars for a hotel room in NYC on an insanely busy weekend, I opted to stay in Red Bank instead, and take NJ Transit's North Coast line to and from the city.

This proved to be a smart move, even if I did need to get on the train just after 7am to be into New York by 9am.

At least I got a pretty sunrise on Saturday morning.

It was fine for a solution to getting to and from New York on a weekend, but I gotta admit: I can't imagine commuting that way every day. That's a lot of train time.

I stayed at the Molly Pitcher Inn, which was more than fine for the price ($109 pre fees and taxes as booked through kayak.com). The room was nice but small. If you must have a TV in your room, make that known. I didn't have one in mine.

My only problem wasn't with the inn but the guests: specifically wedding guests who decided to have an after party from the hours of three to four am in the room next to me. There was some making out in the hall, too. Apparently the drunk girl was really looking forward to biting the drunk guy. At about four am when two women decided to have a conversation outside of my door, I finally told them to shut up. This isn't a knock against the inn (I hadn't called the front desk), but oy what a mess.

On Saturday night, I had dinner at Basil T's, which was CROWDED. I had to wait for a seat at the bar.

I wanted to try one of their craft brews, but I was so tired from a long day of writing that I just wanted a big glass of red wine, which is exactly what I ordered. The food was good - service wasn't great (I have a feeling my server was just having an off day).

On Sunday, I skipped my afternoon session to meet up with Erin of Relax Concierge for lunch at Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park. It wasn't terribly warm, but it wasn't cold either. Nice crowd on the boardwalk though.

After lunch, we walked to Porta, which is a new place that opened this year. Can I admit that I'm enchanted? What a lovely spot. Here's Erin acting as a Price is Right model.

They have an outdoor area with a bocce court. That in itself is cool. But even better? This.

What an excellent idea! Especially for a new-ish business in a shore town that's busy but not exactly jammed this time of year. It really reaches out to locals, who I think is the crowd they want to be sitting at their bar.

Long weekend, but a good one.

On another note, I've been getting a lot of emails and tweets about my hair - specifically that I cut off 12 inches of it. So here's an update on that (as taken from the Molly Pitcher Inn).

Apparently the best way to style it is to sleep with it wet. Who knew? I don't hate it. It's just...different.

Guster in Asbury Park

There's a reason I'm sleepy today.

Last night was the big Guster show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Could I have gone to their show in Philadelphia? Of course. But it's the Stone Pony. It's Asbury Park. Worth the drive.

First, I met up with my friend and fellow writer Caren Chelser first to talk about writing, life and so I could see her six month old bambino. We strolled him right over from Ocean Grove to the Watermark on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Oh hai, summer me.

Watermark is close enough to the Stone Pony outdoor stage that you can hear the concerts from the deck. That's where I heard Jack's Mannequin, who is co-headlining this tour with Guster.

I left Caren and her baby/hubby behind to get a good spot near the front for Guster. What a great venue, and thank goodness we missed the rain.

I can't find the setlist online yet (yes I was too busy acting like a moron to write it down, though they did play "Two Points for Honesty." Yes, honestly.) But I did find this setlist for a 2002 show they did at the Paramount Theatre, also in Asbury Park in case you'd like to go into the way back machine.

At one point in the show, they brought out a disco helmet. This doesn't capture its detailed awesomeness, but it does show its effect.

Fun show, great venue, wonderful town. Thanks Guster.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 88: New Beer Festival Coming to Atlantic City

The Golden Nugget (a.k.a. what was Trump Marina) is hosting a Craft Beer Festival on September 17 and 18.

September 17 is being billed the "All American Craft Beer Tasting," while September 18 will be Oktoberfest. The Saturday event is indoors; Sunday event is outside.

Sounds cool. The brewery lineup is pretty good, too: Flying Fish, Left Hand Brewing, Yards, Long Tail, Allagash, Hofbrau and Leinenkugel are just a few. Tickets are $49 a person.

I'd go if I were in the area - September 17 kicks off a week plus long vacation that is not in New Jersey. I love the shore, but I can't help but work when I'm there. So this will get around that, and I'll be visiting parts of the country I've never seen before. Should be a fun time.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 84: The Food Network Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival is this weekend

FOODIES! Get your butts to Atlantic City for the Food Network Food & Wine Festival, which started yesterday. Don't worry that you're late on this. You can still grab tickets to hang out with celebrity chefs and drink and eat to your heart's content.

Believe it or not, I've never been to the event. There's always been something the weekend of the event (this year, it's a memorial service and a christening). I mean, how could I deny this little guy?

Ryan, on the left, is the one being Christened. Drew, on the right, will be in attendance with his parents who are coming up from Baltimore. Who are these adorable creatures? My nephews - and Phillies fans - of course.

I'll be back down the shore next weekend. I was going to hop into the Captain Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island Run in Sea Isle but I think we're going to be a little silly and do the No Shower Happy Hour at the Ocean Drive. Why not?

High Roller at the Tropicana

The second part of my birthday treat last week was a stayover at the Tropicana. I was lucky enough to be booked into one of the brand new Cielo Suites - so new that the tag was still on the ironing board.

Pretty swanky. Our room had a living room, two bathrooms, and two separate rooms with king sized beds. TV in the bathroom, huge walk in shower in one. I was heavenly.

The suites also have a 24 hour concierge service and butler service. I have to say: it was pretty cool to call my parents and tell them I was staying in a high roller suite.

Tropicana added 26 of these suites, and they're part of the recent $5 million in improvements to the property.

This is a step in the right direction. Most people who have told me they've stayed at the Trop did so because they were there on a bachelor/bachelorette party and tried to cram 8 people in the cheapest room the Trop offer. That has lead to a not great reputation (and the place did go bankrupt, so there were obviously problems).

But if they keep moving in the "Cielo" direction, I think the Trop has a good chance of wiping that away. It was packed for the entire time we were there - and we stopped in a few times on nights we weren't staying there, too.

Dinner was at the Knife & Fork, which I love more than I could possibly say. You've got to read the history if you haven't.

Old Atlantic City and new. Perfect way to spend my getting older day.

Day-Cations at the Chelsea

Tuesday was my birthday (hooray! I'm older!) As such, the dude and I planned to sit on the beach all day, then have a fancy dinner at night.

In between, we tried out a Day-cation Package at the Chelsea in Atlantic City. As many times so I've stayed here, I never hit the spa.

The Day-Cation lets you experience the Sea Spa at the Chelsea even if you're not staying overnight. For $99, you get a $100 Sea Spa credit, $30 Teplitzkys dining credit, complimentary use of Chelsea pools and solarium, complimentary use of beach chairs/umbrellas (in season), and complimentary valet parking for one car.

I started with with a Blond Ambition classic massage, which ended up also being part medical treatment. The masseuse could tell based on the way that my muscles were twitching that I carry my stress in my shoulders, and that I'm low on potassium and should eat more bananas. She was also the first person to tell me how to breath through pain in a massage (I ask for hard massage because I know it'll release knots - this is not necessary on your experience, of course). My masseuse was Laura, and the dude's was Donna. They are both recommended.

Then the dude and I took full advantage of the rest of what the Day-Cation offers: he used the sauna, and we both hung out in the salt water jacuzzi. We sat outside at the non-jacuzzi salt water pool to have a drink and a snack (the pretzels are amazing, and they have pretty good happy hour drink deals) before relaxing back in the solarium until the spa closed. I have never felt so relaxed.

I didn't take my camera into the spa, so here are the fancy photo they provided (credit ©2009 Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.):

Fine print time: Deal is good Monday through Fridays, 9am to 5pm. Does not include room, taxes, gratuities and alcohol. Want one? Call 609-428-4554.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 77: Martini Beach and Cabanas are Run by the Same Person

If you're going to Cape May and want to hit a restaurant with ocean views, you will probably see both Martini Beach and Cabanas. One is stacked on top of the other.

They're actually owned by the same owner, which I didn't know until I started working on this piece.

I like both places, for different reasons. I got roped into a really long night at Cabanas on a Tuesday because I started talking to a bunch of locals at the bar. I ended up giving relationship advice to a 21 year old whose 19 year old girlfriend was at home. Then someone did a body shot. It was weird - but fun! Martini Beach has a fantastic bar, and as being on the second floor, amazing views.

So if you are to pick between the two: more casual, stay downstairs. Slightly fancier, go up. And beware of locals who keep you out waaaaaay past your bedtime ;-)

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 74: You CAN watch World Cup down the shore

Sunday is the women's World Cup Final: USA vs. Japan. I don't care how nice a beach day it's going to be, but I will be glued to the TV watching this match.

Here's where you can go to watch the game while you're down the shore:

Atlantic City: Game On. It's OK if you roll your eyes. This place is big and crowded and packed for big sporting events, but that is exactly where I want to be for a game like this (and where I will be, in fact. More on that later). You can't get more TVs in one spot down the shore.

Sea Isle: O'Donnell's Pour House. Good beer selection, big TVs, right near the heart of Sea Isle.

Avalon: I have two. First, the Princeton. Second, the Concord Cafe. The Princeton will have plenty of space, whether you want to sit or stand. I prefer the cozy feel of the Concord - but only if I have a seat.

Wildwood: The Shamrock. Space to stand, sit, play pool, whatever you want around the oval bar with plenty of TVs to watch the game.

Cape May: Cabanas or the Ugly Mug. Both have plenty of TVs and good bars with decent beer selections. I assume both will be packed.

I will be at Game On with the dude, who is very VERY conflicted about who he should cheer for. He's Japanese-American, and I understand his dilemma. He'll be wearing his team Japan jersey. I sorta tried to find a U.S. Women's jersey but no luck, so I'll probably just be sporting red white and blue.

Sunday is the first day of my shore vacation - HOORAY! It'll be split between Atlantic City and Avalon this year with a dash of Cape May thrown in. I. CAN'T. WAIT. I've pre-written next week's facts of the day, so hope you enjoy them while I'm doing absolutely nothing.

Adventures in Book PR

On Saturday, the dude and I drove down the shore early to sit on the beach in Strathmere for a few hours before my book signing at the Shamrock in Wildwood.

I was stopped at the bottom of the off ramp from the Garden State Parkway onto the causeway into Sea Isle when BUMP! The driver behind me rear ended my car.

Sigh.

If he hadn't been driving an old Nissan Pathfinder with a sharp grille in the front, I'd probably have been fine, but that was the result - a punctured bumper. I know it doesn't look like much in the picture, but it's not good.

While waiting for the State Trooper to fill out the accident report, the dude and I started chatting with the guy who hit me. End result: the guy bought a book and had me sign it to his son.

Lemonade out of lemons? Maybe I'll tell you how I feel after I go through the process of getting the bumper repaired, and how much it'll end up costing me (getting the accident report starts at $5.75, and while I have insurance, there's that good ol' deductible...) I haven't been in a car accident since I was 17 when I was was hit by a drunk driver, and my mom handled the insurance claims that time.

Anyway.

Fun signing! They even made a special drink for the event, the "Jersey Jen."

A lot of you have been tweeting and emailing me about where you're seeing the book for sale. If you snap a picture and send it to me, I'll run it on the blog!

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 60: More than just DMB in AC this weekend

The big music to do this weekend in Atlantic City is the DMB Caravan. But that's not the only music show in town this weekend:

O.A.R. tonight at the House of Blues
Peter Frampton tonight at the Borgata
Boyz II Men tomorrow at the Hilton
G. Love & Special Sauce tomorrow at the House of Blues
Robert Plant tomorrow at the Borgata

And we've got a D-list appearance, too: Cheryl Burke at the Pool at Harrah's. If you don't know who that is, that's OK. Really.

If you're in the Wildwood area, stop by the Shamrock from 5-8pm. I'll be hanging out and signing a few books - they've added on extra Happy Hour drink specials for the occasion!

Updated: Book Events

Saturday, June 18: Happy Hour Book Signing at the Rusty Nail in Cape May from 4-7pm. It's OK if you're coming right off the beach. Why? Because I will be, too, since the weather report is looking mighty fine. Here's the Facebook invite for this one.

Wednesday, June 22: Talk about the Jersey Shore and travel writing, followed by a book signing at the Haddonfield Library at 7pm. Yes, this is at the actual library, NOT Grace Church.

Saturday, June 25: Happy Hour Book Signing at the Shamrock in Wildwood from 5-8pm. Same thing goes in regards to coming in off the beach. They will have specials for this event.

Monday, June 27: Hosting a Jersey Shore trivia round of Pop Quiz at the Pop Shop in Collingswood. The game runs from 7:30-9pm. This is a super fun event and, yes, it's BYOB. It's for kids and adults - most teams usually have both.

Same rules go for every event: $20 a book, cash or credit. If you already have a book and want it signed, of COURSE I will! Can't make it and want a signed copy? Drop me a line at jenmiller27 [at] gmail [dot] com.

Press Round Up

The book has been getting a lot of good press so far, and here's are links to a few recent interviews:

I talked with Adam Erace about Jersey Shore eats for the Philadelphia City Paper (the Concord Cafe meal mentioned is featured above).

How far does the Jersey Shore interest stretch? To Harrisburg, at least.

Amy Rosenberg of the Downashore blog and I chatted about the shore as well.

I talked to KYW1060 about Lucy's for Lucy, which is on Wednesday.

There's more to come, including a Philadelphia Inquirer story on June 15, and a possible Fox 29 News Spot. Tomorrow, I'll post a few reviews.

I really am overwhelmed by the reaction, both in the press and from you directly. Thank you so much!

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 35: The Hoff will be at the Pool at Harrah's on Saturday

Yes, really. Thank you, Harrah's, for the opportunity to post that clip.

Cape May, Atlantic City, and all the places in between

Just before I left for Cape May on Friday, my publisher's publicist emailed me to say that he was holding a copy of my book in his hand. My reaction? "GIVE IT TO MEEEEEEE" (we get along, if you can't tell). I should have a copy today (?) or tomorrow.

So it was fitting, then, that I hit most of the towns in the book this weekend.

The trip didn't start out on the best foot - literally. On Friday morning, the dude broke his toe. This meant, we thought, no running for him, and no real walking around. So instead of driving right down to Cape May, we stopped first in Sea Isle, and I took him on a short bar tour (where I did not drink, of course, since I drove).

First stop: Dead Dog Saloon. This is one of those old, worn in bars that's packed in season but a cozy place before the summer madness begins. The second floor was closed. The Phillies game was on. I think everyone at the bar were Sea Isle friends, most reuniting for the first time since they shut down their shore homes last year. Two of those groups asked us where our Phillies gear was from (Spring Training). Very chill and relaxed crowd, which will change soon as people pack both floors of the place. If you do eat there, get the nachos. I am sad to report, though, that the women's bathrooms no longer have ash trays in the stalls. No one smokes in there, and I don't support smoking (duh, I run), but it was one of those old throwback details I liked. Ah well.

Then we hit the OD, simply because the dude had never seen the place. It was pretty empty with a younger crowd around the bar. The bartender and I tried to explain what the place looked like during the weekly No Shower Happy Hour parties. A bit hard to do without jamming a couple hundred more people in there.

Next it was south through Avalon to the Concord Cafe, which sits right on the Avalon/Stone Harbor border. I thought it would be busy but not as jammed as it was. We had to wait 20 minutes for a table, but it was worth it for those buffalo cheese fries. Our bill with alcohol came to just over $25. Another reason this place is so popular. A very high recommendation.

Then it was onto our final destination: The Beach Shack in Cape May. Friday was the first night they were open for the summer season, so let's consider some of the oops to be first night jitters. They put us in a room next to the Rusty Nail, which is a great bar, but not exactly what you want to sleep next to if you have a 10k in the morning (if you book here, make sure you ask to stay in the building away from the bar if this is a concern). They were great in moving us, but the room we moved into was very musty and dank. Again, I imagine it's because it was the first night and not everything was up and running yet. I still think it's a great property, and it needed to stretch a bit to be really ready. I zonked out as soon as we got into the new room, so it served its purpose.

Then the 10k, the Great Cape May Footrace. When I came back from Wawa getting pre-race food (hash browns) and fuel (coffee and gatorade), I opened the room door to see the dude lacing up his running shoes. He was just going to test how it felt.

Well, testing lead to actually running the race, and he swears he felt fine. The 10k course is flat with a lot of twists and turns through the more residential area of Cape May with a trip through Coast Guard housing. It doesn't go through the heart of Cape May, so if you're looking for a scenic run, this is not it. But after recent obscenely crowded races (Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Broad Street Run), hilly races (Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon) and insanely windy races (Asbury Park Half Marathon), this course was a nice change. Kudos to John Cooke, president of the Cape May Chamber of Commerce, for asking for my feedback after the race (I do this now, so I guess I'm an expert). Next year, expect paper instead of plastic cups at the water stop.

I finished with a 49:45, which is not bad and inching closer to my pre-injury times. I finished 5th woman and 3rd in my age group - but that's out of 210 runners, so take that with a giant shaker of salt.

Post race food (burger and boardwalk fries) and drink (extra spicy bloody mary) was back at the Rusty Nail. I'm glad to see they got the bonfire issues figured out - last time I was there, the city had said they didn't want bonfires at the outdoor bar, but it was lit and running on Saturday. It was nice eating at outdoor picnic table, even if the weather wasn't exactly cooperating.

Then it was up to Atlantic City. Now, I hate shopping. Hate it with a passion that boils my soul, but we stopped at the Atlantic City outlets anyway to visit the Nike store. My haul:

Two pairs of short tights, two singlets, and eight pairs of socks.

I only do this once or twice a year. Last year, the woman working at the counter couldn't believe how much money I spend on socks. But they're running socks!

Well, if you're a runner, you'll get it. If you're not, consider them my version of a fancy purse, but actually practical.

We hit Adidas and Puma with less luck, though I'll be testing out new Adidas running shoes tonight (Mizuno, why did you make the Waverider heavier, huh?) - another running thing that most of you probably don't get.

ANYWAY.

Then it was to the Borgata, which was a zoo. I didn't know what I expected. It is, after all, a Saturday in May. People everywhere, including the New Yorker who cut us off in line to check out at 3pm.

The first night, we stayed in the original Borgata tower, which was nice, but didn't have a flat screen TV. I don't say that to sound like a snob. *I* don't have a flat screen TV, but it seemed like a bit of a disconnect.

We were there for the AtlantiCare Foundation Gala, which was, of course, lovely. Pre-event, I got a blow out at the Borgata salon. Despite the price ($75), I'd say it was worth it. Sue, the very nice woman who did my hair, took my head of tangles and made it into a smooth, bouncy sleek style.

Not the best picture, but it's all I've got.

For those who are curious, this was the dress, which I bought at Lord & Taylor. His tuxedo and tie/pocket square are from Boyds.

The next morning, we moved over to the Water Club, Borgata's new tower. If you can stay here, STAY HERE. The room was gorgeous, and the new tower wasn't as crowded or loud as the main one. There isn't a casino in this tower, and, yes, the rooms did have flat screen TVs. But you must book directly with the Water Club. We had to check out and check back in because they operate on two different systems.

It was pretty funny watching hung over bachelor and bachelorette parties scramble to check out by 11am. Their hangovers looked epic.

We did a whole lot of nothing on Sunday, most of it at the Water Club's pool. Now, there are two pools: the free one (to registered guests of course), and the spa pool, which you can get into for free if you're using the spa, or for $30 if not. The free one was more than fine, though I imagine it gets pretty crowded in season.

Dinner Sunday night was at Izakaya, which bills itself as a modern Japanese pub.

This is how I know it's good: the dude is Japanese-American and a former chef. He is critical of Japanese restaurants. He loved it. Absolutely loved it and wants to know when we can go back again. I loved it, too, but I'm not as picky as he is. We tested the sweet corn ice cream that will go on the menu this summer. It's divine. A high recommend.

For fun, we headed to mixx after. I didn't know what to expect on a Sunday night. At first, a group of 40 and 50 something women in what looked like a bachelorette party were tearing up the dance floor. They were having so much fun, and they were fun to watch. Later, though, it started to turn over into a more typical nightclub experience. We stayed off to the side (that toe was still broken) and watched mini dramas unfold: the young Catherine Zeta Jones look alike swat off potential suitors, the three guys in bottle service who looked like they didn't know what they were doing, the two girls who tried to crash and then got kicked out of bottle service, and then one of those girls immediately sucking face with one of the bottle service guys. The music was good, though at the start what I'd describe as "Bar Tampa 1999." Bar Tampa was "the" bar to go to when I was in college, and they played a lot of the same songs as mixx did that night. A lot of Biggie Smalls.

I'm guessing this was industry night when a lot of people who work in the area have off after a long weekend. We left just as the featured dancers started tearing up the bars. Hey, we're not 21 anymore, and - again - the broken toe.

Monday morning we headed down to Downbeach Deli for breakfast and then meet up with my girl. Her tail's getting fixed!

I haven't been in Lucy in a while, and the dude had never made the trip. It was informative, and just cool to be inside a 60 foot wooden elephant. Make sure you go up to her howdah if you make the trip. Even though it was very foggy on Monday, the view was still worth seeing.

If you REALLY like Lucy, you should come to my book launch party, which is a fundraiser for Lucy, too. Details here.

Then it was south to Ocean City to pick up some salt water taffy from Shriver's. I'm doing a book signing next Tuesday at Book Expo America, a major book publishing conference, and will be giving out salt water taffy, too. The conference is a jumbled, lovely mess of book people, so I need to do what I can to stand out. Salt water taffy usually helps.

Our final stop, of course, was Mack & Mancos. I wasn't really hungry, but how could I resist?

Despite the cruddy weather, I had a great time. Staying over on Sunday night was a great idea because we could relax all day without that Saturday crowd.

It's nice seeing almost everything open again. Oh, summer, can you please hurry up?

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 30: The Diving Horse Cabaret was once Club Tru

Folks, sorry for the delay on this one. Blogger.com, which hosts the blog, had a major mess up today, which deleted posts (now restored) and prevented me from posting the fact of the day this AM. But I'm here now.

Last night, the dude and I went to check out The Diving Horse Cabaret so I could see for myself whether or not it's a strip club.

It's not. It's a place in line with other clubs in Atlantic City, like mixx, mur.mur, Providence, and Dusk. There's featured dancers and, yes, stripper poles, but they're not naked. The shoes are sky high and some of the bikinis electric day glow, but no nudity.

It's not a burlesque house, either, which was slightly disappointing given the video on the website.

The steakhouse portion is separate from the dance floor, though it's not open yet. There are, I'm told, going to be additional spaces and lounges and rooms opening up throughout the summer. The club and steakhouse, though, will be open May 20, I was told.

I think it will do well. It's a club-like experience without dealing with a casino. If they market it right, I think it'll be very popular this summer.

They also have the old horse diving horse from the Sands (RIP), which is where the name comes from. It's lit up and hanging from the ceiling over the dance floor.

Now, for that fact: The building itself used to be Club Tru, which was either a gay club, or a rave club (read: lots of E), or both. Definitely a gay club - it used to host the Miss'D America pageant. The rave thing is based on conversations from years ago that I won't relay here to protect the ravers. To think what they're doing now...you'd never know.

Anyway, I'm off to the shore. Cape May tonight and tomorrow, then Atlantic City through Monday. I'll be tweeting along the way, including Foursquare checkins. You can follow along here.

Asbury Park Half Marathon

After following along the Boston Marathon this morning, the half doesn't seem like much, but, here we go anyway.

The Asbury Park Half Marathon has two options: a three loop course, or an out and back course from the boardwalk to Sea Girt and back. The out and back course goes over the Belmar draw bridge. If the bridge is up, you're stuck until it goes back down, and that time counts toward your official time.

But what the heck. Opted for the out and back course anyway.

Thank goodness it didn't rain but the wind was terrible. I could hear it howling when I woke up that morning (the wind ended up being so bad that I had windburn marks around where my watch was). I went out a little faster than I hoped, but held my pace. The wind wasn't *too* bad going out. After the Sea Girt turn around, though, it smacked you, and I leaned into it the rest of the way to the finish line. The only reprieve was in the last stretch where our course merged with the three loop course - it wasn't on the boardwalk, so there was some wind buffer, but not much.

I managed to hold up that fast pace through the second half of the run, and even pushed to run negative splits (meaning I ran the next mile faster than the one before). I finished with official time of 1:54:20. That's 140th overall out of 630; 13th out of 74 in my age bracket; and 58th woman overall out of 404.

I'll be honest: the time shocked me, not just because of the wind, but because it's not far from my half marathon PR of 1:53:06, which was the last race I ran before my hip injury pushed me out of competitive racing (and that wasn't even a great race, but another story for another time). I don't feel anywhere close to being in the same shape, and I haven't been training like a maniac, so the time is still a kick.

AND I managed to unpin and re-pin my bib mid race. Because the weather was so crazy, I had no idea what to wear. I stood outside of the hotel in three different outfits before going with to-the-knee tights, light tank and light running jacket. I ditched the jacket at mile three, but my bib was pinned to it, so I unpinned it from the jacket and re-pinned it to my bib while running. I kept the jacket, too, which I really appreciated given how much my body temperature dropped after the race.

Thank you to the volunteers who opened the straw and punched it into the juice box for me. My hands were frozen and swollen, and I couldn't even get the cap of a water bottle off let alone accomplish that complex task.

I only have one complaint, which lead to two problems: packet pickup was extremely unorganized. I was given two shirts but no wrist band that let me into the post-race shindig. Since there was no water station at the end of the race, I couldn't get any and relied on those volunteers who took pity on me and gave me water (the juice box was from a company handing out samples). I understand if you want to limit the crowds, but isn't my bib, medal and sweat soaked body enough?

Anyway. Now, for what you've really been waiting for: the food.

The first stop was Langosta Lounge for edamame, then Dauphin Grille for drinks with friends. Dinner was PASTA at Stella Marina, and post race meal came in at Tim McLoones.

Yes, Tim McLoone's. Wonderbar was not open, and even though the waitress standing outside waiting to be let in swore they'd be open at noon, she said no one was inside. Not good if you want to order a burger pronto, so we crossed the street and figured we'd look at the menu.

Turned out to be a good call. I went with the burger stuffed with blue cheese, and the dude did the burger with pork roll on either side of the meat. We both went for the fried pickles, which were incredibly. I also went for two bloody marys, which meant a nice big nap on the drive home.

I stayed at Hotel Tides, which fit the bill in terms of price and proximity to the race. Had a nice room, too. Only problem was the location of that room: 203, right up the (open) stairs from the lobby, which was loud. I came back from dinner after 11pm and the music was still on, and people at the bar. I had to sleep with the TV on to get past the noise, which I never do. If I stay there again, I'd try to get a room away from that stairwell.

Another observation. Take look at my race bib:

The race was sponsored by Wawa. Combined with seeing "pork roll" on a menu, I have to wonder if South Jersey culture is slowing creeping up the NJ coast. Those are very South Jersey things, and I was surprised to see both in Asbury Park.

Next up? Broad Street. It'll be nice to just take the subway to the start for this one.

Where to Eat & Drink: Asbury Park Half Marathon Edition

If you're running the Asbury Park Half Marathon on Saturday, you've already gotten the email with dining recommendations.

Since there's only six on the list, here's my informal guide of where to go for what. I've included bars because, let's be honest, a lot of us run races then immediately participate in the sport known as "day drinking" to celebrate.

There *IS* a post-race party at Convention Hall, but if you want to do something different, or eat up the night before, here are some of my recommendations. Note! There are a lot more excellent Asbury Park dining options, but these are places for which I can vouch:

Wonderbar. This is the turquoise building with a giant Tilly on the side. Nothing fancy here, but they have my favorite post-race combo: slutty cheeseburgers and bloody marys (I am not suggesting that the cheeseburgers are easy - they're greasy and awesome. This from someone who doesn't like burgers). This is also the last place Bruce Springsteen dropped by to play a casual set.

Moonstruck. Not on the beach but on a lake - and still easy to walk to from the heart of town - this is a slightly upscale option for pre-race pasta and much more. It's a locals hang out, too.

Langosta Lounge. I heart this place, which touts "vacation cuisine." Good if you have a lot of people with different tastes in your group. The bar scene is busy if you're looking for ANOTHER kind of exercise (wink wink nudge nudge, say no more, say no more). Langosta was one of the places featured in this New York Times piece I wrote about nice places at the shore.

Brick Wall Tavern. Carbs, carbs and more carbs. The sliders are excellent, as is the beer selection. Casual place, too. Gets a more crowded and louder later at night, but you should be resting by then (right? RIGHT?!)

The Annex. This is more than next door to Brick Wall. If you go to the back of the restaurant, you'll see a big sliding door along the right wall. That goes into the Annex. The red sangria is excellent. It also has fun chalkboard walls.

Watermark. Fancy place that does drinks and tapas. I would think twice about coming here immediately after the race - unless you sat outside. Then again, they don't open until 5pm on Saturday. You'd feel pretty scuzzy by then. Also featured in that New York Times piece.

Stella Marina. On the boardwalk with more pasta options that you could ever hope to eat. My favorite memory was from summer 2009 while I was staying in the area, working on that New York Times piece. I travel alone for these kinds of pieces, and a guy had come up to me earlier that day and called me by a different name. He swore up and down that I was his ex-girlfriend. I was not. That night, I had dinner on the upstairs dining deck at Stella Marina. The same guy passed me but he was on the boardwalk, and yelled up at me, angry that I was eating alone. Weird memory. But good food.

Asbury Lanes. I put a bowling alley on here for two reasons. One, it's awesome. Two, they have the best tater tots on the face of the planet (and, yes, a bar). I know I'm going to want to walk right from the finish line into "the Lanes" as the locals call it, though they're only open from 8pm until 2am. Perhaps a Friday night snack.

Dauphin Grille. This is the new-ish restaurant and bar in the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, where I'm going to guess a lot of runners are staying. I stopped in here about a month ago, and they had Allagash White on tap. I didn't eat here, just had a drink, and I dug it. Classic shore restaurant feel. They open at noon on Saturday.

Nagles. This is in Ocean Grove (just south of Asbury and way easy to walk to), so it's dry. But if you've got kids with you, or really want ice cream, I highly recommend this former pharmacy. It's now more diner and ambiance. And did I mention the ice cream?

Like I said - this is a list based on my experiences. It's also done with runners in mind, which is why I kept a few gems off the list (I love you, Trinity and the Pope, but I just can't fit in you into the running equation). If you have any additions, drop them into the comments.