Langosta Lounge and the New Pop's Garage in One Night I was in Heaven

Hey Marilyn and Brigette,

Thanks for the invite to the opening party of the new Pop's Garage in Shrewsbury, the food was terrific and the party was great. After we left we drove down to Asbury Park to check out your Langosta Lounge. I was planning to go to Trinity and The Pope first but we were in a lounge mood so Langosta it was.

Boy was I surprised. I don't know why, but I was expecting Langosta to be a small bar with a few tables. A cool place to grab a drink and some small bites was the picture in my mind. I was awed from the moment I entered the unassuming entrance to be greeted by the beauty of this awesome restaurant and bar. Obviously I never looked at your Gallery.

Of course charming hostess Christine made us feel very welcome and Tim took very good care of us over at those great little tables by the bar. In fact all the staff are so friendly. The food and drinks were great and we loved looking out at the ocean even with a cloudy sky. But I am jumping ahead, so the new Pop's Garage is totally cool.

Pop's Cerviche, camarones, tuna & pineapple mixed with cilantro, lime & tomato is to die for, but since I'm not doing that, "to kill for."

The Buritos and Empenades, really tasty. We loved the live music from the Maracas Latin Quartet, they were great. Leave it to you to have real Mexican entertainment.

I've got all three locations Asbury Park, Normandy Beach and Shrewsburry programed into my GPS. I can't wait to get back to taste the Cuban Grilled Jersey Corn which I am sure is as you say "addictive to the core"; the Filetitos beer battered cod with diablo sauce, shredded lettuce and crema and more of Picadillo Plaintains served with chirizo and topped with roja and crema which we got to taste at Langosta.

The party was fun but we were in the mood for some chill time just Diana and I, so we decided to head down to Langosta.

There we passed on the fabulous cocktails, had a drive home to consider. I was on the verge of renting a room somewhere and making a night of it. So we opted for a beer and had a couple of good drafts. Really liked the Kona Longboard Lager and the Beach House Golden Pilsner was not bad.

We started off with the special Cuban Olive balls, what a taste sensation and great contrast of textures.

Now I am a Lobster Roll fanatic and I have tasted many, in the area I think that the Lobster Rolls they make at Red Hook Lobster Pound are about the best. I was excited to try yours and they were exceptional. Those rolls so butter-ly delicious and the lobster and slaw fresh and pure, tasting just they way they should.

We also loved the Thai Tataki Tuna Lemongrass Seared Tuna over A Thai Papaya Salad With A Sweet Ponzu. So delicate yet piquant.

Last but not least we had the powerfly tasteful and texturally pleasing Picadillio Plantain - Sweet fried plantain topped with slow simmered beef, garlicky chorizo and epizote topped with cilantro crema. I was very impressed how so many distinct elements came together so perfectly, all maintaining their own character and coming together like a symphony of flavor.