662472 Mon Oct 26 13:06:50 -0700 2009 41 16 Mid-Atlantic 0 5132376 Hi. I'm new to the Matawan area and I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good places to try. I am interested in just about any cuisine, but some sushi, mexican, greek and italian places would be helpful. Thanks- Mon Oct 26 13:06:50 -0700 2009 1119380 mmende77 1 5132670 for Greek, try Pithari Taverna in Highland Park. about 20 minutes from you. Great food, reasonable prices, byo. if you do a search on Pithari you'll find reviews. Mon Oct 26 14:53:44 -0700 2009 5132376 158698 eatinman 1 5133084 Welcome to the area. Here are some of our local favorites: Thai Thai- Thai Ponte Vecchio- Italian seafood (not our favorite, but loved by others) Bacci- brick oven pizza Wasabi- sushi All of the above are BYO For good Mexican, you will have to travel a bit- perhaps to Freehold or Jamesburg Mon Oct 26 17:38:25 -0700 2009 5132376 240335 njchowgal 2 5134207 Thanks for the info. I have head of Ponte Vecchio, although I haven't tried it yet. I think it's under the same ownership as Fresca's in East Brunswick and I have been there before. I heard Wasabi House was a good one. I tried Mahzu and hated it! Anyone know anything about the following: Bart's Cusine on Main Street Aby's for Mexican Bistro Amerigo - I read a bunch of posts on this place but they were old La Riviera - also read some old posts on this place Thanks- Tue Oct 27 07:57:29 -0700 2009 5133084 1119380 mmende77 3 5134677 Aby's is mid-scale reasonably authentic Mexican. I think their mole sauce is great. Grecia's and El Pollo Y La Oaxaquena (formerly Julia's) are authentic, cheap Mexican restaurants in the area. Tue Oct 27 10:22:48 -0700 2009 5134207 323646 eleeper 4 5157639 Just went to Aby's yesterday and they seem to have changed the recipe for their mole sauce. It is not hotter, but also less rich-tasting. I don't know if this is a fluke or a permanent change. Thu Nov 05 06:33:56 -0800 2009 5134677 323646 eleeper 3 5136289 Bistro Amerigo is no more.. it was owned by the same guy that now owns Wasabi House.. in the same location. He sold the liquor license, so it is now BYO. Excellent sushi.. I have had real wasabi there as well. Tue Oct 27 20:13:36 -0700 2009 5134207 211326 MarlboroMan 3 5137145 Marlboro Man beat me to the punch on Bistro Amerigo. We tried Bart's many years ago, it was ok, nothing memorable. We like to go to the Pine Tavern on 34 & Cottrell Road in Old Bridge. There's Pete's Fishery at the intersection of 34 & Main St. for seafood. Trinity in Keyport is not far & has good food, but a little on the pricey side. Wed Oct 28 08:19:14 -0700 2009 5134207 22118 Jerzeegirl 3 5138784 Yes, Ponte Vecchio is under the same ownership as Lou Cas in Edison and Fresco in Milltown. Wasabi House is under the same ownership as the ever-crowded Wasabi House in East Brunswick. Wed Oct 28 17:03:14 -0700 2009 5134207 240335 njchowgal 3 5168511 Bart's has a unique atmosphere - set inside an 1850s church, very pleasant! Food is well above average and the menu diverse. Also has a nice bar, which we visit every Friday for a light dinner with drinks. Aby's is nice for a storefront Mexican with good food and it's BYOB. Always had enjoyable dinners here. Tom Mon Nov 09 16:36:18 -0800 2009 5134207 1123150 TomSayreville 1 5135385 I don't live in that area so I haven't tried a lot of places, but my favorite joint in that area is Shanghai Bun. Delicious noodle dishes and dumplings! Tue Oct 27 14:04:01 -0700 2009 5132376 76258 joonjoon 2 5135458 Second for Shanghai Bun. Usually I go with my kids and order a spicy beef noodle soup (for me), the pork and pickled radish soup and a couple orders of soup dumplings. My kids go ga-ga for this food. Tue Oct 27 14:34:59 -0700 2009 5135385 31617 bgut1 3 5135494 Third (and fourth, from my husband) for Shanghai Bun. We love it! The soup dumplings are actually listed as steamed pork buns (first item). I also love the triple meat pot stick[er]s and the leek dumplings. And a lot of the soups. And noodles. Okay, pretty much everything. West Lake (just down the road) is also pretty good for seafood and authentic Chinese food, if you want a more substantial meal. Tue Oct 27 14:49:15 -0700 2009 5135458 323646 eleeper 2 5136198 a second shanghai bun! homemade noodles and great value. Tue Oct 27 19:31:38 -0700 2009 5135385 240335 njchowgal 1 5136337 I see others beat me to the Shanghai Bun soup dumpling rec, as well as West Lake Seafood. I would like to add Denino's Pizza Place to the list. It's on Rt. 34 in the Strathmore Plaza. Wonderful pizza, fried Calamari, and really good Scungilli Marinara. Just a note in the same plaza is Gallo's liquor store, nice wine & beer selection for the BYOB's in the area. Also in Matawan on Main St. across from the train station is the Matawan BBQ. Potugese/Brazillian BBQ with solid grilled chicken & sides. If you happen to need a cake, Abbate Bakery on Main just off of RT. 34 makes a fantastic Cannoli cake! Tue Oct 27 20:44:02 -0700 2009 5132376 25999 Herm 2 5136920 Thanks for all the info. I have tried Denino's and I thought it was great. That's sadly been the only place I have been to since I moved! Ok, so I think i have a pretty good list of places to try: Chinese - Shanghai Bun or West Lake Sushi - Wasabi House Aby's - Mexican (seems to be the only real mexican restaurant in town) Italian - Denino's & Bacci - hey has anyone been to Carlos's for pizza? Brazilian - Matawan BBQ Thai Thai - Thai food Any other suggestions? Thanks- Wed Oct 28 07:03:14 -0700 2009 5136337 1119380 mmende77 3 5137089 Well, Grecia's and El Pollo y La Oaxaquena are technically in Keyport, I suppose, but then Thai Thai is actually in Old Bridge and considerably farther away. (Thai in Matawan would be Siam Smile.) Wed Oct 28 08:04:55 -0700 2009 5136920 323646 eleeper 4 5137292 Would you say El Pollo is better than Aby's? I am willing to travel out of town for good food! Wed Oct 28 09:24:31 -0700 2009 5137089 1119380 mmende77 5 5141807 No El Pollo and Grecia's are very different from Aby's. Grecia's and El Pollo are very much working class places--little more than lunch bars. The prices are considerably less, but the food is less sophisticated. You might find a bone in a tamale, which you would never find at Aby's. They were glad to have us, but they rarely get non-immigrants. The food is cheap and probably more authentic than Aby's, but there are no fancy sauces. They do serve tortilla chips while you are waiting for the meal to be delivered. Grecia's has a case of baked goods. We were very positive at Grecia's and tipped well so they gave us an empanada which was quite good. It felt a lot like what you would find in Mexico. Thu Oct 29 18:58:20 -0700 2009 5137292 106484 Mark Leeper 6 5142480 Aby's sounds interesting. Where is it located? Fri Oct 30 06:45:56 -0700 2009 5141807 240335 njchowgal 7 5142581 Main Street in downtown Matawan (a few doors east of the Post Office). Fri Oct 30 07:28:23 -0700 2009 5142480 323646 eleeper 8 5143108 http://abysrestaurant.com/ We've enjoyed dinner and Aby's several times. Simple, no nonsense prepared food. My personal fav is the Espinaca con Queso and for $7.99/dinner entree a real bargain. Fri Oct 30 10:14:44 -0700 2009 5142581 36312 HillJ 1 5138433 I must say, I'm a big fan of Enzo's pizza on rt. 34. The pizza is excellent and the service is extremely welcoming! Wed Oct 28 15:10:37 -0700 2009 5132376 1119915 squanfan229 1 5143718 I just love the following: PIZZA - Denino's http://www.deninospizzaplace.com/ GREAT thin crust pizza, BYOB, also great chicken parm. The owner, Mike is a real nice guy! FISH - Peter's Fishery http://www.petersfishery.net/index2.html GREAT, super fresh seafood. I sometimes buy from the fish market alone. Jason, the owner, another great guy and very accomodating if you have a preference! BYOB, the atmosphere is alot of elderly people, but I don't care..the fish is so fresh and I have always enjoyed my meals there!! Aby's is ok. I feel they are very pricey for just some dishes loaded with cheese. Maybe it is me, but I have tried it a few times. just not really my preference. I like El Meson in Freehold much better! Enjoy! Fri Oct 30 13:42:00 -0700 2009 5132376 14274 Angelina 1 5145722 If its just to take in the game or simply grab a quick bite and beer - The Court Jester. Hands down the best wings and grilled chicken nachos! Sat Oct 31 16:14:35 -0700 2009 5132376 1104075 MeLoveGnocchi 2 5149035 Anyone every been to Maloney's Pub & Grill? I was going to stop off there to watch some of the yankee game on sat night, but it started raining so I didn't end up going, Just wondering what type of place it is though. Also, the Pine Tavern...any thoughts? Mon Nov 02 09:11:47 -0800 2009 5145722 1119380 mmende77 3 5149107 We go to the Pine Tavern all the time. The food & service are both pretty good. They have dinner specials every night, like Monday is $10 steak night, Tuesday is Lobster Night & Wednesday is $5.95 pasta night. We walked into Maloney's once right after they opened. It looked like they had a family function going on, so we went into the bar area which was pretty crowded. We stood around for about 10 minutes for the bartender to even look our way which never happened, so we just turned around & left. Mon Nov 02 09:27:52 -0800 2009 5149035 22118 Jerzeegirl 1 5149468 Mahzu to me is fast food sushi - a good place to bring the kids as it's loud with nothing particularly special. Kicky's opened down the road and has much better sushi along with hot items as well, and it's a little more sophisticated. If my wife and I are doing sushi, we prefer Kicky's or Aligado in Hazlet or Yumi in Sea Bright but that's for another post. I agree with the other posts regarding Aby's, Shanghai Bun, Denino's, Bacci or Enzo's. West Lake has a great Sunday Dim Sum menu. Mc Donagh's Pub in Keyport is good as well for bar food. Good Luck. Mon Nov 02 11:15:26 -0800 2009 5132376 1121056 Randol 2 5156216 I like McDongh's pub as well, I also think the little place behind it is fantastic. Wed Nov 04 14:28:14 -0800 2009 5149468 1098920 LarryLg 1 5156304 Has anyone given the new Coconut Forest House in Hazlet (Airport Plaza) a try? http://www.coconutforesthouse.com/index.php Wed Nov 04 14:53:41 -0800 2009 5132376 36312 HillJ 2 5156829 Formerly Kuala Lumpur.. I thought so, when I saw "Malaysian Cuisine". Guess I can toss out my Kuala menu now. :) Wed Nov 04 18:19:33 -0800 2009 5156304 211326 MarlboroMan 3 5156975 Kuala Lumpur was short-lived. Wed Nov 04 19:20:35 -0800 2009 5156829 36312 HillJ 4 5157646 Kuala Lumpur was not exactly short-lived--it was there for years. But it never seemed all that good. Thu Nov 05 06:35:34 -0800 2009 5156975 323646 eleeper 5 5157661 In the years I've lived in mon cty, that space has been four diff asian restaurants. Sad to say. I'm planning to try Coconut Forest this weekend. Hoping for some delicious Thai. Thu Nov 05 06:40:40 -0800 2009 5157646 36312 HillJ 6 5182918 We went to Coconut Forest yesterday. I though what I got (Bangkok Fish lunch special) was very good, and a huge portion. Mark got Sizzling Stingray on Banana Leaf, which is not what one normally sees around here! Most of the clientele was Asian when we were there. (Actually, we may have been the only non-Asians there among a half dozen tables or so.) They have a 10% off everything grand opening special for the month of November. Sun Nov 15 07:44:36 -0800 2009 5157661 323646 eleeper 7 5182945 Thanks for the review of your experience eleeper! I also tried the sizzling stingray and loved it. I hope to get back to Coconut Forest w/friends later this month. The rolls are good too! Sun Nov 15 08:01:29 -0800 2009 5182918 36312 HillJ 1 5157346 has anyone ever eaten at AMMAVARANTI (spelling may be incorrect), an Indian restaurant in a strip mall on Rt. 34 in Matawan? Thu Nov 05 03:20:36 -0800 2009 5132376 1103345 betsey 2 5157643 Amravathi. It's okay, I guess. Their buffet always seems to be just lukewarm temperature-wise. We prefer Rajpoot on Ernston Road off Route 9. Thu Nov 05 06:35:05 -0800 2009 5157346 323646 eleeper 3 5157663 Couldn't agree more about the buffet. I'd head to Iselin for outstanding Indian. Thu Nov 05 06:41:06 -0800 2009 5157643 36312 HillJ 4 5157886 I agree about Iselin, but Rajpoot is not bad if you don't want to drive that far. The one problem is that they always have pretty much the same stuff. The other choice in the area is Haldi Chowk, but that is *extremely* variable. Thu Nov 05 07:56:15 -0800 2009 5157663 323646 eleeper 3 5168533 Rajpoot is my favorite Indian, and I've sampled Indian restaurants from Beijing to Moscow to Prague to Tokyo. This is Mr. Sing's fifth and only remaining restaurant, and I've been eating his cooking for 26 years. Quiet, comfortable atmosphere and BYOB. Try the Murgh Kampuri and Shahjihani Biryani off the menu. Buffet is okay but not outstanding. Tom Mon Nov 09 16:44:40 -0800 2009 5157643 1123150 TomSayreville