Toast - Asbury Park

[JerzeyShore]

Only open for about a week we decided to give them a try for an early breakfast and glad we did. Occupying the old Market In The Middle space on cookman Avenue they bring their Montclair menu to the Jersey shore.

Me an order of delicious blueberry pancakes and my wife a delicious spring roll egg wrap both washed down by an excellent brew of coffee. Opening at 7:30 AM they will be doing breakfast, brunch and lunch here seven days a week. The service provide by Tom our waiter was both friendly and very efficient.

Toast looks like a nice addition to the Asbury dining scene.

http://www.toastmontclair.com/

[stack_c]

I have family up in Montclair and this is their favorite breakfast/lunch place...they say the pancakes are out of this world! _ glad to hear that they have brought the same standard down to AP with them...looking forward to trying it out!

When MIM closed down it left a major hole in the brunch scene in AP and surrounding towns...although I have to say The Buttered Biscuit in Bradley Beach is quickly becoming a new brunch fav ...but I will leave that review for another thread!

[JerzeyShore]

Sorry to say that this visit is an update is for lunch only and specifically for their Cuban sandwich which they brag about. It was not good and actually not worth my drive over there. To make matters worse they serve those lousy french fries that are twice fried and sort of crunchy on the outside, and they do sweet potato fries in the same manner. This was neither creative nor enjoyable - everyone is doing the same these days.

[bgut1]

I don't know Jerzey but it sounds like they are cooking the fries the right way. As far as I understand the first round cooks the potatoes and removes some of the water and starch, while the second crisps the exterior. As for the fries not being creative, as long as it's done the right way, who care's if its "creative"? What would you suggest they do with french fries? BTW, what did you think of the sandwich? I hope to make it over to Toast soon as I've been hearing good things.

[JerzeyShore]

Sorry bgut1, but I call it like I see it - not sure if anyone remembers what good french fries are like but they are not twice fried. It's not a process to remove water or starch but simply a process to save kitchen time by batch processing. Even McDonalds has not resorted to this process. As far as the Cubano it was a disappointment, just OK bread, wrong ham, mediocre pork and just OK taste overall. A (6.5) on a ten point scale - not terrible but I would not order one again.

Bottom line - we liked the breakfast very much and just maybe the sandwich was a one off bad meal that day so I suggest you go for lunch and order a Cubano and report back to us and be sure to tell us what you think about those fires. :-)

[Deb Van D]

I'm sorry to disagree with you, but bgut and joonjoon are right. Twice frying is the standard method for cooking crisp fries at home or in a restaurant. Whatever issues you may have had with your meal in this case isn't a result of their attempting to do something innovative.

[Bob Martinez]

Lets ask Google about twice fried french fries.

http://www.google.com/#q=twice+fried+...

Bingo. Over 900,000 hits. Frying twice is a widely recognized way of producing fries that are extra crispy.

[tommy]

Twice cooked fries are labor intensive to produce and are widely accepted to be more exceptional than the frozen variety. They are not a way to "save time." That distinction is pretty much for the frozen variety.

One doesn't "resort to" twice cooked fries. One aspires to twice cooked fries.

[JerzeyShore]

OK already, I give up - my bad. But I still hate twice fried french fries and thank you Five Guys, BK, Wendy's and Micky Ds for lacking aspiration and doing things the old way ...

[tommy]

I believe Five Guys serves twice fried potatoes.

I also believe that the fries at McDonalds are cooked partially in a factory, and fried again at the store. Twice cooked.

[bgut1]

Tommy - You are correct. Here is an article from Serious Eats which confirms that McDonald's fries are fried at the factory and then frozen for re-frying at the franchises. I also provide a link to a website that does a scientific analysis as to why the double fry method is the best for cooking french fries. Sorry Jerzey. I don't mean to pile on.
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect-mcdonalds-style-french-fries.html
http://www.goodeater.org/2010/01/15/t...

[tommy]

The difference is that they are freezing them and cooking from that frozen state. The results are clearly different than a true twice-fried french fry. But I thought I'd mention it as a point of interest.

[tom246]

Good links bgut. McDonald's fries also have a subtle but distinct flavor that their competitors do not have. They win most of the head to head fry tastings.
Side note, fries are also the most profitable item on their menu by a wide margin.

[tommy]

Sugar. I prefer my fries to taste like potatoes! Although I do like McD's fries when they are executed well, which is more often than not not the case.

[tom246]

Hey Tommy, are you saying their secret ingredient is sugar. Its not what gives their fries consumer preference but they do taste like potatoes.

[tommy]

What gives their fries the consumer preference? What is that "subtle but distinct flavor"?

Their fries contain dextrose, a sugar. I'm pretty sure that's part of that deliciousness that people across the country seem to enjoy so much; people respond favorably to sugar! Or maybe it's that "natural beef flavor."

[tom246]

Lets just say that the amount of dextrose in their fries has virtually no effect on flavor but does help appearance (browning).
Your getting warm with that natural beef flavor ;)

[tommy]

Can you provide a citation regarding the amount of dextrose and if it is detectable in the flavor profile?

[tom246]

I could but then I would have to eliminate you and we love ya too much for that. Lets just say I have some inside info and leave it at that.

[tommy]

Tom I do not want to be eliminated. So I will take you at your word, although I'm not sure what either of us is talking about at this point. :)

[cantkick]

Wendy's and Five Guys beat out McD's in the latest Consumers' Report taste test (Aug '11).

[Curlz]

Interesting...my friends who know decent food haaaaate the one in Montclair. I do hear that the coffee is good, though.

[joonjoon]

I haven't been to Toast but from what I understand, twice-frying fries is standard process in many top fry-shops.

[dannan]

The manager is extremely rude and demeaning to her staff. Her behavior left a bad taste in my mouth. Breakfast was decent. Don't order the $16.95 lobster roll...it is microscopic and not very good.

[bgut1]

In the past I have lamented the lack of good breakfast restaurants in Monmouth County. Not anymore. I finally had a chance to make it over to Toast this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The menu had more than an ample selection of breakfast items. Deciding to go the sweet route my choices where between the Nutella french toast or the red velvet pancakes. I went for the latter and was very happy with the choice. The dish comprised of three ample sized pancakes, a small pitcher of real maple syrup, butter and a ramekin of what appeared to be whipped cream. Upon further inspection, the whipped cream was in fact cream cheese icing. This was not only clever but was the perfect accompaniment to the pancakes. My request for sliced strawberries was obliged. Combined with a mason jar (?) full of fresh squeezed OJ and I was in breakfast nirvana. My DW ordered a spinach, feta and mushroom omelet. Her breakfast was also very good. I was struck most by the attention to the freshness of the ingredients. Even the multigrain toast served with the omelet appeared to be homemade. All in all, Toast is an excellent find and I hope to eat there regularly. Good Luck.