Tony’s

The Asbury Park boardwalk is lined with restaurants. Some are traditional, brick and mortar sit down and be served restaurants. Others are "walk up and order from a food truck in a shipping container" establishments. Let me explain.

In 2018 Madison Marquette, the developer for the Asbury Park boardwalk, added eight 320-square foot shipping containers on the promenade used for seasonal businesses. Other shipping containers on the boardwalk serve as public facilities, such as restrooms. Some food trucks, such as Mogo's Korean Fusion Tacos, are so widely known that they get written up in US News "30 Top Things to Do in New Jersey". I’ve eaten those tacos. They are fantastic.

But the, containerised food trucks have only existed since 2008. This is why the "Est. 1946" text inside the "Tony’s" food truck banner caught my eye. I searched around the interwebs and discovered a little bit of tri-state food history.

in 1946 Anthony Segreto, an Italian American from the Little Italy section of New York City, at the urging of his friend, a local butcher, started selling Italian Sausage and Frankfurters at "The Feast." The business was booming, and soon, Tony was selling Sausage at Italian Feasts and Fairs all over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. After he retired, he passed the business on to his family. The third generation of Sogreto’s continues to operate this family-owned food concession business at some of New Jersey's largest outdoor special events. The Asbury Park Boardwalk food-truck container is the only fixed-location operation I could find.


Submitted for CBWC: Side of Things.

Cousins Maine Lobster

I had a Maine lobster roll and a cup of New England clam chowder for lunch.

I had a Maine lobster roll and a cup of New England clam chowder for lunch.

Submitted for the 100DaysToOffload project.

Isolation Photo Project : Day 151

Something has changed over the last few weeks, and I have felt a bit anxious. I think I'm missing some of my typical summer routines.

Many summers ago, my employer at the time offered employees the opportunity to work a compressed workweek. I worked my 40-45 hours in the first four days of the week and ended my Friday workday at noon. I developed a routine with my kids, who were off from school for the summer. I came home, picked them up, and we had lunch at the One53 restaurant in Rocky Hill.

Shaan and Kiran were allowed to order whatever they wanted from the menu. It didn’t matter if they ate the food or not. This routine was an opportunity to spend time with my children and wind down my week. I always ordered a lobster roll and a pint of beer.

My children are older now, and our "tradition" ended long before COVID-19. The employer ended the programafter a few years and Shaan and Kiran aged out of the activity. I developed new routines for Friday lunches, but this week I wanted a Maine lobster roll.

I went online looking for Maine lobster rolls and found several websites where I could order Maine lobster roll kits to be delivered on ice to my door. But the lobster roll kits are $85 to $165. I don't need 1lb-2lbs of lobster. I just wanted a lobster roll. I changed my search to “lobster roll new jersey”, and by the third link, I had found the Cousins Maine Lobster roll food truck. This food truck makes its way around New Jersey, and today it was in Yardville, about a half-hour from my home. On my lunch hour, I bought a lobster roll, a bowl of New England clam chowder, and a bowl of lobster bisque. The lobster roll and New England clam chowder were just what I needed.

On the drive back home, my mind wandered about food trucks, and I remember that in early August, Andy "ATMTX" posted some images from the Rainey Street Food Truck Park in Austin, Texas.

While the food truck is an uncommon sight in Montgomery Township, it is a common sight in New Jersey at breweries around New Jersey. Over the last two decades, many towns have repealed some of their prohibition-era laws and micro-wineries, micro-breweries and micro-distilleries have sprung up around the state. However, due to what I think is restaurant association lobbying, none of them is allowed to serve food.

But people want food when they have a glass of wine or pint or two. Most breweries and wineries encourage people to bring their food, and many patrons do. However, for people who don’t want the hassle, food trucks fill the need.

But my most fun experience with food trucks is with the many Mexican, Indian, and other food trucks that I frequented over the last two years working in the Wall Street Financial District. My client's office was one block from Wall Street, and whenever I worked in Manhattan, I would often walk out the main door and parked on the street was the Saravana Bhavan food truck, selling my favourite, Pav Bhaji. Oh, it's so delicious. It almost made the two-hour commute into Manhattan bearable.

Submitted for the 100DaysToOffload project.