Arron will be a sophomore at Rutgers this coming fall, and he is moving out of the dorms and into a apartment. Rhonda and I drove up to New Brunswick this week to help him move some of his stuff, and he followed us in his car for practice, as he didn’t have it with him last year, and so has never driven on the formidable NJ Turnpike.
The house is pretty much what you would expect for a college frat house. We moved a big air conditioner into his room, which is the third floor and a converted attic. AC is a necessity! We put together some furniture, and came back the second day to finish the job after stopping to get pillows and, unplanned, a vacuum cleaner for his room.
It’s a neat space and reminds me of one of the dorms I lived in at Ursinus, specifically one of the rooms on the third floor. It was a converted house. It will be a very cool place to hang out with friends.
I booked a room for Tuesday night at a local Marriott, and made a reservation at Saltfor dinner. After we finished moving, we checked in and had cocktails that I made at home to enjoy in the room. We lit out for Salt after a quick rest in the room.
Salt was excellent from start to finish. They had a capacious selection of oysters, and so we ordered six Wellfleets (old favorites), six Kumamotos, and another six of another variety whose name escapes me. I skew briny with oysters, so all of them were described thus, but there was still a tremendous range of flavors. The Wellfleets were probably our favorites, with a sweet, meaty texture along with an assertive brininess. We gilded the appetizer lily by ordering some steamed PEI mussels and clams casino, too.
Dinner was a full fish-fest: I had the whole branzino, Rhonda the soft-shell crab, and Aaron the crispy skin Black Sea bass. Each of these were excellent: the branzino was perfectly cooked and beautifully presented with the head and tail intact, but on a nice small plate, making it look less like a giant meal and more of a humble fish for a hungry fella. The soft-shell crab was sweet and crunch without relying on a thick layer of breading or batter. Mission accomplished with that dish for sure. Aaron’s sea bass had a nice crispy skin, as promised, and served over a small mound of risotto.
Another standout: when I got fussy about our Manhattans, asking for a specific rye and vermouth, as well as the proportion of each, the server didn’t miss a beat. I’ve had servers frown and take a lot of notes, but our man nodded knowingly with each request. (For the record, we had WhistlePig rye 10 year, which I’ve only ever had once before, at Knife and Fork in Atlantic City. Salt also had the 15-year-old version.)
We had plans to meet some friends at the Blue Rascal in Hammonton on Wednesday night. We got up, checked out, and drove back to the apartment for the aforementioned tasks, and then set off for home. We couldn’t help stopping once again at the Szechuan House on the way home for lunch. It’s a great place to order a bunch of dishes and share.
Rhonda and I split a bottle of Bellview Rosé, and we ordered a few appetizers: cold sliced beef and tripe, which comes with a chili vinaigrette; Dan Dan noodles; an egg roll; and chicken dumplings with the chili vinaigrette. We also ordered salt and pepper prawns (heads on), Kung Pal chicken, and shredded pork. Everything was excellent once again, and the lunch obviated the need for dinner.
