Bistro In Red Bank

The Bistro at Red Bank is located in, you guessed it, downtown Red Bank. Yes, the same Red Bank that has a bistro on every corner. Well, lets see what sets this bistro apart from all the others. This bistro prides itself on its World cuisine, Sushi Bar, and brick oven. Being ever conscious about the BYOB factor, I inquired with the host whether his bistro had a liquor license. He informed me they only had wine. "What to do, what to do?" It's a beautiful warm Saturday afternoon and I am having lunch with a good friend. I think we will get some beer - so off to the liquor store we go. "What would be appropriate?" "Do we want to compliment the food with a cool crisp Fosters or disparage it with the unrelenting and unforgettable after taste of a Piels?" I think we will go with the Fosters. So with the ever-classy brown paper bag in hand we set out for the bistro. We chose to sit outside because Red Bank has a great downtown area for people watching. Sho ... more

The Bistro at Red Bank is located in, you guessed it, downtown Red Bank. Yes, the same Red Bank that has a bistro on every corner. Well, lets see what sets this bistro apart from all the others. This bistro prides itself on its World cuisine, Sushi Bar, and brick oven.
Being ever conscious about the BYOB factor, I inquired with the host whether his bistro had a liquor license. He informed me they only had wine. "What to do, what to do?" It's a beautiful warm Saturday afternoon and I am having lunch with a good friend. I think we will get some beer - so off to the liquor store we go. "What would be appropriate?" "Do we want to compliment the food with a cool crisp Fosters or disparage it with the unrelenting and unforgettable after taste of a Piels?" I think we will go with the Fosters. So with the ever-classy brown paper bag in hand we set out for the bistro.
We chose to sit outside because Red Bank has a great downtown area for people watching. Shortly after sitting I felt there was something askew about this lunch. Was it the company? No. Was it the conversation? No. Was it an abnormal shift in the Earth's axis? No. Oh, it is my table on the Bistro's crooked sidewalk. No problem, its nothing a couple of beers couldn't straighten out.
For an appetizer we ordered the Margherita Pizza ($7.50). I wanted to see what the Bistro's brick oven was really capable of. We were not disappointed. This pie's crust, topped with homemade mozzarella, had that perfect brick oven taste. It was a good thing we did get the pizza - There wasn't a salad or a piece of bread in sight. We could have starved to death. Right there on Red Bank's crooked sidewalk two young men cut down in the prime of their life just because they were deprived the simple sustenance of bread.
Well, enough already with this melodramatic whining. We shall move onward to the main course and yet another Fosters. My cohort had the Grilled Garlic Shrimp, a concoction of grilled shrimp, yellow and black fettuccine in a red curry cream sauce garnished with dancing bonitos ($14.50). It garnered high marks for taste but very low scores for presentation. This plate looked like a train wreck. The chef must have had some of our Fosters before he assembled this dish. My meal scored higher in the presentation department. After all it is hard to screw up the appearance of a simple dish like the Penne with Vodka Sauce ($9.50). This variation of Penne with Vodka Sauce came with proscitto ham and sun-dried tomatoes. I enjoyed it, but it of would have been nice to sop up the sauce with a piece of BREAD.
We had a pleasant lunch with the temporary interference of an ambulance blaring it's siren as it raced to a nearby hospital. The service was very good. The cordial waiter tended to our every need. The lunches were affordable, but the dinners are considerably more expensive. Take after me and visit the Bistro at Red Bank for lunch with a brown bag of beer in hand.
2 ¾ slanted sidewalks out of 5 Reviewed: 5/4/02


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