Down the Shore

It was a weekend of firsts. Aside from kicking off March, we paid our first visit to Skinny Flowers Brewing in Oceanport, tried Locale pizza, and made it to Lenny’s Main Street Market in Manasquan for its grand opening.

We’re thinking we may need to make Lenny’s part of our regular weekend routine — with a Batch coffee outpost, a dry-aged steak vault, and staff clad in varying types of cowboy hats, it’s pretty much impossible to get the Sunday blues in here. Check out a more detailed write-up of our visit next week!

Local Business Spotlight: Skinny Flowers Brewing

There aren’t many places where you can bring your dog and your baby, eat and drink inside in the winter, and not feel like you’re bothering everyone else — but breweries are the rare option that check all those boxes.

This Saturday, we knocked off two Jersey Shore bucket-list items in one shot by visiting the Locale pizza pop-up at Skinny Flowers Brewing in Fort Monmouth (Oceanport).We had our one-year-old daughter and spaniel in tow, which usually narrows our winter Saturday plans significantly.

However, Skinny Flowers gave us the perfect family outing, and spared us the sad puppy eyes from the front door. The space is roomy and clean, with a wide variety of beers (and ABVs), plus some great graphic design on the cans.

Know Before You Go:

The Moxee Room (the big glass walled space to the right when you walk in) is the family-friendly section of the brewery until 6 pm on weekends, and it’s dog-friendly at all times as long as pups are leashed. The Main Taproom doesn’t allow dogs and has more of a chill environment if you’re on a date or catching up 1:1 with a friend. 

We actually loved that they have two distinct environments. It makes the space work for different occasions without anyone feeling out of place.

Our Recs on Tap: 

• Hey Ollie: blonde ale with a 5% ABV, a nice lighter option for a sunny afternoon

• Dunkel 18: Munich-style dark lager (and even lower ABV of 4.7%) 

• Londoner: super-light pub ale we brought home as a six-pack (and we only just learned from the can that “pub” is short for public house?!)

• Flat White - we didn’t order this pale coffee ale, but it’s made with our favorite Booskerdoo so we’re definitely coming back for it. 

Pair it With:

• Locale’s Mike’s Hot Pepperoni: pepperoni cups and hot honey drizzle

• Locale’s Pizza Napoletana: fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil drizzle 

Even when they’re not hosting a pizza pop-up, you can order Locale or nearby Broadway Hot & Honey Chicken for delivery. As Fort Monmouth continues to expand, we can’t wait to see what other food and drink spots open around the brewery.

Shore Points

Here are headlines that caught our eye this week:

Charlie Puth’s “Best of the Jersey Shore” — Grammy Award nominee (and Monmouth County native) Charlie Puth shared his top Shore recommendations. We want to know… who was his first date at Anjelica’s?!

Fresh off an Olympic Gold Medal, Team USA’s Brady Tkachuk celebrated exactly how we would, DTS-style — with a stop to Joe Leone’s in Manasquan.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Belmar rescheduled — The Blizzard of ‘26 could only put a temporary pause on the festivities The new parade date is March 28th!

Weekly Forecast

We’re excited to see grass again as well as a projected 63° temperature next Sunday!

Monday 3/2 - 33°/21° Cloudy

Tuesday 3/3 - 40°/33° Light Rain

Wednesday 3/4 - 44°/37° Cloudy

Thursday 3/5 - 48°/39° Cloudy

Friday 3/6 - 44°/38° Cloudy

Saturday 3/7 - 48°/38° Cloudy

Sunday 3/8 - 63°/48° Mostly Cloudy

And for the surfers out there, here are the weekly surf conditions in Belmar courtesy of Surf Captain:

Farmer’s Market Roundup

Spring is almost upon us, so we’re hopeful this list will grow soon. Until then, here is our weekly roundup of farmers markets to check out:

• Holmdel: 3/4 Bell Works FRESH Wednesday Farmers and Makers Market

• Ocean Grove: 3/8: Asbury FRESH Winter Farmers Market

And if we are missing any other markets, let us know!

Happenings Down the Shore

This week, we’re looking forward to two St. Patrick’s Day parades (Asbury Park and Rumson), plus some great live music up and down the Shore—including Candlelight Concerts at Monmouth University, featuring a Tribute to Queen & The Beatles and Coldplay vs. Imagine Dragons. And if you’ve been late to the pickleball fad, now’s your chance to catch up.

As the weather warms up, we look forward to even more outdoors events throughout Monmouth County!

If there’s an upcoming event that you’d like us to cover, feel free to pass it along!

Monday 3/2

Holmdel - Intro to Pickleball Clinic at Bell Works (9:30 am - register here)

Oceanport - Weekly Trivia at Skinny Flowers Brewing (6:30 pm)

Tuesday 3/3

Spring Lake - THE SISTERS OF BOOK ROW: Release event with author Shelley Noble at Thunder Road Books (6 pm - get tix)

Wednesday 3/4

Long Branch - Bingo Night at Beach Bee Meadery (6:30 pm)

Thursday 3/5

Asbury Park - Artikal Sound System, Sensamotion, and TobyRaps at the Wonder Bar (7 pm - get tix)

Holmdel - Sundown Sessions at Bar Bella: feat. Candice Lee Duo (5 pm)

Red Bank - Open Mic Comedy Night at Basie Center Cinemas (7 pm)

Red Bank - Skinny Amigo at Jamian’s (8 pm)

Red Bank - Marty Hoski at The Molly Pitcher Inn (6 pm)

Red Bank - Moses Patrou at Triumph Brewing (8 pm)

Friday 3/6

Asbury Park - Crystal Ship Tribute to The Doors at the Wonder Bar (7 pm - get tix)

Belmar - Chris Brown at Beach Haus (7 pm)

Belmar - Salty Dawgz at Marina Grill (7 pm)

Holmdel - Amanda & Nick Duo at Fox Hollow Vineyard (6 pm)

Oceanport - Sean Collichio at Skinny Flowers Brewing (6:00 pm)

Red Bank - Black Dog at Jamian’s (9 pm)

Red Bank - James Larsen at The Molly Pitcher Inn (6 pm)

Red Bank - Erik Kalb at Triumph Brewery (9 pm)

West Long Branch - Candlelight Concerts: Tribute to Queen & The Beatles + Coldplay vs. Imagine Dragons (3:30 pm, 6 pm, and 8:30 pm - get tix)

Saturday 3/7

Asbury Park - Women in Music Series at The Asbury Hotel (7 pm)

Asbury Park - Pat Roddy Band with Force Fed at the Stone Pony (7 pm - get tix)

Belmar - The Jo Bonanno Band at Marina Grill (8 pm)

Holmdel - Sundown Sessions at Bar Bella: feat. DJ Pepeloco (5 pm)

Holmdel - Mike Tedesco at Fox Hollow Vineyard (2 pm)

Lincroft - Free Weekend Workshop Series at the Monmouth Museum (11 am)

Manasquan - World's Best Short Films at Algonquin Arts Theatre (8 pm - buy tix)

Oceanport - Hang Loose at Skinny Flowers Brewing (6:00 pm)

Red Bank - Shayne & The People at Jamian’s (9 pm)

Red Bank - Frank Rainey at The Molly Pitcher Inn (6 pm)

Red Bank - Jon Scales Fourchestra at Triumph Brewery (9:30 pm)

Spring Lake - Storytime + Author Event with Kristine A. Lombardi at Thunder Road Books (11 am)

Sunday 3/8

Asbury Park - St. Patrick’s Day Parade (1 pm - learn more)

Asbury Park - Clotilde Davenne Dinner at Judy’s in the St. Laurent (4 pm & 7 pm) (make a rez)

Belmar - Kyle Ahern at Beach Haus (2 pm)

Holmdel - Tommy B at Fox Hollow Vineyard (2 pm)

Ocean Township - Kids Craft Club: Pasta Picture Frame at Fleur de Mer (9:30 am - get tix)

Red Bank - Eric McGarry Quartet at Triumph Brewing (1 pm)

Rumson - St. Patrick’s Day Parade (1 pm - learn more)

Spring Lake - THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: Event with USA Today Bestseller Wade Rouse (4 pm - get tix)

Did we miss an event? Let us know.

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