Down the Shore

Well readers, we thought we were finally out of the woods with the snow, but then along came a blizzard. According to our friends at Semolina Pasta Shoppe where we gathered some provisions, during the last snow storm everyone was purchasing the essentials - milk, butter, bread, eggs. This time they were stocking up on one thing: meatballs.

You can bet we did the same.

A Slice of the Shore: Pizza Roundup

When it’s Friday night, and it’s dark and cold, and we can’t possibly make one more decision at the week’s end, we know what we always order for dinner: pizza!

And yes readers, we must confess that one of our DTS editors is actually a Connecticut native, where the Welcome signs tout that it’s the “Pizza Capital of the United States” (and apparently NJ clapped back at that claim).

We’re not here to debate interstate pizza rivalries, but we are here to tell you where to grab our favorite pie down the shore, based on the style you’re craving:

• For fans of the bar pie: Squan Tavern (Manasquan)

  • Our rec: Classic Plain or Eggplant 

• For lovers of the pan pizza: Vinnie’s (Brielle)

  • Our rec: the “Roni”, where their shoe string pepperoni is sliced in-house 

• For the hip to be square: Qua (Manasquan) 

  • Our rec: The Roman-style Parmigiana or Bianca 

• For those who don’t want to limit themselves to one style: Lupo (Fair Haven and West Long Branch) 

  • Our rec: the Grandma, where the sauce comes on top of the cheese. But you can also get pies made in New York and Detroit Style. 

• For the bold who don’t mind a challenge: Rosie’s (Middletown and Point Pleasant Beach) 

  • Our rec: call and order any pizza at opening time - we’re not kidding.

Or reply to this email with your own suggestion!

Spotlight on: The Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Founded back in 1974 by the Jerry Lynch Club, the Belmar St. Patrick’s Day Parade was intended to be a showcase for the “Irish Riviera,” as this area is affectionately dubbed given the large population of Irish-Americans.

What started as a march up Main Street rapidly grew to the point where participants numbered in the thousands and crowds were so large that NJ Transit added special parade-day trains to handle spectators from North Jersey and New York.

Today, this parade remains the largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the state of New Jersey. Check it out this coming Sunday, March 1st for their 53rd anniversary!

Shore Points

Monmouth County hospitality is sure on the rise! Here are headlines that caught our eye this week:

Jersey Shore hotel makes Forbes Travel Guide’s list of most luxurious places in the world — The Asbury Ocean Club Hotel was the only hotel in New Jersey to receive this distinction. This is a bucket list staycation spot for us!

Hotel Albatross in Ocean Grove is nominated for the 2026 Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. Voting closes today, February 23rd!

New Jersey’s Booming Film Industry Is Boosting Local Businesses — With the Netflix NJ studio coming soon, we expect this trend to continue.

Weekly Forecast

Guess the groundhog was correct…

On the bright side — it should warm up later in the week. So unlike the last snow storm, this snow and ice shouldn’t stick around:

Monday 2/23 - 34°/23° Heavy Snow Storm

Tuesday 2/24 - 35°/23° Party Sunny

Wednesday 2/25 - 43°/30° Rain and Snow

Thursday 2/26 - 38°/30° Snow

Friday 2/27 - 40°/30° Sunny

Saturday 2/28 - 45°/31° Partly Sunny

Sunday 3/1 - 47°/28° Cloudy

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

Farmer’s Market Roundup

Even though it’s the dead of winter, there are still some farmer’s markets that are going strong. Here is our weekly roundup of farmers markets to check out:

• Holmdel: 2/25 Bell Works FRESH Wednesday Farmers and Makers Market

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

Happenings Down the Shore

The big event this week is the Belmar St. Patrick’s Day Parade which will take place on Sunday! Also happening: Pier Village Restaurant Week, a five-course winter dinner with beer pairing at Triumph, line dancing, and a couple of great author events at Thunder Road Books!

Because of the weather, we only included happenings from Tuesday onward, but we’d recommend double-checking to see if any events are postponed!

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

Tuesday 2/24

Long Branch - Pier Village Restaurant Week Begins (check out the restaurants)

Ocean Township - Bloomin' Bingo Night at Fleur de Mer Flower Bar & Gift Boutique (6:30 pm)

Wednesday 2/25

Holmdel - Blood Drive: Guardian x NJ Blood Services at Talk in Bell Works (9 am - 3 pm)

Holmdel - Country Night with East Coast Cowgirl Line Dancing at Bar Bella in Bell Works (6 pm)

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

Spring Lake - PINKY SWEAR event with author Danielle Girard at Thunder Road Books (6 pm - buy tix)

Thursday 2/26

Holmdel - Dueling Pianos with the Flying Ivories at Bar Bella in Bell Works (6 pm)

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

Red Bank - The Gab Cinque at Jamian’s (8 pm)

Red Bank - Erez Lirov at The Molly Pitcher Inn (6 pm)

Red Bank - Gambrinus Dinner (five-course winter menu paired with Triumph beers) at Triumph Brewery (6 pm - check out the menu)

Friday 2/27

Asbury Park - Kevin Hill & Secret Sound do BOWIE at Palmetto (9 pm)

Belmar - Glimmer Grass Band at Marina Grill (7 pm)

Holmdel - 90s Dance Party at Fox Hollow Vineyard (6 pm)

Manasquan - Frankie Palmer at Harpoon Willy’s (8:30 pm)

Red Bank - The Embers at Jamian’s (9 pm)

Red Bank - Connor Quigley at The Molly Pitcher Inn (6 pm)

Red Bank - MikelParis at Triumph Brewery (9 pm)

Sandy Hook - Seal and Winter Waterfowl Walk with the Littoral Society at Sandy Hook (10 am - get tix)

Saturday 2/28

Asbury Park - WAITING ON MONGO All Night Long at Palmetto (9 pm)

Belmar - Not Leaving Sober at Marina Grill (8 pm)

Holmdel - Disco Night with DJ Foggy Notion at Bar Bella in Bell Works (6 pm)

Holmdel - Alex McDaniel at Fox Hollow Vineyard (2 pm)

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

Manasquan - Rhyme & Reason at Harpoon Willy’s (8:30 pm)

Oceanport - Doug Katez at Skinny Flowers Brewing (6 pm - you can also check out a Locale Pizza pop-up at the brewery from 2 to 8 pm)

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

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

Red Bank - Jamie McLean Band at Triumph Brewery (9 pm)

Sandy Hook - Park Cleanup at Sandy Hook (9 am - learn more)

Spring Lake - An Evening with NYT Bestselling Author Anna Quindlen at Thunder Road Books (4 pm - get tix)

Sunday 3/1

Belmar - St. Patrick’s Day Parade (12:30 pm)

Did we miss an event? Let us know.

Lastly - happy birthday to one of our very first readers, Donna B., who celebrated a birthday this past weekend!

Thanks for reading and if someone forwarded this to you, please subscribe via the link below. See you next week!