Both Highlands and Atlantic Highlands are well known, as they should be, for the number and high quality of their restaurants and eateries of all kinds.
Whether it’s a coffee and bagel you want in Atlantic Highlands, or that sensational love, laughter and conversation served up with every breakfast and lunch at The Girls Café in Highlands, there’s no doubt we have the best of the best from breakfast on through lunch, dinner and late night snacks.
What’s more, it’s a pretty good guess that there is at least one pretty much within walking distance of everyone in the Bayshore. Or, if you’re coming by boat, plenty of restaurants including the historic and always terrific Bahrs in Highlands accommodate watercraft as well.
My latest addition to the list of truly high quality and unique restaurants is Strada in the former Atlantic Highlands National Bank building across from the movie theater on First Avenue. First time there on a gorgeous evening meant we could sit outdoors at one of the curbside tables and watch the world go by on First Avenue while listening to the music and laughter on the other side of Strada’s huge open window.
And that’s even before we met our waitress, Caitlyn, an outstanding server who not only knows the menu and can explain all the Italian terms, but apparently loves the food so much herself her eyes light up, and she smiles constantly while explaining it all. Before the evening was over,we also got to meet Gina the wife half of the Gina and Ken Mansfield who opened this wonderful place at the site of the former Uno restaurant and have literally put their heart and Ken’s expertise in the kitchen into making it spectacular. Gina has a welcoming smile as broad as Caitlyn’s and is the hostess extraordinaire of a high quality restaurant.
The name Strada apparently comes from Osteria, which is Italian for a small restaurant owned by the chef. And while they promote some pretty fantastic pizza here, there is so much more, especially among the antipastos.
For instance, rather than ordering full pasta dinners or any of the chef’s specials, we opted for three different antipastos so we could share and sample a few different choices. Even at that, the portions were too large to finish.
But by all means, if you like eggplant at all, try the one at Strada. It’s a whole eggplant, split in half lengthwise, roasted on that great wood fire inside the restaurant, but filled with celery, onion, tomatoes, raisins, olives, pine nuts and pangrattato. These are really spice flavored breadcrumbs, but all food sounds so much better in Italian. Or think about baby carrots roasted on a wood fire, add some ricotta and salsa verde and a few other ingredients and you have a perfect and most unique and large appetizer.
For myself, my next trip will be to order a great glass of pinot grigio, grab that outside table, and enjoy more of the pane di casa, which is roasted thick bread with garlic and rosemary and topped with a most wonderful cheese!. What a relaxing evening.
Of course Strada offers all kinds of salads, pizza, main courses, cocktails, beers, wines, and coffers including macchiato, espresso, cappuccino and lattes, but their Italian lemonade is pretty spectacular on its own!
The restaurant is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 4 in the afternoon until 10 at night. Stop in if only to say hello and soak up the atmosphere and aromas. And if you see Gena or Ken, as them to tell you something about their son….. A MAST graduate by the way..who has just made them so proud, one more time!
