“Care and Quality are internal and external aspects of the same thing. A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares. A person who cares about what he sees and does is a person who’s bound to have some characteristic of quality”. Robert M. Pirsig
I have been going to Da Benito, in Union NJ, since 1985. Three generations of many families have been enjoying the great food. great service and an owner who loves his work. There is never a fork out of place. Benito likes to say, “everything in preparation”. The attention to detail, the building blocks of quality, separates the average from the best. I always look at his success as a template for other owners and it is no surprise to find similar qualities in the owners I meet on the Wake and Bake tour. As I travel around the state, visiting these fantastic bakeries, I have to be careful not to waste my dopamine on bad sugar. This week I found a bakery that has all the same qualities as the wonderful Da Benito.
The New Jersey shore is so special to many of our native residents. It is part of our DNA to go down to the shore, listen to some Bruce and enjoy the beauty of it all. Monmouth County has some fantastic bakeries and is my favorite part of the New Jersey shore. There are three major river systems that cut through prehistoric hills. Mt Mitchell, at 266 feet, is the highest elevation from Maine to Yucatan along the coast( excluding islands). The views to NYC are spectacular on a clear day. I can hear the lyrics of “Rising” as you see the towers of lower Manhattan float in the distance. There is a great paved path, the Henry Hudson trail, that connects Highlands to Atlantic Highlands. The former is a honky tonk fishing town while the latter is an upscale tight local community filled with a variety of professionals, artists and tradesmen. First Street in Atlantic Highlands is classic small town America. Coffee shops, great food and quirky stores line the street that ends at Raritan Bay. Highlands is a old school fishing village and home to one of the best and freshest seafood establishments in Northern NJ called The Lusty Lobster and of course Bahr’s Landing seafood restaurant, a New Jersey legend since 1917.
The beach at Sandy Hook(see above)sits on a peninsula that juts into the confluence of the Atlantic and Raritan Bay. This is where Bruce goes to ride his motorcycle. There is great biking, historic artillery batteries, and nude beaches. Pick your pleasure. Sea Bright is part of that peninsula, bifurcated from the mainland, by the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers. Let the top down for the scenic rides but before you go make sure you start in Atlantic Highlands and get some sweet fuel.
The first stop of this week was at First and Flour on First Street in Atlantic Highlands. Unfortunately the bakery was closed for a wedding. This bakery, formerly known as the Flaky Tart, has a well known reputation for original modern treats unlike the traditional hometown bakery. The founder, Marie Jackson, was a James Beard 2015 semi-finalist for Outstanding Baker and Outstanding Pastry Chef. There is something of a mystery regarding Ms. Jackson’s departure from Flaky Tart but it is clear cancer played a big part. You can find her TED talk below from 2014 and it is very moving. Her two assistants, during her run at Flaky Tart, have now opened their own stores. Their opportunity came through the hard work they put in along side the creative genius of Marie Jackson. They are now putting their own signature and character into their own bakery every day. They continue to feature, honoring the mentorship of Ms Jackson, many of the amazing bakery creations of the Flaky Tart. Quality is evident the moment you enter the store.
We moved on from the disappointment of the unexpected closure and went to Cookie and Crumb on West St in Atlantic Highlands. I sampled the coffee crumb cake with my coffee. The cake was moist, not airy, and the crumb topping was crunchy. Very original tasting compared to other crumb cake I have sampled. The cookies came in five different flavors and they were substantial but they did not stand out for me. From there we headed to Red Bank for our second stop.
We drove Locust Point Rd to Navesink River Road and marveled at the mansions that command both sides of the road. This is where you can find Springsteen and Bon Jovi’s beautiful homes overlooking the Navesink and the Atlantic. Light and Shadow dance through the hills making the views even more dramatic than the flat light at the beach. Red Bank is the heart of Monmouth County for music and food.
We stopped at Antoinette Boulangerie for French pastries. This is the go to place in downtown Red Bank for upscale baked goods. The bakery was founded by two sisters ,originally from Turkey, with different strengths. One graduated from the Culinary Institute while the other started on Wall Street. They are located on Monmouth St, since 2014, close to the Count Basie Theatre. I sampled the chocolate eclair, a peach danish and the Napoleon. The eclair was the best of the three with a delicious chocolate creme that melted in your mouth. I liked the Napoleon but the cream filling was a bit too abundant to work with the flaky crust. What a snob I am! Of course it was great but I am also supposed to be a food critic…. so the French Baguette did not impress.. There I said it.
From there, with my dopamine levels surging, we went to The Baker's Grove. The two top assistants to Marie Jackson at the Flaky Tart were Laura Martelli and Matt Rosenzweig. Ms Martelli owns First and Flour and Mr Rosenzweig went on to open The Baker’s Grove. Both of these places are creative, modern and delicious. They are both top 10 Wake and Bake bakeries and easily pass the one hour drive test. It was time to throw my system into dopamine overdrive.
I sampled the cream donut, cinnamon bun and cinnamon pecan bundt cake. I also enjoyed the Boston Cream brioche as well as the strawberry and cream brioche. The cream was perfectly whipped and delightfully chilly nestled in the soft bread of the brioche. Outstanding!! The presentation inside the bakery was impeccable. Brown eyed Susan had the macaroons and declared them “one of the best macaroons she has ever tasted” and those are big words for brown eyed Susan. There were so many other temptations behind the glass. The Key Lime tart and the S’mores tart were beckoning but so were the Salted Chocolate Chunk cookie and the Double Chocolate Cake. I only had so many bites left until my dopamine meter peaked(Dana Small’s work: Brain: A Journal of Neurology.). I forged ahead through my sugar haze, tasted everything and fell into a blissful sweet state for the rest of the day.
The owner of The Baker’s Grove shares the same qualities as my friend Benito Hissen. I know this because they both share, what Pirsig refers to as Caring and Quality, the same values. All the steps in the process, of creating the final product, are essential. “Everything in preparation”. Rosenzweig studied art in school and you can see that in the presentation of his baked goods. His macaroons are beautiful to look at and equally delicious to eat. The combination of bringing these different elements of beauty to the bakery is something to experience. There is attention to all the little details that makes a food business successful.
They bake one day at a time. Leftover product is given away or discarded. They both source their ingredients locally and strive to provide the freshest farm to table experience. Their staff is friendly, attentive and knowledgable. It is clear that they are committed to the process, one day at a time, and plan on being around for quite some time. They believe that food is our comfort in our hectic and turbulent world. Both bring creative love to their food and this love is passed on to our friends and family in our shared experience of their food. Lucky for all of us. As the line goes in the Rusted Root song… “All I want is food and creative love.”
Peace to Everyone…
Key lime and S’mores tarts in front left case. Macaroons to the right in rainbow colors. Owner Matt Rosenzweig in background on the frontline.
I have embedded Marie Jackson’s 2014 TED talk here… She embodies Pirsig’s quote.
Da Benito has become an icon in Union. It replaced a previous icon, Tretola's, although we never got a chance to try Tretola's (we were too poor when we moved to Union). Antoinette Boulangerie is very good. We have been there a number of times. Thanks for the tip about The Baker's Grove. We were around the corner at Albariño a few weeks ago and saw it but it was closed. Time to check it out.
Great work Alan! Thanks for taking us on your delicious journey!
Da Benito has become an icon in Union. It replaced a previous icon, Tretola's, although we never got a chance to try Tretola's (we were too poor when we moved to Union). Antoinette Boulangerie is very good. We have been there a number of times. Thanks for the tip about The Baker's Grove. We were around the corner at Albariño a few weeks ago and saw it but it was closed. Time to check it out.