4 replies to this topic

[Rail Paul]

Tommy:eats does its usual competent job discovering a new pizza place in Asbury Park. I may be down there this week, so I'll keep it in mind. (Porta Pizza : 911 Kingsley Street : Asbury Park, NJ : 732.776.7661)

Either way, it's getting some good reviews, and their pizza carbonara is getting some specific attention on blogs and from yelpers and what have you.

The attraction seems to be pizza carbonara. Although t:e hasn't yet checked out the place in its opened state, it provided inspiration for his creation of an egg and guanciale pizza. Good reading...

Porta Pizza

[Rail Paul]

Susan Leigh Sherrill of the NorthJersey.com discusses the evolution of this restaurant. Described as a slice of Venice CA in NJ...

The menu includes starters such as bagna cauda – the newly popular, anchovy-based Italian vegetable dip, and pan roasted octopus. Neapolitan-style pizzas baked in the open kitchen are all made with San Marzano tomatoes and extra-virgin olive oil; the ricotta cheese is prepared daily in-house. Among the choices are the Lamborghini – tomatoes, lamb prosciutto, pecorino, garlic and arugula, and Carbonara – guanciale, Parmigiano Reggiano, roasted egg, parsley and black pepper. For dessert, there's Nutella pizza and a list of artisanal gelatos and sorbets from the heralded Capogiro in Philadelphia: rosemary honey goat milk gelato; grapefruit with Campari sorbet.

Porta in Asbury Park

[Rail Paul]

Nice place. Really nice place.

Large industrial space, cinder blocks make up two walls, glass garage doors on the third side, and a large open kitchen with two beehive ovens in view. Lights hanging on wires, free standing bar in the center of the room. Long communal tables. No big screen TVs. No TV at all, actually. In addition to the large glass garage doors to the patio, the other walls are decorated with doors of every shape, size, and color

Friendly service, good collection of bottled, canned, and draft beer. Whimsical mixed drinks.

Very light flexible pizza, char on the bottom. Dee and I split an Autumn Betty (three kinds of mushrooms, tallegio, mozz). Looked to be a 13 inch size. The bread is excellent, really has a good taste.

Also had a pork and greens sandwich. Inspired by the DeNic specialty, this was a sandwich of sliced pork pieces and rabe, with a spoonful of spicy cooking broth. Wrapped inside a thick pita-sized slice of the grilled bread. Big sandwich, messy to eat, but it was very tasty. Big pieces of meat, seasoned greens.

I had a Nuova Mattina (very dry, slightly sweet, nice head). Dee had a Genessee Cream Ale.

Not an especially inexpensive shore joint. The pizza was about $15, the Mattina was $12, the sandwich was $8.50, the cream ale might have been $5. Very nice place. We probably could have done quite well with two Jennies, and one pizza

The restaurant took some water during the recent storm. "About a foot" I was told, and electric was out for a day and a half. As the restaurant is about a block from the ocean, they are prepared. Much of the kitchen is up a small ramp, perhaps 18 inches off the main floor. The ovens sit on a nice pedestal, and the pedestal is up on the higher platform. Electric junction boxes are high on the walls, or on the ceiling. I didn't notice any low level electric connections at all, not even at the bar.

[JonJacob]

There is going to be a great fundraiser/toy drive at Porta on Thursday, December 20th at 7pm!

Bring a toy and $20 and be treated to some great food and drink!  There will be passed appetizers, several varieties of pizza and dessert!

For more information please visit www.atableshare.com!  Please visit their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tablesharing) to read about what they have doing!

All proceeds to benefit TEAM JERSEY (a 501©3 non-profit organization).

Thanks!

[Rail Paul]

Another excellent pizza today.  This was the carbonara version. Finely chopped pork belly, chopped mushrooms, cheeses (maybe tallegio and a harder cheese) on a wonderful flexible crust.

 

The craft beer was a Keegan's Mother's Milk on tap. Wonderful light taste, fragrant.

 

The place was jumping on a Sunday afternoon. The bar was full to overflowing, every seat taken and two people deep in several places. The restaurant was about 2/3 filled. Lots of families.  Three piece jazz group arrived and began to play..

 

These people are doing a lot of things right.