At the Jersey shore, they ran or walked 5K, but I headed straight for the lobster buffet

LOBSTER RUN: Runners crossing the start line on Saturday afternoon in Asbury Park for the 3rd annual 5K Run/Walk To Care For The Coast, a fundraiser for the American Littoral Society, above and below.

FISH HEAD: Head gear included this fish head, but others wore lobster or squid heads. A delicious lobster buffet awaited runners and walkers at the Langosta Lounge on Ocean Avenue.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

ASBURY PARK -- I'm always amazed and delighted at how a drive of less than 65 miles on the Garden State Parkway takes me back decades to summers on the New Jersey Shore.

On Saturday, I drove down to this faded shore resort with my wife for a 5K run/walk and lobster buffet -- a fundraiser to benefit the coastal-conservation programs of the American Littoral Society, a non-profit I joined in the 1990s.

To avoid a repeat of last year, when the buffet ran out before the last walkers were served, we did a brisk 2.5-mile walk on the boardwalk before the official 2 p.m. start, and were first on line for the delicious buffet.

Our next stop was nearby Bradley Beach, where my parents owned a summer home from the late 1940s until the late 1970s.

Brooklyn to Bradley

Every summer, we drove there from Brooklyn, shopped in the farmer's market across the tracks in Neptune, and welcomed my mother's brothers and sisters and their families for extended stays in the 8-bedroom house with a wraparound porch.

We usually stopped at the Neptune market after picking up my father at the railroad station on his return from running his dry goods store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

My mother, who like my father was born in Aleppo, Syria, cooked her Sephardic Jewish specialties every night, and the refrigerator was always full of leftovers for lunch and snacks or sandwiches in fresh pocket bread.

Great memories. 

See:

In 2017, no crustaceans

 were harmed at Lobster Run

The harsh realities

 of trying to save the coast

LOBSTER TWO WAYS: The buffet at the Langosta Lounge on Saturday included a sinful Lobster Macaroni and Cheese, foreground, and a chilled half Maine lobster from The Lusty Lobster, a seafood market in Highlands.

LUNCH BUFFET: The format of the fundraising run/walk and buffet was switched to the afternoon this year after last year's morning event and brunch included only scrambled eggs with lobster; no half lobsters were served last year.

TOMATO PIE: Before driving back to Hackensack, we stopped at Vic's, an Italian-American restaurant in Bradley Beach that opened in 1947. I ordered a large thin-crust whole-wheat pizza with onions, garlic and anchovies to go.

FULL MENU: Vic's has a full menu and a liquor license.

WEBSITE: Vic's Italian-American Restaurant is at 60 Main St. in Bradley Beach.

WRAPAROUND PORCH: A house on Third Avenue in Bradley Beach.

Asbury Park renewal

Every time we visit Asbury Park, there seems to be little progress on renewing the boardwalk, although many new apartments have been built a few blocks away in the business district.

When I worked at The Record of Hackensack in the late 1980s, I was sent to the faded resort to write about promises of renewal.

Here are some photos I took on Saturday:

AT A STANDSTILL: Not much has changed on this section of the Asbury Park boardwalk, above and below, since our last visit a year ago.

RESIDENTIAL PROJECT: From the boardwalk in front of the Langosta Lounge, we could see and hear work on what looks like a residential high-rise.

ROCKERS' ROOTS: The Stone Pony, know for launching rockers Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, is going strong.

SPLISH SPLASH: A splash park for children is a bright spot on the boardwalk.