Community Corner

Take a Break from Holiday Shopping at Local Eateries

Long Branch and West Long Branch restaurants offer shoppers a place to relax and enjoy lunch or dinner

Yes, you're probably still stuffed from scarfing down all that turkey and cranberry sauce, but Black Friday holiday shopping can bring your appetite back pretty quickly.

Luckily there are several places in Long Branch and West Long Branch where hungry shoppers can go take a break from the lines and lack of parking at malls and electronics stores.

: 700 Joline Ave., Long Branch

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You are going to need caffeine to get you through Black Friday, and Rook Coffee Roasters is the place to go to get your fix.

This coffee joint offers light, medium and dark roasts that are grown on farms all over the world. Each cup is ground right before you buy it, making it one of the freshest coffees you can experience.

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You can even get iced coffee if hot java is not your thing.

Rook Coffee Roasters also sells delicious and gigantic scones that are the perfect complement to a fresh cup of coffee.

: 138 Myrtle Ave., Long Branch

Warm soup and fresh, crisp salads await you at Salad Shack, the perfect place to enjoy lunch until you move on to your next shopping destination.

This place has a seemingly endless list of salads from which to choose and also has different types of soup every day.

The soup is especially good and one of my favorites is the cream of asparagus soup. It's sweet and savory and doesn't have an overwhelming asparagus taste.

The salads are huge and can be topped with chicken and any topping imaginable.

Soup and salad may sounds like a light meal to some, but Salad Shacks portions are large will keep you feeling full.

Zachary's: 71 Oceanport Ave., West Long Branch

At the end of a long shopping day, you will probably be craving something filling, hot and delicious, and Zachary's offers plenty of meals that will stick to your ribs.

I have been going to Zachary's since I was a teenager and I've never tried anything that I didn't like. Their menu is huge and offers everything from a reuben to ribs.

Some of my personal favorites are the pizza, which is very thin, the chicken italiano sandwich which has grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinegar and the chicken Caesar salad.

The restaurant's main dining room was also recently renovated, so you will feel like you are eating in brand new place, even though it has been a local favorite for much longer than that.


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