North Eats - Asbury Park, NJ

Asbury Park beach is one of my favorite beaches in New Jersey. Usually I'll stay by 2nd or 3rd avenue just because parking is less of an issue. Yet, up until last year, I was struggling with food selections because it meant hiking it down a few blocks in order to enjoy something good to eat, far from the safe confines of my beach chair. Thankfully, North Eats has descended upon the northern Asbury Park boardwalk to save me from the woes of this perilous hike down the boardwalk. 

Okay, I'm exaggerating. Slightly.

But North Eats is a grand idea that brings to you 6 of the finest food truck offerings for people like me. There's been a few that have come and go in the past. Some are invited to stay - some just come over for a "guest weekend" or two. Here, I'll highlight three of the places we visited recently and enjoyed.

Johnny's Pork Roll - The Cuban

Johnny's Pork Roll & Coffee Truck

Just a week ago, Hops & Horns featured a recent visit to Johnny's Pork Roll, so I won't go at length once more about Johnny's, but suffice it to say that if you are at the Asbury Park beach and are craving for some wonderful and beautifully made pork roll sandwiches, you need to head on over to Johnny's Pork Roll and Coffee. If you haven't seen our previous review on Johnny's, just skip on over here: http://www.hopsandhorns.com/bareats/johnnysporkroll

Garden State Salad - Turkey BLT

Garden State Salad

Twice, has Hops & Horns visited the Garden State Salad, and twice have we enjoyed some of their above average sandwich offerings. This last visit included the Turkey BLT. The tomato and lettuce are fresh and bring out the deliciousness of the bacon and turkey. The mini side of pasta salad was very good as well, but it's all about the sandwich here. The bacon was crisp and cooked to perfection. If you're looking for a healthier take on a BLT and want something to keep that beach body intact, visit Garden State Salad.

The Angry Crab - Angry Crab Sandwich

The Angry Crab

Noticing a new truck, I decided to give it a visit. The Angry Crab's menu had all the making of an instant winner. Enticed by the ingredients within the Angry Crab Sandwich, I decided to give it a fair shot. I will warn you, it came in at the hefty price of $12, but I'll be honest, it was absolutely worth every single penny. Do not be afraid about the actual cake, it's chock full of crab and seared on the sides just enough to keep it compact and rich. The potato bun was an excellent choice to add some more richness to the sandwich. The arugula marries the sriracha with the citrus crema perfectly. I believe between the crab cake and the actual bottom bun, there were some potato sticks, to give it the extra oomph of saltiness and crunch. All in all, this sandwich is absolute perfection on a potato bun. The sriracha with the citrus crema are absolutely epic. If they come back to North Eats, I'm 100% in.

Lunch or dinner with a view.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that North Eats is the nation's first oceanfront food truck park. I love this idea and hope it stays forever. Just don't forget that this lasts up until Labor Day weekend, so the weeks you get to try some of these out is limited. Whether you are there because you go all the time or for a holiday weekend, give North Eats at Asbury Park Beach a try. Even if they don't have some of the options mentioned here, I'm sure they'll have something that'll grab your eye and entice your taste buds. Plus having a view like the one posted above (Yes, this is at Asbury) to go along with your afternoon sandwich is nothing short of amazing.