A beer infused film fest and cracking good boardwalk coffee are making spirits bright around here

By Marisa Procopi

SHORE GOOD SHOPPING
Twice a year, rain or shine, the camp meeting community of Ocean Grove holds its immensely popular Giant Flea Market. The first this year will be on June 2, from the Great Auditorium to the boardwalk, It’s simply solid shopping, with over 100 dealers taking part offering rare and unusual furniture, home décor, jewelry, apparel, coins, memorabilia, and much more. If biking or walking into town is doable, it’s the best way to go, as parking spaces are snapped up quickly. Barring that, arrive early. oceangrovenj.com

shutterstock_46780282

Keen On Green
Baby artichokes those cutie pies of the thistle family are much easier to work with than their larger counterparts (which contain inedible purple and white thistledown). Simply remove a few of the outer leaves, peel the stem, add lemon and garlic, chop, and add to your favorite spring dishes.

shutterstock_96772840

Buzz Feed
High Voltage is a seafront cafe, with two locations in Asbury Park, where coffee is a highlight with mystical and thrilling (literally) brews from mod cup of Jersey City and Maiden Coffee Roasters of Neptune. That said, the often Polish inspired brunch dishes (Chef and co-owner Sonia Jozatis is from Poland) make for some of the tastiest boardwalk experiences we’ve had this year. The fare is driven, she says, “by nostalgia, a passion for the environment, and just plain good taste.” We spent a few minutes with her.

soniapressshot

INVESTORS SPREAD

What sort of training did you have?
I learned how to cook from my mom, dad, and grandma. My grandma was vegetarian but had a sweet tooth, so there needed to be Polish cheesecake on the table every Sunday. My dad was meat heavy, since his family was not able to afford meat for a long time, while my mom pickled and fermented everything to get us ready for winter.

Best local sources for ingredients?
Oh boy…there’s Farmer Meg’s, Rolling Hills Farm, Harvest Drop, Medusa Stone Fired Kitchen for bread, Mazi for its piri-piri sauce, Good Feeling Farms, and Great Road Farm.

What’s your favorite coffee?
Cold brew smoothie, available at our boardwalk location.

Favorite Polish dish?
Butternut squash pierogies.

What’s your indispensable cooking tool?
Pierogi press [laughs].

Best thing about coming to work?
Fresh, seasonal ingredients. Just love ramps and sun chokes (both great with kluski, a Polish dumpling).

Cooking philosophy in three words?
Organic, local, tasty.

808 Springwood Avenue and 800 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park (the Springwood location also contains an organic grocery), highvoltagecoffee.com

FILM AND FOAM
Indie Street Film Festival returns to Red Bank from July 25-29, bringing the year’s best independent cinema along with live art, music, panel discussions with entertainment professionals, and many more events.

industry-filmfest1

This year’s theme is “intersections,” and so several films will attempt to find points of plot intersection in the hopes of sparking panel, audience, and community wide conversations. The festival crew is also happily teaming with a new partner this year, Red Bank’s own Red Tank Brewing (scheduled to open a brick and mortar store there this year). All access pass holders get complimentary brews from Red Tank at all the parties, while festival attendees get to sample an exclusive brew concocted by both Red Tank founder John Arcara and ISFF Artistic Director Jay Webb. “Filmmaking is a collaborative process, and so is brewing. Bringing the two together should lead to some sort of awesome sensory overload,” Webb said with a smile. indiestreetfilmfestival.org, redtankbrewing.com