THIS SUMMER, GATHER THE TROOPS FOR ONE OF THE SEASON’S SWEETEST PLEASURES: LAUGHING OVER A FRESH, BUBBLING MARGHERITA PIE IN THE OPEN AIR
BY CHEF DAVID BURKE PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID BURKE HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
We’ve been locked inside all winter; it’s time to get outdoors. That’s why I’ve given people a reason to step outside and smell the fresh air. It’s great to be outdoors and better still if you can eat well outside. All of my nine New Jersey restaurants have outdoor dining. At my restaurants we don’t cut corners inside or out. We pay attention to details. We invest in comfortable furnishings that suit each location’s concept and décor. We set the table with the same tableware you’d get in our bar/ lounge and main dining areas: fine crystal glassware, china, and flatware. You get the same world-class a la carte menu outside that is found inside. We work tirelessly to make sure your al fresco dining experience is fun, social, and relaxed, surrounded by nature and beautiful potted flowers and plants. To encourage our guests to try our outdoor dining we also extend our Happy Hour from the bar/lounge area onto our patios, porches, terraces, and decks. You’ve been inside all day at work, so after work it’s great to be outside enjoying an adult beverage and a bite to eat with your friends and colleagues. We also invite our guests to bring their dogs to our outdoor spaces, too, for Yappy Hour. We have water bowls and doggie treats.
In addition to being fun and social, dining outside at THE GOAT is also a sensory one. We expanded our outdoor dining space and added a woodburning XO Appliance pizza outside. I have the same XO oven at my home in Atlantic Highlands. It’s by far one of the best outdoor pizza ovens available and it allows our servers to bring a piping hot pizza right from the oven to your table on an authentic wooden peel. There’s nothing quite like eating delicious pizza outside. Smell triggers vivid memories. That’s why everyone loves the smell of wood burning. It reminds us of camping or a cozy wood burning fireplaces.
Don’t get me started about how much AC has changed our culture! We used to be outside so much more. Now we run from our cars with the windows rolled up to our houses with AC on full blast. Before AC we’d be on our stoop or in our backyards communicating with each other, now we’re shut-ins, voluntarily isolating ourselves. I’m trying to do what I can to change that by giving my guests a reason to be outside and enjoy nature.
THE GOAT by David Burke
1411 NJ-36, Union Beach
732.264.5222 / thegoatbydb.com