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One sign proclaims "The Witch is in." Another reads "Broom parking." You can get a "sandwitch of the East" (on greens) or a "sandwitch of the West" (on choice of bread).
The music on her cell phone recording? From "The Wizard of Oz," what else?
Okay, Karyn Jarmer, how much of a witch are you?
"When I worked in the city, my nickname was the Witch because I was fast and I could quickly adapt to situations," she explained.
The Neptune native ran a catering business in New York for 15 years with many high-profile clients - Regis and Kathie Lee, Regis and Kelly, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "All My Children," Nickelodeon, MTV and more. "Once I got on Rosie, everyone wanted me," she said. "Everything she touches turns to gold."
But the stress of working in the city post-9/11 made her seek refuge in her familiar Jersey Shore; she opened My Kitchen Witch in May 2005 - on Friday the 13th, no less. She retired from and then resurrected the catering business, but the 45-year-old cook can be found at least five days a week in her country-cute cafe, with hardwood floors, indoor and outdoor seating, and assorted knickknacks and tchotchkes on the walls and ledges - rolling pins, peach baskets, food signs and one "Bewitched" lunch pail.
"I love junk," Jarmer said. "Other people's junk is my treasure."
The emphasis here is on healthy choices and quality ingredients, with the kind of little touches - strawberry butter with the biscuits, seasonal fruit atop the pancakes and French toast - that raise My Kitchen Witch above the cafe crowd.
Nearly all of the sandwiches sampled turned out well. Highly recommended: The Broomstick Hilda Salad (shredded chicken with red seedless grapes, apples, craisins, onions, $8.95) and the Tuscan tuna (tuna, capers, red onion and mayo, $8.95). The grilled cheese (with white cheese, spinach and tomato on Texas toast) is comforting and yummy; you decide whether it's worth the $8.95 price tag.
Another good choice: the grilled chicken sandwich with apple, brie, bacon and raspberry dressing ($8.95). The turkey in the roast turkey sandwich (with bacon, goat cheese and raspberry dressing, $8.95) seemed lackluster, though.
The bread - particularly the ciabatta and multigrain rolls - are first-rate. The scones ($2.50) are run-of-the-mill, but the biscuits accompanying the egg dishes are not your usual by-the-numbers, straight-from-the-box biscuits. They're sturdy and irresistible: I could eat them for breakfast eight days a week.
The There's No Place Like Home Omelette ($8), with Vermont cheddar and apple, is hefty but tasted dried-out. The cinnamon French toast, though, is a winner - thick slices of bread topped with seasonal fruit ($6.50).
The Magical Mediterranean Salad (feta, olives, diced red onions, roasted red peppers, English cucumbers, $9.95) manages to be different with its dollop of tasty low-fat hummus, but the salad was drowned in balsamic vinaigrette. A lighter hand, and a better salad overall, appeared in the Cauldron Salad (baby greens, oranges, apples, pears, grapes, sundried cranberries, feta and candied walnuts with a low-fat poppy seed dressing, $9.95).
The chicken with stars soup ($4.95, with biscuits) is thick with chicken - thick, period, and a surefire cold-weather warmer.
On Friday nights, there's a candlelit five-course dinner. It's by reservation - sort of.
"I like to cook," Jarmer said. "If there's a table (open), you can sit."
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Walking thru Asbury Park one evening, I picked up a copy of one of the free local newspapers that you find next to the exit of any one of the eateries in town. For the life of me, I can’t remember which one that it was, not that it’s important other than the fact that I’d love to let Karyn Jarmer the owner where her advertising is getting it’s bang for the buck. As I scanned the pages, I found this little quarter page add for a little eatery in Monmouth Beach called “My Kitchen Witch”.
At first glance, it had all the appearance of being your run of the mill luncheonette until two things caught my eye. “Healthy, Homecooked Comfort Food” & “Every Friday Night, 5 Course Candlelit dinner”. Immediately I ripped out the ad and added to my must visit places. Our first visit was on a Sunday morning, I had the pumpkin French Toast and Lynn had “hole in bread” (eggs cooked inside a hole on a homemade multigrain bread). Both were spectacular... fresh... unique and wonderfully presented. The waitress Nancy was worth the price of admission. Within minutes you felt that you were old friends…she was an absolute delight.
The dining atmosphere is somewhere between your grandmother’s kitchen in the county and the kitchen display section of the Mercer Museum (You’ll have to Google that one yourself for details). Warm, cozy... visual... it was fun just to sip on a cup of their excellent coffee and investigate the objects hanging on the walls. Many patrons were regulars and table to table conversation was the norm.
Our second visit was for the candlelit dinner. The menu was fixed (listed below) and we made sure we didn’t duplicate anything when ordering. I no doubt mortified the chef when I ordered my prime rib well done….at least this time I did not ask for it incinerated. The rib was tender and lean, the stringbeans fresh and not overcooked and the mashed potatoes was probably one of the best I’ve ever had. Lynn had the Thai shrimp which also was primo... fresh and most of all WITH NO TAILS! (It’s a real pet peeve of ours when dining out…why leave them on??). The lights were dimmed, 40′s music playing in the background, the LED candles were lit and like morning breakfast, regulars and newcomers like ourselves were indeed at home.
As a general rule, I never eat dessert, but in the spirit of adventure I indulged myself. Both the apple crisp and the pumpkin cheese both hit the spot. Not overly sweet as of trying to hide something, both had a wonderful balance of sweetness, texture and flavor. You could tell these were fresh and definitely home made.
Rating??? A for sure. A must visit anytime. One additional bonus for those of you who love paring a favorite alcoholic beverage with your meal is the fact that it is BYOB and each table has their own Sommelier’s bottle opener... a nice detail.
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