Press Release

FOOD: Very good, if not Excellent.
DRINK: Excellent.
BOTTOM LINE: Reasonably priced.
SEAT LOCATION: Many box seats.
FIELD CONDITIONS: Very comfortable.
SIGHT LINES: 9 TVs.
FINAL SCORE: Can't miss the bottled beer packed in Ice. A spotlight shines on it. Nicely done! First brew came with a chilled glass as well - a winner right from the start. "No Socks" Williams and I were very hungry - so we began quickly with appetizer. Patti, the bartender touted me to the fried zucchini which, was very good. Good choice, Patti! Burgers are a specialty here so both "No Socks" and I went that route. I couldn't resist the 'Garbage Can Burger" - an eight-ounce burger topped with pork roll and cheese. It was cooked to my request perfectly. Second brews equally as good as the first, with a new, chilled glass. Kudos, for sure. "No Socks" waved off dessert. Not I, of course. By night's end, the place was packed - mostly with softball teams. This is definitely the new hot spot in town.

- Don Wilno

by Thomas E. Hoffmann & Hilary Markowski Each week, the 'Taste Traveler" will review some of the finest eateries in Monmouth and Ocean Counties for Fred's dedicated readers. This week's stop was the famous Mulligan's clambake we had heard so much about. We called Dave Huneke, the proprietor and chef, and asked if he would lie to share his clambake with our readers. He said, "Sure, we serve the clambake on Wednesdays and Thursday." We entered Mulligan's and were greeted by Cliff, the manager. He seated us immediately. Mulligan's has a large dining area with plenty of booth seats, dining tables and a large bar with ample seating for food or drink. Beautifully decorated with an old wood finish, the atmosphere here is great. We were then introduced to Colleen, our waitress. We immediately ordered the two clambakes, which came with soup or salad and a large loaf of fresh bread and lightly salted butter. We both ordered the salads, one with blue cheese and the other with vinaigrette. The salads were a delicate mix of greens, cheese, roasted peppers and one of Tom's favorites, green olives.	Waitress Colleen Schaad. The greens were crisp and fresh and both the blue cheese and vinaigrette dressings were absolutely fabulous. After finishing our salad and a moments of relaxing conversation, out food arrived. It could not have been more perfectly timed. Colleen had forewarned us that there was so much shellfish in the clambake, only one could be carried out at a time. Each clambake was presented in a large blue enamel cooking pot. The cooking pot was topped with a large eating plate, a large ear of sweet yellow corn and two cups (one with hot melted butter and the other with the seasoned broth for dipping). Colleen lifted the plates and an aromatic steam rose from the pots.	The pots were filled to the top with shellfish such as mussels, clams, shrimp, crab legs, potatoes and one beautiful, red steamy hot 1 3/4 pound lobster. It was almost too picture perfect to eat. We didn't know where to begin. The lobster was delicately steamed to perfection. It was tender, sweet and bountiful. The mussels and clams were steamed open, showing their fresh delicate meat. The shrimp was pink, firm and juicy, with a delicate flavor. The potatoes and corn were steamed in with the fresh seafood. As we dipped the shellfish in the seasoned broth and sweet butter, everything tasted wonderful. What a perfect, abundant meal! Everything was presented beautifully, cooked to perfection, flavorful and the portions were extremely generous. Fred's Arts An Entertainment would like to thank Mulligan's and all their staff for what is undoubtedly the Jersey Shore's finest clambake. We can't wait to go back to try some of the other favorites on their menu. HOURS: Mon-Thurs: 11am - 12am Fri & Sat: 11am - 2am Sun: 11am - 11pm