The Artful Diner - Heatwave Cafe Review Update - 5/2003 Bay Head NJ New Jersey

Heatwave Café Update
530 Main Avenue, Route 35
Bay Head, Ocean County, New Jersey
(732) 714-8881
www.heatwavecafe.com

By The Artful Diner
5/23/2003

Since August of 2002, there have been a number of significant changes involving the Heatwave Café and it ownership. For starters, the restaurant moved from its former cracker box location at 513 Main Avenue (Route 35) to brand new digs just across the way. It took some eighteen months to renovate this historic building, and the results were worth waiting for. Not only has the restaurant doubled its capacity, but spruced up its ultra-casual image as well. Now boasting both a cozy dining room and bright and airy terrace, this is an extremely attractive eatery both within and without.

Secondly, the satellite restaurant venture at the White Sands Resort in Point Pleasant Beach has been permanently closed.

Finally, Heatwave has undergone a spirited game of musical personnel... Exit old co-proprietor Mr. Rech, enter new co-proprietor Mr. Vesce. The other owner and former chef Mr. Ingoglia is still in residence, but he now spends most of his time presiding over the front of the house, having turned over kitchen duties to Erik Weatherspool.

I have a great fondness for the Heatwave Café, as you will note from my original review posted in 1999, and I desperately wanted to feel the same about their recently upgraded incarnation... but, unfortunately, there are a few ghosts in the machine. You begin, for example, with a hostess who seats you at what is surely one of the worst tables in the house, smack at the junction of the two dining rooms; which means that you have become the chief tourist attraction for diners being escorted to the terrace.

The comedy continues with your waitress, a confessed long-time member of Heatwave's restaurant team, who cannot pronounce the word Provençal correctly. And the entire affair reaches an ill-fated crescendo when entrées are delivered under silver domes and removed in unison by two members of the wait staff. "Tah-Dah!" This form of aggressive ostentation may fly in more highfalutin' eateries, but, hey, slightly upscale ambiance notwithstanding, we're still talking casual shore dining here... and this conspicuous display just strikes me as so much pretentious nonsense.

All this foolishness, of course, would be easily forgiven and forgotten were the cuisine up to snuff. This, however, is clearly not the case. I don't mean to imply that the food is bad... far from it. The offerings here are good, in some cases quite good. But as is often the case when an eatery makes the leap to larger, more prestigious quarters, something -- namely the vittles -- tends to get lost in the shuffle.

Apart from the perfectly grilled asparagus spears, the vegetable plate lacks both taste and technique. Prodigious portions of grilled and steamed veggies surrounded an epicenter of steamed spinach. The only seasoning is a splash of balsamic vinegar... It is strictly the bland leading the bland, neither a feast for the eye nor the palate. The sea scallops are infinitely better; beautifully seared, rich and meaty, they are set on a pillow of fava bean purée and embellished with red pepper coulis. The only quibble here is that all the appetizer allocations appear to be quite large, a subtle and, at times, not so subtle indication that quantity may be nudging out quality in a culinary photo finish.

Entrées are even more massive in scope than their predecessors and are something of a mixed bag. The sautéed red snapper is wonderfully moist and delicious, topped with jumbo lump crab, and consummated with a tomato and basil infused olive oil. Conversely, the tenderloin of veal, a daily special, leaves a good deal to be desired. Thick slices encircle a huge gorgonzola potato cake, with Provençal vegetables and forest mushrooms in supporting roles... But several of the veal slices are the next thing to raw and not particularly tender.

Dessert-wise, the goat cheesecake with port wine syrup is acceptable but nothing more.

It should also be noted that tariffs, like the spiffed up décor, have become the objects of a rather spirited gentrification. Consider, if you will, a whopping $42.00 price tag for Heatwave's version of surf n' turf, $29.95 for the aforementioned veal special, $28.95 for the sautéed red snapper, several desserts over the $8.00 mark, and the addition of three-course and five-course tasting menus that will set you back $48.00 and $60.00, respectively.

When you start charging major league prices, you've got to have the goods to back them up. And, thus far, the Heatwave Café seems to be somewhat deficient on that score. The quality of its food and service are simply not in the same league as several other worthy contenders in the immediate area -- Brandl in Belmar, Whispers in Spring Lake, and the Mahogany Grille in Manasquan, for instance, come immediately to mind.

The Heatwave Café's new home is most impressive... but the cuisine could still benefit from a bit of renovation.

The Artful Diner

May 2003