Lucky Bones adds new dimension to Cape dining scene
What everyone sees are old dwellings going down and new construction going up, more condos and fewer hotel rooms, and a change from what was known as the traditional tourist to the modern day Jersey Shore visitor.
What’s a business person to do? Evolve.
That has been the message at tourism conferences and meetings where tourism officials warn business owners of the changing demographic. One difference from the traditional vacation at the Jersey Shore is families don’t go out to dinner as often as they used to, especially for fancy meals with white linen table cloths and $35 entrées.
Not after forking over a couple grand for a week’s stay.
It began a couple summers ago when restaurants began offering take-home meals at less than half the cost than it would take to haul the family out for dinner. Trays of pasta were sold and accompanied by loaves of bread and salads for less than $25, when a comparable meal at a restaurant would inch close to $100 for a family of four or five.
In Cape May, when the Craig family—owners of The Washington Inn restaurant and Love the Cook retail shops around the county—did not renew its lease for The Pelican Club at the Marquis de Lafayette, they went for a new venture at the former failed Restaurant 1919. Their decision on what kind of restaurant to open goes directly against the grain of what Cape May was known for —fine dining and gourmet meals. What they came up with is Lucky Bones, a family-friendly kind of pub atmosphere with fun finger foods and sandwiches as well as full-course dinners.
“We decided to let go of the white table cloths and give something that families could enjoy,” said owner/manager David Craig. “Lucky Bones is a place to get something light or a full-course meal. We designed the menu around that concept where you can get burgers and sandwiches, brick oven pizza, soups, or appetizers or sharing plates, but you can also get dinner.”
Again, catering to the family that wants a little something of everything.
“We really felt there was a void in the market for that type establishment. Not everyone wants to do gourmet on a particular night, then this is the way to go,” Craig said. “The traveler is more casual now. He no longer wears long pants and (sport coats), and he needs to be able to make a decision relatively quickly on where to go to eat. The whole idea is to make the restaurant appeal to a lot of different people.”
Weeks after their grand opening, Craig said that is exactly the clientele Lucky Bones is attracting. Early-birds looking for light fare, then some more serious diners, and later in the evening, late-night snackers looking for live entertainment.
“The crowds have been great, and it’s been really great to see people coming from the Crest, from Lower, from around the Cape to experience something different,” Craig said. “It’s a good place to come for something quick and easy, or to sit and relax for awhile. I have three kids under the age of 5, so I know how it is. My wife and I go to Stumpo’s once a week in summertime, so we know how it is when a family goes on vacation and you try to go out to dinner. We understand that, and we try to make it easier for them.”
The menu is an interesting mix of 12 appetizers/sharing plate items, nine salads, three soups, 13 entrées, five burgers/sandwiches and eight varieties of brick-oven pizza—not including a kids menu.
Unique items like Grilled Veggie Burger, Bison Burger, Cuban Spiced U-Peel Shrimp Cocktail and Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad complement the pub-like fare of Back Water Grill Super Nachos, Anchorage Fish and Chips, Large House Cut Fries, Stuffed Chicken Breast, Lucky Bones Baby Back Ribs and Crab and Shrimp Cakes.
“Plus we have Kathy Cressman (the pastry chef at The Washington Inn) providing the desserts, and we have a listing of some delicious $20 wines that we can recommend to the customer. The whole idea is someone can get a salad and a pizza, and if their dining partner wants filet, they can do that,” Craig said. “Any palate, any hunger level can come in and be satisfied. You go to some pubs and you get the Cisco fried food in a box; not here. All our fries are fresh cut and fried in zero trans-fat oil. In fact, all items here are made with zero trans-fat oils, all seafood is breaded here in house, all desserts are made right here or at The Washington Inn. This is pub food at a high quality.”
Even the pizza went through vigorous research before the final product. More than 5,000 sample pie crusts were tested before settling on just the right mix, and now eight specialty pies come out of the brick oven that cooks at 700 degrees and finishes a pizza in three minutes, with a thin and crispy crust that snaps with every bite.
“We are trying to get the food out in a fast fashion, and we have the same high level of service we always had, and that’s because we were able to keep a lot of the staff from The Pelican Club,” Craig said.
Probably the most difficult thing they encountered in getting the new restaurant up and running was deciding on a name.
“Being on Schellenger’s Landing and on an island with a rich tradition of maritime, during our research we came across the name Lucky Bones,” Craig said.
Apparently, in the 18th and 19th centuries, local whalers wore a lot of different types of charms and trinkets to try to bring them good luck on their expeditions.
“And one source we came across said these watermen would wear an odd, hook-like claw that can only be found in the male horseshoe crab, and they would refer to them as lucky bones,” he said. “We figured it couldn’t hurt to have some good luck thrown in.”
So far, they haven’t needed it.
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed at
seitz[at]catamaranmedia.com or you can
comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Lucky Bones Backwater Grille
1200 Route 109 South
Cape May
884-2663 (BONE)
ON THE MENU
HOURS: Serving meals all day from 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., dinners begin
at 4:30 and are served until 9 p.m. Late-night menu will be offered from
9 p.m. until 1 a.m. sometime soon, but for now, pizza is the only
late-night choice. Happy hour is from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
with half-price drinks. Tuesday is half-price pizza after 9 p.m., and DJ
Walden is in the house every Wednesday.
PARKING: On premises.
CREDIT CARDS: All major cards accepted.
CAPACITY: 200.
TOP SELLERS (with comments from owner David Craig):
Lucky Bones Baby Back Ribs, $19, full rack: “The baby backs are really hot right now. They’re great the way (chef) Wally (Jurusz) blanches them, then adds a chipotle Cuban spice dry rub and bakes with a barbecue sauce for a tangy kick. They’re really, really savory.”
Bison Burger, $8.50, Six-ounce lean burger with choice of bacon, mushrooms, onions, provolone, Swiss, American or blue cheese. “Bison burgers are really selling well. All the burgers (Lucky Bones Burger and Grilled Veggie Burger) are selling well, but I think people are interested in trying something new with the bison burger.”
Brick Oven Roasted Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip, $8, served with pita chips. “This has been the real surprise. It’s been real popular since we opened our doors.”
Crab and Shrimp Cake Sandwich, $11, with lettuce, tomato, red onion and tartar. “You can get the shrimp and crab cake as an entrée and as a sandwich. It’s one of the items we brought over from the Pelican Club, along with Chef Wally’s Grilled Cuban Spice Rubbed Pork Chop, because they were a few of the favorites over there.”
Classic Jule Pizza, $9.5, sausage, roasted peppers, rosemary, tomato mozzarella. “That’s our biggest selling pizza by far, and that’s nice because it’s named for a dear family friend, Jule Hober, who owned the Coachman and Rusty Nail, and who passed away this past year.”
KID’S MENU: Includes chicken fingers ($7), mac and cheese ($5), pasta ($5), fried shrimp ($8), fried clams ($8), and salad ($1.50). Also offers specialty drinks like the Blue Water Freeze (blue raspberry smoothie, $4), Strawberry Crush (berry power, $4) and pink lemonade ($2.5) and Stewart’s Root Beer ($2.5).
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed
at seitz[at]catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by
calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Check out his Cape Cuisine food blog