Vince’s
brings new look, attitude to shore dining
SEA ISLE CITY -- Jim Henry’s grandfather, Vince Mollo, wouldn’t recognize the
place, but chances are he would request the second-floor table in the right
corner of the dining room.
See, Vince was a lucky man. As he and his wife, Annette, made their way from
Europe to America aboard the liberty ship “George Davis” following World War II,
Vince won a large pot of money during a card game and arrived in the states with
a good chunk of change. He opened Vince’s Submarine Sandwich Shop in June, 1946,
on 41st and Landis, then moved it to the beach block on JFK Boulevard.
Sixty years after starting the family business, Henry, a Wildwood Catholic and
Academy of Culinary Arts graduate, was scheduled to open the newly renovated
Vince’s, an upscale restaurant with a beautiful view of the beach, in June 2006.
But then came delays and red tape, and Henry wasn’t able to open until Nov. 30,
missing the strength of the summer tourism season, Sea Isle’s Fall Family
Festival that takes place on the restaurant’s doorstep, the city’s Columbus Day
weekend celebration, and the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.
Henry was thinking grandpa Vince had taken all the family’s good luck with him
until he realized opening on time could have been a disaster.
“Thinking about it now, it actually worked out better. To open right before the
Fourth of July weekend with a new restaurant in a new kitchen with a new staff
would have been a nightmare,” said the Sea isle native. “Now I’m glad it opened
when it did. We were able to start slow, work out the kinks and get things to
where we want them.”
Now, in the heart of the slow season, Vince’s is actually enjoying a nice
little
run up until they’re ready to go full throttle this summer.
“We were actually sold out for New Year’s Eve,” Henry said, as we walked through
his second-floor dining room that overlooks Sea Isle’s Promenade and beachfront.
“These tables right here are already gaining a reputation. People enjoy dining
next to the ocean; it’s relaxing, soothing, and we’re the only place in Sea Isle
where you can do that,” he said. “People watched the fireworks on New year’s Eve
right from their table. People already reserved some of these (oceanfront)
tables for next year.”
Anyone who remembers the old Vince’s won’t recognize the new one, with its roomy
dining areas, 120-seat capacity (compared to the old 50-seat building) and tile
flooring on the first level and wall-to-wall carpeting on the second floor.
When Henry and his wife, Patricia, were on their honeymoon in Hawaii in March
2005, as the new Vince’s was taking shape, they took a special liking to a
restaurant’s décor and borrowed some ideas.
“We saw some really cool things there. We were there for two weeks, and we wrote
some things down and brought them home to talk to our interior decorator about.
There was one place, Mama’s Fish House on the north shore of Maui, where we got
some real good ideas, and it worked perfectly for us. Now I really enjoy seeing
the people who came to our old place walk in here and see their reaction. It’s
priceless to see the expression on their faces,” he said.
Henry is the type of chef who likes to interact with his customers, talk to them
about their likes and dislikes.
“I’m a big fan of doing that,” he said.
So it was there that the motivation came to go bigger, more upscale, and most
importantly, year-round.
“More and more people are coming down to the shore on a more regular basis.
They’re paying half a million to a million dollars for shore property, and
they’re only going to use it in the summer?” he said. “Now they come down a
couple times a month, especially with the (unseasonably mild) weather we’ve been
having, and they want to know why everything’s closed. Things are changing.”
So much so that Henry had planned to close one floor in the off-season and just
serve on the first floor.
“But we’ve been selling out both floors on Friday and Saturday nights, so now we
keep both floors open,” he said. “It’s been great.”
As for the menu, Henry said, “We wanted it to be comfortable, recognizable.
Simple’s not the right word, but understandable. I hate going to a restaurant
and, even though I’ve been a chef for 20 years, not know what the heck something
is on the menu. Sometimes they work too hard to over-impress customers. If you
do it simply and you use top-quality products, you can’t go wrong.”
Henry said some of the fastest moving items on the menu include his appetizers
Fried Calamari, Angus Steak Skewers and Coconut Shrimp, and entrées like Ravioli
Patricia (named for his wife), Real Deal Sesame Crusted Tuna, Kansas City Veal
Strip Steak, Vince’s House Favorite (see “On the Menu”) and the Chicken
Bruschetta.
“The Chicken Bruschetta seems to be my dad’s favorite. He’s the main reason we
finally got this place open, he was the patience behind the scene. Patient I am
not,” Henry said. “My parents (Tom and Loretta) were extremely instrumental in
how everything turned out.”
Of the appetizers that are moving well, Henry said a twist on an old-fashioned
favorite is winning over customers.
“The Fried Calamari, I have to say, is the best around. It’s different than
anyone else’s,” he said.
Henry fries the calamari rings until light and crispy, then serves them with a
hot pepper and tomato salsa made of sliced hot cherry peppers, olive oil,
garlic, tomatoes and basil.
“It’s out of this world,” he said, “very tasty.”
Henry said there will be some additions this spring like special events for
Mother’s Day and Easter, and he’ll be changing the menu quarterly to stay
creative and competitive.
“My father and I had a conversation the other day about how we like the way
everything was working and what needs to be changed,” he said. “There are some
minor things that happened ands we were able to deal with them. We’re still
tweaking things. This has been a great time of year to open to get everything
worked out for when crunch time comes.”
Rob Seitzinger can be
e-mailed or you can comment on
this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Published online: Jan. 24, 2006
| Vince’s Restaurant 25 JFK Boulevard Sea Isle City 08243 263-4567 Breakfast served Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dinner served Thursday through Sunday 4:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. Hours expanding beginning in April. Early-bird special menu offered from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Takeout available BYOB (wine and beer only) Street parking Major credit cards accepted Reservations accepted Catering, private parties available Capacity: 120 |
Customer favorites:
Appetizers – Fried Calamari (lightly fried calamari rings served with a
hot pepper and tomato salsa, $9), Coconut Shrimp (tempura battered
shrimp served with raspberry and mango coulis, $10), Angus Steak Skewers
(sliced angus steak grilled and served with a peanut Thai dipping sauce,
$9), Wood Grilled Chicken Quesadilla (marinated chicken sliced and
topped with pepper jack and cheddar cheese with a tomato salsa and
cilantro sour cream, $8). Entrees—Kansas City Veal Strip Steak (bone-in
strip with broccoli rabe and jumbo lump crab with a rosemary sauce,
$35), Chicken Bruschetta (sautéed and topped with bruschetta and
mozzarella served over bow-tie pasta, $19), Real Deal Sesame Crusted
Tuna (pan-seared rare with wakami, pickled ginger, wasabi and soy, $23),
Ravioli Patricia (jumbo cheese ravioli in a rosa sauce topped with jumbo
lump crab, $22), Vince’s House Favorite (14-ounce 1855 brand premium
angus strip steak blackened and topped with blue cheese and jumbo lump
crabmeat, $34). All entrees are served with vegetable and rice or
potato. Children’s Menu: ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken fingers, all $5 and include a scoop of ice cream. |
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