Some of my best friends and I reunited earlier this week by–you guessed it– going out for dinner! I missed them tons while we were all at our respective colleges, so it’s wonderful to be home with them! Yet again, we found ourselves in Red Bank, and this time we tried Robinson Ale House.

Every time I’d passed it before, I thought to myself, “Wow, that place looks super trendy” and it is super trendy! Robinson Ale House has a very city vibe with lots of dark leather, wood, exposed brick, and gorgeous glass lamps hanging from the ceiling.

We were all being indecisive (mostly me.. I am very very indecisive especially when it comes to food..) and couldn’t decide what to order, so we decided to order a bunch of things and share it family style. I admit, we may have gone a bit overboard. We just figured they would bring out the salad and appetizer first then bring out the entrees after, but everything came at once. 5 entrees, 4 people, small table– just a tad bit overwhelming. I looked like a fool getting up from my seat and traveling over to the other side of the table to get good pictures of each dish, but you gotta do what ya gotta do.

Our not appetizer/appetizer was Crispy Calamari with fried hot cherry peppers and a creamy lemon aioli sauce and classic marinara sauce for dipping. I didn’t try the peppers because I’m a total wimp when it comes to spice, but the calamari was everything that good calamari should be. It was fried to crispy perfection and not at all greasy. I also loved both of the delicious dipping sauces which complemented each other and the calamari beautifully.

The Robinson’s Salad was made with mesclun greens, feta, walnuts, dried cranberries, crisp slices of Granny Smith apple. I loved the mix of textures with the sweet bite the apples gave the salad, the creamy crumbles of feta cheese, crunch from the walnuts and the sweet little cranberry gems throughout. It was a great salad which almost made me feel healthy while I ate my weight in other delicious food.

The Veggie Risotto was filled with lots of seasonal vegetables– broccoli, carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. The risotto was cooked in a warm and flavorful stock which made it thick and gave it an almost creamy texture. The rice was perfectly cooked so it was tender but not mushy. It was buttery but not too heavy because of all the fresh vegetables. Yummm…

Next was the Twin Filet Medallions. A rich demi glace sauce was poured over two beautifully grilled rounds of medium-rare filet mignon. The tender, juicy steak sat on a bed of smashed potatoes which were topped with grilled asparagus. If you were curious as some of my friends were, the difference between smashed and mashed potatoes is not just a squished potato as one of my friends thought (which caused quite a hilarious controversy), but smashed potatoes have the skin while mashed don’t!

The Cavatelli was probably my favorite of all the things we ordered! The pasta was mixed with broccoli and sun-dried tomato, lots of garlic, olive oil, and salty pecorino cheese. I love cavatelli, a thick and chewy pasta shape, and the sun-dried tomatoes really escalated the traditional cavatelli and broccoli that I’ve had before at Italian restaurants.

Then, because we are gross human beings, we finished our meal with crepes at Whipped Creperie. The crepes there are always to die for. I loved indulging in a Mixed Berry Crepe with Nutella that my friend and I shared. You just can’t go wrong when there’s nutella involved, let’s be real.

P.S. Just wanted to let you all know that I wrote this post as I watched my dog bark at a single peanut which fell under the couch. Just thought you’d like to know. Good day.

Enjoy!  Love, The Perky Foodie