I said goodbye to summer last week and there was no better way to do it than with a celebratory dinner to  at my favorite Jersey Shore restaurant – The Beach Creek in Wildwood. I recently did a post about the Beach Creek, but had to share some photos of my recent dinner there. As always, the service was fantastic, the food was fresh and perfect – and the decadent homemade desserts the staff generously sent ove were AMAZING! 🙂

The Beach Creek is open until Columbus Day weekend and will re-open for next season in May.

14 ounce broiled Australian lobster tail.
Maryland crab cakes.
Mahi Mahi.
Cheesecake.
Creme brulee.
Until next summer, XOXO!
Jumbo lump crab cakes.
Last year, I wrote a post about my favorite restaurant in Cape May, The Pier House. (Click here to see the full article.) I’ve been there a few more times since then and just had to update my post with some recent photos! It’s still fabulous and still my favorite place in Cape May and here’s why: the food is fresh, amazing and plentiful, and the atmosphere is casual and relaxed but still upscale, offering an area where you can dine outside directly across from the ocean. 
Dinner outside at the Pier House.
I’ve also discovered that The Pier House has some really tasty crab cakes – where have these been all my life? Normally, I am hesitant to order crab cakes when I am dining out because they’re always so hit or miss. The crab cakes at the Pier House were all crab meat, not filler, and the panko breading differentiated them from others at the Jersey shore. I also loved the presentation: two crab cakes topped with Yukon gold mashed potatoes, jumbo grilled shrimp and a sun dried tomato tortilla crisp with wasabi crema and a lemon buerre blanc sauce. 
Crab cakes on another occasion – still amazing.
The lamb lollichops appetizer was plentiful enough to be enjoyed as a meal. The lamb was so tender and the glaze perfection – eating these made me feel like it was Easter Sunday (we have lamb chops) and Christ had risen (again).
Lamb Lollichops appetizer: port wine, lavendar glaze and feta cheese.
 While we were enjoying the lamb appetizers, I heard two couples at a table behind me talking about how they travel to the Pier House just to get “Mr. E’s Veal Porterhouse” entree – a veal chop with shrimp scampi, leeks, roasted peppers, Greek rice pilaf and steamed vegetables. They weren’t wrong – it was amazing. 
Last but certainly not least, I wrote about how the watermelon salad was my favorite at the shore. It still is and holds the top spot in my heart for my favorite summer salad. I was almost tempted to ask them where they get their feta cheese, it’s the creamiest smoothest feta around. I’ve only tasted feta cheese like this at one other place: Taverna Kyclades in Astoria, Queens. (That blog will be coming soon!) Taverna and the Pier House are the closest things to Greece I’ve had, and they really make me want to take a trip there. Until then, my next mission is to try the Pier House for breakfast or lunch – if I can ever get myself off of the beach.

My favorite salad ever.
Enjoy!
Scallops Sante Fe from the Beach Creek
 The Beach Creek in Wildwood, NJ has always been one of my favorite restaurants at the shore. Located on the waterfront at Schooner Landing, the Beach Creek has it all – good food, great service, and a beautiful ambiance. 
The  Beach Creek offers outdoor seating on a deck overlooking the bay (see photo below), where they also have an outdoor bar with live music nightly. They offer a generous selection of cocktails and a raw bar. 
The diverse menu at the Beach Creek features generous portions of fresh seafood, pasta, steak and more. I’ve been there many times through the years and I’ve never, not once, had a bad meal there. They offer a bruschetta spread with Italian semolina bread and have a delicious house salad with strawberries and goat cheese. My favorite entree is the Scallops Sante Fe (photo above) – a Southwestern flavored dish with large cumin and cornmeal dusted scallops over a green onion risotto cake in a jalapeno cream sauce.

Bread basket with complimentary bruschetta topping.

My sister dreams of the Hog Chop, a special, seasonal dish that we’re going to be traveling back there for before the end of the summer. (It’s def worth a 4 hour drive.) The Beach Creek also has some of the beat desserts that I’ve had at the shore. The chocolate chip bread pudding is my favorite, and is offered as part of a three course pre-fix menu for early birds for only $25. Do not leave without getting dessert there! 

Notably, the staff at the Beach Creek has always been very pleasant and strives to make your experience a pleasurable one. They are very knowledgeable about the menu and specials. When my family went to the Beach Creek for my mother’s 60th birthday earlier this year, they even sent her home with a bouquet of flowers. If you go, just beware that they do NOT take reservations and the wait can get long at times (luckily there is that great outdoor bar area!) Here are some photos of some of the great food we’ve enjoyed there.

Sicilian Calamari: fried calamari with hot peppers, onions and herbs in a spicy tomato sauce.
My mom’s birthday, inside at the Beach Creek. (It was FREEZING that weekend at the shore, so no alfresco dining!)
Osso Bucco special.
New England Clam chowder and house salad with goat cheese, walnuts and strawberries.
My sister’s favorite: The Hog Chop – 16 oz double cut pork chop with rosemary infused demi-glace on smoked bacon-potato risotto and sauteed spinach. 
Maple Glazed Duckling – duck glazed with Vermont maple syrup over whipped sweet potatoes and garlic spinach.  
Seafood a la Vodka – scallops, crab meat and jumbo shrimp served  over fettuccine in a vodka sauce.
Shrimp Asperge – shrimp with asparagus tips and diced tomatoes tossed over angel hair pasta  in a garlic Zinfandel sauce.
Peach and blueberry cobbler.
Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding.
Enjoy!
As summer becomes a distant memory and the abundance of melons and summer squash come to an end, there is one salad and restaurant I am going to be dreaming about all winter. The watermelon and feta salad from the Pier House in Cape May, NJ. This restaurant claimed a spot in my heart as my favorite place at the Jersey Shore.

Pier House Watermelon and Feta Salad.
The watermelon and feta salad was by far the essence of summer. It combines all of the freshest flavors of season summer ingredients into one dish. This huge tower was like a dream of refreshing, watery goodness: watermelon, creamy feta, cherry tomatoes, grapes, cucumbers, arugula, walnuts and mint in a honey dressing. And if this tower is too much for you to handle and you want to share it, the restaurant will happily serve you a smaller portion.

Everything else at the Pier House was equally as good and it was an absolute pleasure to dine there. The service was, by far, the best I’ve experienced at the shore. The staff is patient, kind and attentive. The restaurant is even family friendly, with kids receiving perks such as fresh popped popcorn. 
The inside of the restaurant is clean and modern, but warm. The outdoor patio offers the perfect beachy atmosphere, with the ocean just a street away. They even have portable heaters and bug spray upon request, if needed!
Most importantly, the food at the Pier House was just out of this world and blew me away. The Pier House offers a lengthy menu of Mediterranean inspired dishes and reasonably priced in comparison to some other upscale restaurants in Cape May. Below are some photos from our visits to the Pier House
Pier House Bread Basket with house made Kalamata Olive Hummus.
Pier House Chicken Avgolemono Soup

Pier House Lumb Crab & Avocado Mangotini

Pier House grilled Octopus with lemon, oregano and olive oil.

Pier House Macho Tuna:
spicy seared tuna over a crisp wonton with wasabi crema, seasame vinaigrette, micro greens and tomato relish.
Mahi Mahi Plaki (greek soul food)
Lemon, xvoo oregano potatoes, 3 onion garlic tomato simmer, greek olives, baby arugula and a lemon.

Swordfish “Skaras”
Swordfish steak, lump crab meat, caper tomato avgolemono, asparagus and yukon gold mashed potatoes.

Sea Bass
Sea Bass steak with “diner” style stewed tomatoes, sauteed spinach, yukon gold crab mashed potatoes, sauce buerre blanc and a shrimp skewer crunch.

Slow Braised Lamb Shank “Kleftiko”
Four hour braise, mavrodaphne wine glaze, lemon xvoo oregano potatoes.

Chocolate Mousse Cake.
Parfait.
Key Lime Pie.
The Pier House is located on 1327 Beach Avenue in Cape May, NJ, at the La Mar Hotel. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served and the restaurant is open year round. 
Enjoy!