Musings: High School Reunion, the Musical
I was supposed to meet my friends at their Belmar bed and breakfast at 7:00 pm, but I didn’t end up leaving my friend’s house in Manasquan until exactly 7:00. With the exception of surprise parties, job interviews, movie premieres, and New Kids on the Block concerts, I usually show up to most things 15 minutes after the posted start time. I’m a New Yorker, and everyone knows that nothing in the City starts on time. But now I was in a rush, beads of sweat saturating the corkscrew curls along my hairline, and frantically texting, “In cab. Be there in 15 minutes.” The left strap of my lemon yellow sundress had disengaged itself from the neckline and was now flapping in the wind. I hoped this wasn’t an indication of how the rest of the night was going to go.
I was at the Jersey Shore for my ten year high school reunion (which I will admit to attending, even at the risk of revealing my age — for better or worse). Freehold Township High School had foregone the usual local reunion locations, like Van’s Freehold Inn (Rte. 79, Freehold, NJ) and the Freehold Gardens Hotel (Rte. 537 and Gibson Place, Freehold, NJ), where we had our Sweet Sixteens and Bat Mitzvahs (and later snuck up to the roof for mischief during our teens), for a much more alluring, if not swankier, location. If it hadn’t recently been monsoon season in the Northeast, it probably would have worked out beautifully. Drinks with the old track team on Saturday night, sunbathing in Manasquan on Sunday morning. Instead, the forecast provided for nothing but torrential downpour. But the rain didn’t wash away the anticipation.
I picked up my high school best friend Amy and her fiance, Reid, at the Morning Dove Inn in Belmar (204 Fifth Avenue, Belmar, NJ, 732.556.0777). I’m generally perturbed by the fact that we are old enough to have fiances and husbands, and probably more perturbed that we are now staying in bed and breakfasts…and liking it. Our friend Becky from high school was also there, and looked the same with long flowing brown hair hitting the middle of her back, the only new addition a sparkling sapphire engagement band on her left finger.
We showed up at 507 Main (507 Main Street, Belmar, NJ, 732.681.6301), precariously entering the back room and looking around. Freak Nasty’s “Da Dip” was playing, and the DJ continued with other such tunes as were only popular in 1999 all night long. I’m not sure what I was expecting. But everyone looked the same. Some people had gotten fat, the stress of children taking its toll. Some people had gotten thin, their OCD having gotten worse in the years since graduation. But for the most part, the football team still looked like the football team. The nerds were still the nerds. The hottest guy in school was now actually just a fat blob, but still acted like he was still the hottest guy in school. And everyone broke off immediately into the same cliques that they had formed ten years before. And although I had long forgotten any grudges that I had against people, apparently old grudges were still alive as well.
I found my fellow nerds immediately and spent the entire three hour open bar in the corner with them and a magical constantly refilling pint of Smithwick’s, rehashing old times and generally talking smack. What’s interesting is that there is no real need for a high school reunion. The people you never talked to in high school, you’re still not going to talk to 10 years later. Facebook and other social media have completely eliminated the need to show up to a bar at the Jersey Shore to oogle who has gotten fat, or to see if you’re actually the one who has gotten fat. I already know which high school sweethearts are married, and who just had a new baby. Its easy to declare mutiny, like Manalapan High School recently did. When presented with the option of spending $140 per person to have their reunion at a hotel in Eatontown, New Jersey, only 20 people signed up. The reunion was subsequently cancelled, and the unofficial reunion committee is in the process of organizing an unofficial reunion.
At 9:55 pm, Kelly, in tow with my friends from college, crashed my high school reunion. And just like that the past collided with the present. The party was over. After all, in adult world, you turn into a pumpkin when the open bar is over.
Afternoon Delight for Carnivores – Snapple Big Apple BBQ Review
It could best be described as a meat orgy. Hundreds of New Yorkers, sweating through their ironic T-Shirts together in a fountain turned off specifically for this occasion gnawed on sausage and ribs and brisket, sauce dripping down their faces and fingers. As I snapped pictures, people barely noticed my presence, more entranced in their Kansas City BBQ Ribs than in how their hair looked for their photo op. The Romans could not have created a better scene — it was pure gluttony, pure ecstasy…and fabulously of all, it was right in Madison Square Park.
Kelly and I went to the 7th Annual Snapple Big Apple BBQ on Sunday, June 14th, and it could be described as nothing short of a carnivore’s delight. We braved the lines, heat, smoke, and immediate danger to our arteries for the love of brisket and pulled pork, and let me tell you — it was worth it.
Calling all 'cue fans! (c) Alaina Morgan, 2009.
If I had to do this all over again, I would probably have gone with multiple people and ordered a BBQ Fun Pass in advance (these had to be purchased by May 31st on the website). They came with $100 pre-loaded and a special express line. All in all, however, I found most people’s advance warnings to be histrionic. Their warnings that the lines were an hour and a half long were extreme exaggerations. Kelly and I didn’t wait at all for Brisket at Hill Country BBQ, waited about 15 minutes for Pulled Pork at Blackjack BBQ, and waited about 10 minutes for a Brownie a la mode from Blue Smoke Desserts.
Our first food stop was Hill Country, located on which was serving Brisket and Cool as a Cucumber Salad, and surprisingly did not have a line in front of it. Hill Country is notorious for long waits in their NYC restaurant so it was surprising that there were no lines out front. But, this is exactly the type of situation Hill Country staff is equipped for — enormous lines of people — since that’s the way their restaurant is set up. At any rate, no complaints for me. We grabbed our Brisket ($8), which included lean and “moist” (a.k.a. fatty) selections, and walked over to our second stop, Blackjack BBQ.
The moist brisket had a bit too much fat for my taste, but the lean brisket had the perfect ratio of meat to fat with a buttery melt-in-your-mouth consistency. Complimented beautifully by Hill Country’s BBQ sauce and sweet yet vinegary cool as a cucumber salad, it was the perfect “snack” to have while waiting on line for our second meal of the day — Blackjack BBQ’s Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw.
Although Blackjack BBQ, which is based in Charleston, SC , had a fifteen minute wait, it was worth it for one reason — the sauce. The pulled pork ($8) was tender and salty, but could have used additional smoking. The cole slaw was crispy and fresh, but lacked flavor. But the sauce! Blackjack used their “Special Reserve” Butterscotch Bourbon sauce over the Pulled Pork which will mask anything. I am considering investing in a bottle and bringing it with me to all functions. Mother in law’s cooking is notoriously bad? Add Blackjack Butterscotch Bourbon sauce. College cafeteria on the top 100 worst places to eat in America list? Add Blackjack Butterscotch Bourbon sauce. The stuff is magic, both sweet and savory at the same time with a complex burnt sugar finish. I’m glad I waited on line for this sole reason.
We also took a trek over to the Blue Smoke Desserts tent (Blue Smoke is located at 116 East 27th Street bn Lexington and Park) where I ate a brownie covered in ice cream ($4 for the brownie, $4 for the a la mode). It was unremarkable mostly because the brownie appeared to be a grocery store brownie of some sort covered in Edy’s Ice Cream (Edy’s Slow Churned Yogurt Blends was a sponsor, so I dont see why the regular Edy’s Ice Cream cost $4 extra, but desperate times call for desperate measures). Shake Shack, if it had been open, would have been a better bet.
I unfortunately did not partake in the beer garden because I had unrealistic expectations of going for a run in Central Park after going to the Barbecue. Obviously after stuffing myself with Brisket, Pulled Pork, and half a Brownie with Ice Cream, this was nothing but a fantasy. Although I should have gone running, the only sport I engaged in was competitive napping. However, this is where the Fun Pass would have come in most handy, because the lines were the longest for beer not BBQ (go figure).
All in all, the Snapple Big Apple BBQ was a hit. Avoid at all costs if you are agoraphobic, hate big crowds, or are a vegetarian or vegan of some sort (although I did spot a woman eating sushi rice balls).
