A  festive holiday display of stuffed breads at Pat’s Market, above, and the chicken parm, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Pat’s Market, a butcher shop and deli on Newman Springs Road in Lincroft, sells only Bell and Evans chickens.

Because they’re raised organically, and antibiotic-free, on farms in Pennsylvania, that was all the bait PieHole needed for a quick and, maybe, healthier lunch option.

It’s hard to miss the bright, hand painted windows of Pat’s Market. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

Pat’s offers a range of butcher meats, including turkey and chicken breasts marinated in a Jack Daniels-infused medium or lemon-basil mix. A momentary distraction from our lunch quest left us gawking at the home-kitchen possibilities in the deli and meat cases.

But rumbling bellies brought us back to why we stopped here in the first place.

An extensive menu of sandwiches and subs, with names such as the Henry Hill (chicken cutlet, prosciutto, fresh mozarella, roasted red peppers and balsamic vinegar) and the Diddy (roast beef, Swiss cheese with horseradish sauce and southwestern seasoning) left us perplexed.

Turning back to the butcher case, we asked about a shelf laden with breads featuring a variety of fillings.

Not a sandwich, not quite a hot sub, but more like a calzone in the shape of an oversized eggroll, the chicken parm stuffed bread was appealing.

Encased in a thin, savory pizza-style dough, the hero-sized bread contained chunks of fried, unbreaded chicken surrounded by a mild marinara sauce with a creamy mixture of melted mozzarella and provolone. The somewhat crunchy crust was a terrific vessel for the gooey mixture. For $8 it was a substantially filling lunch.

The convenience of a quick grab n’ go lunch and the option to pick up something to prepare for dinner at the same time makes life easier and will bring us back again.

Pat’s Market is located in a strip mall on the east side of Newman Springs Road in Lincroft. Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; to 5 p.m. Saturday, and to 2 p.m. Sunday.