Susan Ericson’s food blog, Flavor Chronicles/Chefs in Motion has additional coverage. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Mouse-over to pause.)
They came for the wine with local restaurateur Vic Rallo and stayed for the food trucks, beer and make-your-own bloody Mary’s Saturday at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre, hosting its second annual ‘Appetite‘ food festival.
The action continues Sunday under the theme of ‘Blues and Brews,’ spotlighting craft beers, artisanal cheeses, butcher Stew Goldstein – offering a demo on preparing a pork loin Marco roast – and more. According to the National Weather Service, it’s not going to be a beach day, so why not come out? More details here. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge) 
The Red Bank Street Fair late summer edition returns Sunday. The Count Basie Theatre, below, is home to a weekend-long food extravaganza called ‘Appetite.’ (Click to enlarge)
Friday, September 6:
MIDDLETOWN: The first and third Friday’s of the month mean Teen Art Club at the Middletown Public Library. This twice-monthly teen-led art session requires few tools: a drawing pad and pencil. Teen Art Club begins at 4 p.m. 55 New Monmouth Road.
RED BANK: The Count Basie 365 Cultural Series presents some cool Friday night jazz to cool down the summer heat in the pocket park at Shrewsbury Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard. The concert begins at 7 p.m.
SANDY HOOK: Celebrate the end of summer as the Sandy Hook Foundation presents local caterers, live music and auction items at the End of Summer Party. Proceeds benefit the restoration, maintenance, and education projects of the National Park Service. The farewell to summer runs from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Sandy Hook North Beach.
Andrew Deming makes ice cream to order with liquid nitrogen. A regular at the Red Bank Farmers Market, the Freezy Freeze truck will have a spot in the food truck court at this week’s Appetite event at Count Basie Theatre. (Video by Alexis Orlacchio. Click to enlarge)
By ALEXIS ORLACCHIO
Sugar, spice and… liquid nitrogen? Red Bank’s Freezy Freeze is putting a chemistry-class spin on the traditional ice cream truck.
With the help of liquid nitrogen, what starts out as milk, cream and sugar quickly transforms into creamy, dense ice cream. Photographer-turned-ice cream man Andrew Deming, 37, gives his daughter, Molly, credit for his current profession and blossoming food truck.
“This is all her idea,” said Deming, who said he took the now 7-year-old into an ice cream shop that made ice cream with liquid nitrogen. “She said that being an ice cream man would be a great job, because I always get to make people happy.”
The Deming family began to make ice cream in the kitchen of their Red Bank home, and not long after, decided to bring the frozen treat to the Red Bank Farmers Market.
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna, seen above at a 2007 primary school function featuring his cooking, faces restaurateur Victor Rallo, below, in a stovetop showdown at the Basie next Saturday. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
One’s a municipal chief executive with a “total amateur’s” love of cooking – though he does have a chef’s smock with his name embroidered on the breast.
The other’s a serial restaurateur and wine expert who hosts a TV food show set in lush Italian locales.
The premise: a pasta smackdown cooking event pitting Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna against Victor Rallo, owner of Basil T’s in Red Bank, Undici Taverna Rustica in Rumson – and newsboy-cap wearing star of ‘Eat! Drink! Italy‘ on public TV.
The Saturday-night faceoff, on the stage of the venerable Count Basie Theatre, is one of the highlights of a four-day food smorgasbord – dubbed Appetite – that also features wine tastings, Scotch and bourbon swilling, a bevy of food trucks, screenings of food-themed movies and more.
