On my weekend visit to South Jersey to see my Mom for her birthday I also went along with her for a Birthday lunch for our Aunt Claire (my Great Aunt – her Aunt). We picked up my Aunt T.R. and then Mommom and headed down to the shore to pick up Aunt Claire.
Once we had Aunt Claire we drove on over to The Tuckahoe Inn. Tuckahoe, literally means “where deer are shy or hard to approach” and was the name of the Lenni-Lenape, Indian Nation. They were the Tuckahoes. If you are interested in the history of The Tuckahoe Inn, King Nummy, or maybe Beasley Point you should check out the restaurants website or you could even “friend” them on Facebook (strange).
I took this photo from their website – it has great views of the water from the dining room!
The Early Bird Catches the Worm!
We were there for lunch but we ended up being there in time to choose from the “Early Bird” menu. Score! Surprisingly everyone chose something different.
I chose the crab cake Early Bird dinner. It came with potatoes, vegetable soup or salad AND dessert. The menu described the crab cakes only as “Award Winning” and “Maryland style”. They were named “Chef Tyson’s” as well so I was crossing my fingers that Chef Tyson knew what he was doing. The whole meal was $15.95
The meal came with scalloped sweet white potatoes and a zucchini and squash medley. It did not dissapoint – the crab cakes were good. There was almost no “cake” to the crab cake – nice big chunks of crab meat all throughout. Although they are labeled “Award Winning” they aren’t THAT spectacular. They are are good and I would recommend them if something was ALREADY going there but, I would not recommend a “cross state lines” trip for these.
Mom chose the Carbonara. The menu said it was: Prosciutto ham sautéed with garlic in a creamy parmesan cheese sauce over penne pasta, finished with three shredded cheeses, oven browned. Her meal came with dessert as well for $10.95
Aunt T.R. felt a little traditional and went with the Turkey Dinner – Slow roasted turkey breast, with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. (and dessert) $12.50
When Mom asked Mommom what she was going to get she replied excitedly “The Shepherd’s Pie.” I kid you not – she was practically giddy! Her Shepherd’s Pie promised to be – English casserole of beef and vegetables simmered in rich gravy topped with mashed potatoes and baked. (with soup or salad and dessert) $12.25
Aunt Claire who has been to the Early Bird dinner at The Tuckahoe Inn before decided on the Golden Fried Oyster and Char-Grilled Chicken Salad – Plump breaded fried oysters and our char-grilled chicken salad. $14.25. Her meal came with potato, veggies, soup or salad and dessert as well. (to me it seemed like an odd combination fried oysters with a scoop of chicken salad on the same plate – strange.)
Everyone seemed to enjoy their soup or salad and dinners.
Let Them Eat Cake!
All of the dinners came with a surprisingly good choice of desserts.
I got the “House specialty” bread pudding – Bread and raisins baked in rich custard, served with a warm caramelized bourbon sauce, garnished with whipped cream. This WAS something special. The sauce was super tasty and rich and the bread pudding was just right- in my opinion.
Mom and T.R. got a Cream Cheese Crepe. The menu described the dessert as a French, paper-thin, dessert pancakes filled with a lightly sweetened cream cheese, topped with fresh sliced strawberries and bananas served in a sweet glaze.
T.R. and Mom both thought i had some kind of alcohol in the sauce and possibly citrus too. Mom said “Yeah citrus … like Grapefruit!” Not too good – actually it was really disgusting.
Mommom and Aunt Claire had the Lava Cookie Sundae. This cookie was supposed to be A decadent chocolate cookie with a soft fudge brownie-like center with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with melted dark chocolate and garnished with a fresh strawberry. (Mommom offered me a taste and my spoon *clinked* into the cookie and it was rock hard – bummer – I skipped the cookie and scooped a spoonful of ice cream instead.)
All in all it was a pretty good lunch. The only down side was this:
The waitress was MIA and when she finally did come over I asked for water however it took another 15 minutes before she came back…. withOUT the water.
The imaginary stack of $1 bills that I leave on the table for the tip started to peel off the table and onto the floor….and somewhere in there a real $1 bill ended up on the floor and not in the tip for the waitress.
(I wasn’t the one tipping in the end so I am sure she got a big fat lump sum.)
What’s the Damage?
I would give The Tuckahoe Inn 4 stars out of 5 stars. It seems like its got a good set of traditional favorites, good value, and good service.
If you want to check it out here is the info:
The Tuckahoe Inn
1 Harbor Road
Beesley’s Point, New Jersey 08223
Phone: 609-390-3322
Fax: 609-390-0107