Samara Grill Now Open In Wall Township

Recently, I wrote about a new Chicken & Gyro place opening in Brick.

Well, now comes word that Samara Grill, the up-and-coming local chain that boasts "Mediterranean Taste On The Jersey Shore", has opened their 3rd locale. This one is in Wall.

According to the Samara Grill Website, Samara Grill was born out of a deep passion for the culinary arts. The journey began when founder, Sameh, realized his love for cooking and bringing people together through food. Growing up in a household where meals were the heart of every gathering, he developed a keen understanding of the power of a well-cooked dish. Inspired by the rich flavors of his Middle Eastern heritage and the vibrant spices used in traditional dishes, Sameh set out to create a unique dining experience for his community. With dedication and creativity, he worked tirelessly to perfect his recipes and create a warm and inviting ambiance at Samara Grill. Today, Samara Grill proudly serves their guests delicious, authentic Middle Eastern cuisine that reflects their founder's passion and commitment to quality.

If you're anything like me, you are excited by the thought of enjoying an authentic Mediterranean meal, but have anxiety about what to order from the large menu with unfamiliar names. Well, Samara Grill helps to take the stress out of ordering with detailed descriptions of their food on the menu, as well as helpful tips as to what is the most popular dishes. Such as the Kofta Kebab. Ground beef mixed with onion, Parsley, herbs, and Samara Grill's special spices, grilled on skewers. served with rice and salad. Then there is the authentic Beef Gyro. Thin sliced beef marinated in their special blend spices and slowly cooked on stand-up rotisserie. Served with rice and salad.

The new location is at 1034 18th Avenue in Wall Township, inside the popular Robin's Corner Deli, itself a local chain that started with a location in Lakewood. Meanwhile, the other two thriving Samara Grill locations are in Ocean County. One is at 1401 Route 37 in Toms River, while the other is at 1211 Ocean Boulevard in Seaside Heights. The new Samara Grill Wall location is open Wednesday through Monday 11am until 10pm, and closed on Tuesday. You can find their full menu here.

As Summer closes, it would be a missed opportunity as a chubby Toms River resident not to highlight my 5 favorite ice cream shops in Toms River. Honestly, there are more than 5 great places in Toms River and dozens more all over the Jersey Shore. However, I want to spotlight the ones I and my family hit on an all too regular basis.

I have very specific ice cream flavors and textures I go with. Normally I'm pretty daring with my food. For example, I usually will go to a Japanese restaurant, or Asian Fusion joint, and order a sushi roll or cooked dish that I have never had before. Moreover, if there is an opportunity to go spicy, I'll usually take it, sometimes to my detriment. Yet when it comes to ice cream I play it close to the vest. If we are talking soft serve, I'm a vanilla man through and through. Once in a while, I get a taste for the chocolate or orange cream twist, but for the most part, it's soft-serve vanilla in a cup or sugar cone, not a waffle cone guy.

As for hard ice cream, which is the majority of my family's ice cream adventure, I stray far from my wife and both my kids. They all LOVE chocolate chip mint, or mint chocolate chip, or whatever the hell that evil green spearmint concoction is. I loathe it! My teenage son will also go for the wackiest sugar-laden offering in the shop. We're talking about your cotton candy, birthday cake, and cookie monster collection. My daughter is a fixins fan. No matter what she gets, it always has to have something on the top or the bottom. My wife usually does the "surprise me" answer if I'm going on a run. She knows I know, she's a chocoholic of the highest degree.

RELATED: Comfort Food Festival Returns To Downtown Toms River

So the surprise always involves chocolate somewhere. Me? Nope, hard ice cream is a narrow road for me. I like vanilla peanut butter. I like butter crunch, or butter brickle. Don't hate! I have a little love for pistachio, but not enough to put it into a regular rotation. Same with coffee ice cream. There is one homemade combo flavor, however, that they make at one of the shops on this list that is my current favorite. So with that, here are my 5 favorite ice cream shops in Toms River. What are yours?

Speaking of Toms River, check out this story on the upcoming Downtown Toms River Comfort Food Fest!

This is one of my family's 2 main go to places in town. There's always a line, and it's always manned by young ladies who are very calm and cool in the chaos. They do amazing cakes, shakes and floats. BUT, if you wanna try something different, get my current favorite ice cream concoction - Peanut Butter And Jelly. BOOM. Yes. You won't be disappointed.

This Silverton Staple is the other regular rotation ice cream shop for my family. It's a fun atmosphere, there's plenty of indoor/outdoor seating and parking, and the soft serve vanilla is A++. They also offer awesome treats for your 4 legged ice cream loving family members!

Consistently ranked as one of the top soft serve ice cream at the Jersey Shore since 1955! Rich's also makes their own insane novelty ice creams. Try a famous Richiebar or a Richwich. Or perhaps even a homemade ice cream cannoli!!!

I've written about Sundaes in the past. I really like their product. Our Marketing Director here at the Rat Jackie and her family are regulars to the one at the Manasquan Circle. They love it. Part of the charm of Sundaes is the some of the cool names they come up with for their creations. Razzle Dazzle, Robert Brownie Jr, and Sticky Fingers, just to name a few. My favorite is the relatively new Key Lime Pie ice cream. You gotta try it!

A friend turned me on to this place earlier this summer, and I really like it. Everything's homemade, they do fantastic sundaes and splits, and you can find them under their tent during Downtown Toms River night out festivities and all the street fairs!