Uye: Central Jersey Elite World Domination Party 2015

World Domination has been achieved!
Some of the very best Unilocal Elite has to offer joined in a night of outrageous fun as we gathered at The Old Bay restaurant in New Brunswick. With so many huge personalities on hand, it took a master organizer to pull it off. So is it any surprise that the legendary CK was in charge? Nope.
Pregame started promptly at 7 with some of us arriving a few minutes after – and some making a grand entrance close to 8 (John, of course!). The outdoor patio is a nice space, if a little bit loud, but would be an amazing place on a summer night when a monsoon wasn’t in the forecast. While the patio is covered by a large tent, we chose to work our way inside and get to our table rather than try to eat outside.
We warned our server, Olivia, that we were a hard-​partying bunch, but she was up to the task of both keeping us in line and keeping us happy. I’d have to say that service for dinner was fantastic, and made the night all the better.
Dinner started with a series of appetizers with the shrimp and grits being the standout item. I chose the stuffed pork chop for dinner, a large platter that came with creamed spinach and red beans & rice on the side. The chop was nicely seared, but the sides were under-​seasoned.
We hung at the bar afterwards, with me availing myself of the glow sticks at the bar for a bit of fun – just look at the photos – but we were a bit disappointed with what we were served and pointed that out the the very defensive bartender.
The party moved to the closed Court Tavern – really what bar closes by 10:30 on a Thursday? – before ending up at Destination Dogs where we were served proper drinks by a bartender who was hired for his skill.
So, a big thanks to Christopher K. for pulling this together. It was a terrific evening.

I came to The Old Bay restaurant for a UYE Elite event. It was great seeing old and new friends. Ck, John D, Jeff B, Bill M, Marc N, Gerry S the lawyer in the group just in case. Danielle S, and Stephanie L the only other two girls in the group really know how to throw a shin dig!
All I kept hearing about is the Central Jersey Crew. Well, they totally lived up to their reputation. Everyone had a great time.
CK did an amazing job getting everyone together. Drinks on the patio were a great ice breaker. Upstairs we had a back table (I wonder why? No comment John D)
We started off with some delicious appetizers. The Bayou Fish tacos stuffed with Delta Catfish with crispy red cabbage, red onions and a roasted vegetable sauce. BBQ style Gulf Shrimp served over jalapeño cheese grits Yummy! Baked Andouille stuffed bread with peppers & onions and mozzarella cheese oh so nice and ooey gooey! The Natchitoches Beef Pies well know in Natchitoches, LA. Stuffed with creole seasoned ground beef in a flaky pastry and topped with a horseradish cream sauce. If that wasn’t enough we went on to our main courses.
We had a fun waitress by the name of Olivia. She was totally on board with this crazy bunch and made great recommendations for drinks and dinner choices.
I had the Seafood Jambalaya. I couldn’t believe how big it was, I got two dinners out of it. It was loaded with Gulf shrimp, New Zealand mussels, sea scallops, calamari and Cajun Andouille sausage are simmered in a rich Creole sauce. Served over long grain rice. It was spicy and delicious. The Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya looked equally good. The Vegetarian Napoleon Evangelica looked comforting and it had a sampling of many things. The Old Bay Hanger Steak with Whipped Mashed Potatoes and Southern Succotash was cooked to perfection. The Double Cut Pork Chop was seared in old bay and had a Cornbread & Pecan Dressing, served with Red Beans & Rice and Steamed Spinach. The Crawfish Étouffée was spicy and made John D sweat! But he loved it! The Shrimp Creole was another comforting and traditional dish.
Olivia put on our table jalapeño stuffed cornbread serve with a whipped butter. I really enjoyed those .
By this selection you can tell we really ate well. The drinks were equally interesting! I am not a whiskey drinker but I did try a pickle back drink. (don’t knock it until u try it!) Another drink was called the Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I was so stuffed along with everyone else so we skipped dessert.
There is a parking garage up the street from the restaurant. If you can find it there’s also metered parking on the street.
I really enjoyed myself with this central jersey crew and I can’t wait for them to invite me to their next event!

It’s an amazing little thing we’ve created with our little CNJ clique! We’re going at least two years strong, and always pick up a couple of new and super-​cool people along the way. A big shout out to all of y’all for an awesome and wild night out. So glad you could all make it! Let’s do it again soon!

Magnificent, stupendous, exhilarating, debaucherous, hysterical, enlightening, festive, outrageous, unbridled, captivating, nonsensical, gut wrenching, spectacular, delectable and of course a big thanks to CK.

Whatever Jeff B and Stephanie L said; ditto.
It was a great night for the Central Jersey Elites. (I know, Central JerZ doesn’t exist.) That’s exactly what we want you to think.
These folks are awesome!

The CNJ Unilocal crew continues its unbroken streak of insanely fun asylum-​to-​table UYE’s, thanks to CK this time.
Yes, we were a little depressed that Amalia Y could not join us because of her pole-​dancing class (er, I mean pole climbing). Yes, the City of New Brunswick vice squad was on standby outside. Yes, we cleared the mezzanine of other patrons at the Old Bay shortly after our arrival. And yes, a little rain fell on our pre-​game libations, whilst on the patio. But none of this mattered, and it did not dampen anyone’s enthusiasm one iota.
Though we were small in number, we were mighty in spirit. This was soon proven by pickle-​back shots (delicious!) and something that tasted like cereal milk with Jet A fuel in it.
The food at the Old Bay is good, if not great, but our server (Olivia) was certainly superb, and very understanding of our antics, loud voices & potty-​mouths. My Old Bay Hanger Steak was great, and perfectly cooked. It was so nice that TOB even had a gluten free menu for me to peruse. And Glutenberg Ale? Oh yeah!
I have long since stopped trying to figure out exactly why these CNJ Unilocal events are so damn much fun. I just accept it gracefully now — knowing that I am going to have blast each time. In addition to the usual suspects from Phila (almost-​Judge-​Jerry), and East Brunswick & vicinity, the evening was certainly brightened by our brave & lovely dining companions Donna P (who took so many pictures that Homeland Security now has her on a watch list), the ever-​smiling Stephanie L, and of course our newest Unilocal convert Danielle S.
I will be planning a bikes, booze, and burgers UYE sometime soon. Watch your inbox for details!

CNJ — the group that knows how to have fun, eat well, drink hard, and party like rock stars. The only group that can enter a dining group shouting like drunken sailors (ya know we did) and still leave with the waitress loving us… Holler at yer girl Olivia!
We are coaches to the new Unilocalers, friends for the tenured ones, and even travel with our own legal counsel. We know food tastes better once we’ve photographed the bejesus out of it. We call the shots — from pickle backs to cinnamon toast crunch.
From our happy hour kick off through dinner (and even after for the cool crew who can hang longer than I can) this was a great time that I look forward to repeating. Keep me posted on the bike ride!