Driving back to Forked River, New Jersey, from Brick, I had the crazy notion of having a late afternoon coffee or tea. I didn't think that this would be an impossible task, but I was wrong. My only guess is that there were some shops that were well off the main roads and hiding! I just thought it would be nice to find a place with a cool ambiance that had tables and served a variety of coffee and teas that also offered some small cakes or pastries. I was actually envisioning a slice of banana bread.
I know that when I lived in Monmouth County there were a few places that fit this description that even had acoustic music in the evenings. There is a Starbucks on Lacey Road that I went to once but didn't order anything because it appeared that they only had drinks with no snacks being offered. When I interviewed a musician at a Starbucks in Monmouth County for The Rag, they had all varieties of snacks to have alongside your beverage.
We ended up stopping at a Dunkin Donuts that had two tables and not a great selection of donuts and pastries. I believe Sirius XM still has a station for Coffeehouse Music. You know, those cool joints you can go to with your laptop in the daytime and hang out or frequent in the evening to hear some of the area's best local musicians. Maybe Covid destroyed this small piece of enjoyment! If anyone is from Ocean County in New Jersey and knows of a place like I just described, please let me know for future reference.
