Sarah Griesemer
Editor's note: This is the second in a series highlighting dining in small towns at the Jersey Shore.
Perched near the northern tip of Monmouth County, across the bay from busy New York City, sits Atlantic Highlands.
Fewer than 5,000 people live there, spread across a borough that's smaller than 5 square miles.
Despite its size, there is no shortage of places to eat. From coffee produced at the highest level to organic Mexican cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner, here's a look at some of what Atlantic Highlands has to offer.
Fair Mountain Coffee Roasters
Bags of coffee beans from around the world sit inside Fair Mountain Coffee Roasters, awaiting their turn in the roaster.
A coffee tree grows in a pot, showing customers how those beans grow.
Owner Steven Almonte sees his roastery and espresso bar as the final stop for the coffee, and he prepares every cup with care.
"It's our responsibility to deliver what the growers send us," he said. "We want to make sure people get a chance to taste that."
Fair Mountain's espresso bar serves one kind of coffee per day, its country of origin on display. The roastery sources coffee from Central, South and Latin America, Africa, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and beyond, depending on what is available at any given time.
"We take people on a journey," said Almonte, who was a customer of the roastery before taking over in 2022 and adding an espresso bar where customers order pour-overs and cappuccino.
With a scientific background in research and development, "the mechanics of (roasting and preparing coffee), the variables, the machinery, it's all very intuitive for me ... so all of this was second nature to me," he said. "It allowed me to focus my attention into the artistic part of roasting coffee the way (former owner Greg Lewis) did it."
Fair Mountain does not offer sugar, only cream-top milk. Almonte, a competitive cyclist who values nutrition, said he does not feel comfortable serving his customers ingredients he does not consume.
"There is a moral decision on how would I feel about charging you money to sell you something I wouldn't consume myself," he said. "We, as a small company, can have an impact. It's an extra 70 cents we'd rather not make."
Almonte and his staff control every aspect of coffee making, from the grind setting ("how fine or coarse has a direct impact on how the coffee tastes," he said) and water ratio to the weight of the coffee.
"That consistency is needed when you have nowhere to hide" he said. "We don't have whipped cream. We don't have sprinkles and syrup, so each coffee deserves that level of attention in order to really showcase what the farmers did.
"If someone is looking for a true coffee experience, we are the place," Almonte said.
Go: 171 First Ave.; 732-708-0800, fairmountaincoffee.com.
Zoe's Emilio's Kitchen
At the age of 18, Emilio Vicens left his home in Puebla, Mexico, with hopes of building a life for himself in the United States.
He did not know anyone, nor did he speak English, and the only job he could find was washing dishes at a pizzeria in Jackson. Vicens was not used to men being in the kitchen — seeing the restaurant's owner in an apron surprised him — but he wanted to learn. He spent weeks teaching himself to make pizza well.
"I wanted to learn and have my own place," said Vicens, who went on to own a short-lived Mexican restaurant in Browns Mills before cooking at Anna's Italian Kitchen and Nicholas Barrel & Roost in Middletown, and Copper Canyon and Gaslight in Atlantic Highlands.
Then the opportunity arose to open a restaurant on Center Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, and encouraged by his family and alongside his brother, Roberto Vicens, he went for it. Zoe's Emilio's Kitchen, which serves organic Mexican food "with a twist," opened in 2022.
"I really loved watching (early customers) eating the food," Vicens said. "They went out and spread the word, then came back with more people."
The food and flavors are inspired by childhood memories, Vicens said, pointing out a pork torta — a sandwich with origins in Puebla — made with black bean mousse and roasted tomatoes, and El Goyo, a breakfast dish of rice and egg dish plated to resemble a mountain in Mexico.
"I feel (at) home, when I see that," he said.
The kitchen makes everything from scratch, an homage to how he remembers food being prepared in Mexico. There is pasilla pepper-glazed calamari, a roast beef sandwich with jalapeno mayo, a mushroom sandwich with hibiscus jam, and roasted chicken with poblano sauce, among other dishes.
"Our experience from back home, we want to give it to the community," said Vicens, who plans to open a second restaurant in the near future. "It's the experience I want to bring to this restaurant."
Go: 77 Center Ave.; 732-204-7311, zoesemilioskitchen.com.
Cozy Corner Bakery
Nicolina Falco's bakery, which does indeed sit on a corner, is a place where baked goods and community come together.
Falco's passion for baking blossomed during the pandemic, when delivering treats was a way to see friends and family. Word of mouth led to her Greek yogurt bagels, Pop Tarts and scones being sold at Cafe CoCo and Anthropologie in Shrewsbury; Coffee Corral in Red Bank; Oak Hill Farms in Holmdel; and Birdy's Cafe & Artisan Market in Harvey Cedars.
Needing more space as demand grew, she opened her bake shop in 2023, and now offers cakes, cookies, scones, doughnuts, brownies, biscuits and more. This winter, she expanded the menu to include soups, sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches on weekends.
Cozy Corner Bakery is filled with family photos, mementos and cookbooks, which customers are welcome to enjoy with a cup of coffee and a slice of pound cake. Falco also welcomes community members to her bakery for themed movie nights and classes.
"I want people to feel the joy in here with me," Falco told The Asbury Park Press in 2024. "I just try to put good out in the world, whether that's baked goods or just being a good person.
Go: 1 West Ave.; 732-996-2965, cozycornerbakery.com.
Other places to visit
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