Alligator in Belmar!

   This weekend was the 24th annual seafood festival in Belmar. My friend Marc and I decided to attend and eat as much seafood as possible. The weather was steamy and hot, and the crowd was massive as expected, but nothing could stop us from getting to the food!
   Upon walking up to 6th Ave we were greeted by the amazing smell of fried clams, funnel cakes and all things seafood. Marc had never eaten oysters before so first off we were on a mission to get some oysters so he could chow down. Oysters are one of my favorite foods ever since eating them last year at the lobsterfest in Bradley Beach. So the first tent we hit was the Lobster Shanty tent where we got 6 oysters covered in cocktail sauce and hot sauce and went at it. Marc was hesitant at first but actually enjoyed the oysters.

    Next up I hit the 10th Ave Burrito tent and chowed down on some delicious lobster mac and cheese. The quintessential meal, the macaroni and lobster paired so well together and was so hot I nearly burnt my mouth I was so excited to eat it. After that we simply walked down each aisle until the moment I had been waiting all day for.I nearly lost it when I saw the sign...Alligator  bites!

   I've never eaten alligator before but as I have said I am all for trying new and exciting things. Nothing in the food world scares me so to the line we went. There must have been at least 50 people waiting, but since we had a hearty helping of cheese fries to work on while we waited there was no problem. Once we got our serving of alligator bites it was time to chow down. The alligator itself was pretty interesting. It tasted almost exactly like chicken but with a much tougher texture. The alligator was deep fried and served with french fries, which I  covered in hot sauce. All in all I would say I would eat alligator again, but maybe not deep fried.

   We finished off the day with a lobster, and a lobster salad roll. Nothing says dessert to me like lobster. This summer promises to bring much more lobster, and many more seafood festivals like lobsterfest in Bradley Beach, and oysterfest in Asbury Park. You can count on me to remind you about these can't miss festivals, and to fill you in on all the treats you'll encounter there.


Til next time foodies..
Abby