Four bucks a pound, Tony: Asbury Park, part three

Lots of stories came out of this visit to New Jersey's least-used boardwalk.

On the drive down on Sunday, I considered grabbing some lunch at the boardwalk restaurant right next to the Casino. Last time I was there, the place was basically empty, and the menu looked decent, but I'd stopped at the Windmill for a hot dog on the way down. Imagine my surprise this time to find that not only was the restaurant gone, so was most of the building. I didn't expect that, nor had I heard it was in the plans. A similar concession building a little farther down is in the process of being torn down, too.

If you've watched The Sopranos, you know the ones I mean. They're squat, basically nondescript brick buildings with wide windows facing the boardwalk. Some used to have second floor balconies that jutted over the entryways to the stores. In fact, one of those balconies featured large in one of Tony's dreams, where Sal 'Big Pussy' Bompensiero appeared as a talking fish packed in ice along with other fishes that were, uh, sleeping. The balconies were pulled down a few years ago, along with a footbridge that traversed the boardwalk. In any case, it kinda sucks that the buildings are being demolished. They're unremarkable by architectural standards, but at least there were some shopkeepers making a go of it. They build things quickly these days, but I doubt they'll get new buildings up in time for the start of the season at the end of May. Where will one get a hot dog or a slice of pizza?

Looking at the developer's website, it appears they're big builders of those higher-end malls you see at tourist destinations. Banana Republic and its brethren, as if I have to go down the shore for that. I hope it doesn't come to pass that way. I'd rather have a ton of cutesy-named boutiques than a monster Gap (I admit I shop there, but they're so ubiquitous that if there's a mall in Hell, you know there's gotta be a Gap in it).

In any case, work continues at a snail's pace at the Casino. There's a new green metal roof on the Carousel House; it looks so authentic that it took me a good minute to notice it was new. Inside the Casino, my camera finally cooperated to give me a shot of the House interior, still far from finished, but coming along. The heavy construction equipment is gone, so maybe they're getting ready for the finer work.