The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/957882
During a recent visit to Modine, one of Asbury Park's newest restaurants, I discovered a menu that pays tribute to traditional Southern fare while simultaneously creating something instinctively its own. Here, the food is inspired by what they call "Low Country" cooking, a cuisine associated with South Carolina's Low Country and Georgia's coast. But more interesting still, is that Modine has taken Low Country to a new place (and I don't just mean its newly-renovated Mattison Ave location). e restaurant is the brainchild of five talented partners: Brooklyn transplant husband-and-wife team Jill Meerpohl and Chris Davin, who helm the kitchen; Shanti and Steve Mignogna, owners of Talula's in Asbury Park; and GM Andrew Rasizer who leads the bar program and front of house for Modine. Together, they bring their culinary experiences both in and out of the kitchen, pushing the identity of Southern comfort to their own unique taste. Entering Modine gives one that classic, old-time feel. Not one teeming with creaking hinges and dingy corners, but a space that recreates how things might've been before the erosion of time took hold. is historic building at 601 Mattison, once a post office and bank in its heyday (and yes the massive vault is still there), is now brimming with natural light and greenery by day and glowing with charm and spotlights in the evening. Working with Brooklyn architects Space Exploration, Modine's character has come to surface as through its marble pillars, brass accents and rich, green leather booths. ough the space holds 150 guests, nothing about Modine's design feels crowded, quite the contrary. e food at Modine follows similar suit: simple yet incredibly sophisticated. However, the idea of "Low Country" is where it all starts. "When you think of Southern foods, there's so many things that pop into your head," Meerpohl told me as I sipped on a Bourbon Crusta. "Low Country got its name from being close to the ocean. at's where you get a lot of seafood and fish camps down south. Frogmore stew and hushpuppies come from those regions, things that grow well in those marshy areas like beans or rice—it's more of a V U E N J . C O M 116