Seafood, seafood, seafood -- and pizza

Splash in Long Valley has an impressive list of foods on its menu, from buffalo shrimp to clams and lobster. And . . . pizza?

"We have a raw bar, so people can get oysters, clams, shrimp, and lobster," floor manager Talia Morzan says. "We also have a brick oven, where we make pizzas. It actually uses wood, too, so that's really good. We make some awesome pizzas, so we can make you all different kinds. I don't know if you've ever had a Margherita pie before, but it's my favorite, and it's so good."

Many varieties of pizza may not seem like what you'd expect at your typical seafood restaurant, but that's because Splash Seafood & Pasta isn't typical.

"It's affordable for families," Morzan says. "Seafood is expensive, and there's no other seafood place around, and that's what's good about this place. But at the same time, kids can get pizzas or pastas here. So maybe the parent wants seafood, and they're saying, 'I really want a lobster.' They can get their lobster dinner while their kids can get the brick-oven pizzas that we make, so it works out just great."

Pizza chef Alex Maygar, who serves the fresh pizzas here, agrees. But he thinks that, because a lot of people don't expect to find great pizza at a seafood restaurant, he has to work extra hard to make sure that his pizzas are the best around.

"People can't walk in here, and say, eh, 'The food's good, and the pizza's OK,' " Maygar says. "They have to come in here and say 'That's the best pizza I ever had.' "

But to talk only about the pizza at Splash would be doing the restaurant a great disservice: This is definitely a seafood lover's restaurant, too.

"A lot of people just come for the raw bar," Morzan says. "They love the oysters and they love the clams."

Morzan doesn't forget to mention how good the pasta is, either.

"Sometimes, people just want a good old chicken parm, and you can never go wrong with chicken parm. But we do have certain specials that we run in seafood, too," he says. "We're running a scallop special that people absolutely love. It's pan-seared scallops in a roasted red pepper aioli sauce with avocado relish and seasonable vegetables. The avocado relish is something special. The regular scallop platter will come with a baked potato and seasonal vegetables."

Morzan also adds that the price is right at Splash, too: "You can have seafood, and you don't have to spend a ton of money."

Some of this seafood that Morzan refers to is a lobster with a baked potato, a seafood platter that's either broiled or fried and scallops, which also are either broiled or fried, each for under $20.

"We usually have a catch of the day," Morzan says, "It depends on what kind of fish we get in for that week. We also have a kids menu. We have kids' pasta; we do burgers, chicken fingers and fish sticks."

Besides the stellar food, one other thing that will appeal to a great deal of patrons is the underwater-theme decor. Fish cover the walls, blue lights linger on the ceiling, and a very large, old-time mannequin diver stands in a corner, all giving the place a particularly marine feel.

Much of this is because of the new management. Splash is just re-opening with a new vibe. The previous decor was said to be a little darker than the new set-up. Mathew Saleeby, the owner of the property on which Splash is sited, is looking to create a whole restaurant district in the area, with Splash being one of its focal points.

"I think he's added a lot more," Morzan says. "He's trying to make it more fun, and maybe not as serious as it used to be. He's trying to make it fun for the kids, like adding the fish tank. Kids love to look at the fish."

The one thing Morzan likes most about Splash, though, is how well it complements the area.

"Long Valley is a cute little town," Morzan says, "and Splash is adding to that whole curb appeal."

Italian-American Plus a Touch of Mexican

You might think you're outside when you're inside the restaurant section of the Valley Restaurant and Pub in Long Valley. There's an immense mural of verdant greens surrounding a familiar bridge in the center of town.

"It just naturally goes with Long Valley," co-owner Tim Janiszewski says of the massive wall painting facing tables in the back of the building.

"I think that it kind of depicts the center of Long Valley, so we kind of wanted that bridge. (Tthe artists) took an angle shot of it and got down there by the river, behind what used to be the old general store and took the picture (for reference).

When asked what the customers think of it, Tim just smiles.

"They love it," he says. "I was in another location for 23 years. We moved over here in 2000, and it's worked out great. We had to renovate the whole place from top to bottom. That's where this came to mind to put the picture there."

That's not the only thing the customers love about the place. The Valley Restaurant and Pub's cuisine is an eclectic mix of Italian and American, from chicken parmigiana to chili-taco salad.

"It's an Italian-American pub," says Tim's wife and co-owner, Tammy. "We run the gamut from specialty pastas, like shrimp and scallops florentine, to a turkey club. So there's something for everyone."

There's also a little flair added in the middle of the week: "We run Mexican specials," Tim says, "We started to run them on Tuesdays. It was very popular so we expanded it to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and that's in addition to our regular menu. People can come in and get the regular menu also."

The Mexican specials include an extended drink menu including margaritas, sangria and Corona beer; appetizers such as chicken or chili nachos; entrees that chicken or steak fajitas served with rice and beans; and tortilla con quesa, which is just another way of saying Mexican pizza.

In addition to the Mexican nights in the restaurant, Monday evenings offer free wings and reduced-price beer in the pub section for the Monday night sports games.

"We have Monday night football with free wings," Tim says. "It does bring in a lot of people on Monday nights. Our main interest is to fill the place up."

Tammy adds, "We also have $2 mugs of beer."

"Well," Tim adds, they're $1.85, really. We can't take credit for the tax."

Tim started out the pizza business before he decided to move to a different location with his family and expand the menu. Outside business hours, his great passion is his family.

"When I first started, I knew that I would have children someday," Tim says, "and it's nice to see that, as grown-ups, they work in the business, and it's nice to work side by side with them."

He and Tammy have three daughters: Jordan, in college; Paige, in high school; and Andrea, 13. Whenever they can, Paige and Andrea work in the restaurant, and Andrea wants to, but she's too young.

Review: Tekken 6

I’ve been playing Tekken since the original game on the PS1 had Galaga as a playable loading screen, so when I tell you that Tekken 6 is one of the best in the series, you better well damn believe it. Tekken 6 is an amazing experience with only a few snags that keep it from being the King of the Iron Fist Tournament.

The first thing, surprisingly, I want to talk about are the graphics, because they are definitely a reason to have an HDTV. Now, I’m normally not a graphics whore, but oh my God, these are the most impressive graphics I’ve seen in a fighting game since Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast (Funny, how that game was from Namco, too). The backgrounds, character models, scenery, EVERYTHING in this game just has you going “humina humina humina,” as you watch the details stream past you seamlessly. Landscapes with tanks bursting through them, a whole competition of people throwing tomatoes at each other, rollicking waves rocking the doorstep of a dojo, just about everything in the background makes you almost forget that you’re getting your ass handed to you by Heihachi.

And then, when you least expect it, the whole wall or floor that you’re standing on gets busted through or collapses beneath you. That’s right, taking a highly read page from Dead or Alive’s handbook are interactive backgrounds that reveal totally new locations if they’re hammered at enough, creating some interesting maneuvering around the playing field once you know where to spot them. It makes for some damn exciting gameplay and it’s an interesting addition to an already awesome franchise.

As always, the fighting is tremendous, and with six new playable characters, the battles are just as intense as ever. Surprisingly, I’m happy to say that all of the newbies are actually very unique and interesting to play with. Miguel is a brawler who punishes those who get in too close, Zafina is quick on her feet and highly damaging down low, and Bob is a member of the new school of morbidly obese fighters (See: Street Fighter 4’s Rufus) who’s surprisingly fast on his feet even though he probably can’t even see them. And then there’s Alisa Bosconovitch, who is obviously the daughter of can’t-stay-on-his-feet, Dr. Bosconovitch. Alisa is one of the strangest characters yet as her attacks are so disorienting that it’s hard to get a good hit on her. She has jet pack wings, can release chainsaws for hands, and can even take off her head and give it to other characters where it explodes in their hands. Only in the Tekken universe, baby, only in the Tekken universe.

All of your old favorites are back, too, and they all have really cool looking models and a few new moves to boot. This home version is actually based on the second version of Tekken 6, "Bloodline Rebellion," so it benefits from all the great additions that came with that game, and it really feels like one giant, epic, balls to the wall slugfest with pretty much any character you’ve fallen in love with over the course of Tekken’s lengthy history (Except for Tekken 3’s Gon and Dr. Bosconovitch, sadly, but I guess Alisa makes up for her father’s absence, but Gon, well, we’ll never have another Gon again, I guess).

Also new to the fold is the new “rage” system that allows you to deliver more devastating attacks when you get really low on your health bar and start glowing red. I can tell you that on more than one occasion, I came back like a raging demon and destroyed my opponents, both offline and on, with this feature, so it’s a nice addition. Speaking of new additions, another nice one is the new “bound” system, where you can knock your opponent hard into the ground while they’re in mid-air and cause them to bounce off the floor where you can juggle them some more for a higher combo. I have to tell you, it took me awhile to get this down, but once I did, I extended my combos a little bit longer. I’m sure Tekken experts are going to exploit this, though, because it definitely has the potential to be used by the cheaper players who are already too damn good as it is.

So, by this point, you’re probably thinking that this fighting game has it all, eh? Well, not so fast Yoshimitsu lover, as there are a few things that keep this from being the Tekken to end all Tekkens.

We're given Tekken history from the first game all the way up to Tekken 6 in the story mode, showing how Heihachi’s empire crumbled once his son, Kazuya, and in turn, his grandson, Jin, became the heads of the corporation. The problem is, this is far too detailed for a fighting game and it had me dozing off by the time they were talking about Tekken 4’s story, so nope, pass.

We’re then offered a cut scene that has to be about 15 whole minutes of Twilight-like staring and exposition. It’s got to be one of the most boring cut scenes I have ever seen in the history of video game cut scenes. Luckily, you can just press start and skip past it, which I started to do much later, but if you’re like me, you’re going to WANT to follow the story, and I found that even I couldn’t do that with this game, and that’s saying a lot. Once you move on, though, past this terrible cut scene, the story never really picks up, and it all seems like a big waste, really. It was ambitious, and if they had done it in a similar style as Soul Calibur 2’s “Weapon Master Mode,” I probably would have dug it, but as of right now, I can’t tolerate it one bit.

Another thing I hate (Yes, hate) about this game is the final boss, Azazel, which is some kind of crystalline dinosaur or something like that. Azazel is cheap as all hell. Yeah, sure, Tekken has had its string of cheap bosses before (Last edition’s, Jinpachi, is one such example, for instance), but Azazel kicks it up to a new notche with his cheapness. Currently, I’m still totally unable to beat him (her?) with several characters, as I can’t seem to get in close with them in the slightest. What a bummer!

Oh, and one final thing that bugs me about this edition of Tekken is that at times, it’s WAY too serious. Since this game is supposed to be in the midst of Jin’s quest for world domination, some of the silliness that I’ve come to adore with Tekken is gone. Sure, there’s still a fighting panda bear, and Mokujin is still a fighting tree with boxing gloves and breasts, but other than that, the game is a little too serious for my tastes, what with the epidemic of war going on throughout many of the stages.

Still, the good heavily outweighs the bad with Tekken 6 and I’m happy to say that in the long string of titles thus far, Tekken 6 is probably the third best Tekken after 3 and 5, respectively, and I think that’s saying a lot. Tekken 6 definitely gives reason to return and regain the title of being the King of the Iron Fist Tournament.

Players: 1-4
Platform(s): Xbox 360 (Reviewed) PS3, PSP
Developer: Namco Bandai
Publisher: Namco Bandai
ESRB: Teen
Rating: Four out of five stars

Review: Armored Core 3 Portable

Having never played an Armored Core game in the past, I had mixed feelings going into playing this new PSP Store game based off of the PS2 original. For one, I was skeptical if the controls of charging a mecha forward and backwards, strafing, lunging with a sword, and blasting with a gun could be manipulated on the PSP’s itsy bitsy controls. Sure, God of War: Chains of Olympus pulled off a rather tricky control scheme effectively, but would this game be able to? Secondly, mecha games typically bore the hell out of me (too much customization for my taste), and I was worried that I would be dozing off within the first few seconds of turning it on.

Well, after extensive playtime with the game, I’m happy to say that it’s much better than I anticipated it to be. It’s a pretty fun experience that’s only hampered by a few damning factors. But why dwell on those right now when there are so many positive things to say about the game?

First off, I want to talk about the storyline as it really makes this game shine. If you’ve read some of my articles in the past, then you’ll know that story is very important to me when it comes to gaming, and if a great game has a miserable storyline (Outside of fighting games, of course, which are usually better off without one at all), then I probably won’t be that immersed or interested in the game in the long run.

Armored Core 3, though, has a great storyline that only improves the further you get along in the game. The story takes place below the earth after an apocalyptic event. The society that lives down there is simply called, “Layered,” and they’re ruled by a computer called “The Controller.” Your character is part of a group of mecha pilots group called Ravens who are paid to maintain the peace. However, there's doubt as to whether they're really maintaining the peace creating even more problems with their actions.

Even better than the story, though, are the actual missions themselves, as they offer enough variety to keep you interested throughout the entirety of the game. In one mission, you’re shutting off gas leak valves to prevent a city-wide disaster, and in the next, you’re protecting a stopped train that has lost power while rebel “enemies” try to swarm and kill the passengers on board of it. It’s events like these that get me pumped up every time I turn the game on.

The controls are pretty easy to pick up, too. In a very short amount of time, I mastered all of the skills I needed to progress through in the game. Strafing, shooting, and boosting don’t take much effort at all. After only 30 minutes, I had the hang of it and was blasting away at enemies like nobody’s business.

But not everything is hunky dory in the world of Layered. One of my biggest complaints with the game is that it’s SO dark. This may not have been a problem on the PS2 where you could easily change the contrast, but on the PSP’s tiny, glare hampered screen, many times, I couldn’t see what the heck was going on. I constantly had to tilt my PSP at an angle where the sun wouldn’t hit it and create a visibility problem. Play this game in a well-lit room only, because there’s no way you could play this game outside in the sun and hope to see anything at all.

Another problem I have with the game is the rather slow pacing. It's meant to be methodical but winds up being a little dull, keeping me from being fully immersed in the game as a whole. As I said before, the story's premise is good but unfortunately it’s told in a very robotic manner. This is intentional as the AI is what’s in charge here, and you’re meant to believe that it’s the soulless entity that it truly is. But Portal had a computer guiding you through the game as well, and that computer had nothing BUT personality. I know I shouldn’t compare apples to rutabagas here in regards to the tone of the computer, but this A.I. was putting me to sleep in Armored Core half the time, whereas it was one of the best parts of Portal. Again, it’s an unfair comparison, but it’s one that hampered the experience for me.

Finally, I found that the difficulty ramps up a little too quickly for my tastes. You start off blasting pint-sized, little nuisances in the beginning, but quickly move on to very challenging missions that will require a lot of deaths and replays. You’ll have to really buckle down to plow through them.

Overall, though, Armored Core 3 is an excellent game on the PSP that is hampered mostly by the glare adverse screen. There’s an online mode to play against others, but I was having a hard time finding a connection. Other than that though, you could definitely do much worse than Armored Core 3 for the PSP.

Players: 1-4
Platform(s): PSP
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Agetec
ESRB: Mature
Rating: Three out of four stars

Art for food is event’s goal

When a small group of people come together for the good of others, they can achieve great things.

That’s the case for friends Francine Epstein, a ceramic artist and teacher; Gail Mardfin, an artist; Jacki Spinelli, director of the Chester Food Pantry; and Sarah Borda and her husband, Steve Berstler, owners of Mama’s Grace Cafe in Chester where there’s a special effort in the next few weeks to help out the hungry.

There’s a benefit Coffee House event on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Through Thanksgiving, the cafe is dropoff spot for food pantry donations, and donated, handmade ceramic bowls and other works of art will be sold there all month, all to benefit the food pantry. The collaborative effort, called BountiFull Bowls, is in its second go round this year.

The event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at Mama’s Grace Cafe, at the rear of 52 Main St. in Chester. The fundraiser will feature recording singer-songwriters Mef Gannon and Angela Adams, Christy Segale and Lisa Deane and the Dirty Blondes Band, as well as a host of other musical talents. Admission is $12.

Last year, Borda and Berstler opened their shop on a Wednesday night, a day they’re usually closed, to have an energetic evening of music, food and art, all to benefit the Chester Food Pantry. The charity needs more food than ever this year because of the loss of jobs from the economic crisis.

“We had standing room only for the Coffee House in here,” said Borda, who has owned Mama’s Grace Cafe with her husband for almost four years. “It was really the first event we had done here with music, and it was a collaborative event between the musicians who came in here and donated their time, Gail, the woman who has done all our graphic design, and then Francine Epstein, who is the woman who’s made all the bowls,” he said.

“And then we donated the place, and I think we made around $3,000 that night between coverage at the door and selling bowls for $20 each,” Borda says. “The full proceeds go to the Chester Food Pantry, so this year, we’ve sold all of our bowls already except for one, and our potter is actually supposed to be bringing us some more bowls soon.”

But the love for the community doesn’t stop there. Also all month, Mardfin will display soup-themed art on the colorful walls of Mama’s Grace Cafe in an exhibit titled, “ ‘Mmmm Mmmm Soup!”

“ ‘Mmm Mmm Soup’ is Gail’s show,” Borda said. “She’s going to have her artwork hanging for six weeks.”

Berstler added, “If something sells, it’s going to go to the food pantry. That’s why she’s hanging it. She makes a big donation to that.”

Borda and Berstler also see these events as a good way to market themselves and their friends to the general public, who all do a great deal for the community.

“We’re all winning here,” Borda said, “the families of Chester here and Mama’s Grace and Gail and Francine — so we’re all happy about that.”

The Chester Food Pantry has been run by Spinelli since 2001 and has grown by such a great measure that she had to move it to North Road in Chester. Spinelli’s motto is: “We do not turn anyone away who demonstrates a need for this supplemental source of food and necessities.”

To contribute, bring food to Mama’s Grace Cafe from now until Thanksgiving. Peanut butter, canned fish, powdered milk, dried beans, macaroni and cheese, flavored rice and baby food are all highly appreciated.

What’s up with the oatmeal pancakes?

The food can do all the talking at the Mini Mac Drive-in Restaurant and Diner on Route 206 in Chester. The friendly chatter from the friendly staff is a bonus.

"Our coffee is the best around," says Teri Petriw, who's just one of the many workers at this fun diner. "I don't care what QuickChek says on those radio stations."

Teri's mother, Anna Bartek, has owned the place since 1975.

"It used to be a Stewart's," Bartek says. "It was closed for I think, two years, and then we re-opened it up. I just made it as a Mini Mac."

The origin behind the name is almost as humorous as its employees: "Well, at the time, I was thinking about how everything was mini — minimall, mini this, mini that — so I thought, oh, we're going to have Mini Mac's. So then, we had the miniburger, but McDonald's was advertising Miniburgers (back in the '80s), so we had to stop."

While they're not selling miniburgers any more, they have enough on their menu to satisfy any early morning or afternoon craving.

"We have a good breakfast menu," says Bartek, who makes most of the food alongside her children. "Our home fries are good, and we have good coffee. And our lunches — most of the stuff I make fresh, like the meatloaf."

Petriw adds: "We run specials every day. We have our homemade soups. Lunch is usually a Philly cheesesteak with fries. We try to run a hot platter with mashed potatoes and a vegetable. We have real good burgers, dogs.

"It's kind of home cooking, kind of what you might have at your mother's house. We have very good soups."

The vegetable soup, made by Bartek, who is of Ukrainian descent, is a favorite with customers. Most intriguing on the menu are the oatmeal pancakes, which is something that not many diners serve.

"What we do is we make the batter, and then we put uncooked oatmeal into the batter," Petriw explains. "I've never seen it anywhere but with us. They're excellent and they're tasty."

Even better than the food itself may be the price, as Mini Mac is truly affordable in these tough economic times.

"You can get eggs, toast, home fries and coffee for $4.95 — under $5," Petriw says.

And while the seating area isn't huge, it's comfortable, with tables and chairs and a deer head that hangs over the entrance doorway.

The eatery is open seven days a week, which means that Petriw and company don't really get much time to enjoy the scenery in Chester, because they devote themselves to the diner and its customers.

"We are in Chester, so I'm kind of in my own little world here," Petriw says. "I don't really get out. We're open seven days a week."

All Mailyn, All the Time

Marilyn Masaitis, owner of Marilyn's Cafe in Chester, might well be the hardest-working woman in the local restaurant business.

"I'm here 365 days a year," Masaitis says, "Seven days a week."

This work ethic of hers and her employees is what she thinks has helped them survive in this rough economy.

"I'm having a wonderful time," Masaitis says. "We're in the worst recession ever since the Great Depression, and we're busy every day."

Still, she knocks on wood all the same.

"It's a shame that we're in a recession, and everything is closing up," Masaitis says. "There are at least four, five, six stores in every single mall that are closed. It's bad."

But it's not so bad at Marilyn's. There's the work ethic, of course. But it's also because of its stellar food, as Marilyn's has a breakfast menu to die for.

"We have hash, we have eggs Benedict — most places don't have that," Masaitis says. "We have fresh crepes, which range from apple cinnamon to mixed berry, whole wheat pancakes, fresh fruit. Cinnamon raisin French toast with fresh bananas and strawberries."

The restaurant also has a few items that aren't seen at most places known for their breakfasts: scrapple.

If you've never heard of Scrapple, its definition on dictionary.com makes it sound delicious: cornmeal mush mixed with pork, seasoned with onions, spices and herbs, shaped into loaves and sliced for frying.

"The people here love it," Masaitis says.

The cafe also serves lunch with dishes such as veal parmigiana and veal cutlet, as well as soups and appetizers such as onion rings, french fries, and jalapeno poppers.

Besides the food, the other appeal of Marilyn's is the atmosphere, which Masaitis has worked very hard on updating over the years.

"Every single day, I try to add something new to the walls," says Masaitis, who has owned the place for three years but has worked in the building for more than 20 years. "I try to put up as much as I can find. I'm running out of space."

From the entrance to the rear, with old timey booths and a diner counter for sit-downs for coffee and pie, the place is stuffed with Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, from license plates to dolls and photos of the movie icon along the walls.

"My customers bring me gifts all the time," Masaitis says, "They'll bring me a license plate of Marilyn, a singed and numbered plaque, the Barbie doll Marilyn, the bobblehead. Every time they go on vacation, they bring me something back."

The building had a lengthy history before Masaitis owned it.

"This place was opened in 1968," Masaitis says. "It used to be called the Golden Horse restaurant, and I worked here for 20 years."

Masaitis has seen a lot in those years, but in that time, she's also always had a soft spot for the area.

"Chester is very quaint," Masaitis says. "People come here for the antiquish atmosphere."