Why Casale al Mare in Brigantine, NJ is the Ultimate Italian Food Haven You Need to Visit
We didn’t make it past the bread.
When you walk into Casale al Mare on a bread delivery day, the entrance is filled with baskets of delicious breads like sesame baguette and hearty olive. And we bet you’ll have a hard time passing by without bagging a loaf to take home.
“It’s different bread than we have around here,” said owner Esther Casale, as she lured us toward a round sourdough-based loaf. “It’s from up north – the bread tastes different because the water is different.”
Different is also how you can describe the shopping experience at Casale al Mare. Casale translates to “hamlet” in Italian, a small idyllic town, and the shop lives up to its name. As you walk through the aisles, ooh and ahhing over the various olive oils and balsamics, imported pastas, breads (did we say that already?), craft pottery, spreads, cheeses, and more, chances are you’ll start chatting it up with the other patrons, as they sit at the coffee bar sipping a perfectly-brewed macchiato while nibbling a chocolate-coated biscotti. And bam, suddenly, without even leaving Brigantine, you’re swept away into an idyllic community in the heart of Italy.
It is indeed la dolce vita at Casale al Mare.
Esther is a first-generation American (check out the pic behind the coffee bar of her father arriving in New York with her mom waving to him from the crowd); and regularly visits family throughout the year back home in and around Rome.
While there, she selects products to bring home to her shop in the states, and hosts group trips – sharing her knowledge and crafting fun foodie experiences. There are already two trips planned for this year– May and September. In one of her last tours, Esther and her group had pasta making classes, visited Little Pompeii and toured a local winery. Visits to Rome include touring the Vatican and its museums (Esther’s niece Federica is a tour director affiliated with the Vatican and handles all of Esther’s historical and religious touring).
Back in Brigantine, on Saturdays and Sundays beginning around noon, Esther gives cooking demonstrations throughout the day. On cooking demo days, she’ll take a lap around her shop, grab a few items and get on her way.
“It’s however the spirit moves me – whatever I’m going to make. I don’t know until I come in and start walking around. I just pull things, and I have products a lot of folks aren’t aware of.
In the frozen section, there are chickpea fritters (you sauté them to a golden brown), pizza doughs, soups, stuffed pastas, regular pastas, and so many specialty items.
“These are stuffed zucchini flowers with mozzarella inside and battered,” said Esther as she pulled the beautiful flowers from the freezer. “They come out of Palermo and are awesome. Ninety-five percent of what I have in the shop is from Italy.”
We recommend starting at Casale’s with a coffee drink and a dolce (dessert first). There are the aforementioned biscotti, plus gelatos, cookies, cakes, and other treats. Then begin peeking around, browsing the products, selecting a fun pasta and a jar of San Marzano tomatoes, or maybe choose one of Esther’s sauces – she bottles them – and finally, a bread or antipasto accompaniment.
From egg based pastas that boil up quickly (Esther says, don’t only go by the cooking time on the back, cook until it tastes the way you like it) to an entire line of delicious gluten free pastas, there is something at Casale al Mare for you. Esther and her team also cater - creating antipasto and sweet trays for customer celebrations.
Casale al Mare
3100 ATLANTIC BRIGANTINE BLVD, BRIGANTINE, NJ
609-739-1930