Spain Inn 2

Spain Inn 2
Asbury
1045 Route 173 West
908-479-4084

Open: Lunch & dinner, Tues-Sun

Price: $$$

Style: The decor is muted and doesn’t shout España, but the food from Spain’s many regions served here certainly does.

The Scoop: Brothers Pepe and Luis Rodriguez grew up in Galicia on Northwest Spain’s Atlantic Coast. After emigrating to the U.S., they opened their first Spain Inn, in Piscataway, in 1986, adding Spain 2 in 2002.

The Menu: Mussels in green sauce, the sauce richly herbaceous and garlicky, make a fine starter, as does a plate of sliced, house-made chorizo. Both go great with the basket of light and delicious house-made potato chips brought to each table. The menu abounds in seafood dishes, both shellfish and finfish, in garlic sauce or green sauce. But the glory of the menu just might be the hugely shareable paellas offered in different regional styles. We dug into the paella marinera (left), a fiesta of shellfish and rich saffron rice that possessed the gold standard of paella authenticity: the crunchy-crackly rice that sticks to the bottom of the pan, called socarrat. The paella marinera comes from Southern Spain. For a paella with the works, have the Valenciana, loaded with shellfish, chicken and chorizo. For dessert, Spain 2’s flan is thick, authentic and, like the paellas, ridiculous fun to share.

Heads Up: The wine list is modest in size but diverse. Most of the servers hail from Spain, and we found they made good suggestions on food and wines that pair well with those foods.