The Speakeatery

The Speakeatery
Asbury Park
705 Cookman Avenue
732-898-9456

Open: Lunch & dinner daily.

Price: $

Style: This 3-year-old sandwich shop and market gets its winking Prohibition vibe from bare bulbs, wood accents and evocative sandwich names like the Angry Al Capone, the Elliot Mess and the Back Alley Brawler.

The Scoop: Father and son owners Greg and Andrew Vermilyea, longtime AP residents, buy local ingredients wherever possible. They roast whole turkey breasts for slicing and make many things from scratch, including their own Italian sausage and mozzarella.

The Menu: The Ragtime Gal is sweet and savory—a grilled cheese made with brie, sliced Granny Smith apples and bacon on cinnamon-sugar toast. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre includes a slice of every deli meat in the case. You won’t regret ordering an Ole Saw-Seege with Italian sausage, sautéed peppers and onions (left). As accompaniments, choose a brick-sized slab of mac n cheese or french fries tossed with cracked pepper.

Heads Up: On-street parking is at a premium, but there’s a large metered lot a block away on Lake Avenue. The Speakeatery is about a mile down Cookman Avenue from AP’s bustling restaurant row and the boardwalk, but these high-caliber sandwiches are worth the walk (and you’ll burn calories there and back).