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Down Memory Lane at Freddie’s

Thin-Crust Pizza That Stands Alone -

When you have four kids and a limited budget, a family dinner out isn’t all that common. And if you’re not partial to Mickey D’s, getting by without spending a lot is even rarer.

So, on the once-in-awhile nights we decided to spring for a restaurant dinner when our children were young, more often than not we headed to Freddie’s in Long Branch.

Family Favorite
Freddie’s has been serving outstanding thin-crust pizza for over 65 years, and our family has been going there for about 40 of them. It has always been a family-friendly place. The service has always been welcoming and efficient and the waitresses seemed to like to give our little group extra special attention.

When we first began to go to Freddie’s there was a jukebox, and the kids used to beg quarters from me to play a few tunes. The jukebox was a victim of a fire that closed the restaurant for several months, which our kids thought was a tragedy that rivaled anything that they had experienced up until then.

When Freddie’s reopened, the jukebox was no more, but the same awesome pizza was being served. To cut down on pizza consumption by our four, we always ordered garlic bread for starters. The idea was to fill them up on bread before they had a chance to attack the pizza, a strategy that worked less often than we hoped.

For liquid refreshment, my wife and I would bring wine or beer, while the kids drank up pitchers of cola. And we’d quiz the children on the trivia questions that scrolled across the sign near the kitchen. When dinner was over, the contest was on to see which child would get to bring up the check and the cash. The winner got a lollypop, you see, so it was a very desirable chore.

Can’t Get Enough
The downside to growing up on Freddie’s pizza, as our children will tell you, is that it spoils you for anything else. It’s almost impossible to find any pizza as good as Freddie’s even here in New Jersey, much less North Carolina, Maryland, Maine, or Pennsylvania, where our children now make their homes. Another drawback we have discovered about Freddie’s pizza is that after an eight-hour trip from NJ to Maine, it just doesn’t taste the same. What a surprise! Even then, according to my daughter, it’s better than what you can get in the Pine Tree State.

Today, Freddie’s is always the first place that comes to our minds when we decide it’s too hot to cook or that we just would like a night away from the stove. And I’m happy to report that it’s still the same—good food, great service, and The Best Pizza in the World.

Freddie’s Restaurant & Pizzeria – 563 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ • 732-222-0931 • Owner, The Brockriede family.

Mike Sheehan is a longtime Monmouth County resident and writer. He welcomes comments by e-mail.

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