A new way to dine at the Jersey Shore

It's not every day that I get to experience something totally new.

But on Wednesday night, I did.

Sushi fans are probably familiar with omakase, a dining experience where the chef determines what you eat. There is no menu; no one takes your order. You take a seat and the meal begins.

A few restaurants at the Shore have hosted omakase-style dinners and events, but the area's first true omakase restaurant opened this week on Bangs Avenue in Asbury Park. Hadaka, which means "naked" in Japanese, is a fitting name for the cuisine. With few ingredients in each dish, there is nowhere to hide, nothing to cover up.

Owners Gino Ferretti and Eddie Falzarano created a beautiful restaurant, and if you've never had omakase, you are in for a treat. A full story will be at app.com next week, but if you're interested in dining at Hadaka, you should try to get a reservation now. Ferretti told me they're filling the restaurant's 12 seats every night.

Another new spot to check out is the beer garden opened by the Barnegat Oyster Collective. The group, a collection of Ocean County oyster farmers, turned some empty space besides their retail market and oyster nursery into a casual spot by the water.

They brought in an Argentinian wood-burning grill and use it to cook fresh oysters and things like swordfish sausage and blackened tuna bites, and there are plenty of raw oysters from the collective's farms and other places, too.

"We bought this property two years ago to try and continue production, and we have an oyster nursey where we grow small seed oysters and we do all our distribution," said collective founder Matt Gregg. "We figured we'd section off a little area, not so much a restaurant but as a tasting room that a winery or brewery would have."

Quick bites

• Rook Coffee , with 11 locations in Monmouth and Ocean counties, is releasing its first ever iced matcha tomorrow. Customers can order their green tea latte style with milk or traditional style with water.
• Bring your appetite to Monmouth Park Racetrack this weekend, which is hosting its Italian Festival and Wine Tasting. Taking place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the fest will feature rice balls, pizza, surf and turf lobster rolls, fried raviolis, meatballs and more from food trucks including Bella Ciao Pizza, L’Acquario Seafood Italiano, The Pasta Truck, Taste of Napoli, Little Sicilian Riceballs, Tony’s Italian Sausage and more. The racetrack is at 175 Oceanport Ave. in Oceanport.
• Love a good burger? Get your tickets for lunch at Heirloom at The St. Laurent in Asbury Park on Monday, Aug. 12, when New York City's Gotham Burger Social Club will host a pop-up. Indoor seating is sold out, but pool-side seats will be available for purchase at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 11. The restaurant is at 408 7th Ave.

That is all for this week! I am on vacation next week, so Jersey Shore Eats will be back in your inbox on Thursday, Aug. 8. For more food content, visit app.com and follow Jersey Shore Eats on Instagram and Facebook.

Sarah Griesemer is a food writer for The Asbury Park Press and app.com. For more on where to eat and drink, please consider a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: A new way to dine at the Jersey Shore