triMUSIC | monmouth's news & arts weekly
DINNER WITH STRINGBEAN and the STALKERS
Every Sunday Night @ Tracie Orsie's Ragin' Cajun in Belmar
FEBRUARY 17, 2005 | By Jason Thomson, triCityNews staffer
"It's a little house on the bayou...err...I mean river in Belmar that I, along with many others, consider home. Because the feeling your smothered with when dining at Tracie Orsie's Ragin' Cajun (1102 River Road, Belmar, 732-280-6828) is that of family, friends, great music...and of course amazing cajun cuisine.
And while every night at the Ragin' Cajun is a new and unforgettable experience, none quite compare to Sunday evenings, when you can eat your dinner and sip your wine up close and personal with New Jersey's long strange Blue's band. We've coined it Dinner with Stringbean and the Stalkers and it's probably as intimate a setting as any music lover could imagine.
If you've never been to New Orleans before, you'd think you had by stepping one foot inside the Ragin' Cajun.
Picture this. The setting is an old house on the river in Belmar doubling as a Cajun style restaurant. It's low lit, with just enough red light careening down from the lamps above to see the band setup in the corner of the main dining room, candles and eclectic table cloths for each table, pictures of jazz musicians and an old washboard adorning the walls and metal blinds on the windows that are just a bit off kilter, adding to that "down on the bayou" feel.
When you walk through the front door you'll be greeted by the friendly yet creepy smile of the court jester who sits atop the counter to your left. But don't be afraid. He won't bite although occasionally he may snatch a piece of your blackened tuna steak or a drink of your tasty swamp root.
Ah yes, the Ragin' Cajun. It's the epitome of the type of unique places we love to preach about at the triCityNews.
Wayne Ryder of Avon, a trucking company owner on the road between New York and Chicago each week, says there's no better cure for those lonely times on the road than looking forward to Sunday evenings with Stringbean and the Stalkers. "It's an antitoxin for the soul", says Wayne.
Wayne is also a former employee of the Ragin' Cajun and has been injected with the Stalkers music since they first started playing here many years ago.
It also helps that the Stalkers are some of the best musicians this side of the Mississippi.
You've got harp master Ken "Stringbean" Sorensen of Ocean Grove on vocals, harmonica and acoustic guitar, the legend, Sonny Kenn of Red Bank on lead guitar (this guy will blow your mind with his heart pounding, gut wrenching style of guitar), Dave Meyers of Neptune (The Planet) who's bass playing is out of this world, and Vic Bayers of Ocean, on drums, whose beats keep the band together in their cohesive mindset.
Stringbean and the Stalkers are as tight a band as you will ever find. We guarantee you'll be hooked the first time you face them live. And while the Stalkers play venues of all sorts - everything from smoky blues bars, festivals, even backyard bbq's - there is no better place to experience this strange blues band than at the Ragin' Cajun.
Now, as good a the music is at the Cajun, the food is equally as comparable. And it's this dynamic that we love so much.
My personal favorite is the Swamp Daddy pasta. It's bow tie pasta tossed with shrimp, artichoke hearts, and alligator sausage in a Cajun cream sauce with just the right amount of spiciness.
Tracie also serves up fresh blackened tuna steaks, salmon, blackened steak bites, artichoke hearts, etouffe - a classic Cajun dish -, hot jambalaya, crab and broccoli soup, blackened catfish and more. Start off with some warm rolls with hot garlic and butter. Unbelievable.
Plus you can bring your own bottle to enjoy with your meal.
So as you can see, a Sunday evening - or any evening for that matter - at the Ragin' Cajun is one of pure delight. See old friends, meet new ones, enjoy some of the best food and music around and dine in an atmosphere unlike anything the Jersey Shore has to offer. The Ragin' Cajun in Belmar is definitely in a stream all unto it's own. And a dinner date with Stringbean and the Stalkers is what you need to life your spirit and inspire your mind.
The only way to believe us it to eat, drink, listen and journey into the firth of Ragin' Cajun for yourselves.
Because "Sittin' Bayou Makes Me Hot"!
Hey Tracie, "How 'bout a toothpick'?
You can also catch music by blues man Billy Hector on Wednesdays, The Booglerizers on Fridays and B.C. McGowan on Saturdays.
Don't forget to visit the Ragin' Cajun's sister restaurant at the crossroads of Main Street and 16th Ave. in Belmar. It's Tortuga's Key West Style Cafe where the food and atmosphere are equal to that of the Cajun'. Also visit stringbeanonline.com.
