On Valentine’s Day – a Thursday – Dick’s Dock , on Main Street in Metuchen, was busy. After all, they had 82 reservations that day. “I had moved to Pennsylvania for three years at one point, and all I was thinking while I was there was that I really miss Buddy’s food,” said Leticia Huffman, a Metuchen resident and regular customer. “I love anything stuffed with his crabmeat or drenched in his hollandaise sauce, while my husband likes anything with a kick to it. But for us, it is the whole experience, it’s not just the food. It is knowing that the chef is making absolutely everything from scratch, and it’s kind of like the Cheers motto where ‘Everybody knows your name.’ ”
PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN Robert Dick, owner of Dick’s Dock seafood restaurant in Metuchen, recently competed as a finalist in the 2008 Jersey Fresh Seafood Challenge and placed in the top 10 among hundreds of chefs. Owned by husband-and-wife team Robert and Sandy Dick, who opened it together 11 years ago, Dick’s Dock has since become the place to go for seafood for those in the know. This was confirmed in January when Robert, known as “Buddy” around town, competed as a finalist in his first-ever culinary competition in the 2008 Jersey Fresh Seafood Challenge, organized by the state’s Department of Agriculture, held at theAcademy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing.
“I had two hours of preparation and 10 minutes to show or platter the food,” he said. “Once I got started, the adrenaline was so high I couldn’t think of anything else but what I was doing. It was my first major competition, and it was intense. I had competed in contests years ago, but nothing at this level before.”
Chosen as a top 10 finalist for the competition from among more than 1,000 original entrants, Robert placed sixth overall. There, for his main dish Robert prepared oven-roasted seafood in garlic served over risotto and a second platter he dubbed the “Trash Can.”
“I had first made the main dish years ago, and I brought it back to life,” Robert said. “With giant sea scallops, swordfish and monkfish, along with fresh garlic, onion, and bell pepper, it is simple with not a lot of ingredients, but very flavorful.”
“The dish I called the Trash Can I first made years ago while on vacation in Cape May,” he said. “It was the last day of vacation, and I made a last meal with five different types of seafood I had left. My friend said it was great, and that if I hadn’t thought of it, it would’ve ended up in the trash can.”
Robert plans to submit an application for next year’s competition, when he hopes to be even better prepared.
“If I had known what the presentation of the food was supposed to look like, I would have done better,” he said. “I didn’t know about what portion sizes were appropriate or about appropriate contrast of colors, things like that. I later found out that there were 18 different areas of criteria.”
Before opening Dick’s Dock, Robert was executive chef of the Embassy Suites located in the Meadowlands as well as a team chef for teams such as the New York Giants, New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils.
Local physician Dr. Madho Sharma, a regular at Dick’s Dock for years, compares the restaurant to “some of the finest restaurants in Manhattan.”
“I eat there a few times a week, and I haven’t been disappointed even once,” Sharma said. “At one of the country clubs I belong to, there are a lot of people who like to eat fish, and they introduced me to Dick’s Dock…and I just fell in love with the restaurant. I was quite surprised initially, as some of themembers live in Short Hills and Watchung, but they come from all the way over there to eat in this restaurant.”
Dr. Sharma recommends any of the soups as an appetizer, and names lakeside tilapia and blackened catfish with dirty rice as his favorites. He said that diners should bring their patience along with their appetites.
“He takes so much care in preparing each individual dish, you will be surprised,” Dr. Sharma said. “If you are in a hurry and know themenu, you can call them ahead of time, and they can have things ready for you. Otherwise, be patient, as he will take his sweet time to prepare it. But when it comes out, be ready, because man, it is incredible.” Server Jennifer DeSantis has worked at Dick’s Dock since it first opened.
“We have customers from all over,” Jennifer said. “Just today I had two ladies fromWestfield who come regularly. There are certain dishes Robert puts on the special, and when they are there, I call them. I have five phone numbers in my book that I have to call just when he has meatloaf on.”
She said that Robert “lives and breathes food.”
“He’s there six days a week,” she said. “He’s off onMonday, but he’s still there to prepare. Once in a long while he has a Monday when he doesn’t have to do anything. Maybe once in the summer he will go fishing. He comes up with specials and things I have never heard of in my life, and I have learned a lot of things about fish I never knew. He’s very talented, he really is.”
Robert and Sandy are planning to soon publish a cookbook, a product of eight years of work.
“We are at the proofing stage of the cookbook,” Sandy said. “This contest will open a door for us, which will be wonderful when we meet in the spring with publishers. We are looking to publish it by the end of the year.”
“After checking thousands of different books, we can say there is not a cookbook on the market like it so far, though at the moment I cannot go into the reason why, as the copyrights are not in place yet,” Robert added.
Former Metuchen mayor Don Wernik is another Dick’s Dock regular, dining at the restaurant every Friday afternoon with his wife, Joyce.
“If someone gets in there one time and gets a fish dish of any kind, I will tell you they will come back,”Wernik said. “I’m not surprised by his success in the statewide culinary challenge. This award simply gives him the recognition he deserves. He really cares about every dish he serves.We’re really very proud of Buddy.”
Wernik added that the restaurant feels like you’re “almost home.”
“We’ve been regulars for years now,” he said. “It is a very friendly atmosphere, kind of like family. Robert and Sandy are just really good people. Once, my wife was in the hospital, and when they found out, they immediately sent her over a meal.”
Fellow Metuchenite Leticia Huffman agreed with that sentiment, counting that as an important reason for the restaurant’s appeal.
“Scott and I felt right at home there,” Huffman said, recounting her first meal there with her husband years ago. “We started to go there on a regular basis, and it didn’t take long to become friends with Sandy and Jennifer. We are almost like family now, that’s how much we’ve clicked.”
“They are genuine people, and that is what we appreciated so much about it,” she said. “Dick’s Dock is a place to savor the food and good friendships with whomever you bring.”