THE LOCALS
BEVERAGE DIRECTOR worked from fast-casual taco joints, craft beer pubs, rooftop bars, concert venues to five-star fine dining and hotels. I’ve been a hostess, server, bartender, manager. I’ve seen and done quite a bit which has led me to my current role as a regional director of food and beverage for two hotels and a bowling alley, concert venue with a full-service diner attached to it. MORGAN LIKES TO KEEP IT SIMPLE Asbury Lanes Diner is about playing off the classics and bringing attention to great local beers. Our ontap options are from New Jersey Breweries like Asbury Park Brewery, Cape May Brewing Co., and Brix City. Instead of a bottled wine program, we’ve opted for the keg wine approach, working with Gotham Project wines which helps reduce our carbon footprint. We don’t overcomplicate our cocktails either. We build on classics and give them modern twists or take the base of a great classic and make it our own. They are all about being simple but impactful with taste.
5 Things with Morgan Dickerson New and improved Asbury Lanes Diner relaunches with an entirely reimagined menu. Morgan Dickerson leads the food and beverage program for The Asbury Collection—Asbury Lanes Diner, Asbury Ocean Club, and The Asbury. MORGAN WORKED HER WAY UP Like a lot of people in the industry, I kind of fell into it. I wanted to buy myself a digital camera, thinking I’d be a famous photographer one day. I bought the camera, but it didn’t take long to realize the food and beverage industry was my real calling. I’ve done basically every restaurant and bar industry job except for cooking (no one wants to see that). I started as a busser, then
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CHILLED MAGAZINE
SHE USES FRESH AND LOCAL INGREDIENTS The most important thing for us is using fresh ingredients. No mixes, no bottled stuff. Every single syrup or shrub is made in-house from local produce. We also use quality spirits in our drinks. Nothing bottom shelf. With everything we do, we are always trying to focus on using local when possible. We have a great relationship with Asbury Park Distillery and will use something from their lineup whenever it fits. They have one of the best gins in the market, so it’s always our base for a gin cocktail. HER MR. POTATO HEAD APPROACH When creating cocktails, I like to make my starting point the main ingredient and work from there. If I want fig jam to be the star, I’ll start working on what pairs well with that and go from there. It’s the base spirit that is last to be added. Just make sure there’s a balance to each drink. I always like looking at classic cocktails and seeing how we can make our own interpretations of them. I’m big into the “Mr. Potato Head” approach to drink development—taking a drink apart and putting it back together with different components swapped in for the originals. Don’t take yourself too seriously, either. It’s not about us or our egos. We’re just making drinks, and the most important thing is that the guest likes them. MORGAN MAKES A KILLER ESPRESSO MARTINI It might be a simple cocktail, but not everyone can get that foam on top quite right, and mine always ends with a chef kiss. My fiancé is a big rum enthusiast and historian. I make a well-respected Daquiri thanks to him.
