Shore Eats
In the Kitchen
Tomatoes Culinary creativity shines at this Margate hotspot by Sage Hurley
The flavor, ingredients, plating, and technique are all important.- Chef John Cotte The Loko Moko
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HEN Tomatoes owner Karen ShermanRone met her husband Carmen, he was leaving his Italian restaurant called Carmen’s he'd operated in Ventnor since 1982. Twelve years later, the two opened Tomatoes on Ventnor Avenue, and by 2000 they moved it to its current bayside location at 9300 Amherst Avenue, Margate. The location is one short crosswalk away from a beautiful white dock
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OCEAN CITY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019
overlooking the bay. The sights and sounds of the restaurant’s surroundings are sure to please guests, but once they near the front door, all of their senses will come alive to the smell of meats and vegetables sizzling in the kitchen. The restaurant, named Tomatoes to reference the Italian nature of Carmen’s but with a connotation to the style of food the couple wanted to prepare. “We wanted to cook lighter and more innovative, with a focus on the integrity of the ingredients,” said Karen.
Chef John Cotte, local Atlantic City resident and Tomatoes chef of five years, combines Karen and Carmen's passion for light cooking with local ingredients by creating culinary delights in the kitchen. The menu is a mix of Asian, Italian, and Cuban cuisines, seafood and more. One of the recently added items is the Loko Moko and it’s inspired by a contemporary Hawaiian dish. “I dated a girl who is a Hawaiian native. She told me about the Loko Moko dish and told me you can find it
