Lunch at Sawadee in Jersey City, NJ

We went to Sawadee with my parents.  It wasn't crowded at all during Sunday lunchtime.  Everything was delicious though I think I ordered the wrong wings.  Nonetheless, their food is always great and so many choices on the menu.

Steamed veggie dumplings

Thai wings.  Nicely fried though drenched in sauce.  I didn't think they would be saucy

Roti curry with chicken

Chicken pad thai

Roasted duck soup

Shrimp with broccoli

Bok choy with plenty of garlic

Brunch at Berimbau Do Brasil in NYC

For book club we went to a Brazilian place in SoHo.  Food was delicious and drinks even better.  The service was good though not great.  It'a small place and very homey.  Great to have some cheese bread again!

Poached eggs and calabresa on homemade cheese bread, vatapa sauce, salad and home fries

Grilled picanaha steak topped with eggs plus rice and beans

Full shot once the beans arrived

Pan de Queij - cheese bread for sharing

Dinner from Tidal Poke in Jersey City, NJ

Remember how I said once we found out about poke in the 'hood that we started ordering weekly?  I wasn't kidding.  Not only is their poke amazing, but their kahlua pork is also amazeballs.  Actually, their kahlu pork AND mac salad are super delicious and on part with what we've had in Hawaii.  Plus, as previously stated, poke portions are huge and fresh and many mix in options.  So happy.

Kahlua Pork bowl and two-protein poke bowl

Kahlua pork with delicious bbq sauce, mac salad, and white rice

Tuna and yellowtail bowl with seaweed and seaweed salad, edamame, masago, cucumer, and chrispy shallots.  Love that yellow tail is an option there

Dinner at Broa in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I met Joanna out at Broa.  We have never gone but it was super cute and intimate.  Looked like some authentic places in Portugal.  The menu is handwritten and changes every day, so they suggested we take a pic of it, which I did, so we wouldn't have to keep going up to look at it.  Everything we had was quite good though I wished the menu was bigger because there were a lot of fried dishes.  I wanted more greens or other carb besides fried breading.  Still, a great meal.

Handwritten menu of the day

Cod Fritters.  Basically croquetas.  Nicely fried and subtle cod flavor

Shrimp in garlic sauce with rice and small piece of bread

Close up of the shrimp in a boat of garlic sauce.  Great flavor

Portuguese Cured Sausage on fireee

Cool presentation but none of our favs.  It was pretty dry sadly

This sausage, however, was incredible and everyone loved it.  A Mix of traditional Portuguese bread, chicken, and pork plus topped with an egg.  The texture of the sausage was soft but not mushy

Chicken balls.  Again like croquetas.  Tasty though again fried, so you see my complaints about not having a super diverse menu

Lunch at Shanghai Best in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went with my parents again to Shanghai Best.  Nice that it's so close because pretty solid Chinese food.  Everything was delicious and we were thoroughly stuffed at the end.  Even their duck is very good, which is something I always love ordering but if it's not a super fancy place, sometimes seems like a bad idea.  Thankfully their duck is on point.

Shrimp dumplings.  Solid and seemed fresh

Bok choy with lots of garlic 

1/2 peking duck.  Nice and crispy

Buns for the peking duck

Spicy hot pepper chicken.  Def too spicy for me

Salt and Pepper Pork Chop.  Solid but I have to say I prefer the pork chop of Taste of North China more

Braised Beef Noodle Soup.  Can't see the noodles but sooo much hearty beef pieces.  Like brisket maybe?  Or beef cheeks?  Awesome and a bit of a kick

Shrimp Lo Mein.  Good but clearly not the best thing we ate there

Brunch at Talde in Jersey City, NJ

We hadn't been to Talde in a while so decided to go for brunch.  Definitely very filling and less crowded then, so the service moves more quickly.  Everything was great though not necessarily a cohesive order.

Special beignets - classic and matcha.  Classic were amazing esp with chocolate and coffee dipping sauce.  Neither of us love green tea so the matcha was just okay

Samosas

Forgot what was inside but was very tasty

Smoked salmon bao with chive cream cheese.  The herbs were a bit much but their baos are always good

As are there tots..No complaints here

Yuzu Guacamole - crispy rice and la quercia ham.  Like crispy rice sushi but no fish.  Fulfilled my crispy rice craving but is def best with raw fish :)

Lunch at Tidal Poke in Jersey City, NJ

Finally JC has a poke place and it is amazing!  Super close, located at Harborside Plaza.  They have a few protein options and various toppings, and generally give very generous portions!  Once we discovered this existed, we've basically been ordering from them every week.  This was our first meal there at the actual store.  If you do delivery, they sometime stuff it especially towards the end of the day.  The fish is fresh and while not cheap, definitely worth it.

Salmon and octopus bowl with seaweed salad, edamame, cucumber, masago, and crispy shallots.

Tuna bowl with seaweed salad and other seaweed, masago, cucumber, edamame