Happy hour at Bourbon House in New Orleans, LA

Dan and I went to Bourbon House and he was sooo happy to find so many different kinds of whiskies.  It was happy hour so we decided to try some fresh raw oysters on the half shell for .99 cents each. This point begins my love for raw oysters.  I had never liked them before until here.  I think the sauce made me so happy I forgot about how I don't like the texture.  Since then, I've been on the hunt for oyster happy hour deals.

Lunch at Johnny's Po Boys in New Orleans, LA

Our first meal in NOLA was at Johnny's Po-Boys.  The sandwiches were very large so we made the prudent decision and shared.  We got the surf and turf which was shrimp and roast beef.  Messy but oh so good.  Perfect start to our trip.

What a beauty

Shrimp and roast beef on awesome soft bread plus lettuce and tomato.  Mayo on the side

Dinner at Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ

We had a huge family outing to Medieval Times.  The food was large and tasty and yes, we had to eat it with our hands.  Had so much to eat even brought home leftovers.  Fun show and dinner, even for adults.

Half a chicken per person!

Chicken, potato, corn and garlic bread.  Not pictured - soup and dessert

Dinner at Park & Sixth in Jersey City, NJ

It was an unseasonally warm day and we wanted to eat al fresco, so Dan and I headed to Park and Sixth as we hadn't been there in awhile.  The food is always delicious and hearty and it was wonderful to people/dog watch outside.

P&6 wings

Special of steak frites

Special of mussel frites

Dinner at Kitchen Step in Jersey City, NJ

Tracy and I went to Kitchen Step in JC for dinner, where Thirty Acres used to be.  The food was okay but I wasn't blown away.  The drink was better than the food actually.  I was mildly disappointed by my gnocchi, partially I think because I love Barbuto's so much.  The texture here was too soft.  The octopus was good and Tracy really liked her dish.  I would maybe come back for drinks and apps but not full dinner.

Octopus app

Our drinks.  Mine was in the shark

My drink - You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat: El Buho mezcal, orange, lemon & pineapple juice, coconut syrup, and angostura bitters.  Delicious and stronggg

moroccan braised chicken | bulgur wheat, olives, currants, chickpeas, spice broth 

ricotta gnocchi | ratatouille, tomato jus, ricotta salata, smoked sea salt

Dinner from King Dragon in Jersey City, NJ

I was craving Chinese food so decided to order from a new (for us) place on Uber Eats.  The food was all fine.  Nothing crazy good but all solid and nothing that made us sick or feel gross afterwards. I think I'd order from them again because none of the other places we've tried before were as good.

Boneless Spare Ribs, Mongolian beef with fried rice, and shrimp with broccoli

Brunch at South House in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to South House for lunch as I was really fiending for some Texas style breakfast tacos.  Dan got one of the more decadent dishes.  It was good but messy and not served in the smartest way.  My tacos were awesome and completely fulfilled my craving.

Buttermilk Biscuit and Fried Chicken Breast Sandwich with country gravy, bacon and eggs over easy.  Not sure why they served all of that in a teeny bowl

Insane

Brisket Tacos  with egg, avocado, fire roasted salsa and pepper jack cheese

Close up of the inside of the taco.  Oh p

Lunch at Red White and Que Smokehouse in Kearny, NJ

Dan and I headed to Kearny for what is supposed to be the best bbq in NJ.  And yes, it was.  The place isn't that big but we went early enough that we had seating.  All the meat was delicious but the brisket was the best.  Loved the diff side size options so you can try lots of different things.  It was also very inexpensive.  Hope not too many people know about this so we can continue eating with no problems.

Lots of diff sauces

We got sausage (jalapeno cheddar and wild boar.  Wild boar was insane), quarter smoked chicken, country style potato salad, vinegar cole slaw, jalapeno corn bread, pulled pork and brisket

Another shot of the food before to TORE in it.  Definitely would say that you have to get the brisket and wild boar sausage (if they have it. I think it was on special.  Lots of other things on the menu I'd like to try include their pork rinds and buffalo wings

Brunch at Roman Nose in Jersey City, NJ

The 'rents, Dan and I went to Roman Nose for brunch.  As usual it was great, mostly because of the incredible pancakes.  Best ever.

Pollo Panini - Grilled chicken breast with homemade mozzarella, basil pesto, and fresh tomato on ciabatta

Lemon-Ricotta-Olive Oil Pancakes - Fluffy, moist ricotta pancakes with lemon olive oil and citrus mascarpone.  

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio - a peasant staple of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, pecorino romano, and toasted bread crumbs.  I got this with a side of breaded chicken

Cotoletta - breaded chicken cutlet I got with my pasta.  Needed some salt.  Was a huge portion. I brought it home and added to several salads that week

Meatball Sangweech - Four meatballs stuffed into a fresh ciabatta with fresh mozz

Dinner from Bareburger in Hoboken, NJ

We ordered Bareburger via Uber Eats.  Food was delicious despite being delivered and thus fries less crispy.  So excited that BB is now delivering to us!

Hot Honey Chicken - buttermilk fried chicken, brussel slaw, grilled pineapple, crispy lotus root and hot honey on a sprout bun

Sweet potato fries

Brunch at Mile End Deli in NYC

Dan and I went to Mile End for their special Cabane a Sucre menu.  The fish blini unfortnately was too onion-y for me, but the

Fish blini tower and Cinnamon Bun BEC

Mini smoked fish blini tower with buckwheat pancakes, salmon roe and maple 

Cinnamon Bun BEC with foie gras, caramelized onion, and maple syrup

amazinggg.  They have since added this to their normal menu thank goodness

Dinner at Teppan Bar and Grill in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to Teppan for dinner, hoping to do the dollar sushi at the bar.  Unfortunately the bar was full so we had to sit at a normal table.  We didn't realize until after we ordered that we could've still asked for the dollar sushi menu, but it's okay because we got to try other things.  Sorry for the bad lighting though.

Roti canai.  Always order it and so good

Various rolls Dan ordered

I ordered the Chirashi. Mix of different raw fish over sushi rice

Home-made carrot cake

I baked some carrot cake and decided to try to make a real layer cake a la my favorite bakery.  It came out pretty well but maybe made too much cake.  We were eating it for over a week haha.  But it was incredible, and the pups liked it too.  If not for the icing, would almost be healthy.

Breakfast from Doughnut Plant in NYC

Doughnut Plant had pistachio donuts as their new flavor of the month.  SOOOOOO GOOOD.  These are absolutely the best donuts I've had.  Sad that they are seasonal and that I didn't get a chance to head back there while they were still in season.

Yeast pistachio donuts, pistachio doughseed, and glazed yeast

Close up for the delicious pistachio yeast donut

Close-up of the doughseed pistachio

Inside filled with pistachio cream.  Like pistachio inception ahhhh

Lunch at Mighty Quinn's in Clifton, NJ

Dan and I went to Mighty Quinn's to try their pastrami, which was so so good.  Their brisket normally is my fav meat to order, and it was like that but spiced.  So delicious and this time I actually ate it as a sandwich.  I think they're keeping it on their menu full time, which is the right move because it is amazing.

The delicious pastrami sandwich with vinegar cole slaw and pickled cucumbers

Another view of the pastrami

Brisket with slaw and mac and cheese.  The mac and cheese is veryyy cheesy.  The pasta was a little bit soft but still tasty

Brunch at Joe AllenToa in NYC

The in-laws were in town for a birthday Broadway celebration.  We had a delicious brunch pre-show.  It was a very broadway/old school/steak-house-y type of vibe but the food was great and servers very nice and attentive.  The food was good though nothing super memorable.

Steak and eggs

Stuffed French toast (mascarpone, candied walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon) with bacon

Brisket sandwich au jus - provolone, grilled onion, coleslaw, house-made chips

Tostada - chorizo, cheddar, kidney beans, fried egg

Dinner at Root & Bone in NYC

My cousins and I went to Root & Bone, a southern restaurant run by one of the Top Chef chefs.  The food was delicious - possibly the best fried chicken I've had in NYC.  The place was so cute and the drinks were delicious as well.  Definitely would recommend this place.

Spread of delicious Southern foods

Half crispy fried chicken - free range, organic chicken, sweet tea brined, lemon dusted, with spiked tabasco honey.  So tasty.  Great crispy skin but not greasy at all

Buckwheat waffles with cheddar - excellent with the chicken

Their mac and cheese was incredible.  So cheesy and perfectly cooked pasta. Loved the biscuit thyme crust on top

Farmer's Pot Pie - spring peas, zucchini, vidalia onions, roasted carrots & biscuit crust.  Didn't realize when Renee ordered it that there was no meat because it was so flavorful

A delicious chocolate pudding