Brunch at Beechwood Cafe in Jersey City, NJ

Another solid brunch at Beechwood.  It was pretty crowded when we went; we actually had to wait in line, which is rare.  We got some fruit to start and each ordered very typical dishes - croissant with sausage, egg, and cheese for me, and "chiles quiles" for Dan HAHAHA.

Bowl of fresh fruit

Chiles quiles  - tortillas with salsa verde, cheese, poached eggs, tomatoes, and sour cream

Croissant with sausage, egg, and cheese

Dinner at Brasilia Grill in Newark, NJ

A bunch of us went to Brasilia Grill for Andrew's belated birthday celebration.  Several of us (myself included) got rodizio, meaning a series of meats, often quite salty, brought around on sticks and freshly cut in front of us.  We probably had 10-15 different types, ranging from the best (beef ribs) to things I'd rather not have again (chicken hearts).  I wouldn't say it's the best rodizio I'd ever had.  I think my favorite is still in Hackensack.  But for $27ish dollars, pretty good deal.  I had slightly more restraint this time so I don't feel as gross.  The buffet is pretty good - esp the shrimp.  I didn't take pics of each individual meats because that would've been annoying and not such a great photo.  Tracy and Andrew got some mixed meat platter that she took a pic of for me so you can all see an assortment of MEATTT.

Assortment from the buffet - mushrooms, zucchini and shrimp

Unsure about top left, shrimp, fresh mozz and cherry tomatoes

BBQ mixed meat for 2.  I'm sureee this lasted for several meals

Dinner at Ramen Setagaya in NYC

I really felt like ramen but didn't want to wait at Ippudo, so Karem and I instead went to Ramen Setagaya on St. Mark's Place.  The place is pretty small with fast turn-over, and stools instead of backed seats.  However, very cheap and the wait stuff is patient and doesn't rush you.  I'm def no ramen expert but I thought my spicy miso ramen was delicious and second-best ramen I've had after what we ate in Hawaii.  Now if only someone could tell me where to find Hawaiian-style ramen in the NY metro area...

Vegetable Gyoza - nothing special and lacked real flavor.  Also too greasy. 

Spicy miso ramen - LOVED THIS.  Nice broth that gradually built up in spice.  Included bamboo shoots, corn, pork, bean sprouts, and half-boiled egg.  A very hearty portion as well.  I started getting full and feeling the spice before I finished.

Tsukemen - cold noodle with dipping sauce made of grilled pork, bamboo shoots, scallop, seaweed, and scallion.  Karem didn't want hot soup but then later regretted it since the sauce was hot anyway but the noodles cold/lukewarm ha.  Plus I don't think the "sauce" was as flavorful.  She used some of my broth to liven it up.

Vanilla mochi ice cream.  LOVED IT.  A perfect end.

Nice smooth and sweet sake that I ordered while waiting.  I really enjoyed it with my soup.

Brunch at Amelia's Bistro in Jersey City, NJ

Well another lovely snowstorm delayed plans to go to brunch in the city, so Dan and I instead went to Amelia's Bistro in JC.  Fortunately the food was delicious and service super fast this time.  When we've gone during nice weather and sat outside, service has ranged from good to so terrible Dan complained to the manager with my parents there.  This time though everything came out quickly and it all just hit the spot. 

Complimentary basket of mini muffins - blueberry and corn.  Normally I detest fruit in things, but the blueberry muffins were actually nice with the jam.  Corn is fabulous on its own.

Eggs Benedict with potato hash.  Dan got this and said it was pretty damn good.  Def better than Beechwood.  I tried some and thought it was tasty and not too salty, but I think I generally find it hard to eat too much of any Eggs Benny dish because I find the sauce so rich.

Farm House Skillet - my go to!  Pan fried potatoes, onion, bacon, tomato, spinach and cheddar topped with two fried eggs, and side of baguette.  THE BEST BREAKFAST EVER. 

I moved the eggs so you could get a better look.  Cooking everything together makes every bite unbelievably tasty with a mix of different things each time.  Had a good amount of oil but wasn't too much.  I usually get the eggs scrambled but felt yoke-y

Home-made Peppermint Bark

I made my first attempt at peppermint bark after a co-worker foolishly gave me a mug full of Ghiardelli peppermint bark.  I could eat them allllll day.  Unfortunately I believe I cooled both the dark and white chocolate for too long, because most of the layers separated and it took wayyyy too much effort to cut the bark into pieces.  I mean it still tastes good, but not as pretty or perfect as I would like.  Oh well.  It was my first try and now I know what I did wrong.  Hopefully by next holiday season I will have perfected it so I can give them out as holiday treats.

P. Bark pre-stabbing for several minutes with a large chef's knife

Final product, strategically positioned so it looks successful haha

Lunch at Cracker Barrel in Sanford, NC

I have never been to Cracker Barrel before.  I feel like I've seen it many times on road trips but just never had the opportunity to go to one.  The store itself is super cute.  Had we more time and no children around, I would've liked to go shopping.  The walls are decorated with super cute old advertisements and other fun things.  Though it's a chain I really like all the local stuff they had as decor.  The food was also very home-y and Southern.  Cheap too.  I think my entire plate was under $10.  I got a platter of pulled bbq pork with two sides - sweet baby carrots and dumplings.  Plus they gave us a big basket of biscuits and cornbread.  The pork was good though not very hot.  Had nice flavor and wasn't too heavy.  The carrots were a nice light compliment.  I forgot to take a pic of the dumplings, but basically they're Bisquik but made into almost gnocci-like blobs.  Personally I thought they lacked flavor and had a paste-like consistency.  Apparently it's a popular thing in the South that I just don't get.  Kind of like grits.  But I won't even go there haha

Yummy pulled pork with baby carrots.  Boo unnecessary and unrequested pickles

YUMMY CARBATTACK

Lunch at Sandpiper Seafood Restaurant in Fayetteville, NC

The fam went to North Carolina to visit my brother, his wife, and kiddies.  I had requested in advance some NC barbecue, as I had never been there before and wanted to see what the fuss was all about.  We went to the Sandpiper, which was buffet-style.  There was lots of seafood and a few bbq dishes.  Not a ton, but still a good representation of what the food was like.  Lots of fried dishes, lots of veggies that lacked seasoning and bright colors.  But at least they had veggie options, right?  Anyway, I'll probably miss some of the dishes on these plates, but here's a glimpse of some of the buffet options.

My plate #1 (from L to R clockwise) fried chicken (that was the smallest size I could find btw), mac and cheese, spaghetti, fried clams, bbq brisket, fried fish of some sort, and fried okra.  All the fried things were great.  Hard to mess that up.  The bbq brisket was actually really tender considering it was sitting under a heat lamp for god knows how long.  The mac and spaghetti were also both solid, though not the best HP has eaten.

Mom's plate #1: bbq chicken, some mysterious thing above it, broccoli, and fried shrimp

My plate #2: bbq chicken, broccoli, corn, biscuit with honey spread, bbq pork, bbq beans, bbq meatloaf, more brisket, and some greens.  All the bbq stuff was pretty tasty, though the brisket and pork were the best.  The greens were very bitter, and the corn was syrupy sweet.  I guess the veggie to meat balance wasn't so good ha.  The biscuit was nice and fluffy though.

Mom's plate #2: carrot, hush puppy, cornbread, fried shrimp, fried okra, fish

Dessert! I found apple crisp, so of course had to make it a la mode.  Delish!