Brunch at Satis Bistro in Jersey City, NJ

Satis Bistro in JC has some great reviews on Yelp, and recently got a great review in the New York Times, so decided to hit it up for brunch.  The place was really cute, high ceilings and lots of latin on the chalkboards.  Our waiter was a little weird - kind of a mix of blase and he wanted to kill us.  The food overall was a little disappointing considering the rave reviews.  I enjoyed what I ate but it wasn't the best brunch I've had by far.  Most of the food was severely underseasoned, which I guess is better than being too salty but I'm not sure why they were so sting with salt.  Still, I would like to come back for dinner to see if there is more to the place.

Poached Eggs with crispy pancetta and basil hollandaise served on foccacia crostini - Dan got this.    He enjoyed it though the pancetta was way overcooked.  It was almost the consistency of bad turkey bacon.  There was a little too much basil in the sauce for my taste.

Side of sweet potato home fries - we felt like we had to order this since we'd never seen this on a menu.  This was def lacking in salt.  Once we added salt and pepper though it was pretty tasty.

Shredded beef brisket and Yukon Gold Potato Hash, two fried eggs, and Harissa - Everything was delicious but the brisket was a little stringy.  Like it took effort to chew.  The harissa was a nice compliment though and overall I enjoyed it.

Another view of my meaty breakfast

Pain Au Chocolat for dessert.  Because why not.  No kidding when I say this was maybe 10% chocolate inside.  There were like four random bites with chocolate.  WTF.  I mean the croissant itself was good.  Nicely buttered and flaky but I wanted some chocolate.

Dessert at La Churreria in NYC

Finally made it to La Churreria for churros post-dinner at Gyu-Kaku.  The place is tiny and had tiles and decor very similar to San Gines in Madrid.  Also we ordered Churros for two - 12 churros and large pot of hot chocolate and I swear it was too much for three people.  It was close to what I remembered in Madrid.  Definitely the closest I've experienced at any place in the United States.  To be honest though I'm not sure how this place stays in business b/c we took up one of their three tables for like an hour and our dish only cost $10.  So everyone should go there while it's still up and running!

Dinner at Gyu-Kaku in NYC

Risheen, Elena and I went to the Gyu-Kaku by St. Mark's Place.  Somehow I still got mildly lost walking there even though I had passed this location just a few weeks ago.  Anywayy everything we had again was great.  I love sharing and cooking but was so hungry I wouldn't have minded if everything was already cooked.  Overall we didn't spend too much either, like $25 per person without tip.

Seaweed Salad - great.  Can't really mess this up.

Kobe beef garlic fried rice with bacon - prob my fav thing to eat here

Sweet potato tempura - something about this is very surprising.  Maybe it's just the sweetness, but in a good way.

Shots of the tempura and raw zucchini and pork belly

Raw veggie platter plus raw kalbi behind it

Kobe rice and skirt steak

Rice, zucchini and kalbi.  Delish

Lunch from Andrea Salumeria in Jersey City, NJ

I don't know how it took us this long, but for the first time Dan and I went to Andrea Salumeria in JC.  It's a small Italian deli that has legittt Italian cold cut subs and freshly made cheese.  This place is also like 2 seconds from Dan's place so I don't know why we never went there.  The subs are pretty large and the ingredients are unparalleled.  It also got like 5 stars on yelp, which is really hard to do ha.

The Soprano - sopresata, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil.  The perfect HP sandwich.  My only complaint was the bread was a little too crunchy for me.  Would have just liked it a little softer.  

The What's Up - ham cappicola, hot sopresata,  hot cappicola, mozzarella, sharp provolone, and hot peppers.  Of course Dan got this.  The hotness was no joke.

Dinner at Madame Claude's in Jersey City, NJ

Laura, Dan and I went to Madame Claude's for my second visit there.  The place is so tiny that even with reservations we had to wait a little while, but it was definitely worth it.  I am also now in love with French butter.  Unfortunately I neglected to take a picture but it probably would just look like typical butter to all of you haha.  Super creamy and nice balance of sweet and salty.  Could've made a meal of just eating their bread and butter.

Les Escargots - snails served in a butter, garlic, and parsley sauce.  Delish even though the idea of snails is mildly revolting to me.  Dipping the bread in this was awesome.

Dan ordered the special - Bouillabaisse.  Mix of different seafood in delicious broth 

Steak Frites  - classic

Lamb Shank in rosemary and white wine sauce served with Gratin Dauphinois and peas - the lamb was perfectly cooked and tender.  The sauce was wonderful and the potatoes.  OMG best thing I ate there.  Would def just order it on its own.  The potatoes were so thinly cut and balanced with the cheese.

Tarte Tartin - home-made apple tarte with vanilla ice cream.  Did NOT enjoy the tarte sadly.  Too bitter and not very apple-y.

Crepe of some kind that Laura got.  Can't remember what was in it.

Home-made jazzed-up ramen

Added some pork dumplings, frozen veggies, and sriracha to chicken ramen, and made a much better meal than I would've thought.  Actually better ramen than some places we've ordered from in the area ha.

Brunch at ABC Kitchen in NYC

Dan and I finally made it to ABC Kitchen for brunch.  As close as we live to the city, it takes a LOT of effort and will power to hop onto the PATH over the weekend to go for brunch when there are so many closer places nearby.  But we made it.  The decor of the place was very similar to Butter - kind of rustic and hipster-y.  Plenty of hipsters eating there in fact haha.  Everything we had was amazing though and totally worth the trip.  Would love to come back for dinner some time.

Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli - Lots of crab but was a little overpowered by the lemon.  Nice crunch on the bread.

Mushrooms, parmesan, oregano and farm egg pizza - By far the BEST thing I ate there.  The runny egg was sooo delicious and dipping the crust into it was the best.  And no meat!

Pretzel dusted calamari with marinara and mustard aioli - Delicious and perfectly fried.  Not too greasy or too heavy.  Nice dipping sauces as well.

Maple bacon biscuits - Genius idea!  The inside of the biscuit as super buttery and
I loveddd the little bits of bacon

Sundae with salted caramel ice cream, candied peanuts, popcorn, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.   Ridiculously rich and sooo bad for us.  But amazing.  I was a little full when we got to dessert but this was still so worth it.