Dinner at Irati in Barcelona, Spain

The beginning of the honeymoon food pics!  Near the Boqueria (market) by Las Ramblas, we found this excellent small-ish tapas place.  We ate pintxos by the bar, most of which I loved.  Some seemed a little far out there/I couldn't entirely tell what it was.  But overall a great intro meal for us.

Dinner at Barn Joo in NYC

For my birthday dinner with friends, we went to Barn Joo - a Korean gastropub in the Flatiron area. Everything we ordered was prepared well and not absurdly expensive.  The spicy dishes were flavorful but not too spicy for me.  I was happy that we got to try so many different things.  I wouldn't say this is the best Korean spot in NYC but it delicious and a great place to go with a group.  Plus spinning the wheel of fortune is fun even though all we won is one free drink.

Seafood pancake with scallion, onion, perilla, clam strips, squid and shrimp

Fried dumplings

Scallion pancake with baby greens, green beans, zucchini and mushrooms

Soy garlic wings - tasty but less good than bon chon.  Nicely fried though

Really enjoyed the salt and pepper wings

Bibimbap with bulgogi

Grilled pork.  Nice heat

Braised beef short ribs with cippollini, chestnut, and pinenut.  Super thick and great flavor.  This came out towards the end of the meal though when I was pretty full

Lunch at Nougatine at Jean-Georges in NYC

For my birthday, Dan and I went to Nougatine at Jean-Georges for this ridiculous deal - $38 for three courses every day at lunch Mon-Fri.  Everything was so well-prepared, beautiful to look at, and extremely flavorful.  We ended up spending more than I thought because of drinks, but still a great value.

Great bread and butter

Dan found pappy van winkle!  I forgot what I got, something fruity and delicious

Sweet pea soup with sourdough croutons and parmesan.  Loved the foaminess and the soup was subtle but packed with flavor at the same time

Shrimp salad with avocado, tomato, and champagne vinegar dressing.  This was SOOOO good.  The dressing was light and fresh.  The shrimp was lightly cooked and I always love it paired with avocado.  The salad was actually kind of large; I started feeling full after I finished 

I love teeny things!

Sauteed Black Sea Bass with shitake mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, and sesame vinaigrette.  Dan got this and this was excellent.  The fish had a great crispy skin and the veggies were all fresh and paired well all together

Mint and Ginger that came with my fish.  Tasted great with both fish dishes

Hake with miso-yuzu glaze and market greens.  The fish was very thick and very meaty, which I liked.  The glaze wasn't as powerful as I'd hoped, and the dish was undersalted.  I'm sad that it wasn't a memorable experience

Green Tea Pavlova with exotic fruit and passion fruit sorbet.  This was definitely a unique dish.  Didn't love it though

Jean-Georges warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream.  Perfect.  Can't go wrong with this combo

Dinner at Ani Ramen House in Montclair, NJ

Dan and I went to Ani Ramen House for one of our first meal together as husband and wife.  We had to wait a little while as usual, but not quite as long as the first time because we sat at the communal tame.  As usual, the food was excellent, and this time we thought to bring tupperware to bring home our leftovers.  I only wish there were more ramen places near us so we'd never have to wait to get seated.

I think this was the regular chasu pork buns.  great bread textue

Always an excellent appetizer choice

Chicken two ways - seven-spice dry rub and sake soy glaze.  I loved both of these; great mix of spicy, sweet, and savory.  If I had to pick one, I'd say the sake soy glaze was slightly better because it was sweeter, but both were excellent.  Three and three would've been better

Special ramen I think with brisket?  The broth was nice and rich from the beef

Shoyu ramen - classic chicken broth, soy tare with chashu pork, spinach, nori and scallions.  Added a marinated soft-boil egg because you have to

Dinner at Arturo's Osteria & Pizzeria in Maplewood, NJ

Dan and I went to Arturo's in Maplewood, which is owned by the same people as Razza.  Actually it's existed long before Razza, but Razza is so much easier for us to get to.  The area is very cute - very Gilmore Girls esque.  The restaurant itself is somewhat small, and even though we came by on a non-weekend night, the place was packed and we had to wait a good 15-20 minutes to be seated.  It was totally worth it as the food was just a delicious as Razza.  For me the environment was less pleasing than Razza, mostly because the acoustics weren't as good and this was a very family oriented place (aka lots of screaming children).  I'm glad we tried it because the food was high quality, and it was slightly cheaper.  However, the ambiance at Razza is much better, and we've never had to wait as long.  The menus are pretty similar so don't think we're missing out too much.

Kale Caesar salad.  Dan can never resist

Tartufo pizza - sausage, mushroom and truffle oil.  Delicious

Close-up.  Soooo yummy

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with garlic rosemary sauce and truffle oil. This was delicious, albeit super rich.

Lunch at Taqueria Los Gueros in East Rutherford, NJ

I made a quick stop at Taqueria Los Gueros for lunch while doing errands.  Apparently at lunch time the place is packed.  Fortunately, my quesadilla didn't take too long.  It was a little greasy but delicious nonetheless.  Portion-wise, it was also gi-normous and cost like $7?

Chorizo and cheese quesadilla w/complimentary nachos

Inside of the meaty cheesy goodness

Dinner at Paquito's in New York, NY

Dan and I stopped by one of my high school favs, Paquito's on the LES.  Super cheap Mexican food, strong drinks, and outdoor seating.  Not too many people eating there when we showed up so we basically had the patio to ourselves.  As usual, a very filling and tasty dinner.

Dan's tacos - carnitas, lettuce, guacamole, and pico de gallo.  I think each was like three bucks.  Crazy

Carne Asada Burrito - steak, monterey jack cheese, guacamole, rice, beans and no sour cream.  With side of pico de gallo.  It was huge and less than $8