Lunch at Hill Country Chicken in Brooklyn, NY

I had a couple of trainings in Brooklyn so on two separate occasions went to Hill Country Chicken.  The chicken itself is good but nothing spectacular.  I really enjoyed my Cobb salad though since you could get it with fried chicken, which I guess makes the meal not really healthy, but still better than just eating straight up chicken ha.

Two piece meal with fries

Cobb Salad with fried chicken tenders

All mixed up so you can see blue cheese, eggs, tomato, avocado, bacon, lettuce, and beets

Dinner from New Thanh Hoai in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I ordered Vietnamese food via fastboy delivery, which is great because lots of restaurants participate that aren't on Grubhub/Seamless.  The food prices are more expensive than in the restaurant since private drivers are picking up the food and delivering but still overall an inexpensive meal.  I also love that two people can share one order of pho so we can get other things as well.  Love living in JC.

Grilled shrimp with lettuce on Rice Vermicelli

Grilled chicken

Toppings

Pho with grilled chicken

So much pho :)

Dinner at Andanada in NYC

Dan and I went to Andanada, a one-Michelin-Star Spanish/tapas restaurant.  We had to wait a little while despite having a reservation but it was worth it.  Def the best Spanish food I've had in NYC and reminded me of the delicious food we had in Spain.  The ambiance was authentically Spanish, very relaxed and no pressure to leave but rather to sit and enjoy the meal.  And I spoke to our waiter in Spanish.  They were going to have a Basque tapas night in the future but we couldn't make it.  Hope they have another one soon we can reminisce on our food in San Sebastian.

Complimentary squash soup with endive and dip.  Surprising combo but delicious.  The endive was also incredibly refreshing because it was ice cold

Group shot of octopus, patatas bravas and croquetas

Croquetas of iberico ham.  Perfect balance of cheesiness and ham.  Fried perfectly without being greasy

Pulpo a la gallega - mosaic of octopus over potato foam and rapini.  Octopus perfectly cooked.  The potato foam was amazing.  Very rich though

Patatas bravas with the best garlic aioli.  Perfection again.  The potatoes were perfectly crisp but not greasy and soft inside

Arroz Negro paella - squid ink pasta with fish and calamari.  We almost didn't get it but I am SO glad we did.  The best paella I've had in America. I only wish we would've gotten more seafood in it but the portion was a nice size.  Not ridiculously large

Presa Iberica - Pastrami-style pan-seared Iberian pork shoulder

accompanied with pearl onions, chickpea puree, and piqullo peppers.  I was pretty full by the time the pork shoulder came out, which I found salty. Dan said this sauce cut the saltiness and made it really delicious but I got too close to food-comaing so I couldn't continue 

Flan! Delicious and with a citrus-y flavor

Dessert at Beard Papa's Cream Puffs in NYC

Dan and I tried to go to Levain Bakery for cookies but the line was ridiculously long at almost closing time, so we went to Beard Papa's nearby for cream puffs.  They fill them to order and they were soo tasty and light with just the right amount of sweetness.  Also they were pretty inexpensive for a specialty dessert.  The only negative is it's far uptown so unless you're in the area you probably wouldn't go out of your way to eat there.

(L) Eclair cream puff with original vanilla filling.  (R) Original cream puff with special dulce de leche filling.  Both were delicious but very different because of the chocolate and different filling  I slightly preferred the original w/dulce de leche because of the texture and sweet caramel filling but the vanilla filling was also excellent

Brunch at Sam A.M. Cafe in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I got early on a Saturday and I think this was the earliest time that we've ever made it to brunch.  Everything there is also quite home-y.  Both their pastries and savory dishes are excellent.  I wasn't starving but everything was great and I took home half my sandwich and ate it for breakfast the next day.

Applesauce donut and chocolate croissant.  Both were excellent

Biscuit and Sausage Gravy - biscuit, pan sausage gravy, egg up.  Dan loved it

The Classic Breakfast sandwich - bacon egg and cheese with side of potatoes.  Very filling esp because of the cheddar

Dinner from John's Pizzeria in Jersey City, NJ

We ordered from John's as I had a craving for pizza and Dan had a craving for pasta.  Got some shells and two kinds of pizza that were delish as usual.  I like that you can get personal sized pizzas for less than $10 so I don't have to get a giant pizza of only own flavor.

Stuffed Shells

Bruschetta pizza - staple order

Chicken Marsala pizza - a new order.  Delicious with mild marsala taste.  Can't go wrong with chicken, cheese and mushroms

Dinner at The Draper in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to The Draper, which is the new concept for Park and Sixth Gastropub.  The Draper has an old-time vibe and is a cocktail bar, which is something JC doesn't have much of.  The food of course is from the same chef and was delicious.  When we went it was one of the first few days so portion size wasn't perfected.  We got way too much food but it was all delish!  Glad to have this new option so close by.

Can't remember what it was but I know it was strong and tasty

Popcorn scallops - panko crusted scallops with delicious sriracha mayo.  The scallops were sooo good but the portion was gigantic, which for us was a windfall since it was only $8

Pretzel croissants with grain mustard butter.  These were an amazing hybrid and I also loved the butter.  Perfect together.  Worth coming back just for these and the scallops

Dry Aged Ribeye Sliders - american cheese, caramelized onions, and potato pillow.  Delish combo but not quite as unique as the rest of the food

Angry Lobster - orrechiette, lobster stock, vodka sauce, pecorino, red pepper flake, and basil.  A lot too salty for my liking

(L) A Night with Lemmy - double jack daniels, natural cherry pepsi, house-made maraschino cherries.  Dan enjoyed it but said it was STR-ONG.  (R) Ginger Baker - Tito's vodka, house-made ginger syrup, apple puree, fresh lemon.  Delicious!