Dinner from Karpollo in Newark, NJ

We ordered dinner from Karpollo, which had good reviews on Yelp for its bbq.  The food itself was great, good value and well cooked, but it took an hour long than they said to arrive.  AND they mistakenly gave us tres leche cake instead of flan.  I love tres leche but I ordered the flan so both Dan and I could eat it.  Sadly, only cake for HP.

Fried Pork Belly with potato - only $3.  Super meaty.  The potato was just boiled, which was kind of blah

1/2 roasted chicken and 1/2 short ribs.  Both were excellent.  Great seasoning and well cooked.  I could have easily eaten all the short ribs myself

Side of rice

Plate of rice and beans and pork belly

Brunch at Park & Sixth Gastropub in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I stopped by Park & Sixth Gastropub for our first brunch with the doggie.  Walked peacefully sat by us while we ate, while staff and strangers repeatedly showered him with affection.  As usual the meal was amazingly delicious, and as usual I overordered lol.  Good thing Dan helped pick up the slack.

Tuna Tartare - cucumber, fried basil, garlic chips, srirachva yogurt, avocado wasabi mousse, house potato chips.  Tuna perfectly fresh and meaty.  Everything else just tastes perfect together

Thai calamari special - was going to get the Thai Curry wings but they had the same thing in calamari for the special.  Crisp and a great balance of sweet and spicy, but the crunch of pistachios

Lobster Cobb Salad - poached lobster, romaine, bruschetta, avocado, slab bacon, blue cheese, hard boiled egg, tomatillo salsa, and sherry vinaigrette.  So hearty and well-balanced

Garlic pepper fries - the best.  Only thing that would make these better is a garlic aioli dip

Dessert from Milk Sugar Love in Jersey City, NJ

The latest ice cream spot in JC is also a bakery.  We stopped by a See Spot Rescued event in JC, which was right in front of Milk Sugar Love.  They had some puppy fro-yo as well as for people.  The flavors were unique yet simple.

Dan's selection - salted caramel and vanilla bean

My cone- salted cashew on bottom and honey lavender on top

Home-made breakfast and from Teixeira Bakery in Newark, NJ

I made gluten-free chocolate chip pancakes with some sausage and fresh fruit, and I also unrelatedly picked up amazing pasteis de nata from the best bakery in Newark.  The filling is perfect consistency and the crust is perfectly flaky and buttery.  Def hard not to stuff my face with these bad boys.

Gluten-free chocolate chip pancakes and hot and spicy sausage, plus kiwi

Amazing pasteis de nata

Dinner from 5 Grains Rice in Harrison, NJ

Dan and I ordered from 5 Grains Rice, an attempt at ordering from a "higher end" Chinese/Asian fusion restaurant in town.  As we have learned each time we've deviated from China Wok, more money for this type of food does not equal better.  We should just stick to China Wok, which is passable but not as good as any place in Jersey City.

Jalapeno Pepper Sliced Beef

Bourbon Chicken - not even half as good as the mall bourbon chicken

Wonton soup.  Not memorable

Brunch at Calle Ocho in NYC

Dan and I finally made our way to Calle Ocho for a brunch.  You can only get a reservation a month out because it's so popular due to the all-you-can drink sangria brunch.  I thought you could get your own but that would probably be madness, and it was nice to have wait service for that.  The place is inside the Excelsior Hotel, and everyone there looked 30ish or below.  All of the food was excellent, starting from the crack bread basket.  Seriously, best bread I've had.  The "pan de bono" is Colombian bread that smells/tastes a little like popcorn though has cheese inside it.  We asked for seconds, as did both table beside us.  I probably ate too much bread and as a result could only get through half of my meal, but it was fine because we took it to go, along with the extra bread.  The sangria was also ridiculously strong.  There are 8 flavors.  Between the two of us we tried 6.  Definitely would be a fun with a big group of people.  Also the sangria comes included with your meal, so potentially you could spend under $20 for a crazy all-you-can drink brunch.  No wonder it takes a month to get a res.

Box of bread plus delicious strawberry butter.  Pan de bono (cheese bread), plus chocolate chip and blueberry muffins

Close-up of bread

(L) Blanca (fresh fruit and splash of spirits) and (R) Fresas (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and raspberry vodka).  Both were delicious though the fruit was better in the Fresas

(L) Tropical (Mango, pineapple, lemongrass, passion fruit, rum) and (R) Spanish Harlem (peaches, mandarin, cinnamon, dark rum).  I again like both but the Spanish Harlem went down so smoothly

2nd bread basket of just pan de bono.  Seriously like crack.  More so than Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Latin Benedict - poached eggs, house-made pork and duck sausage, arepas, and chipotle hollandaise.  Dan got this and ordered sides bc we thought it might not be enough food.  It was super rich and delicious and the eggs poached perfectly.  The sausage was also out-of-this-world flavorful.

Vaca Frita - Cuban skirt steak, latin pork, fried rice, avocado, fried eggs.  An ideal HP meal.  I was so full though I could only get through half.  But the next day it was delicious for breakfast

Close-up of my steak

Sides of home fries and chorizo.  So much flavor

(L) Samba (Veev Açaí Liqueur, Brandy, Blueberries) and (R) Punta Cana (Mamajuana Hispanola, Peaches, Oranges, Pineapple, Rum).  We were definitely feeling it after this.  So full

Lunch at Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, NJ

My parents, Dan and I went to eat at Tick Tock because my parents wanted to swing by TJ's.  Fortunately we got seated rather quickly but it was crowded since it was prime brunch time.  I tried something new this time and was pleasantly surprised.  Also it was one of the few times I finished an entire large salad, though Dan gave me some help.  Proof that you can order healthy at a diner haha.

My dad's Cobb Salad - with grilled chicken, iceberg lettuce, bacon, avocado, blue cheese, tomato, cucumber and hard boiled egg.  Very hearty portion and everything looked nice and fresh

My Nicoise Salmon Salad - seared salmon, mesclun greens, cherry tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, capers and balsamic.  I asked for it w/no olives, which they did, but they forgot the anchovies :(  It was still delicious though and I felt good after eating, which is unusual haha

Dan got the Route 3 Traffic Jam - 2 potato pancakes, 2 sausage patties, and 2 eggs topped w/melted swiss cheese.  A quality though heart-stopping choice

My mom got the Parmigiano sandwich - breaded chicken cutlet with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella on a baguette w/side of sweet potato fries.