Dinner at Spunto Thin Crust Pizza in NYC

Post painting some gfs and I went to Spunto for dinner.  Fortunately we made it in time for happy hour and were able to take advantage of a great special - pitcher of draft beer --> free large cheese pizza!  We also got a second large pizza, half veggie and half meaty.  All this food and it only came out to about $16 a person.  Great deal, great pizza, and great day as we got to sit outside in perfect summer weather.

Clasica Pizza - marinara sauce, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil.  Super thin and crispy. 

Half Giardino -Marinara sauce & cheese, broccoli, fresh tomatoes, sweet red onions, roasted garlic, spinach; Half Meat Lover's - marinara sauce & cheese, pepperoni, sweet italian sausage, hot italian sausage.  Didn't try the giardino but the meat lover's was excellent.  Great variety of meats and sauce had great flavor.  Also got some garlic from the giardino which made it even better

Brunch at Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, NJ

Dan, the rents and I went to Tick Tock for brunch.  Service was very quick today.  I guess everyone went down the shore today because it wasn't crowded when we sat down.  I went with a classic while Dan made a new excellent selection.

Macho Nachos - chicken chili and chorizo with salsa, cheddar, sour cream, onions, jalapenos and guacamole.  Chili was delicious as were all the toppings.  So large also - everyone sruggled to finish

Tick Tock Chicken - grilled chicken, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella and pesto on a roll w/waffle fries

My dad's Turkey Club - bacon, lettuce, tomato, and turkey w/mayo and fries

Brunch at Beechwood Cafe & Bakery in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to Beechwood after taking the dog to the vet in JC.  We sat outside and some quality people/dog-watching.  The service was pretty terrible today though.  Our drinks didn't come until after our food did, utensils came out after food did, and everything just took forever in terms of service.  My food was good but not exactly what I expected, though props for making eggs over easy the right away.

Potato hash - more like potatoes, over easy eggs, and corned beef which looked like bacon.  Great combo together.  Just not exactly what I expected when I think of "hash" or "corned beef"

Huevos Rancheros - tortilla chips w/beans, fried eggs, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream.  Good but messy

Dinner from Sushi House 21 in Newark, NJ

Dan and I got take-out from Sushi House 21, which had 4.5 stars on Yelp.  We felt bad leaving the doggie so got food to go, but it was still excellent and made me feel happy to have found one reliable take-out place near our apt.  Not super cheap but the seafood was all very fresh.  The ramen also was decent, esp. considering it was only $8!  Would like to eat in-house and try some of the other fresh seafood options.

Dan's Meteor Roll - spicy tuna roll w/eel, tuna, salmon, avocado on top with special sauce

Black Dragon Roll in the back - shrimp tempura, cucumber roll topped with eel and avocado.  Red Dragon Roll in front - eel crunch w/spicy tuna on top and special sauce

Tonkotsu Ramen - large, tender pieces of pork, egg (a little over cooked but I guess it would be hard to transport a soft boiled egg), corn, and bamboo shoots.  The broth had good flavor.  The noodles weren't anything special but the pork was great

Lunch at Shaka in West Long Branch, NJ

For lunch during random training near the beach, Andrew and I went to Shaka, which had Hawaiian-inspired food, most of which was healthy.  I thought I should be healthy and detox from my super rich dinner the night before.  This meant that I had some food regret from my choice haha, but glad we tried it.

Makaha Fish & Rice Bowl - mahi mahi, cilantro brown rice, hass avocado, tropical pico, toasted coconut, cilantro lime sauce

Bowl mixed up.  The fish was a little dry and the salsa was more fruit than I expected.  As in, all fruit ha.  It def tasted refreshing but I think I wanted something more meaty or at least something with beans

Dinner at Hakkasan in NYC

Dan and I went to Michelin-star restaurant Hakkasan in NYC for Restaurant Week.  It was AMAZING and def worth coming back to during non RW.  I don't think I've ever been to a really expensive Chinese restaurant but I def think this was worth it.  Everything had so much complex flavor and the portions were well-sized.   The drinks were also very unique and tasty.  At one point our drink order was severely delayed, I guess because it was super busy.  The waitress apologized multiple times, which was nice but not so helpful.  Right before our bill came the manager came over and apologized for the delay and said he was going to comp those drinks, which was awesome bc that was approx. $30.  They have a couple of other prix-fixe menu options throughout the year, which could def be worth it, or just come back and order a la carte. 

Chinese Mule - Spring 44 vodka, Hatsumago junmai sake, cilantro, ginger, lime and Fever-Tree ginger beer.  Very refreshing and strong

Blood and Sand - Hakushu 12 yr Japenese whisky, Martini Gran Lusso vermouth, Cherry Herring, Satsuma Godai umeshu, orange juice and orange wood smoke infusion.  Also looked crazy because it was still smoking and smelled so strong.  But it was super cold. which was crazy

Fried soft shell crab with curry leaf and chilli - the crab was so meaty and delicous.  The crunchy thing on top was apparently egg yolk threads.  This was a giant portion for an appetizer. Def the best thing we ate all night. 

har gau shrimp shumai, crab dumpling, prawn andchive dumpling. def quality ingredients.  Not the best dim sum I've eaten but you could tell this was carefully made

Jasmine tea smoked pork ribs - not part of RW but totally worth it.  Fall of the bone and great smoky flavor

Spicy prawn with lily bulb and almond - Dan got this and thought it was great spice-wise.  It was a little spicy for me but the curry flavors were excellent.  I also thought it wouldn't be enough food but the prawn were in fact prawn and giantic

Stir-fry black pepper rib-eye beef with merlot - so delicious.  Tender beef with great flavor.  Only negative was it wasn't super hot when it came out.  I also loved the roasted garlic cloves

Spring onion and egg fried rice-  as the yelp reviews instructed, def choose this over regular white rice.  So much flavor and also a large portion

(L) some drink with Cachaça and blueberries that Dan enjoyed.  (R) Fernet Julep - Spring 44 bourbon, Fernet Branca amaro, ginger juice, mint and spiced port syrup

Vanila parfait with sorbet, strawberries, and what tasted/felt like space ice cream on top haha.  Very delicious.  Great textures and the right amount of sweetness

I took my macarons to-go.  Top was raspberry and bottom mocha.  The next day confirmed that I don't like french-style macarons.  Only coconut macaroons.  This was the only thing I didn't love

Home-made roasted chicken, dill potatoes, and corn

We made a great, easy dinner of roasted chicken thighs, dill potatoes, and chipotle corn.  This time the dill potatoes were sooo close to Boston Market's version because I correctly steamed the potatoes vs. boiling.  Chicken was great - the skin was so crispy it was like chicarron.  And of course the corn was easy and a great side.