Brunch at Park & Sixth Gastropub in Jersey City, NJ

The 'rents, Dan and I attempted to go to Talde for brunch, but apparently they were closed and not yet open for brunch :(  So instead we went to Park & Sixth Gastropub, which ended up being a great decision as they had free live music, and everyone enjoyed their food.  Only negative I have is that it took a little while for the food to come out.  The wings, which should've been an appetizer, were brought out along with all of our entrees.  They were so good (as usual) though that I can't really be mad.

Big Mama Burger - hanger steak blend, corned beef hash, red onion, pepperjack, runny fried egg.  Dan got this and beasted it ha

Lobster BLT - poasted lobster, slab bacon, lettuce, tomato and basil mayo. My dad got this and was very pleased.  The lobster tasted great and was a nice portion

Chicken a la Awesome - house brined chicken breast, fresh muzz, broccoli rabe, pink vodka sauce, parmagiano reggiano.  My mom really liked this and actually easily finished half ha

Cheesesteak with caramelized onions, truffle oil and provolone I think.  Tasty but could've used a little salt.  The bread was nice and soft though and the meat good quality

Thai curry wings w/pistachio.  My fav thing to order and possibly my fav wings of all time

Dinner at Seoul Kitchen in NYC

I went to Seoul Kitchen with Debbie for a late dinner.  While all the dishes had a korean inspiration, they didn't really taste too korean too me ha.  The chicken itself was not double fried. In fact it wasn't even breaded.  They were tasty though, and a large portion for the price.  The kim chi fries were tasty more because of the dipping sauce.  Couldn't really taste kim chi, which was sad.

Kim chi fries with miso aioli - the fries were nice and crisp but the powder didn't really connote a kim chi taste.  The miso aioli was excellent though

Sriracha & honey wings - great spicy kick.  More spicy than sweet

Palm sugar & kalamansi wings - my fav.  Rare to find a restaurant that uses kalamansi (usually spelled with a c by filipinos).  I liked the sweetness with a slight lemon-y tinge

Semi-home made Pizza from Trader Joe's

I bought pizza dough from Trader Joe's because we had home-made meat sauce and tons of shredded cheese.  It took a little while to roll and knead the dough.  Maybe we should've had more counter space reserved or rolled it out sooner.  Ultimately though we got it nice and crisp, and the dough itself was delicious.  The meat sauce actually was a great call, and the toppings of mushroom and pepperoni were perfectly balanced.

Dinner at Dinosaur BBQ in Newark, NJ

Another Devils game, another trip to Dino haha.  This time I again ventured to try something new, and was very happy with my choice.

Jumbo BBQ Chicken Wings - half wango tango (Dan's usual) and half honey bbq.  So the honey bbq was my choice as it was supposed to be mild and sweet.  It was neither lol.  It def had kick and wasn't nearly as sweet as I would've expected.  It was well charred and delicious just not what I was expecting.

Ultimate BLT with Harlem potato salad and BBQ fried rice.  Delish as usual

Crispy Chicken Sandwich with pickled onion and tomato, and BBQ mayo on the side, with fries and gumbo.  The chicken was SO GOOD.  A monster patty and perfectly fried.  Reminded me a little of chik filet but better and without the guilt.  It was so large though I could only eat half.  It reheated well according to Dan.

Dinner at Havana Alma de Cuba in NYC

I went for Cuban with Karem around Christopher St.  The food was all well seasoned and delicious, albeit a little pricey.  I don't think I would say this is the best Cuban meal I've ever had, considering JC has some great cheap places.  But a worthy competitor.

Tostones rellenos - crispy green plantains, shrimp fricasse stuffing.  Well seasoned and a great mix of the soft shrimp inside the cirsp plantains 

Fufu con camarones - crispy green plantains mashed with garlic shrimp and garlic sauce.  It reminded me of mofongo.  This needed some seasoning

Rabo Encendido - oxtail, piquillo pepper, tomato, red wine sauce and rice and beans.  Karem got this and I tried a little meat.  The meat was so tender and the sauce was great as well

Ropa Vieja "La Bodeguita" - shredded skirt steak braised in tomato salsa criolla, rice and beans.  This was excellent.  The meat was so flavorful and juicy. I loved the plantain bowl it came in as well.  It was dark in the restaurant though so I didn't realize how many onions were mixed in with the meat

Tres Leches de Pina - pineapple sponge cake, layered with meringue and fresh whipped cream.  I didn't realize there was pineapple in here :( I'm not into fruit in my dessert, so I didn't love this

Churros con chocolate - the chocolate sauce was on point!  Usually people have more of a hot cocoa chocolate, which is wrong.  But the churros themselves were too thick for me, very doughy, and not crispy enough

Dinner at Carrino Provisions in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I tried to go to Talde in JC but the line was like an hour long, so instead we went to Carrino Provisions next door, which is kind of like a mini version of Eataly.  The food for the most part was very delicious and tasted fresh.  The negative was that some of the food was a tad too salty.  Still, the octopus pasta was incredible and certainly warrants a return trip.

Complimentary focaccia and olive oil.  The focaccia was nice and soft and buttery

Seafood salad with lemon and celery.  Tasty but a small portion :(  The seafood was fresh tasting with good texture

Meatball gratin, boccacini, house marinara - great texture but a little salty

Bruschetta - mushrooms in vinegar, speck, shaved hazelnuts - a very tasty and unique combo of ingredients.  This is where I started getting full

Campanelli, braised octopus puttanesca, roasted beef fat, fennel - GET THIS.  If you eat one thing from here, this should be it  I'm sad I was already kind of full when this came out

Cannoli - also get this

Peanut butter tiramisu - Dan was in heaven

Breakfast from Choc-o-Pain in Jersey City, NJ

I picked up a chocolate croissant from Choc-o-Pain in JC.  Nice and buttery with a great amount of chocolate inside.  The cafe itself is pretty cute though small.

Lunch from Koro Koro in Jersey City, NJ

I picked up some lunch from Koro Koro JC, which sells rice balls.  A nice convenient meal on the go.  While I'm glad I tried it, I don't know if I would eat these again, only because I think the filling to rice ratio is a little off.  A little too much rice for me, which I've never said as an Asian person haha.

Cochinita Pabil - pork, habaneros, achiote, cilantro, garlic and lime

Cuban - pork, black beans and plantains.  Perfect flavors together, but overshadowed by the rice

Spicy salmon - salmon, kimchi, garlic chili and mayo

Miso Beef - lean ground beef, miso, shallots, leeks, scallions, ginger and sake.  My favorite flavor-wise but I wished there was twice as much filling

Dinner at Sawadee in Jersey City, NJ

I went to Sawadee in JC with Mei Lun for dinner since she was craving Thai.  The food was all really well prepared and super flavorful.  The only negative comment I have is that they rushed us out because it was late and they were closing.  The entire meal was pretty inexpensive as well.

Hot and Sour Soup

Fried vegetable dumplings  - great texture and perfectly fried

Thai Chicken Wings - serious heat.  Super well fried

Pad Thai Duck with glass noodles - I got this and it was perfect.  The duck was so crisp and the glass noodles were a surprise (vs regular pad thai noodles) but tasted just like pad thai with all the usual toppings and flavors

Pad See Eow - wide rice noodles chinese greens, sweet soy sauce and tofu

Dinner at Left Bank Burger Bar in Jersey City, NJ

Went to Left Bank Burger Bar in JC with Jess.  The restaurant is where a greek restaurant used to be.  Nice space and excellent happy hour.  I think $3 well drinks and $5 martinis, and house wine and beer.  So many types of burgers with lots of toppings.  It was hard to decide what to get.  Ultimately I think I made a good choice with the Mac Daddy  I would go back to try some of the other things on the menu.

Left Bank Mac and Cheese - Jess got this as a starter and loved it

Pork Rinds - only $3 for a giant container of it.  Well cooked and seasoned

Jess made her own burger.  I think there's some pulled pork on there, plus cheese obvi and onion rings on the side

Mac Daddy Burger - house blend, fried mac-and-cheese, butcher-cut smoked bacon and tomato

Inside of my burger.  It was a beast

Dinner at Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City, NJKale sala

Dan and I went to Razza for some legit pizza.  After my healthy foray into cauliflower pizza, we were craving some real deal pizza.  As usual Razza was spot-on with some amazing new pizzas.  Still we couldn't help get some tried and true goodies like the meatballs and kale salad.

Kale salad with caesar dressing, sourdough croutons, and parmigiano reggiano

Polpette Al Forno - meatballs

Maple Bacon Pizza - fresh mozzarella, mangalitsa bacon, PA maple syrup, shaved onion.  So delicious.  Perfect balance of sweet and salty

Soppressata pizza - tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, pimenton, heirloom garlic.  This was good too but not quite as outstanding as the maple bacon

Salted caramel panna cotta.  Delish!  Whoever does their desserts is a star

Home-made cauliflower pizza

I found a recipe for online for carbless pizza made from cauliflower instead of flour.  The instructions were pretty easy to follow and it turned out well, though I think I should've gotten more water out in the microwave so the crust crisped up more.  An entire cauliflower made two full cookie tray crusts.  Each little slice was actually very filling, much more so than regular crust.  We made one pesto veggie pizza and the other was traditional marinara pepperoni.  A nice healthy dinner.

Uncooked cauli-crusts

One cooked crust

 

Two cooked crusts

Final pizzas

Pepperoni six cheese pizza

Mozz pesto tomato pizza

One slice of each was enough to fill me up!