Dessert from Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC

We were disappointed by the cake at dell'anima, and we were soo close to Dominque Ansel Kitchen, so of course we had to go there.  We picked up some DKAs for breakfast, and then sat in there and ate there current type of madelines - hazelnut citrus madelines which were like little pockets of heaven in my mouth.  All their flavors are amazing!

Hazelnut citrus madelines

Dinner at dell'anima in NYC

Dan and I went to dell'anima for dinner, which is a sister restaurant of L'Artusi.  We had a pretty early reservation (as in early bird...5:30) but it was okay since I knew I'd be too full to do anything afterwards.  The food overall was good but I was less wow-ed than at L'Artusi.  I think the spaghetti at L'Artusi was just so mindblowing that the bar has been set super high.  The meal was definitely solid but not quite as memorable.

Delicious cocktails.  Forgot what Dan's was on the left, but on the right I got a Chamo-Mule - Chamomile-infused Vodka, Ginger, Honey, Lime, Mint

DIY Bruschette trio: (1) Roasted red pepper - smoked marcona almonds, pecorino romano, (2) Roasted mushrooms - smoked pepitas, scallions, and (3) Avocado -  lemon, aleppo pepper

Bruschette with bread.  I didn't care for the red pepper one, too pasty.  But I enjoyed both the avocado and mushrooms a lot.  The avocado was def my fav

Charred Octopus with rice beans, chorizo, chicories - the octopus was perfectly cooke and the beans were perfect with it

Tajarin Alla Carbonara - speck, egg, black pepper, ramps, pecorino romano.  Great fresh pasta and everything together made a truly authentic carbonara, but it was too rich for me to eat too much of it

Bucatini Alla Arrabbiata - calabrian chilies, tomato, pecorino breadcrumbs.  My favorite of the two pastas.  Could've used even ore of a kick though

Espresso Rum Almond Cake with caramel sauce and sea salt gelato.  I had been really looking forward to this because the cake from L'Artusi was so great, but this cake was very dry and the gelato was too salty.  It would've been much better to have salted caramel gelato rather than just straight sea salt in my opinion.  There would have been a better balance but since the gelato was too salty, we were just eating cake which on its own was quite dry, especially because of the nutiness.

Dinner from ME Casa in Jersey City, NJ

Pre-trip to Puerto Rico, we ordered take out from ME casa to psych ourselves us, but also because the food is always delish and there's some good take-out deals.  The mofongo is always divine there.  We got something new for once

Papas rellenas - fried mashed potato balls filled with beef piccadillo.  Of course an excellent idea.  The mashed potatoes themselves really needed some salt

Arroz con gandules - yellow rice with pigeon peas

Bistec Encebollado -sirloin topped with caramelized onions.  This was new for us too.  Great flavor and the beef was tender though I'm sure eating in the restaurant would be even more juicy

Sweet plantains

Mofongo with chicken stew.  Can't see the mashed plantains under but this dish is always spot on

Inside of the papa rellena.  I think just some more seasoning would have really made this excellent because the beef filling was pretty flavorful but only about 20% of the dish

Semi-homemade Penne a La Vodka

Dan made homemade vodka sauce for one of my fav pasta dishes - penna a la vodka with bacon (instead of prosciutto because we obvi had bacon in the fridge) with peas.  Great flavor and thickness.  He used GOOD vodka too (Tito's) so it was even better.  Since he's had some successes in the past making fresh pasta, I'm sure that's next on the agenda :)

Penne a la vodka with bacon, peas, and fresh parmesan

Dessert from Cafe Delimarie in New York, NY

While in Tribeca for a work related training, I stopped by Cafe Delimarie for some delicious NOLA-style beignets.  I guess this was my way of rewarding/distracting myself from 8 hours of trial training.  They make each order to order and they are HUGE.  Light and fluffy with perfect sweetness.  Also on the weekend it's pretty dead there so easy to order.  Makes me wanna head back to NOLA.

Beign-yays!

Dinner from VB3 Pizzeria in Jersey City, NJ

I had a consuming cheese craving so we ordered some pizza slices from VB3.  Most places don't seem to have that as an option, but I was glad because got to try lots of different things.  Nothing was super memorable honestly, but the pizza was passable.  Maybe ordering slices is not as satisfying as I thought, or maybe the pizza is just older and less fresh and thus less exciting.   I've had a whole personal pizza there before which I think was definitely better but not the best pizza I've had, nor best pizza in JC.  My fav place (ahem Razza) should just deliver :)

(Clockwise) Wild Mushroom, Margherita, Pepperoni, Joe's Special Pizza, Sausage and Peppers, and Grandma Slice.  The best of mine (mushroom, pepperoni, and gma) was probably mushroom but not by much

Dinner from House of Que in Hoboken, NJ

We decided to take a chance and order dinner from Hoboken.  Some weird stuff was going on with Grubhub. Basically our order never went through and when we called the restaurant, they said they didn't get anything.  Yet somehow the food arrived right when we thought we'd have to order new food altogether from somewhere else.  Surprisingly delivery bbq was delicious!  Would def order from them again, assuming the grubhub ordering thing was an anomaly.  My favorite was actually pulled pork, which I ordered last min on a whim.  It seemed very hearty and more like brisket.  All of the sides were good too.  I would even consider going to eat in, assuming it weren't a crazy time like a weekend night.

Brisket, ribs and sausage combo with sides of sweet corn casserole and burnt end beans.  All were delicious though the most memorable meat was below

Pulled pork by the pound, and mac and cheese.  Pork had great char and had good mix of fat and lean meat.  Super juicy and more chunky than pulled

Dinner from Taqueria Viva Mexico Kitchen Cafe in Jersey City, NJ

Dan was craving Mexican food so we ordered from Taqueria Viva.  We got an assortment of tacos plus loaded nachos.  The food came pretty quickly (though a bit awkard. Young kid dropped off bag and ran haha) and satisfied his thirst for meaty cheesy goodness.  The nachos themselves were very filling, so we ended up having more food than we could eat.  The food is also pretty inexpensive which is great.  I actually have never seen the actual store though it's close.  Someday will go and eat in.

Nachos Rancheros with grilled cajun chicken - I see guac, sour cream, jalapenos, cheese, salsa and beans.  Everything you need when you think of nachos

Carnitas Tacos and Barbacoa taco.   Loved both but carnitas were the best.  Thankful they listened to my request and did not put onions on top

Al pastor tacos and carne asada.  All were delicious!