Lunch at Pret-a-Manger in NYC

I stopped by Pret for lunch since they have their new fall menu now.  Got a delicious autumn-themed salad, which apparently took awhile to come out because the boxes were missing the butternut squash, so the worker took time out to put in some hot squash.  Delicious, healthy, and I do love squash and ricotta together.

Fall Harvest Salad - grilled chicken, roasted butternut squash, ricotta, apples, beets, and candied pecans over a bed of mesclun greens w/balsamic dressing.

Home-made mushroom scallops with farro and vegetables

We put some King Oyster Mushrooms at an asian supermarket nearby.  They were huge stalks for under $2.  I cut them up and marinated them in home-made teriyaki, then seared them for 4-6 minutes each and they were incredible!  Wonderful flavor from the marinade, and also crazy similar texture to actual scallops.  I made farro with chicken broth instead of water to make it more flavorful, and sauteed kale, corn and mushrooms.  It was an incredible meal, and enough for Dan to take leftovers for lunch the next day.  Will definitely be making this meal again in the future.

"Scallops" cooking

Per recipes, I cut the mushrooms a bit to let the flavor steep in.  They were also huge so some pieces were quite large

Dan's plate

My plate

Texture so much like scallops!

Lunch at Dunkin Donuts in NYC

The Dunkin Donuts in Manhattan have beyond meat "sausage" breakfast sandwiches.  I got one for lunch and it was delicious, same flavor as their other sausage (shaped like hot dogs) but in a round patty, plus the signature Dunkin "egg" and english muffin.  I'm sure still not super healthy but nice non-meat option.

Dinner at Lenita's in NYC

Had happy hour at Lenita's on a tuesday and they had some food deals for Taco Tuesday.  I got a carnitas taco and a maduros taco, then mixed the two so I had an even better taco - carnitas with maduros :)  Not the best tacos of your life but super cheap and tasty when I combined them.

Carnitas (L) and Maduros (R)

Lunch from Eema's Cuisine in Jersey City, NJ

Whenever there are festivals or street fairs, Eema's is around and we have to get food from them.  As usual, we got a spam musubi and they had some Huli Huli BBQ chicken, which was excellent and as close to plate lunch as we're gonna get outside of the islands.  Missing Hawaii everytime we eat this food.

Huli Huli chicken with rice and mac salad, and Spam Musubi

Lunch from Flavors in NYC

Had a discount on Grubhub, so ordered a custom made salad from Flavors.  The salad was HUGE and delicious.  I ate it over two lunches because it was so large.  Good enough that I would actually order sans deal.

Custom Salad -  with Organic House Blend, grilled chicken, roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts, portobello mushrooms, broccoli, chickpeas, edamame, craisins, fresh corn, mushrooms, and fresh avocado vinaigrette.  Sooo many toppings plus I loved the dressing

Lunch from The Grotto in NYC

I picked up cheap lunch via Ritual from an Italian place - The Grotto.  Got a pretty tasty and large filling Italian sandwich.  Not a particularly memorable place given the plethora of Italian places nearby, but good for lunch that day

Grilled Chicken Hot Sandwich with fresh mozzarella & roasted peppers

.

Home-made vegan bolognese

I am so impressed with Upton's, which makes various meatless substitutes.  We bought some Italian sausage seitan and the texture and flavor was identical to real Italian sausage.  By far the most like real meat that I've had of anything so far, even the impossible and beyond meats.  I made red sauce by scratch - my first time fully - and it was an excellent dinner.

Rotini with red sauce and italian sausage seitan

Lunch at Tacoria in Jersey City, NJ

We went to a festival in JC and then stopped by Tacoria for lunch.  Great fast casual Mexican spot.  Not sure how authentic it is but very tasty and loved that they have al pastor as a protein option.

Tracy got tacos

Dan and I each got mission style burritos.  I got al pastor, and he got chorizo

Dan's chorizo burrito with rice, black beans, salsa, cheese, crema in a flour tortillo

My Al Pastor burrito with the same fillings.  It was hearty and tasty but the al pastor flavor seemed to be a little lost with the rest of the inside

Dinner at The Usual in NYC

Dan and I had a double date at The Usual in the Bowery.  We've been wanting to go there for awhile since the Exec Chef is from Eggslut in Cali, plus he's Filipino and makes some excellet comfort food, especially burgers.  It definitely did not disappoint. All the food was delicious my fried chicken :)  Burgers were excellent as well.  They have a late night happy hour every night (10pm) for special burgers of the day.  Wish we lived closer so could take advantage of them.  Still want to head there some time for regular happy hour as they have food deals on burgers and chicken sammies.

Blooming Mushroom - maitake mushrooms, rice flour tempura, shoyu aioli, chives.  Everyone LOVED this and we def could've ordered more

Kung Pao Summer vegetables - szechuan peanuts, bell peppers, and chili oil.  Tasty but very spicy for me

Favorite Fried chicken - dark meat (duh), cajun herbs and spices, chicken rice and house made ranch.  Chicken was very moist and perfectly  fried.  Hint of lemon 

Lunch at Talula's in Asbury Park, NJ

Had a cousin date in Asbury Park, and we went to Talula's for lunch.  It's a cute farm-to-table joint with excellent pizzas and salads, among other things.  Kookie and I each got a breakfast-style pizza.  They were delicious - great crust and fresh tasting toppings.

Beugel & Laks - hash browns, smoked salmon, whipped cream, red onions, gerkins, everything spice

Both our pizzas

Green Eggs - cabot cheddar, chimichurri eggs, red potatoes, chives, mazi (super spicy local sauce) plus I added bacon

Slice of my green eggs.  Was super delicious and hearty but wowww was it spicy

Home-made vegan Mexican food

We picked up some Upton's bbq jackfruit, and I used that as the protein for a Mexican themed dinner.  The texture was a little firmer than normal pulled pork, but definitely was a very similar substitute.  I made black bean and yellow rices for a vegan friendly version of a typical HP dinner.

BBQ jackfruit but looks convincingly liked pulled pork

all the fixings

Black beans, rice and jackfruit

Brunch at Frankie in Jersey City, NJ

We had a small book club at Frankie in JC.  The place had a very fun, hipster-y vibe, although apparently it's an Australian restaurant.  The food itself was good, not great, but they had CBD infused cocktails which was cool and different in this area.  Glad I got to try it but don't know it will be a regular spot for me.

Nicole got the Lamb and Harissa Burger - w/feta cheese, harissa, slaw and fries

Full English - scrambled eggs, bangers, bacon, baked beans, roasted tomato, and toast

Lunch at Fried Dumpling in NYC

I went to this hole-in-the wall dumpling spot by court that Nicole recommended.  It was right before the rush so I got my dumplings quickly but I actually ordered half dumplings and half something else and instead got two portions of dumplings.  The woman in charge didn't seem to be giving people what they ordered exactly, and sometimes seemed to charge certain people more.  I left after not wanting to wait but just ate extra dumplings.  They were a bit greasy but cheap so couldn't really complain, but don't think I would wait on a long line despite the cheapness.

I think it was 10 for $3.  I ordered 5 and something else that was $1.50 and instead got 10 dumplings lol

Lunch from Obao in NYC

I had a good-bye intern lunch at Obao in Fidi.  Or rather, we picked up food to go and then ate outside because it was nice out.  I was impressed by my order - Chiang Mai noodles, which are basically Khao Sao.  Since I got it to go, the broth was separate from the noodles to keep them fresh.  Great spice and flavor, though not a super large portion.  Still it was delicious and glad I finally got to try the food there.

Chiang Mai Curry Noodle soup - northern Thai style curry noodle soup, chicken, pickled cabbage, red onion and crispy noodle 

Lunch at Village Roost Cafe & Marketplace in Wilmington, VT

While in VT, Dan and I tried a new spot on Main Street for lunch.  The inside was super cute and very Vermont - lots of wood, home-y, warm and games to play.  I wasn't super hungry so ordered wings with fries, while Dan got a delicious falafel.  For being in VT, I was impressed by the Korean fried wings.  Great flavor and perfectly fried.

Super crispy fries

Falafel wrap

Korean fried chicken wings

Dinner at Vault in Yardley, PA

A bunch of us were in PA for the weekend, so we started the weekend off at Vault, a brewery/pub on South Main Street.  The food was all solid, and pizzas were largeee.  They didn't have as many beers on tap that I wanted to try so had a cocktail on tap, which was just okay.

Buffalo Cauliflower - buttermilk cauliflower, house hot sauce, bleu cheese, sweet pickled celery and chive sour cream.  Cauliflower was good but I prefer when it's already sauced

Pork Belly Fries - quartered fingerling potatoes, pork belly, fresh mozz, smoked paprika aioli, and garlic herb aioli.  This was awesome - like poutine but fingerling potatoes.  I only wish that there was more cheese

I tried the Duck and Apple and at first was apprehensive about their cheese choice but it was PERFECT - duck confit, gala apple, candied bacon, caramelized onion, mozzarella, bleu cheese and honey

Margherita pizza - tomato, imported buffalo mozzarella, thai basil, 18 year aged balsamic

Wild mushroom - garlic truffle ricotta, mozzarella, mushroom, caramelized onion, parmesan, argugula .  Excellent. Truffle was subtle

Italian Sausage - spicy tomato blush, crumbled sweet sausage, mozzarella, poblano pepper, onion 

I forget what kind of sandwich this was that Nicole got.  It looked awesome but was much smaller than expected

Dinner at Mathew's Food and Drink in Jersey City, NJ

It feels like whenever it's the weekend and Dan and I don't know what to eat and we get turned away from oher places, we end up at Mathew's.  That sounds bad because Mathew's is independently excellent.  It can just get expensive and I don't think we ever "crave Southern food, which is what this is.  But the meal is always good, drinks always good, and service always good, as it was this time.  And they constantly have awesome specials that we want to order.

Barnegat Light Dayboat Scallops - Roasted Corn Coconut Puree, Tomatillo Salsa, Black Garlic Aioli. Scallops were perfectly  cooked and the corn puree and salsa perfectly complimented 

Falafel Bites - green Tahini, Pickled Red Onions.  These were okay but nothing to write home about

Scottish Salmon - Anson Mills Farro Piccolo Succatash, Fennel, Chive Oil.  Very tasty, but after the fact when I was eating it the next day and I had light, I thought perhaps it was undercooked.  I think the salmon was poached instead of oven or pan seared so it felt like the meat was a little light in color 

Roast half chicken - Bell and Evans, Peas and Carrots, Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Pan Gravy.  Dan has ordered this numerous time and it's always amazing

Lunch from Doner Kebab in Brooklyn, NY

Ritual has deals all over the city, so when I was in BK I got a large, cheap, veggie friendly sandwich - Falafel Wrap, which stuffed with falafel, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic sauce, and tzatziki.  I'm a fan of this place generally but it was awesome to get such a great deal.

Lunch from Sticky's Finger Joint in Brooklyn, NY

I ordered lunch from Sticky's on Ritual to supplement something else I had brought.   I only got three chicken fingers but they were huge and very filling.  They were so flavorful, and enhanced even more by my sauce.  They have tons of sauce and it was hard to narrow it down, but I narrowed it down to sassy bbq, sunny mustard and vampire aioli, which was basically garlic aioli and my fav.

3 piece.  They were each huge

Vampire aioli - super garlicky and creamy; Sassy bbq - more ketchup than bbq; and Sunny mustard - too mustardy, not enough hony

Lunch from Sabi Sushi in NYC

Another Ritual deal means I tried a new lunch spot.  I ordered a bento box from Sabi Sushi. It was all okay, not bad, and I felt fine after, but it wasn't particularly impressive or memorable.  The $5 discount definitely helped but I probably wouldn't order again.

Bento box with shrimp tempura roll, eel avocado roll, pork dumplings, and seaweed salad

Lunch from Potbelly's in NYC

I ordered a combo from Potbelly's, half a sammie (one I usually get, so didn't take pics) and then I tried the mac and cheese.  I was very surprised but how tasty it was.  I didn't expect much, but I added bacon and mushrooms and it was delicious and super filling.  You can customize and put it lots of toppings in it, so a great option but hard to do work afterwards.

Lunch from Bolivia Llama Party in NYC

I stopped by Smorgasburg WTC one friday on the way back to the office and picked up some delicious sliders.  The line wasn't too bad when I ordered but it got crazy after.  It was messy and heavy but oh so worth it.

Beef Brisket and Triple Pork sliders

Beef brisket

Triple pork.  Lots of porky goodness