Lunch at Hwy 55 in Raleigh, NC

Our last meal in North Carolina was a quick trip to Hway 55, similar to Johnny Rocket's.  Mostly fried options, and definitely family-friendly.  I was actually pleasantly surprised my shrimp sandwich, which was light considering it was just fried shrimp.

Shrimp Burger with tots

My Shrimp Burger - Golden hand-breaded shrimp on a bed of slaw, topped with ketchup and served on a steamed bun

Tater tots. Can't go wrong

Dinner at Tupelo Honey in Raleigh, NC

Dan and I met up with Julie and Daniel for dinner at Tupelo Honey, a super cute Southern restaurant in a really cute, shopping-center area of Raleigh.  The food was great as were the drinks, and it was so nice to catch up.  I also am always amazed how decently priced things are when not in the NYC area.

Complimentary biscuits and jam

My beautiful and tasty lavender drink

Fried Green Tomatoes - basil, goat cheese grits, roasted red pepper coulis.  Nicely fried but I was wishing the grits tasted more cheesy

I got the Sweet-Tea Roasted Chicken - 18-hour sweet tea brined half-bird with honey lacquer.  I LOVED this.  So unique having the chicken marinated in sweet tea and still had great savoryness

Dan got the Pimento & Fried Pickle Burger - creekstone all-natural pasture raised beef, pimento cheese, fried house-made pickles.  Definitely aggressive

Dinner at The Pit in Raleigh, NC

Went to North Carolina to visit my brother and his family.  We made a reservation the Pit, which is always on the various food shows as some of the best bbq in North Carolina.  I don't love NC style bbq, which is very vinegar heavy and not sweet at all.  I deliberately ordered brisket to avoid getting the vinegar sauce.  The food was good but not great.  I've definitely had better brisket up north, and my brussell sprouts were mushy and seemed like they were sitting somewhere for awhile.  A little bit disappointing but at least we got to try it.

Complimentary biscuits and hush puppies.  I LOVED the hush puppies.  Great sweet and savory taste and even tasted good later

Fried chicken and chopped bbq with potato salad

Brisket and pulled pork with mac and cheese and brussel sprouts

Dinner at Vecchia Osteria by Pasquale in Newtown, PA

I finally got to go to the restaurant with the best tiramisu in the world.  I ordered the fresh pasta dish of day which was covered with a mountain of delicious fresh seafood that easily lasted two meals.  Dan got a giant cowboy steak, per usual haha.  We took the tiramisu to go and it was as amazing as usual.

There was fresh pasta underneath.  Topped with mussels, shrimp, calamari and clams in a red sauce

Cowboy Steak special topped with crab.

Dinner at Greene Hook in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to our usual spot Greene Hook for dinner.  Both got dishes that are pretty common - steak for me and shepherd's pie for Dan.  Never a bad meal there.

Steak Frites

Shepherd's Pie

Dessert from Patisserie Chanson in NYC

After sushi, Elena and I went to get dessert a cute patisserie nearby.  They have a big variety of kouign ammon, and somehow I was only charged for 3 but given all 5 flavors!  We sat and tried one at the restaurant then I brought the rest home.  I thought they were delicious and loved the pistachio, even more than the one at Dominique Ansel.  The inside is not as sticky but I think I just preferred this because DA doesn't have a pistachio option.

So many flavors, including regular, seasonal citrus and berry, chocolate, and pistachio (bottom right)

Dinner at Sugarfish in NYC

Elena and I went to Sugarfish for omakase.  We went close to opening around 5:30pm, and were told we'd have to wait around 45 minutes to be seated.  Fortunately it took less than 5!  I think because there were bigger groups and it was raining out.  Omakase was delicious and fresh.  Definitely a great spot of high quality, inexpensive sushi.  But I don't know if I would wait for a long time having tried it once already since there's so many sushi joints on my list to hit in NYC.  There are three different options for omakase, and we ordered The Nozawa - Trust Me, which was the most expensive at $45.  Still a deal compared to other omakase options that generally are at least $100.

Beer with edamame

Edamame and Tuna Sashimi

Albacore Sushi and Salmon Sushi

Toro hand roll

Sea bass sushi and Yellowtail sushi

Crab Hand roll