Category Archives: Food

L&W Oyster Co Lobster Special

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I recently had the chance to dine with a friend at L & W Oyster Co for the lobster special, which is meant to be shared and is reasonably priced at $29.50 each.

The lobster meal included 2 lb lobster and 3 types of dip, grilled corn and potato salad, as well as a shot of sour-sweet pomegranate lime juice. I thoroughly enjoyed the corn- sweet, fresh, grilled to perfection, as well as the potato salad- seasoned beautifully and very tasty. The lobster had a lot of green gunk in the body, which I wasn’t used to and which meant we only had the front and tail portion for lobster meat, which diminished the amount of meat total. At least the lobster was already cut in half so fairly easy to eat. The lobster meat was warm, tender, delicious, especially with the onion & bacon dip and the hot butter. I tried to savor the taste of lobster as much as I could.

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When I saw sticky toffee pudding, a British dessert, I knew I had to try it. It’s not often that one finds this particular dessert in NYC and even more rare is to find a place to does it well. Sticky toffee pudding is a steamed dessert, consisting of moist sponge cake and this version came with creme-fraiche flavored ice cream. It was divine. The cake was incredibly soft and soaked up the sticky caramel sauce, which actually was too sweet for me, but the ice cream lightened the taste and added another layer of deliciousness.

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All in all, a  wonderful meal with great service!

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Location: 254 5th Ave

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Summer Supper at Recette

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I enjoyed the opportunity to dine at Recette, located on a street corner in the West Village. The interior is beautifully elegant, yet cozy and comfortable at the same time. This summer, Recette is serving special Summer Supper which consists of 1 snack (appetizer), 2 plates and 1 dessert for the great price of $40.

I chose salt cod fritters for my snack, which came came with lamb sausage ragu at the bottom and curry aioli. The cod fritters were balls of deliciousness- Crispy, flavorful, with the wonderful taste of cod. The accompanying lamb ragu was also extremely tasty and had perfectly seasoned.

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My next dish was crispy calamari in a salad of snap pea, radish, grape, cashew, and ranch. The calamari was decent, a little salty but I enjoyed the crunchiness and would’ve liked more on my plate. The bed of salad underneath was just okay. There was too much ranch dressing and I couldn’t taste the snap peas or cashews.

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After that came duck breast, which included confit leg, beluga lentils and maitakes (a type of mushroom). I was unimpressed. The duck breast itself didn’t taste much like duck; it was quite meaty and was reminiscent of a lean beef. I wasn’t able to discern the taste of confit leg and I wasn’t a huge fan of the black lentils. The maitakes were good though- Juicy and fresh. I was able to try the Berkshire Pork Belly, which was mouthwatering delicious and what I should’ve gotten.

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Last course was dessert and I was trying to choose between S’Mores and Chocolate Custard. The S’Mores dessert won, and consisted of graham cracker ice cream, toasted marshmallow, and ‘hot’ chocolate ganache. It was a truly delectable delight, bringing into memory the campfire treat. The ice cream melded and complemented the chocolate (with a hint of chili spice) and marshmallow perfectly, to combine sweetness, heat, roasted smoothness…

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The service was spot on and the waiter knew the menu well and answered any questions with expertise, as well as explained the dishes beautifully.

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Location: 328 W 12th St

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Shops & Eats in New Delhi, India

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I had the amazing opportunity to travel to New Delhi, India for the past few days. It was generally quite rainy, somewhat dirty, overrun with dogs, but also lively and wonderful in its own way. While I didn’t get a chance to truly explore the area, I was able to get a taste of India at least. We ate at some lovely restaurants: Alfa Spice, A2B Vegetarian, a Vegetarian Gourmet spot at Karol Bagh, Asia’s largest open market shopping area.

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I did quite a bit of shopping at Karol Bagh and the exchange rate was magnificently in my favor. I bought a gorgeous hot pink Indian-style dress. $35.

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A pair of sharp high heel black boots, with grey and brown detailing on the side. $20.

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Beautiful, elegant, classy silver bracelets at half off. $5

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Some wonderfully pretty Indian Rakhi good luck charm/bracelets. $2 (Yes, for all 8)

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I found some awesome makeup: Shimmery glitter eyeshadow in all colors (purple, pink, gold, white, blue, etc), lip gloss palette of pinks, reds, browns; a magical clear lip balm that turns bright pink after brushing over lips; nail polishes: Clear glitter with hearts, greenish teal blue, hot pink with glitter. $10.

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I also picked up some traditional Indian snacks: Chips, dried sweet + sour mango, powder mix to make lassi drink, mouth freshener… $15.
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Later, at the gloriously spacious and beautiful Indira Gandhi International Airport, with statues of elephants, deities; Taj Mahal structure; gorgeous shops, especially Delhi Duty Free which had incredible deals. I purchased a bunch of Luxurious Ayurveda brand items of gorgeously scented butter soaps: Rose & Cardamom, Bengal Tuberose, Neem Basil Honey, Lime Ginger; Essentials for Her set of Delicate Facial Cleanser (Mashobra Honey, Lemon & Rosewater), Sunscreen Lotion (Aloe Vera & Sandalwood), Facial Scrub (Walnut Gel), potted Lip Balm (Sweet Narangi Juice– A delicious, delicate orange scent); Tranquil Sleep spray.

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I also bought a variety of food items: Special Indian chocolates, with the following flavors… Whole almonds, raisins & buttery cashew, Indian coffee, fresh cardamom, cinnamon and chai masala. As well as Besan Caddu, a popular ball shaped South Asian sweet. I even picked up Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Korma sauces, as well as instant ready to eat “Moong Dal Halwa” (North Indian dessert of lentils cooked in clarified butter and sugar).

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Of course I also picked out a variety of lovely souvenirs: Glitter adorned pens and mini notebooks, silvery colorful magnets with photos of Taj Mahal and India landmarks on them, sticks with cute little dolls on top and the word INDIA painted on.

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I had such a great experience and time in India and look forward to going back so I can actually explore and do the sight seeing I yearn for, particularly to visit the Taj Mahal.

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Restaurant Week Dinner at Brasserie

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Brasserie is a gorgeously set up French restaurant, in an oval shape with modern decor and a an elegant, classy feel. I was seated promptly and a baguette was placed on the table with Echire, butter from France. The bread was quite hard and didn’t have much flavor.

For the appetizer, I had the brandade de homard, which is a lobster mash and salt cod mixed into a purée with olive oil and milk. The dish came with half of the empty lobster shell as decoration. It was delicious- Just the right amount of saltiness and strong flavor of lobster. The dish also came with roasted garlic baguette, which was a tasty touch.

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As for the entree, I chose Cassoulet Toulousain, which is a classic French dish of rich, slow-cooked casserole.  This came in a soup of navy beans, with duck confit, braised pork belly and garlic sausage on top. Normally I don’t really enjoy beans, but the beans in the cassoulet were decent- There was a sweet orange colored sauce with the beans so that helped. The duck confit was tender and wonderful. The pork belly was crispy and reminiscent of bacon. And the garlic sausage was cooked to perfection!

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The dessert was Financier aux Figues, which consisted of almond cake, black mission figs and honeyed yogurt “faisselle.” I truly enjoyed the almond cake- It had a chewy consistency and a delicate, sweet taste. Both the figs and yogurt were slightly bland, but worked well with the richly sweet almond cake.

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I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and deliciousness of dining at Brasserie.

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Location: 100 E 53 St

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Perseid Meteor Shower Camping

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This past weekend I headed off with some friends to Peekamoose in the Catskills mountains to stay overnight and witness the Perseid Meteor Shower. We arrived at the Peekamoose Trailer Park campsite after it was dark and finally got to grill some dinner. We had delicious, flavorful, and juicy chicken sausage; sweet and tasty corn on the cob; perfectly cooked asparagus and thick well-done hamburger meat. Afterwards, we roasted marshmallows and enjoyed them with chocolate.

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Afterwards, we settled in our respective chairs to start watching the night sky. The Trailer Park Campsite had a spectacular open space view of the sky, so that we could easily see the stars, constellations, Milky Way. It also turned out to be a beautiful clear night, so the meteor showers were not too difficult to spot. The Perseid Meteor Shower show seemed to be well underway around midnight, and I was able to see shooting stars every few minutes, though there were longer gaps in between some. Most of the shooting stars were small streaks that came and went quickly, but those were still amazing to witness. There were a couple that blazed across the sky, sparkling, glittering, and dazzling the eye with its magnificent beauty. I was able to see quite a few, but would’ve loved it if the meteor showers came one after another in succession like I remember from meteor shower nights in California… (*Photo Credit: Patrick Miao*)

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The next morning I got to explore the campsite a little more. I was shown where the spring was, where fresh cold water was pouring out from the little stream that was tucked into the woods a little. We then headed to the Blue Hole, or the swimming hole which was really lovely.

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After that we stopped by to check out a couple of waterfalls, which were wonderful to see.

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Next, we drove into the nearby town of Phoenicia, which was charming and cute. We decided to have lunch at Sweet Sue’s Restaurant that had nice home style cooking. I had the chorizo hash with potato, peppers, corn and cheddar cheese and fried egg on top, with a thick slice of whole wheat toast. The chorizo sausage was on the spicy side, but all the ingredients combined together well to form a delightful savory piquant flavor. The bread was well toasted and had a great multi-grain taste. As for dessert, I stopped by Ice Cream station, where I heartily enjoyed the Peanut Butter S’mores ice cream flavor, as well as Java Chocolate Chip.

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Even though it was a short camping trip, I really enjoyed my time at Peekamoose, Catskills campsite and savored the opportunity to see the Perseid Meteor Shower in the clear night sky and open space that the campsite provided.

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Restaurant Week at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse

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Summer Restaurant Week is in full swing! Bobby Van’s Steakhouse is a classic restaurant in the Financial District that a friend and I went for Restaurant Week dinner. We were seated promptly and given an assortment of bread and multi-grain cracker that was pretty tasty.

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I had the Steakwedge Salad, which actually wasn’t very healthy, but was definitely quite good.. A wedge of lettuce, bacon and fried onion with Ranch dressing (too much of this) and a sprinkling of black pepper.

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The entree was Filet Mignon with creamed spinach and french fries. My Filet Mignon came butterflied because I wanted it well done, and it was delicious… Juicy, full of flavor, tender! The creamed spinach was too creamy for me and had a sort of strange taste to it. The fries were decent. Even though I normally prefer skinny fries, I liked the crispness and flavor of these ones.

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I tried tartufo for dessert, which is an Italian specialty of chocolate and vanilla ice cream covered in a chocolate shell, with a cherry in the middle. This was delightful… Not too sweet, and the combination of the chocolate with wonderful ice cream & cherry worked really well together. Well worth the extra $2.

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The service was quite good, until it came time to receive our bill- took awhile to get it. Otherwise, well done.

 

Location: 25 Broad St

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Stanton Social Feast

I indulged at Lower East Side restaurant hot spot, Stanton Social, getting to try many of the specialty treats, by sharing the small plates. I started off with a non-alcoholic sweet crushed strawberry drink, with a rind of orange. It tasted fruity and delicious. The strawberries at the bottom were a nice touch.

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Our feast of a meal started off with potato and goat cheese pierogies, which came with caramelized onion and truffle creme fraiche. They were melt-in-your-mouth delicious: Crispy and flavorful, the goat cheese and potato were a perfect combination.

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Then the Maryland Jumbo Lumb Crab Cake “Corn Dogs,” which were just okay… The sauce it came with was delicious and complemented the crab cake well, but the overall crab flavor wasn’t very strong.

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The Mushroom & Fontina Quesadilla was wonderful – the mushroom tasted fresh and of great consistency with the delightfully tasty melted cheese.

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We also had one of Stanton Social’s signature dishes, French Onion Soup Dumplings – A unique and interesting concept that lacks the proper execution. The dish came extremely hot, but the soup got absorbed into the cheese, so it wasn’t actually soup dumplings… It was more like cheesy french onion melded together with croutons on top. The taste was okay, but the texture was  bit too chewy and dry. A note to Stanton Social: Leave the soup dumplings to the Shanghainese!

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We also tasted the spicy lamb souvlakis, which were unimpressive. The lamb wasn’t spicy at all, the taste was a bit bland and overall not memorable.

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Then came the entrees. We had to try the Chicken and Waffles. It was brick pressed chicken on aged cheddar waffle, corn pudding and balsamic spiced maple syrup. This was also a disappointment. The waffles were soft and had very little flavor. The chicken were also not great.

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The next dish, Spaghettini Carbonara, on the other hand, which came with braised pork belly and sunny-side up quail egg, was delicious. The spaghetti, pork and quail egg were bursting with delightful flavor and combined to make an inspired treat.

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Then there were the shrimp and grits, which was mediocre to me. The pan roasted shrimp was pretty tasty, but I could have done without the cheddar grits.

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The Sriracha Pea Crusted Salmon, with Asian pesto and soba noodle-beet salad, was simply put, delicious. I loved the crispiness of the crust, the tender flakiness of the salmon itself and the light soba noodle. Everything came together perfectly.

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We also had hanger steak. The steak was decent: Nice and juicy, with robust flavor. I also enjoyed the french fries with crumbles of bleu-cheese and bacon, which was a bit much but still tasty, nonetheless.

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The last main course plate we had were the baby back ribs. The meat was tender and the flavor was good. We couldn’t finish it though because we were so stuffed(!), so we took the rest to go.

As for dessert, we tried the Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Mousse, which was delectable. This came with caramel popcorn and popcorn flavored ice cream. The caramel popcorn was quite sticky and the ice cream was light, fluffy, and worked wonderfully with the cake, which was incredibly rich, dense, chocolate-y and divine. We also couldn’t finish this… Next time, I would like to try the S’mores Creme Brulee and Bourbon Peach Cobbler Sundae (bourbon ice cream, roasted peaches, oatmeal streusel).

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Overall, a wonderful dining experience, with the following highlights:

  • Potato and Goat Cheese Pierogies
  • Spaghettini Carbonara
  • Sriracha Pea Crusted Salmon
  • Hanger Steak with Bleu-Cheese Bacon Frites
  • Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Mousse

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Location: 99 Stanton Street, NYC

 

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Atlantic City Weekend

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I spent a luxurious, pampered weekend at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City with a good friend of mine. We checked into our lovely room on Friday afternoon and then headed to the spa, complete with a lounging area; soft-lit mirrors with primping necessities; jacuzzi; steam room and showers. We enjoyed the trail mix, fruit and juices that were provided for our pleasure.

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Afterwards, we headed to dinner at Rainforest Cafe. The wait was around 45 minutes, but we enjoyed the time looking around the store. We were surrounded by a forest-like atmosphere with trees, leaves, monkeys, huge butterflies, elephants, exotic parrots (all not real, of course).

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After we were finally seated, I ordered a fruity smoothie with orange sherbet and decided on Parmesan-crusted tilapia with lump crab meat and alfredo pasta with cream sauce as my main. It was delicious- The tilapia was perfect: Light and flaky, and the added flavor of the Parmesan was a cheesy delight. The pasta was al dente, with thick creamy white sauce that was well seasoned. And the crab was wonderfully tasty… It added to the decadence of the meal.

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Eating at Rainforest was a very cool experience as well. Every 20 minutes or so, there would be a simulated lightning rainstorm – The lights would dim, thunder would crash, lightning would flash, which added to the fun of being there.

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After our lovely meal, we got to see this ultra awesome colorful 3Dish light/music show on the building nearby. It showed different themes, from crumbling building, technology, floating shapes, to psychedelic colors and patterns.

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Then, we went to the shops at Caesars to check out the Water Show at the water fountain. The bright pink, purple, blue, orange meshing of colors, the water spurting up in differing heights and intermittent streams of water flowing down, the accompanying music, the smoky atmosphere, all combined to make an awe-inspiring visual experience.

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Saturday we spent the morning at the beach, splashing around in the waves. The water was a bit chilly, but we got used to it pretty quickly.

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After spending some time in the water and under the sun at the beach, we stopped by the Trump Plaza pool, which was wonderful. Large open space, high ceilings, palm trees, beach lounge chairs, slanted glass windows, and outer rooftop decks that overlook the the ocean, beach bar and Caesar’s.

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We took one of the push cars to The Chelsea to have lunch at a cute diner called Teplitzky’s. I had a roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayo and crispy onions, complete with garlic fries. The roast beef went really well with the crispy onions and the garlic fries were delightfully thin, crispy and delicious.

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After lunch we walked along the boardwalk, stopping by a couple of places along the way, such as Steel’s Fudge, where I purchased some chocolate marshmallow fudge. When back at Trump Plaza, we spent some time at the casino and tried our hand at the slot machines. We had each received $25 voucher to use on the slots, so that we used that up. I ended up winning $25, which isn’t bad considering I spent nothing to begin with!

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We had some time to relax after the casino, and got dolled up for dinner at Back in the Day Buffet inside Trump Plaza. The food was just okay. I think the chicken, mashed potatoes, turkey and salad were probably the best. However, dessert was delectable. I had bread pudding with thick, sweet, creamy vanilla sauce; rich and wonderful chocolate cake and a chocolate chip blondie brownie.

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After dinner we headed to the theater in Trump Plaza to see Beatlemania! We had really good seats, near the front. These guys gave us a fabulous evening of nostalgia for Beatles lovers, or even those (like us) who aren’t the biggest fans, but have an appreciation for the band. Even though I didn’t know a lot of the songs by heart, I found myself singing along to the more popular tunes. Almost every song was catchy and fun loving. Film of 60’s era events, commercials, shows were being displayed in the background, and there were cool lighting effects on the stage. The costumes were spot on and the band played their parts well… Down to the British accents, wigs and facial hair. They sounded great together and the main singer in particular had a gorgeous melodious voice. I really enjoyed the last couple songs when they got everyone standing and dancing along.

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Here is a set list of the Bealtemania show:

The Ed Sullivan Show (Saw Her Standing There, Eight Days a Week, Yesterday, etc)
Sgt. Pepper’s (Intro/A Little Help from Your Friends, A Day in the Life, Imagine, Here Comes the Sun, etc)
Magical Mystery Tour (All You Need is Love, Strawberry Fields, I am the Walrus, Penny Lane, etc)
Apple Studios Roof (Get Back, Come Together, Let it Be, Hey Jude, etc.) and Twist and Shout

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Sunday, our last day in Atlantic City, we spent at the beach and having a delicious and hearty breakfast outdoors at a Trump Plaza restaurant, EVO (Western Omelet – bacon, onion, green peppers and cheese, with potatoes and rye toast).

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4th of July Weekend

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BBQs and 4th of July are synonymous to me, so I was happy to attend my friend’s BBQ and enjoy bacon-wrapped mini sausages, chicken wings, salmon steak and grilled peaches. We also had a wonderful white frosted cake with red trim, and a blue flower. Inside was layered white cake with chocolate frosting in between, which was so darn delicious (however, a bit overly sweet)!

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We enjoyed several different street fireworks displays and the next day I prepared to go camping at Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania with a group of people.  I had a wonderful time. Once again, there was soo much food… I had salmon on top of fennel and sprinkled with thyme. There was also marinated ribs, jerk chicken, steak, sausage, corn, yams!

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Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful, despite the rain from Friday night and we took a hike through the forest and along the waterfalls. There were trees and green plants, babbling streams, bridges, and more- Such a charming scene in nature. But by far the most magnificent, most glorious creations were the many waterfalls… Some were small, while others spanned the distance of entire boulders. They were absolutely breathtaking and I enjoyed being in the presence of such beauty, taking in the refreshing spray of the water and the sound of the water streaming down.

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After the hike, we decided to head to the beach where I enjoyed being in the lovely water and just chilling in the shade, making conversation and having ice cream.

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Back at the campsite, we started preparing dinner and this time I learned how to make a new delectable tasting dessert. Take a banana, split it length-wise, add a caramel piece, Reese’s Pieces (or chocolate + peanut butter), marshmallow pieces, wrap it all up in tin foil and put it atop the fire for a few minutes until everything is melted together in a wonderful gooey mess. Yes, it is over indulging, but it is so worth it!

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I had a great 4th of July weekend and hope you did as well!

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Lunch at Spice

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Spice, a chic Thai fusion restaurant that appears more expensive than it actually is… Especially if you are going for lunch, which is exactly what some friends and I decided to do a few weekends ago. The special includes an appetizer and entree for under $10. I also ordered Thai iced tea, which was undeniably tasty and refreshing.

For my appetizer, I chose the Duck Wrap which came prepared with carrot, celery, peanut, sweet radish and soy hoisin sauce, all wrapped in napa lettuce. 3 of them total, which was quite a large helping. The taste was decent, but would have liked more flavor from the duck. Also, all the additional fillings did not blend together quite as well as expected.

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My grilled aged pork chop entree, marinated with pepper and garlic with stir-fried mix vegetables more than made up for the mediocre appetizer. The pork chop oozed delicious sauce, and was tender, savory, juicy. The accompanying greens and carrots were crispy, fresh, and worked well with the meat.

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I couldn’t resist getting dessert as well. I finally decided the warmed thai taro bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. The resulting creation was irresistible, completely and utterly decadent and delectable. Even though the taste of taro wasn’t strong, the bread pudding was everything you would expect it to be. The creamy sweet (but not overly so) ice cream trickled down onto the breading, enhancing the flavor. The caramel sauce had an almost butterscotch-y flavor to it, which was simply divine.

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This was a delightful meal and would definitely come back to try more!

 

Location: 236 8th Ave (& various spots around the city)

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