Benchmark Pizza

A food blog without a photo of the food.  I know, it seems crazy. However, the point of this piece is merely to explain a bit about my theories in food blogging and especially about pizza.

Pizza is a wide world of culinary interpretation.  For the Mr., anything from a hut or chain of any kind is simply unacceptable.  I tend to agree most times.  We are from New York state and for us, crust is fairly thin, preferably crisp, bubbles are a bonus.  Cheese should be stretchy, ooey, gooey, but without a river of orange grease running down our arm when the slice is folded.  Sauce is a point where he and I can sometimes differ in opinion; a bit of sweetness is fine, but I feel the crust, sauce and cheese should work in balance and harmony with none being a main focus while he loves to taste and feel plenty of sauce.

In any case, Colandrea's pizza is our benchmark.  All other pizzas are judged and compared in relation to the Pizza King.

We recently had take out pizza and when the Mr. walked in the kitchen after a long day at work said, "Oh my, is it my birthday!" 

THAT is how special Colandrea's is to us.

The pizza that leaves us all feeling Fed Well and can turn an ordinary day into something fabulous.

Happy Year of the Horse

Where does the time go?  Not only did 2013 pass quickly, but the weeks from when we went out to celebrate the Lunar New Year to this day, this moment, when I can post about our meal has flown by. Snow storms, colds, and the fatigue of winter feel like heavy weights chained to us and so a reason to celebrate is embraced with a bit more enthusiasm than usual.  So it was on a Friday night that coincided with the celebration of the Year of the Horse and the 4 of us decided on Pine Bush Chinese Restaurant after a hard day of work and a quick trip to the grocery store.

Here is the special celebration menu:

I decide to veer off course and try the new-to-me items.  While we are ordering, the restaurant is quickly filling and I spot a friend.  We act like we haven't seen each other in ages (maybe it's been a few weeks at best) and call out across the restaurant.  Good thing it is a fairly casual place and we didn't seem to disrupt anyone.

To start, a few bowls of won ton soup and I try the seafood tomato bisque.

I love the symbolism; the red especially for money luck and while I do not know the meaning of the seafood in my soup, it simply feels decadent to have scallops and shrimp in the uniquely flavored broth that is not fully sweet nor savory.

The appetizer from the holiday menu:

Cha Siu Bao

A steamed bun with pork inside.  The bun is reminiscent of marshmallow mixed with mashed potatoes in consistency and mouth feel.  However, the flavor of the bun is not very easy to describe though the dryness, perhaps baking powder, can be associated with a southern biscuit.  Soft, pillowy bun encases plush pork in a sauce that also seems both familiar and yet not like anything else.  Not everyone is enthusiastic about trying new things, but the Mr. has a forkful or two.

A bit of lag time between the appetizer and dinner allows the family to chat and I also have a bit of text messaging going on with the friend across the restaurant.  I send her a Mai-Tai and she seems to enjoy it.

Main courses begin to arrive:

For the youngest, the sizzling steak.  It was and he was happy!

Continuing from the special menu, I had "Blossom" as my main course.  I just could not imagine shrimp stuffed with ham.  My choice turned out to be exceptional.  

Our older son had the boneless ribs and I did not photograph them, but he always enjoys them at Pine Bush Chinese Restaurant.

The Mr. ordered a dish with chicken, shrimp and scallions.  Yes, of course he had chicken.  

 

I felt as though an observer would never be able to tell I ate from my plate as I asked for a heaping amount of food be wrapped to take home.  I also had a hard time finishing my generous pour of plum wine. However, I always make sure to leave a little room for a dish of pistachio and the few bites it takes to finish a fortune cookie.

When our check arrives, our older son graciously treated his family to dinner.  A lovely surprise.  I could not resist playing a prank though on my friend and asked the hostess to bring our check to my girlfriend and let her know we said thank you for treating us to our meal.  My friend's face at first was priceless as we waved, put our coats on and said thank you.  Once she realized it was a joke, she yelled out, "We'll all have to pay the old fashioned way and help out with the dishes."  Life in a small town.

As we left, we added our son's business card to the community style bulletin board by the door.

We will enjoy the Year of the Horse and continue to be Fed Well.  Wishing you a prosperous New Year.

Vic's for Dinner - More than Pizza

My family and I recently discovered Vic's for pizza and we were so happy, I thought I'd try the dining room when a friend and I went out for dinner.

Friendships.  As children, it is fairly simple to make new friends simply based on who you sit next to in the classroom or on the school bus, who lives in your neighborhood and the children of your parents friends. If you are a parent, you may chose to become friendly with other parents based on interaction at children's sports or activities.  When life becomes day after day of work, home, work, home, it may be a bit more difficult to develop new relationships, except through other friends.  My new friendship has developed as the result of, "a friend of a friend" and seeing each other in social settings. Every new relationship has to start someplace, at whatever age and last for as long as it will.  For now, we talk over a good meal.

The dining room is fairly quiet on a cold Thursday evening and we are told we can sit wherever we like and so a window side table is ours. I ask the lady taking care of us (I am starting to form an aversion to the word 'server') what she recommends or what is popular and her first answer is, "the eggplant."  Well, I am starting to want it already.  We order a wine and a beer and so it begins.

A cutting board of warm bread is brought out and I was not going to have any to save room for dinner, but once I realized it was warm...I was hooked. Crusty on the outside and well, squishy on the inside, the perfect balance!

We talk and talk and I am reminded of those junior high school friendships and sleepovers where stories are told and laughter just happens.  The main difference, we also include stories of hardships, difficulties and life lessons we were forced to learn or accept.

Steamed clams are brought to us and they are absolutely gorgeous to look at and the sauce is delicious.  We eat the shellfish and are quite happy to then dip the crusty bread in the remaining and flavorful liquid. 

Dinner time!  Funny thing about these entree photos, if I did not pay attention to which one I photographed first, you may not be able to tell the difference.

On top is veal parmigiana and the bottom is eggplant and both are served with a healthy side of spaghetti.

I have to confess, the sauce, especially alone on the pasta, was not one of my favorites.  It may simply be a matter of taste, because I very much enjoyed their sauce on pizza and was fine with it on my eggplant. I can't be sure if they were different sauces or if it simply lacked the extra flavor and saltiness of the cheese.

Do we have room for dessert?  Well, the thing about having dinner with someone is that you may not be done talking and so yes, you want dessert to give yourself more time.  Also, I now crave a little something sweet after a meal, so dessert...of course!

A traditional cannoli.  The shell is crisp and does not seem as if it were filled and simply sitting around waiting.  The filling is dense and not too sweet.

Zeppole.  6 beautiful balls of fried dough dunked in confectioners' sugar are presented on a plate and perfect for sharing.  Little clouds of sugar dust rise up and tickle the nose, but the dessert is fabulous.

Our check arrives and remember, we had 2 beers, a glass of wine, an appetizer, 2 entrees and 2 desserts so I am not in shock at the total.  If each of us simply had a plate of food and maybe a soda, the bill would have been substantially less.  My friend looks at the check and says, "We ate well."  I smile inside and think ahead to writing this up for Fed Well.  

Yes, we were and are indeed Fed Well.

Billy Joe's Ribworks on the Newburgh Waterfront

Celebrating an achievement in this family is one of many reasons to go out to dinner.  In this case, our older son has graduated from college earning his Bachelor's Degree.  Our son.  Bachelor's Degree. Those are the important words for us as parents.  When our sons were quite young we always told them we would support whatever choice they made as a profession as adults, as long as they had a college degree when they were doing it.  This son once said he wanted to have a hot dog truck when he was older.  Fun.

When asked where he would like to go for his celebration, he selected Billy Joe's Ribworks on the Newburgh Waterfront or 26 Front Street specifically.

Please keep in mind, it is New York, it is January and it is certainly cold.  While the parking lot is not really a far walk from the establishment, every biting degree of wind chill can be felt as I quicken my step to almost skipping to get inside.

We are greeted by two young and friendly hostesses and are seated almost immediately.  The restaurant is already filling up and it is barely 6 p.m. 

We are seated in an area that is open during the warm summer months that allows diners the opportunity to enjoy and unobstructed view of the magnificent Hudson which must be especially lovely at sunset.  For winter, the area is closed in with clear temporary walls and heated with mega/turbo convection units suspended from the ceiling.

I did preview the online menu (Click here for Billy Joe's website) so I not only knew what I was going to order for dinner, but my drink as well. I had the Loaded Palmer and I was so nervous I would ask for the wrong thing, it would be obscene and my sons would laugh at me for the rest of my life, but it was fine.  So was the beverage, a classic tea/lemon combo with vodka.  Our younger son has been getting some use out of showing off his newly legal ID and had first a drink then a beer.  

We talk about appetizers.  I like the idea of trying new things in an appetizer so it is low risk.  Sharing something among 5 people, the odds are fair that someone will like it and equally high that someone will not care for it at all.  

We decided on the fried green tomatoes:

which were quite firm and sprinkled with a bit of pecorino romano which I think we all let fall off like crumbs.  I wanted to squeeze some lemon juice on them then toss on some salt, but I loved the idea of them very much.

The other order was the fried pickles:

I only took half of a spear for tasting purposes.  Again, I loved the idea, I was surprised how quickly they arrived from the kitchen and they were screaming hot as though just prepared, but I am a salt addict and even beyond the salt of the pickle, I wanted more.

Dinners.  For the honoree, the rack of brontosaurus.  Ok, they were ribs, but really, look at the size of them and the bones then look at the fork for scale.  They were huge.  He generously offered everyone a taste and I had a small forkful.  Very tender. Nice balance of sauce and I was not overwhelmed by smoke. Nice.

Brisket.  Brisket.  Brisket.  We have two orders with very different sides.  For the Mr. it is mac and cheese with baked beans.

For our younger son, it is accompanied by fries 2 ways - sweet and traditional.

For the young lady (our older son's girlfriend), a classic burger and fries.

For me, the smothered steak with cheesy grits and mashed potatoes.

My meal had good news and bad news.  I will give you the good first.  The steak was "slammin."  It was tender, perfectly cooked to medium-rare and truly smothered in peppers and onions.  We all also agreed the cornbread was amazing.

Visually, doesn't my plate remind you of a cafeteria or the military?  Ok, maybe the divided look is cute or goes with the theme, but to add insult the ice cream scoop servings just make me a little sad.  Do you eat your mashed potatoes dry?  Maybe I am the weird one or too harsh, but this certainly could have been presented differently at best.  Agree?

Dessert.  I have to admit, I am quite full and in fact was not able to finish my meal, but I always want to try dessert.  Pecan pie. Yum!  The pie was heated and so hot the molten juices could burn your taste buds off your tongue and the ice cream was hard frozen but without ice crystals. Very nice.

So, what will our son be now that he is grown up and educated? The answer remains to be seen but for now we are a close family that spends time together, especially meal time, and we are Fed Well.

Americana Diner for Breakfast

While I still thoroughly enjoy getting together with my lady friends for a fabulous Cosmo or other cocktail on a Friday night, we also agree to catching up over a leisurely breakfast from time to time. We rotate our location for a few reasons; fairness to those who live in different locations, switching up our orders (for some of us it is easier than others) and simply a change of scenery.  Someday I am hoping to really have a true brunch and mix our breakfast routine and a few Mimosa's or other equally acceptable early in the day adult beverage.

I wonder what each of our choices says about us as individuals.  A one scrambled egg with bacon, homefries and whole wheat toast plate.  Classic.  Traditional.  Reliable.  What other descriptors can you add?

A ham and Swiss cheese omelette.  Keep in mind, this is a huge change of pace for the lady who ordered it.  The omelette itself is also traditional.  Thinking of other adjectives, it may be considered faithful, practical, and efficient.  Well, efficient may be a stretch, but any omelette could arguably be called efficient as it is combining multiple ingredients in one dish. 

Eggs Florentine.  A bed of spinach cradling two perfectly poached eggs smothered in Hollandaise Sauce. Over the top?  Complicated? Complex?  It is far harder for me to label my own dish.  It was delicious though a bit overpowered by the generous ladle of sauce (next time I may opt to ask for an "on the side" serving - which could make it a high maintenance dish as well).  It was also the first time I tried this dish. Fabulous and I will look for it on future breakfast menus.

We were well taken care of.  Three rounds of "Can I get you more coffee" and two offers of, "Can I get you ladies anything else," before we were finally ready to leave.

Yes, the Americana Diner left us feeling Fed Well as we caught up and traded life stories over platters of eggs with coffee or tea.  Life is yummy.

Vic's in Montgomery

I love routine, but once in awhile a mild adventure is perfectly fine and even welcome.  My older son was going to have some work done to his tattoo and since I am not familiar with the process (and sometimes I want to join in until I talk myself out of it) I really wanted to stop in and see what it looks like in the process.

I knew a pizza place was nearby and so I asked the Mr. and our younger son if they wanted to go on a Friday night field trip.  We started out at Vic's in Montgomery (Click here for their Facebook page) and ordered a large plain pie and while it cooked, my younger son and I checked in at 2Tone Tattoos (Click here for their Facebook page) while the Mr. guarded our table.

The building that houses Vic's

I've witnessed tattoos in progress before, none were on my sons, and I'm still not truly sure what I think about becoming a customer myself.  The shop itself was clean, seemed professionally run and simply gave off a good vibe.

2Tone Tattoos

I didn't want to stay long or be in the way.  I offered my son a slice of pizza (he already ate), but he did ask for a soda.  I imagined the constant buzz of the machine, reminiscent of a dentist drill, would be heard in both my son and his artists' sleep. 

Back at Vic's we wait just a bit longer for our pizza and watch customers come in and out for pick up or go through the take-out area to the dining room.

And then, it is our turn and this beautiful specimen is brought to our table.  I know immediately, it is love at first sight.  The crust is a good crisp texture, the cheese is stretchy, melted, ooey, gooey and without the drippy orange liquid slick and I know it is simply going to be in the top few pizza experiences, EVER.  Our highest gauge is Colandrea's (The Pizza King) in Middletown, and Vic's fairs really well among the three of us.

We will be back.  Next time, I really would like to try the dining room and yes, I think though it is slightly out of the way for us, we may become part of the takeout pizza crowd as well.

So, how is our son's tattoo going?  Here's a peek - it is still under construction and you can tell which area was recently worked on.

Three of us head back out into the January night and take in the sights.  Many towns still have a bit of the holidays still on and we couldn't help but notice this lit tree.

Happy eating in 2014.  May you and yours be Fed Well throughout the year!

Jade Bistro Suffern - We Return

It's been a little while since we (my co-workers and I) have been to Jade Bistro in Suffern and not only did we notice, but the staff that happily greeted us had noticed as well.  I love the feeling of being a regular someplace and having my absence noticed and the sense that I have been missed.  So, we really mixed things up by ordering completely different things.

One coworker wanted ultra traditional Chinese lunch and started with an eggroll.  How about the fancy plating?  I asked what the white squigglys tasted like and the response, "styrofoam."  I didn't try it for myself, but I did appreciate the attempt to make it interesting.

Her next course was chicken, but unfortunately I am not 100% sure if it was General Tao's or Sesame and I not only don't trust my memory.  Here's the important detail; she was quite happy.

One of the group loves the Pad Thai though she prefers hers without peanuts.  The fresh lime is not only enjoyed, but in the past, I have actually seen her clap when it arrives.

Me?  Well, I almost have the shrimp with rice noodles.  The server knows me well and brings me a spoon because I like to twirl the pasta against the spoon bowl in the Italian pasta fashion.  I am also usually brought extra napkins because...I need it.  

So, today I sort of switch it up by ordering the House Noodle Soup with rice noodles. Packed with Won Ton, chicken, pork, bok choy, shrimp and rice noodles, I am in soup heaven. The broth is so delicate, I almost wish it had a bit more flavor, but really, it was fabulous. The chunks of meat were huge and while I understand the chop stick user would be appreciative of their great size, I struggle and end up giving up trying to break them down.

Last, but not least, my vegetarian coworker selected the vegetable sushi rolls.  They made a far better presentation than the photo allows and we all "ooohed" and "aaahhed" appropriately when they were placed in front of her.  Best part, not only did they look amazing, she said they tasted just as good as they looked.

We were checked on throughout the meal.  Tea was refilled before the cup was half full and we were treated well and like old friends.  
Work talk is minimal when we are off site.  Better to chat about celebrity nonsense, movies, television and 3 day weekend plans. Ah, Fridays.  We know that when we get back to work we have less than an hour until we are dismissed for the holiday.

So, if you have a craving for Chinese food or sushi or a Bento Box and are anywhere near Suffern, Jade Bistro will leaving feeling happy, satisfied and Fed Well.