Wednesday, July 11, 2012

20 Things I Ate While My Parents Were Visiting

1
My dad fell in love with Kustard King so we visited multiple times.

2
At one point my dad had said that he doesn't really like fries, but that he does like Belgian fries. So I wanted to make sure my parents experienced Pommes Frites. I have had better Belgian fries, but I cannot think of any place that has been as consistently good as Pommes Frites. 

We ordered the "double" - more than enough fries for four people, and selected roasted garlic aioli, lemon-dill aioli, blue cheese, and black truffle mayo. All of them were good, and the fries were awesome.

 3

It was triple-digit heat one day, even without the humdity, so we had a picnic in my parents' hotel room.

4
We had to introduce my parents to My Little Pizzeria. We got two pies for five people. I've never eaten more than three slices at MLP... but on this occasion I had five.

5
I picked up dinner from Fortune House one evening.

6
A hotel breakfast in Massachusetts.

7

After we visited the Mayflower II, my dad wanted soft ice cream.

8
For my second hotel breakfast, I made an egg and sausage sandwich.

9

Authentic Connecticut tacos for my mom. The price was absurd (almost nine bucks for two tacos with less meat than a Taco Bell taco) but she said they weren't bad.

10
Dessert in the Hudson Valley: a soft serve cone and root beer ice cream. (This is where I got myself the vanilla ice cream in a mini Angels helmet that I showed you pictures of the other day.)

11
Elizabeth's mom made a dip of goat cheese and roasted red peppers, perfect to eat with crackers while relaxing outdoors with cold drinks.

12
Barbecues are usually better when there is watermelon involved.

13

My parents brought me a present.
14

We stopped at a DQ to get my dad ice cream one day. That's what vacations are for.

15
An appetizer made by Elizabeth's mom. I didn't eat the tomatoes, but the mozzarella and basil combination was fantastic.

16
We went by Davenport Farms in the Hudson Valley one day because I really like the place and wanted my parents to see it. We picked up a blueberry pie and ice cream to take to a barbecue that evening.

17
I showed a picture of lobster quasadillas the other day; I also made barbecue chicken: grilled chicken, barbecue sauce, grilled red onion and cilantro. 

18
After I wrote about Junior's a couple of weeks ago, my parents were interested in trying it. My dad had a pastrami sandwich (loved it), my mom had roast beef (loved it) and I had buffalo shrimp (really good but five small shrimp for fourteen bucks seemed like a rip-off).

My dad even tried a strawberry egg cream. 

19
We took a Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan. Elizabeth and I split nachos and a hot dog - that's my half with the relish added. 

20
My parents left yesterday afternoon and I have a horrible cold, the worst I've had in a couple of years. Last night Elizabeth wanted a sandwich from Subway and I went with her - it's only 100 feet from our place - because I wanted some fresh air. I hadn't planned to eat anything but a meatball and pepperoni sandwich sounded good. The meatballs weren't good but the pepperoni and hot peppers tasted great.

There will be plenty of restaurant write-ups from my parents' visit in the next couple of weeks, but I just wanted to share some of these random photos with you today. 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Still On Vacation

Mint lemonade, country lanes, small town 4th of July celebrations, a grill overlooking the pond, cold beer, lobster quesadillas, homemade macaroni salad, steak dinners, and getting to the ice cream stand at 8:58 while it's still light out, two minutes before they close, cold ice cream in an Angels helmet.

I think I'm gonna stay here a few more days...

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Steakhouse Burgers & A Happy 4th of July

As always, you have to start with a burger patty you like. Elizabeth just wanted ground beef, but I went for my beloved brisket and short rib blend from Paisanos.

I grilled it for a few minutes, leaving it somewhat rare in the middle, confident it would cook a little more as it rested. 

I then topped it with blue cheese. Normally I would wrap the whole thing in foil for a few minutes, but we were out of foil. So I placed it on a small plate and inverted a bowl on top.

Horseradish aioli sounded good so I spread some on the top bun.


I placed the burger and slightly-melted blue cheese on the bun.

 And topped it with crispy onion bits. 

I would be hard for me to pick my favorite A.1. steak sauce - the Supreme Garlic and the Cracked Peppercorn are awesome - but I do love the Thick & Hearty variety. And it seemed appropriate for a steakhouse burger so I poured it on.

It wasn't the best burger I have made, but it was pretty damn good.

I'm going out of town for a week. I hope you have a great 4th of July.

- Justin