Category: Restaurants

The Little Pastry Chef

We made a quick trip to Princeton, New Jersey to support our team at First Class Fitment. As you already know, I had to get a taste of macarons while I was there. Found this place based off yelp. It isn’t known for their macarons, but there was limited information about macarons so I just took whatever I could get!

Super cute little shop with pictures of the baker’s adorable son everywhere. I am assuming he’s the little pastry chef. A display of cute tarts and mini treats looked appetizing but I was already full from lunch and saw that they had macarons.

I got the pistachio and lemon ones. They weren’t as pretty as I’m used to, and dare I say my pistachio macarons are better? The lemon ones were good though.

Based on the limited selection I would say don’t go out your way to get macarons in Princeton.

 

 

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Chuck’s Cafe

In the limited time I was in Princeton, NJ I did get to have tasty wings at a hole in the wall place called Chuck’s Spring Street Cafe . Set in a cute little area, you walk in and it’s pretty straight forward. You can get wings, ribs, cheese steaks, pretty much anything you would find in a deli. We were told by locals this is the place to get wings, and it had great reviews on yelp.

I ordered wings and curly fries. It comes with celery and bleu cheese, I opted for ranch. You pay for your meal and the friendly Asian (maybe Korean?) lady rings you up and brings it to you later. She’s super friendly and I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere. So far everyone we encountered in Jersey is friendly. I didn’t know what to expect!

I don’t usually like plain old buffalo wings, but these were pretty good. It is the only option for wing flavors and that was fine by me. Also the curly fries were awwwwesome, perfectly crisp, hot and seasoned. I finished it off with a glass bottle of cream soda.

Good recommendation!

 

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Bagel Barn

The first and best place we went to during our quick trip to New Jersey was Bagel Barn. Right when we walked up to it, a lady walked out complaining about how the line was out the door. Wonderful sign, I'd say. We decided to check it out anyway, because it seemed clearly worth it.

Filled with farm like decor, red and white checked table cloths, wooden signs and mini barns. The lines moved quickly and efficiently. Standing in line we met two guys who were also headed to First Class Fitment. They turned around and were friendly, made suggestions and recommendations on where to eat next. They were also subaru guys so we made new instagram friends (ha!)

I had the plain bagel with the lox spread, as well as a french vanilla coffee. Boo got a blueberry bagel with cheese, eggs and bacon. It was a purple bagel! All bagels are hand made, and they have a “hot bagels” sign. I love it.

It. Was. Amazing. Oh my god. I've never had such a delicious bagel ever. That first bite was heaven. And the lox cheese spread was perfect. I don't know what I am going to do because I know that I am going to go home and crave this every morning!

 

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Sakuramen

Now that it is cooler outside, I don't seem as crazy when it comes to my love for noodle soups. Noodle houses seem to be everywhere now a days. That's fine by me, I love trying out a new noodle joint.

One cool sunday evening I found myself here, in Adams Morgan waiting about 15 minutes for some ramen. On a SUNDAY evening. That's a good sign I guess. My friend told me to get the Tonkatsu red. Always judge a ramen place by their full bodied broth. I got mine mild, 0 spicy. She got 5. She later on told me she should have gotten 2.

Pretty normal layout, the kind you would expect from a small ramen joint. Service was friendly. Pretty low maintenance. They were busy, you don't ask for much.

They've got a selection of buns and gyoza if just ramen won't fill you up.

I thought the flavors of the soup was great. Not too salty where I felt dehydrated and headachey after. The noodles were good, but I like mind a little thicker. If I happen to be in Adams Morgan, I'll have it again. But parking s a pain, like for anything else you wanna go to there.

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Amelie’s Bakery

I don't know if you noticed but…I am slightly obsessed with macarons it seems to be the thing to do now when I go on a trip. Find macarons. So on a recent trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, I stopped in at Amelie's Bakery before heading home. This short weekend trip was no different. We went to the “petite” store, which is much smaller than their flagship store I am guessing. It was quite charming and tiny. I loved it. A chandelier made of cooking tools, and french artwork and paraphernalia all around the cozy bakery.

I had their caramel iced latte, a chocolate croissant, the gruyere and ham puff pastry and each of the macaron flavors they had out that day. Puff pastry, excellent, delicious, and I kind of want one right now, just thinking about it. Same goes for the croissant. Macaron flavors were fun. They had mixed berry (purple with a jam in the middle), ginger peach, lime basil, lemon butter cream, and raspberry. To be honest they all tasted about the same…like a sweet chewy cookie. The only one that stood out to me was the mixed berry, which was vibrant in flavor. It was a little chewy, but that's just not a preferable texture of mine. The other flavors were just sweet with a hint of whatever they were supposed to be.

 

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Bangkok Noodle

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Not sure if you noticed, but I love noodle soups. It’s so comforting, and even though it could be 100 degrees outside, I could probably still have some noodle soup. A couple of people have mentioned Bangkok Noodle House in Springfield, so we decided to give it a shot one day for lunch.

They also serve a regular thai menu, but we were there strictly for the noodles. The service was attentive and friendly. I chose the floating market soup. I have never had it before. It was flavorful, but I don’t think I would get it again, it was too…liver-y for me.

But their homemade ice cream? YES. Winner. We had a scoop of coconut, and a scoop of taro. AND IT HAD BITS OF REAL TARO in it. Taro is one of my favorite flavors, artificial and real.

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Chez Francois Macarons

In Ottawa they speak more English than they do French but tucked away in Westboro is a little place called Chez Francois. When we first walked in the lady was helping the customer and they were speaking in French. It was like we stepped into France…or Montreal. They had all French goods and gifts, but we were on a mission. Macarons for our pajama party. They had a tray of them on display.

Amy asked the lady for the whole tray…there was a little bit of confusion…I guess she didn't think we would want THE WHOLE TRAY, but yes, we did. Luckily there was a special, where it was buy 4 get one free. Our total ending up being $52! The flavors available were classics. Coffee, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, raspberry and pistachio. They were tiny but still the same price as the ones that I would find at home.

They were alright. I still like the ones at home better. I will have to try them again from Montreal!

 

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Fatboys Southern Smokehouse

As crazy as it seems, yes I went to Canada and craved southern food. Let me start off saying, don't go to Canada for American southern food. I just wanted to see their interpretation of it. Just like how I went to France and tried and American burger, what am I thinking. Don't judge me…too cruely.

Food aside, Fatboys was fun. There is out door seating, there is a market, and Harley themed decor. Right down to the bathroom sinks resembling motorcycle handlebars. As with most places in Canada, the service was friendly. There was also a stage that the babies found their way to, which just received smiles from the staff (where if it happened in America someone would have told us to get handle on our kids).

 

The boo and I shared a Kentucky Trio, we chose dry rubbed ribs, chicken and brisket. We had sides of cornbread, baked beans and bacon Mac n Cheese. It was satisfying but nothing to write home about. But because I love barbecue, I will still probably go to a BBQ place in Canada again, just not this one!

 

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Baja Burger Shack

When you think of Canada, beach doesn't come to mind. But what is crazy is, when you walk around the corner from my cousin's house…there's a beach. A real beach. Sand and everything. However, it's a river. But a beach nonetheless. There's a volley ball set up. Lifeguard shacks. Happy almost naked people. The best part of the beach, other than the awesome rock point?

Baja Burger Shack.

It really is a shack. There's a stand with outdoor seats around it. I'm guessing that it is only open when it's warm. Can you imagine sitting outside eating a burger in a Canadian winter? Hahaha. I pictured the same thing.

The place is cash only, ATM conveniently located right next to the register. We ordered the bacon cheeseburger, and a beach dawg. They have fun fruit squeezes, which are just fruit slushees. We each got one of those too. And french fries. Oh and guess what, they have poutine there too!

The burger was fresh, moist and medium well. There's some kind of sauce in there, you didn't even need to add ketchup or mustard. They're regular fries were awesome. Sprinkled with their all season (pretty much old bay for us DC/VA/mD'rs minus the spice) and a little ketchup it came together pretty nicely. I enjoyed sitting out there with my family, on the uneven table, then walking it off at the beach!

 

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Burgers: The Works

I wish burgers were healthy, and good for you. I like eating them, a lot. As seen here, here, and here. So of course when I visit Ottowa, I had at least two kinds of burgers.

The Works is a chain, they call themselves a gourmet burger bistro. I can see that. There are A LOT, and I mean a lot of things to choose from, to build your ultimate burger. First you choose your patty, Gourmet Ground Beef, Whole Chicken Breast, Ground Turkey, Gourmet Veggie, Portobello Mushroom Cap, or Lean Domestic Elk. Then you choose what KIND of burger and toppings you want. There are 71 combinations. After that you choose your sides.

We started off with 3 towers of onion rings. They came with 4 different dipping sauces, some spicy, some creamy, some tomatoey and some all of the above. I don’t like onion rings in general because they usually slide out of the crispy crust, and I don’t like onions enough to eat it straight up like that. But these didn’t do that. They were the best onion rings, I’ve had in my life. That’s not saying much though, I haven’t had that many. But it was good!

I’m pretty boring when it comes to burgers, so how fitting that my choice in burger was called “Ho Hum #5”. It was mushrooms, cheddar and bacon. I also got a classic poutine as my side. I was pretty full already full from the onion rings, and my pyrex measuring cup full of ginger ale (yes they use measuring cups as their mugs). The burger was just a plain patty with no seasoning. It was dependent on the sauce and toppings you chose. Verdict? I’ve had better. 

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