A visit to Princeton, NJ!

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Recently, we went to Princeton for the day to visit our friends Livia and George.

It was the perfect occasion for me to see the campus as I heard so much about it. It was beautiful with this spectacular architecture, its gardens and so much green (well, in figurative too).

For lunch, Livia and George proposed to eat in one of their favorite places, apart from the main Street. 

We did not go to the restaurant, Blue Point Grill, but to the store on the left, Nassau Street Seafood Produce and Co, where they had an impressive selection of seafood, from lobster, crab, clam and all sorts of fresh fish that can be cleaned to order. They also have caviar!

Their fish tank with all these big lobsters was pretty impressive!

There, they offer a menu going from soups, salads, sandwiches...and you can even see them preparing it, in the small kitchen behind the counter. 

Jodi ordered a salad with fresh tuna.

The sauce was Caesar dressing. It was good, not overdressed and the fish (lots of it) tasted fresh. The only regret is that it was cooked all the way through and not pan seared with a red center. 

On my side, I ordered the lobster bisque. 

I was surprised to see them take an already prepared and packaged soup and serve it. They made it though and it was pretty good with little chunks of lobster in it! 

Then, I decided to try their fish and chips.

I could observe them preparing it and fry it. Made me hungrier! It was good: fresh fish well cooked, light and crispy batter that was not greasy. The fries that came with it were perfect too. 

Definitely a good choice off the Main Street!

Nassau street seafood and produce Co / Blue Point Grill

258 Nassau St
Princeton, NJ 08542

Then, we went to Small World Coffee..for coffee. 

I ordered a cold macchiato that looked fantastic with the cream on top!

Jodi ordered an iced mint lemonade that was just ok, but really refreshing considering how hot it was outside! 

Small World Coffee

14 Witherspoon St
Princeton, NJ 08542

Last top was at House of cupcakes. 

This store is known because it won Cupcake Wars! We decided to share a red velvet. 

It was delicious: moist and tasty cake, fantastic cream cheese icing that was not too sweet. 

House Of Cupcakes

30 Witherspoon St
Princeton, NJ 08542

Needless to say that the walk around Princeton was necessary to digest all this good food! We definitely had a great time and are looking forward to go back to try some other fantastic food!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Lobster roll at The Claw New York in NYC!

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I recently went to The Claw New York with my friend Benny, to their location in Hell's Kitchen. Their motto is "Bringing the Hamptons to NYC". I was wondering if I had to dress up for the event!!!

The place was not what I imagined: I thought I would order at the counter and then sit to eat. It was not the case: it was table service.

We decided to start with the crab beignets:

They were disappointing to say the least! The dough was not as soft as beignets, it was dry and salty. Clearly not recommended!

Then we each got the lobster roll:

It was supposed to be served with mayonnaise and butter: I write "supposed" because if there were some, it was very subtle. Don't get me wrong: I prefer that way so I can really taste the lobster. However, it would have been great with a bit more butter either when poaching the lobster or on the toasted potato bread. I also appreciated the fact that there was a nice amount of lobster!

The fries were not the best, but I was pleased that they had some as otherwise I would have been hungry.

I think The Claw New York is decent. Not the best but decent and a good alternative if you are in the area and want to eat a lobster roll. However, know that if you go with a vegetarian, they only propose a salad...or desserts!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Dinner at The Turtle Club in Hoboken, New Jersey

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We were looking for a new dining experience in Hoboken and the name of that place, The Turtle Club, caught our eyes (ears? or even stomach?) This is a very old place for sure and I think the owners kept the old atmosphere alive inside: lots of wood and an arch between the two main rooms. The place was very dark and we only saw the room on the right side of the restaurant. In fact, I am not sure if I should call that a restaurant or a bar with a menu...

It was a Tuesday night and there was not that many people there at the beginning; people came later. We started off with bruschetta.

For $8, you can pick three different kinds. We decided to go with: 

• Gorgonzola and toasted garlic.
• Tomato and basil with olive oil.
• Goat cheese and balsamic honey glaze.

It took forever for the food to come and I do not mind if the food is exceptional, but it was not the case: this was so disappointing! The bread was barely toasted; the tomato and basil was dry. At the end, I only liked the other two because you can just spread the goat cheese or gorgonzola on a piece of bread and they would be good. No need to be a Chef to do it right!

Then, I ordered the fish tacos:

It was three tilapia tacos with a soft taco shell stuffed with corn salsa, romaine, cilantro and sour cream. On the side was a very average (and not homemade I guess) guacamole and a very dry rice and black beans. Let me start by telling you that I did not finish the dish. The fish was dry / overcooked and tasted very fishy. 

Jodi went for the ginger and soy glazed mahi mahi:

The mahi mahi was also dry / overcooked. Too bad because the sauce was pretty good.

So at the end of the day, it was not a great experience: the wait staff seemed overwhelmed although very courteous and attentive to our needs and I would think, based on what we got there, that the issue was the kitchen. This was really a forgettable experience and I think that they should probably stick to bar dishes instead of trying to make a food that is too elaborate. Although, one would think that fish taco are not that complicated....

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Horrible Fish & Chips at The Round Table in London, England

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Over the week end we were in London, we were walking around Covent Garden, when we decided that it was time to entertain our stomachs! We decided to go to a Pub to enjoy some traditional food. We ended up at The Round Table located on St Martins Court. Nice traditional pub with a particular smell that clearly indicates that there is a lot of beer around...

So we go there and they told us that we have to order at the bar (the table next to us did not know and we had to tell them as they were wondering why nobody was taking care of them).

So I decided to order Fish & Chips. They had the traditional one made with cod and proposed a larger version called...the Cod Father!

After a long, long time, our food arrived!

The Fish & Chips I ordered was made with cod and was served with fries, peas and tartare sauce.

This was horrible! The peas had no taste; the fries were mushy and the fish was terrible! The batter was oily and not cooked all the way through and the fish was probably frozen. The tartare sauce not only looked weird, but also tasted weird. This was disgusting!

Jodi's sandwich was not better!

It was a cheddar and pickle sandwich. The pickle overpowered the cheese. I think I only enjoyed the bread. So bad.

That was so disappointing! Next time, I will pass my way! And by the way, the table I mentioned before that did not know you had to order at the bar was still waiting for the food when we left...

Enjoy (the photos)!

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Fish & Chips at Seashell on Lisson Grove in London, England

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If there was one dish I had to try in England, it was Fish & Chips. You can get some good ones in pubs in New York, but it is not the same! As I mentioned in the post to introduce the trip (My trip to Europe), although I went several times to London before coming to the US, I first tried this dish at...Epcot in Disney Florida! So we looked up on the internet for the best Fish & Chips places. We wanted first to go to the Golden Hind that was listed number 1 on one of the websites, but, believe or not, it was closed on Saturdays for lunch!!! We could not believe it! Why would you be closed for lunch on Saturdays??? So, as we were trying to find our way to the Imperial War Museum, we asked a very nice person in the street if she knew a good Fish & Chips place. She told us to go to Lisson Grove street and then ask people for a known place there. 

So, here we go, walking towards Lisson Grove street. When we arrived, we asked a guy at a bus stop if he knew a well known Fish & Chips place. He indicated Seashell on Lisson Grove. So that is how we ended up there.

It was a clean place with a modern decor: for sure, you would not go there for the ambience! By the way, you remember the guy at the bus stop who told us that this was the known place for Fish & Chips? We saw him walking in the restaurant few minutes after  and I caught him on the camera! We probably asked the owner! That was pretty funny!

So we looked at the menu and there were proposing a dozen of different ways to have the Fish & Chips: the traditional with cod, with salmon, filet of sole or even langoustines! I decided to go for the traditional one.

The food took time to come, although the restaurant was not that crowded. But when it came, I did not regret it! The piece of fish was big! It tasted very fresh and was flaky, cooked all the way through. The batter was crispy and not greasy at all. I appreciated the fact that there was no bone in it! It was a delicious dish! The fries though were not that great: too soft and undercooked.

Jodi went for a salad.

It was nice and simple.

The Fish & Chips was delicious, although a bit pricey and I would have preferred a place with more character!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to Eat!

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The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, PA

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You cannot go to Philadelphia without visiting the Reading Terminal Market! This place has some incredible food! Not all the food is good, but they have some little gems there!

I love going to this kind of places where there are so many different merchants that you do not know where to go and what to eat! They serve: meat, fish, vegetables, ice cream, pastries... And then, you can eat French (crepes!), Thai, Italian, Middle Eastern...

Each time we went to Philly, we stopped there!

The variety of food is so amazing that just walking around will make you discover some incredible vendors such as Wan's seafood!

Their stand look amazing and fresh!

I saw these huge Wild Shrimp! Trust me, these, simply grilled on a BBQ must be fantastic!

There is also an Amish owned traditional deli, called The Riehl Deli.

Not only do they have a wide variety of cheeses, they have tons of meats!

But what caught my eyes was clearly on the sweet side...

First were the Termini Brothers with their Italian cookies!

And decadent cakes!

Then, the custom made Chocolate by Mueller:

They seem to have some amazing creation like the chocolate brain....

Pretty funny!

There is also the phenomenal Flying Monkey!

Look at that! If I did not have to go to the Franklin Fountain later on, I would have had some of their cakes!

They looked incredible!

So definitely, the Reading Terminal Market is the place to go for some surprising and decadent food! I will stop there next time again for sure! By the way, it is there that we found Salumeria, an authentic Italian hoagies joint!

If you go, before leaving, do not forget to make a donation to Philbert, the pig in the center of the market! It goes to charity for children of the community!

Enjoy (I did)!

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