Great Sandwich!

Last night I had one of the best sandwiches ever at a local place called The Stage House Tavern.  It was a grilled vegetable sandwich on a crusty ciabatta roll.  The veggies included zucchini, portobello mushroom, and tomato.  It also had goat cheese on it and the menu calls for a basil mayo.  (I ordered it with chipolte mayo instead.) It is served with a mixed green salad.The vegetables were soft but still had a bite and the crusty bread was a wonderful contrast to them.  The goat cheese added a creamy bite.  It has to be one of the best things I have ever eaten.

The Stage House Tavern's menu is always a joy.  I haven't had anything that wasn't great.

My first visit to a Tapas Bar

Other than ice cream and an occasional steak, I could live on appetizers and hors d'oeurve.  Little bites of exotic or everyday food just seems to be the best; snacking all day and feeling like each small bite is a sample of better things to come.  Going to a Tapas Bar just seemed like a natural progression.  What would be better than an entire restaurant filled with bite sized samples of great food?  Add to that a great wine list, and lots of garlic and olives from Spain and I pictured a night of heaven.

Last Thursday, I finally got to one.  365 Bistro Tapas Bar and Lounge is located right off route 287 in Piscataway, NJ.  I think it used to be a run down Chinese buffet, but boy have they improved the look.  It is very upscale both inside and out.  The bar stools are cushioned and the decor is warm and welcoming.  There is a large display of the wines from their impressive wine list.  I thought I had hit the jackpot.

We ordered two appetizers to share and a bottle of my favorite red wine Rosenblum Zinfandel.  First we tried the Kobe Beef Chili with Corn Bread and Pork Rib in Adobo Sauce.  The chili was tasty; full of beef and beans and not spicy at all.  The serving was small, but adequate.  The ribs were tender, but not as flavorful as we had hoped and in spite of the name there wasn't even a hint of heat.  During a great night of music we ordered another duo of appetizers:  Pan Con Camarones – Shrimp, Serrano and Romesco was my choice and my hubby chose and old fashioned New England Clam Chowder.  The chowder was an odd item on a Spanish Tapas menu, but he thought it was one of the best.  Full of clams that were very tender and lots of veggies.  I thought the Pan Con Camarones was the best thing I had all night.  Again, in spite of the name and listing of Serrano, it wasn't spicy at all.  But, it was full of flavor and the Romesco sauce was awesome!!  Later in the evening hubby again chose an untypical Tapas item of Chicken Fingers with Frittes. I am very picky about my French fried potatoes (frittes), but these were crispy and certainly among the best I have ever had.  They have an entire menu of Frittes and if we ever get there again, I will try a few of the more exotic varieties.

All in all, it was a nice evening.  We met some friendly people, both employees and customers.  The chef was friendly and accessible.  Our only complaint was the prices.  It seemed a bit over priced for the quantity of food that was provided.  

Willy McBride's and Kilkenny Beer

My husband and I visited a restaurant called Willie McBride in South Branch, NJ this week. It is a new location for a well established place in Hoboken, NJ. I was very impressed. It is decorated like an old upscale Irish Pub. They have an awesome menu, a huge amount of high definition televisions playing your favorite games and great choices of beer.

One of the beers they had on tap is a Guinness product that is very new to the USA called Kilkenny Beer. It is a red ale with a nice foamy head. It drinks very smoothly and the taste is creamy and delicate with a malty dry finish. I could drink this all day and night. It has quickly become my very favorite beer.

I can't wait to go back and try more items from the menu, but the beer I will choose will be Kilkenny!!

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Eat at Joe's

For the past 25 years, I have been thankful and at the same time curious why this place was so accessible, quaint and small. Located at a curve on Route 20 right before you leave the wonderful village of downtown Lee Massachusetts is a diner right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. No, I am not using a descriptive term, I am stating a fact. It was actually used in the Norman Rockwell painting called the "Runaway".

Joe's Diner is like stepping back into the early days of service and value. The food is great home cooked and fresh. There is enough variety to please the most picky of eaters and the prices can't be beat. Yesterday I had an eggplant parmigiana grinder with fries and hubby had a pulled pork grinder with fries. I also couldn't resist the homemade grape nut pudding. The grinders were over loaded with freshly made food and the fries were crispy and delicious. Our bill including the tip came to under $20.00.

Joe's is located off exit 2 of the turnpike, about 1/2 mile west on Route 20. You have to pass three fast food places on route, but PASS THEM BY and have real food, that is healthy, satisfying and freshly made. Enjoy the photos, of celebrities that have visited, on the wall and a trip into history of good food gone by.

We won't miss it!! Oh, don't all come at once, cause we like the fact that it is small and homey and rarely crowded.

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Blues and BBQ

Tonight is blues and BBQ at Theodore's in Springfield MA

Theodore's is much more than that though. They have big screen TV's to watch your favorite sports and Buzztime trivia too. The beer menu is vast and full of variety.

Try it, you'll like it.

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Find favorite foods in a new location - PIZZA

We are in the process of moving from a suburban area not far from New York City to a rural area in the mountains of western Massachusetts. The choice of the move is mine, all mine! I have been waiting since 1985 to be able to call the Berkshires my home.

One thing that has occurred to me lately though is that I need to find some "special" foods. For example, I love Pizza! It is a weekly necessity for both my husband and I. If we miss a week, we get irritable and have withdrawal symptoms. Most people think you can't find good pizza if you get too far away from NYC. Well, we have found two places that we love. The first is called Athena's Pizza in Lee, MA. They have a full Italian menu that we haven't tried yet, but the pizza is very good. The second place we found is on Route 20, in a tiny town called Russell, MA. It is in the Russell Inn. The pizza is great and the rest of the menu is just as good. The bar is so friendly, that even though we are new to the area, we felt like we were home.


Stay tuned for the next entry about our quest for good food in the mountains.

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What's with restaurants and their lack of UN-chocolate desserts?

I am not a chocolate person. No, I am not allergic to it. I just don't like the flavor.

We love to go out to dinner and most of the time I am more than satisfied with whatever I have eaten for my main meal. It is rare for me to look for a dessert. But sometimes, it sure would be nice.

If you are a chocolate person, you probably have never noticed the lack of UN-Chocolate desserts on the menu. Oh, there is the standard fruit pie with ice cream, but their energies and creativity are always spent on the exotic chocolate desserts.

There are a few winners though. Tonight I had one of my favorites. Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie is among my very favorite desserts anywhere. It is a Nutty, Buttery Blondie (a vanilla, nutty version of a brownie) served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And then there is a hot melted butter and maple syrup mixture that is poured sizzling over the ice cream. Oh my!! When I tell you about the foodgasm in my mouth when I taste this it doesn't even begin to describe how luscious this is. Try it sometime!

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New BBQ restaurant in nearby town

We had dinner at a new place on Saturday night. At least it was new to us. It is called 28 BBQ and is located on route 28 in Bound Brook, NJ.

What a great find this place is. It is located on the main street in town on a corner. It is small and like sitting in a friend's kitchen. It was rather hot in the restaurant and we sat at clean wooden tables. There was a big family seated near us and there were only about 5 other tables.


We were greeted by three different waitresses and each was eager to help us. The sights of all that meat on the rotisserie made our mouths watered as we looked at the menu. The menu is mainly pork, beef and chicken done on the rotisserie. There is also fish and varied appetizers and sides. The value for the money is incredible. The prices are pretty typical until one sees the servings. We are big eaters, and even so, brought home half of our dinners for a future dinner at home.

We each ordered the combination of chicken and pork spare ribs. It came with yellow rice and a choice of sides. I had the salad and my husband had the black beans. We could have also chosen fries. The chicken was succulent and so tasty, even the white meat. The flavor of the light BBQ sauce that is used all through the rotisserie time was defined but light enough to let the flavor of the perfectly cooked chicken through. The ribs were a delight. Unlike the heavy sugar coated sauces of most places, the same light sauce was used when cooking and it let the impeccably cooked meat shine through. The rice which is usually just and after thought at most places was cooked so that each grain was flavorful and didn't stick together. The black beans were seasoned well.

There is no bar and the sodas are bottled from a cooler. We didn't ask, but it's possible that you could bring your own. They do have desserts that looked incredible, but we were far too satiated to try any.

The place does an incredible take out business. They package the food so well that it stays fresh.

They have a website and a blog.

We are looking forward to eating this food again.