Trip to the States #2 Eat ALL the Food

As you will be aware I recently took an all-expenses paid trip to America. Living in a hotel means having to find food…and I do love food! Had I had more time to plan I would have taken a list of places to go but with the help of the locals we found some amazing restaurants and places to eat. And yes, the portion sizes are as big as they say!

With only one place decided to visit before we left, Hard Rock Café New York of course, we took to wandering downtown New Brunswick, NJ and asking our driver for places to go. I have to say being a college town there was so many cuisines to choose from! Our main issue went from finding food to trying to decide which of the many, many establishments to eat at.

Harvest Moon Brewery Café

We happened upon this place by chance. It was just down the road from out hotel and from the outside it looked great. We were also quite hungry and quickly decided to go inside for a bite to eat. The décor was fantastic! As the bar has its own microbrewery the inside was decorated as such. The scientist in me loved it, the none beer drinker not so much as I couldn’t take advantage of their amazingly named home brews. The food however was delicious! I opted for a pulled pork burger with chips and a pickle on the side. It came with baconaise…bacon mayonnaise…omgh!!! Mouth wateringly good but not so good for the hips! I also ordered a lemonade and when it arrived I was sure they had heard me wrong as it was PINK! Pink lemonade! This quickly became my favourite drink! We came back here at the end of the week and got more food including New York Cheesecake!

Hard Rock Café

It is an obsession of my friend to visit as much HRCs as possible! As she couldn’t go on this trip I thought I better visit in her honour and to also buy her a gift from the shop. I love a beef burger and it is a shame that in the UK I can’t get my burger on the rarer side but in the US you can! I made full advantage of this and ordered their signature burger with artisan herby fries on the side! The burger was HUGE but tasted amazing! Again as a new obsession I ordered a lemonade and a lovely gin cocktail. The food was epic and with all the amazing memorabilia on the wall it felt I was in a musical museum. As the restaurant is situated in the heart of Broadway there was an old stage with a huge screen covering it showing music videos. I loved it! We also got a photo op holding some lovely guitars before sitting down to our meal.

The Old Bay

Situated again not far from our hotel was the heart of “N’Awlins”. A lovely restaurant serving cuisine from New Orleans and where “every day is Mardi Gras!” We went here because it was recommended to us and it would be food we knew we definitely couldn’t get back home! The restaurant was full of amazing, lovely and colourful artwork that catches your eye as soon as you walk in. The food was amazing! They had everything from gumbo to catfish! I opted for fried chicken with biscuits! A weird but intriguing combination if you don’t know what biscuits are. I for one did not so I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were like scones and tasted fantastic! And the chicken was seasoned with Cajun spices and fried to perfection! Easily the best fried chicken I have ever had! It was all washed down with yet more lemonade and a Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktail!

Stuff yer Face

Had we not been told about this place we probably wouldn’t have come across it. With a name like ‘Stuff yer Face’ we just couldn’t resist going! Their speciality is Stromboli which is in essence a pizza rolled up so it is burrito like. Being in New Jersey we had to sample this for ourselves! They come in 4”, 9” and 18” sizes. We got the one in the middle, I opted for pepperoni, which was big enough so I can even fathom eating the 18” Stromboli! My keen eye also noticed there was a special Stromboli that had been featured on the amazing programme that is Man Versus Food an accolade for all eating establishments! We also sampled their delicious potachos! Nachos with potato crisps rather than tortilla crisps…amazing! My advice would be if you are healthy conscious or on a diet…do not go to a place named Stuff yer Face but they really do mean it.

Esquina Latina

All we say when walking around New Brunswick was happy hour and we were determined to make the most of it at least one day we were there! This brought us to Esquina Latina for sangria and $5 tapas! Getting to sit outside enjoying the lovely weather with a gorgeous drink and amazing food is the dream right? With food options from latin America I was so excited! I ordered 3 dishes: Cuban guacamole with plantain chips, cured flounder with picked watermelon and serrano ham roquetas. This was my favourite restaurant from my entire week away. All the flavours were so fresh and authentic to the region they were from. The best tapas I have ever eaten! If you are ever in the New Brunswick area I urge to you try it for yourself! You will not be disappointed!

Indochine

Form latin to Vietnam! We had walked past this place quite a few times saying “oh that looks good we should try it” so we did! We were not disappointed! Again this place was recommended to us and now we know why! The food was amazing! I can get Vietnamese food where I live and I love it! I had steamed chicken dumplings for starter and Pho Tai for main which is a lovely beef broth with rare steak and rice noodles. The flavours were amazing! So fresh and inviting! The smells were incredible! I was so sad I couldn’t eat it all as it was that good! I also had a thai iced tea. I first had one of these when I was in London now I order it every time I see it on a menu as it’s just beautiful!

I loved my trip to America and I would happily go back just to experience food like this again! Sorry if I give you food envy, I am getting it just writing this!

Where is the best place you have eaten?

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