Surf Taco: Belmar, NJ

This is a bit different from my regular entries because I'm not going to blog specifically about what I had at Surf Taco, instead I'm just going to recommend that everyone try and make it to the Jersey Shore this summer to try it!  While much of the shore is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, it's important that we all take the time to head down there this summer to help support the economy and keep the Jersey Shore thriving.  One of my favorite restaurant chains is Surf Taco, which has a variety of Mexican inspired seafood dishes, like fish tacos and fish burritos.  While fish tacos are their specialty, they also have a variety of non-seafood options.  Surf Taco has a fun, casual, beachy atmosphere, with locations in Seaside Park, Belmar and many places along the shore.  I really recommend you check it out while at the beach this summer!  It's great for a filling lunch after spending hours on the sand or in the water.  Below, I've included some pictures from Surf Taco in Belmar, NJ, as well as some pictures from the Seaside Boardwalk.  I'd seen many of the images of the shore online and on television, but it was truly heartbreaking to see the devastation in person.  We had to drive through many devastated towns between Belmar and Seaside and it was difficult to look at the damage Hurricane Sandy had caused to so many homes.  I did not take any pictures of the homes because I felt as though it would intrusive to these people's lives as they try to rebuild not only their houses, but their lives.

Most of the shops in the Seaside Boarwalk were open and operating when I visited last weekend and they plan to have most of the boardwalk repaired for Memorial Day.  I hope everyone who lives in the area will take the time to visit the Jersey Shore this summer and help support the Restore the Shore movement.  Every little bit helps!

Surf Taco:

Surf Burrito.  The Surf Burrito (or any of the burritos) comes with a side of homemade tortilla chips.  There's a self-serve salsa bar so you can take as much (or as little...but c'mon) salsa as you need.  They have four varieties, ranging from mild to hot.

Salmon Taco and Garlic Shrimp Taco.  I got the Combo which comes with two tacos, rice, beans and tortilla chips.  This is a really great deal and in most cases more food than you'll need (but just as much you want)

Seaside Boardwalk:

The entrance to what used to be the Fun Town Amusement Park Pier.  The boardwalk is washed away right after this sign.  For those who aren't familiar, there was once a boardwalk full of rides beyond this sign.

One of the rides at what was once the Fun Town Amusement Park.  If you look closely at the pink/green ride, you can see that it stands alone on an island of the boardwalk.  It appears as though most of the boardwalk around the ride washed away, leaving only this ride still standing.

The now famous rollercoaster in the ocean.  There are many more images online with a much better view, but this is as close as we were allowed to get.  The images online were difficult to look at, but it was even more haunting in real life. Last I heard, the rollercoaster is to be torn down today so that it will be safe to swim at the shore by Memorial Day.

Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery: Berkeley Heights, NJ

To celebrate the end of my second semester in Grad School, my boyfriend and I went out to Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery for dinner.  I'd been there once before for a friend's birthday and couldn't wait to go back.  It's a bit pricier than our usual dinner out, but we decided to splurge since we were celebrating!  First of all, this place is a microbrewery, so all of their beers are made in house, which makes it a really fun location when you're in the mood to try something new.  They have a beer to match every palate, but they also have a full bar for those who aren't beer fans.  Additionally, they have the most delicious bread basket.  Instead of regular bread, they serve cheesy biscuits and homemade pretzels.

For an appetizer we started with the Pretzel Crusted Crispy Fresh RI Calamari.  The calamari came with two dipping sauces: marinara and a lemon dijon aioli.  I thought that since the calamari was "pretzel crusted" it would have a slightly different flavor, but in the end it really just tasted like regular fried calamari.   It was really good fried calamari, but still not much different from any other variety.

For the entree, I really wanted the salmon, but because I always order salmon I decided to try something new.  Instead, I ordered the Red Snapper.  I'd never tried Snapper before, but I'd heard it's not too "fishy" tasting, which is important to me.  I made the mistake of ordering Sole once and it was way too fishy tasting, in my opinion.  Our appetizer came out fairly quickly, so I was worried our entrees would too and we'd be rushed in and out of the restaurant before we enjoyed our dining experience.  However, the entree came out quite a bit later so that we had plenty of time to enjoy our drinks before our entrees. The snapper was served on a bed of spinach, which was sauteed with garlic and ham.  Honestly, I may have enjoyed the spinach a bit more than the snapper.  While the snapper was delicious, it was somehow lacking.  I'm glad I tried something new and know now that I like snapper, but I think it was lacking in flavor in comparison to the rich, salty spinach.

My boyfriend got a NY Strip Steak and let me try it.  I'm not a huge fan of steak, but I really enjoyed

the few bites I had.  My biggest issue with steak is that it can be too chewy, but this was cooked perfectly so that it almost melted in your mouth.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this restaurant for a celebratory dinner.  I saw several other tables that appeared to be business dinners, so I suppose it's a popular location for that as well.  The dress seems to be sort of "business casual," but there were definitely a few tables wearing t-shirts and jeans, so it doesn't have a strict dress code or anything like that.  The one thing that I am sort of on the fence about with this restaurant is that the menu constantly changes.  There were a few menu items that I had loved last time around that weren't on the menu anymore.  For example, there was a sea salt caramel dessert that I had fallen in love with and it was replaced on the menu.  It seems they print out new menus daily, swapping out a few of the "specials," but it would also appear that they change their menu standards pretty frequently as well.  This is great because you'll never get bored of the menu, but it also means you can't have a standard go-to item and there's no guarantee your favorite meal will be there next time you go.

&grain: Garwood, NJ

I've decided that I don't review enough casual dining locations, which is what I frequent most often. Today, I visited &grain in Garwood, NJ for the first time and it was amazing! I pass it while driving pretty often and I always thought it was just another specialty bread shop, but a couple of weeks ago we spotted some people sitting outside eating and realized that they must have more than that. We looked it up and discovered they have sandwiches and salads and they specialize in bread. First of all, I really enjoyed the decor and atmosphere. It had a very modern, urban sort of vibe with lots of creative fixtures, like using mason jars for lights. The staff was also really friendly. They apparently had an unexpected lunch rush just before we got there, so the kitchen was backed up for 15 minutes and they were extremely apologetic about the wait. It honestly didn't seem like too much of a wait to me seeing as I usually wait that long at somewhere like Panera.

Chipotle Chicken

I ordered the Chipotle Chicken sandwich, which was amazing. It was grilled chicken in a chipotle sauce with smoked gouda on ciabatta bread. It wasn't a panini, but the entire thing was warm, from the chicken to the bread. You could really taste how fresh all of the ingredients were.  The bread was really soft and

The ABLT

doughy and made a huge difference in how the sandwich tasted.  My boyfriend got the ABLT(Avocado, bacon lettuce and tomato), which is a go-to of his and he said it's the best ABLT he's ever had.  I had a quick bite of his and it was equally as fresh and the bread was really buttery and delicious, the way a good BLT should be.  Both of our sandwiches came with a small side salad of mixed greens in a light dressing.  It wasn't much, but it fulfilled that need that I know many people have of needing a side with their meal.  I really wanted to try this sharable option they had on the menu which was a basket of bread and your choice of 3 spreads.  The spreads on the menu today included a garlic aioli, an herb aioli, cinnamon butter and many more
options.  I wanted to try it so badly, but we really had our hearts set on trying the sandwiches.  I'm definitely coming back to give those spreads a try!

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this place for a casual lunch.  It's definitely family-friendly, as there were tons of kids around while we were there.  It has a really cool atmosphere and a unique food and drink selection.  Though I didn't end up trying one, they had these fun looking bottled sodas there that I think I want to have next time!  My only word of advice to the owner would be to put a little more advertising out front that they serve breakfast and lunch because otherwise it can be easily overlooked!

Sushi Room: New Brunswick, NJ

Sushi Room! I'm surprised I haven't written a blog post about this place yet.  It is absolutely my FAVORITE place to get sushi in New Jersey.  I have yet to go to a sushi restaurant that I enjoy more.  It's located on the busy Easton Avenue in New Brunswick, NJ and despite it's close proximity to the New Brunswick train station it has a wonderful, relaxed ambiance.  You'll feel like you're miles away from the busy, loud New Brunswick college life.  We actually didn't intend to go there last night, but the restaurant we wanted to go to had an hour wait and we were very hungry so we decided to just go to Sushi Room.

We've been here plenty of times, so I've gotten to know the menu pretty well by now.  I automatically started with the ginger salad and we go the crispy rock shrimp to split.  The ginger salad isn't the best ginger salad I've ever had, but it definitely hits the spot.  The crispy rock shrimp are delicious.  They are tiny, fried shrimp, but are definitely not too greasy.  They have a light glaze of sauce on top of them, as well.  For an entree we decided to split 4 rolls, two specialty and

two hand rolls.  We got the the Chilean Crunch Roll, Google Roll, eel and cucumber roll and spicy salmon roll.  We get the Google Roll every time we go.  It's the best specialty roll I've ever tried.  It has the perfect combination of crunchy and soft.  The Google Roll has shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, and avocado.  The sauce that's drizzled on top is amazing, as well.  The Chilean Crunch Roll has Chilean sea bass tempura, spicy tuna and caviar.  It's a pretty expensive roll, but well worth it.  Unfortunately, our order got mixed up and we ended up with a cucumber roll instead of an eel and cucumber roll, so I can't really rate that roll.  We didn't correct the error, however, because we were still satisfied with the cucumber roll.  The spicy salmon roll was great as well.  It's always nice to have a go-to roll that's available at every sushi restaurant, and this is definitely mine.

Unfortunately, I failed to take pictures last night because I didn't realize that I'd never blogged about Sushi Room before!  I do have an older picture that I've included, but the rolls in the picture don't match up with the rolls we had last night.  The Google Roll is second in from the right in this picture because, as I said, we never fail to order our favorite roll!

Lidia's Cuban Kitchen: Cranford, NJ

Last week we visited the newly opened Lidia's Cuban Kitchen in Cranford, NJ. We went on a Saturday night around 6:30 and had about a half hour wait for our table. The hostess and owner were both very welcoming and offered us water and offered to open our bottle of wine while we waited to be seated. They even kept us posted about how much longer our wait would be. Once we were finally seated, we did have to wait awhile for our waitress to come by with water and a bread basket, but the restaurant was extremely busy so perhaps they were a bit short-staffed. We started by having our bottle of wine turned into Sangria for a fee of $12. I have to say, I was not a fan of the way the Sangria was made. I've seen this feature offered at other restaurants and I'm usually a big fan of this extra at BYOB restaurants, but this sangria was really citrus-y and difficult to drink.  Additionally, we had to pour our own wine into the mixture they brought us and I'm not exactly an expert on how much wine to use, so I had a hard time making the mixture the right balance between wine and the mixture.  I would have preferred that they had simply made the entire sangria mixture for us, including the wine.

For an appetizer we ordered the cuban nachos, which were simply fried plantain chips covered in the usual nacho toppings.  I had seen on Yelp that these were a specialty, but I was a little bit disappointed. The cheese wasn't melted and it seemed as if the toppings were just thrown on top of a pile of plantain chips.  There was very little artistry to how they were done and I didn't think they were anything special.  I wish I had tried a different appetizer instead because looking around it seemed like everyone else had interesting, delicious appetizers.


For an entree, I got the Lechon Asado or the Roasted Pulled Pork.  Our entrees came out pretty quickly after our appetizer so we didn't have much time to digest the large portion of nachos we were given.  The entree was the best part of our experience, by far.  The pulled pork was perfectly cooked so that it didn't get too dried out.  It was also served with rice and beans.  The rice was white rice, which surprised me because I thought that maybe they would have dressed it up a bit more.  I'm not complaining though, I do love white rice. 

My boyfriend got the Pollo a la Plancha, which was grilled chicken breast smothered in onions.  Our meals looked very similar, as we both chose a pulled meat.  I sampled a bit of his and found it to be equally well cooked.  Both of our meals looked a bit bland on the plate, which is a shame.  I think that had the dishes been garnished a bit more nicely, it really would have enhanced the meal.  

Overall, I think this restaurant gets an average rating from me.  Perhaps because it's only a few weeks old, they really haven't had the chance to get things running quite as smoothly as they'd hoped.  The wait service was a bit slow and confusing, but the staff was definitely friendly.  Additionally, the little things, such as the sangria or the bread could use some improvement.  The bread that we were given at the beginning of our meal was very bland and after waiting for our table for awhile, it would have been nice to sit down to a nicer piece of bread while waiting for our appetizer to come out.  I did think that the newspaper placemats and the cigar box that the bill comes in were a nice touch and I'd like to see that sort of thoughtfulness and attention to detail come through in the presentation of the meals as well.  I think I'll give Lidia's some more time to settle in and give it a second try.

Garlic Rose Bistro: Cranford, NJ

Life had gotten pretty crazy for awhile, so I apologize for my lack of posts!  However, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.  Don't worry, I didn't stop going out for delicious food, I just stopped posting about it.

For Valentine's Day my boyfriend and I went to Garlic Rose Bistro in Cranford, NJ.  I'd been here a couple times before and it never disappoints.  All the menu items are made with garlic, which may seem a little scary to some, but as a garlic lover it just seems perfect to me.  I do have to say, they add the garlic very tastefully so that you're never too overwhelmed by it.

For an appetizer we got the "Garlic Angels on Horseback" which are shrimp stuffed with crab and wrapped in applewood smoked bacon.  They were absolutely delicious.  They were so rich and salty that it was perfection.  Of course, they had a garlic flavor, but it wasn't overpowering at all. I'd say the strongest flavor of the whole dish was the bacon.  There was a small salad in the center with arugula, red onions and diced tomatoes in a balsamic dressing.  It actually helped break up the flavor of the appetizer a bit.  Usually, I feel as though those salads are garnishes, but in this case it actually served as a bit of a palate cleanser.

Next we received house salads, which also served as a perfect palate cleanser to prepare for our entrees.  For my entree I got the salmon (as usual).  Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the salmon and the online menu is a bit outdated on their site.  However, I can tell you that it came in a lemon, garlic cream sauce with capers.  It was unbelievably delicious.  The salmon was cooked perfectly so that it simply melted when I cut into it with a fork.  It was also covered in red peppers and onions which really added to the flavor.  The side of green beans and yellow rice didn't really add much to the dish, but they did help break up the flavor a bit.  My boyfriend got the lump crab cakes, which were seasoned with garlic and old bay.  They too were delicious and rich.  I think next time I'll try the crab cakes for myself!

For dessert we ordered the chocolate mousse cake.  I've heard that the garlic ice cream is fantastic, however, my boyfriend and I both aren't big fans of ice cream so we opted for the cake since it was Valentine's Day.  We agreed that next time we'd definitely go for the ice cream because we really can't miss out on something that's supposed to be as unique and delicious as garlic ice cream.  Our cake was great and really ended our meal nicely.   I apologize that the picture has a bite taken out of the cake.  I got impatient and started eating before I remembered to take a picture!

It should be noted that they advertise on their menu that dishes can be customized in terms of how much garlic is used.  They state that dishes can be prepared from no garlic to heavy garlic dependent on your taste.  I didn't specify how much garlic I'd like in my food and I thought it was the perfect amount, but if you're pickier than I am about garlic then it's a great option that they provide!

The New York Beer and Brewery Tour

This entry is a little bit different than my regular food blog, but I decided to step outside the box.  Two weeks ago my boyfriend and I went on the New York Beer and Brewery Tour for my boyfriend's birthday.  It was a bus tour of New York City with stops at some famous breweries, bars, and historic brewing sites.  The tour began at the Chelsea Brewing Company at Chelsea Piers.  There we met up with our tour guide, Marshall and the rest of the people on the tour (I'd say about 20 in total).  First of all, I thought the day got off to a great start because even though some people were running late for the tour, Marshall made sure to accommodate them without inconveniencing those who were already on time for the tour. 

We started off with a sample of Chelsea Brewing Company's Checker Cab Blonde Ale, which I've had a few times before at a local bar.  I thought it tasted a little different when I first tried it, but I decided it was probably because it was only noon, so perhaps my taste buds weren't up for the task of tasting beer quite yet.  However, as we got a tour of the brewery, the brewer mentioned that each batch tastes a little different since everything there is done by hand, not by machines.  Therefore, the beer I sampled did have a slightly lemon-y flavor to it and they really weren't sure why.  We also got to sample their Pumpkin beer, which I thought was delicious.

After we were done with our tour of Chelsea, we got onto the tour bus and were immediately served nice, warm pretzels from Sigmund's.  It was one of the most delicious pretzels I've ever had.  At this point, our tour guide Marshall began telling us about the history of beer and brewing in New York City as we traveled into Brooklyn to go to Brooklyn Brewery.  I'd been to Brooklyn Brewery before and it's always a lot of fun.  We were given a token for one free beer and given about a half hour to get our beer and hang out.  I had the Fiat Lux beer, which I'd tried the last time I was there and absolutely loved.

At this point we once again got on the tour bus and drove around Brooklyn a bit to learn more about the history of brewing in Brooklyn.  Our next stop was Spuyten Duyvil, which is also in Brooklyn.  Here we had an artisanal food pairing with specialty beers.  We were seated at tables of about 6 people each with 5 small beer samples and a meat, cheese or chocolate to go with each beer.  The bartender who had put it together explained each pairing to us and then we were given about a half hour to eat, drink and chat with one another.  I thought that the entire thing was put together really nicely and it was the perfect snack for the middle of the afternoon along with some beers that I never would have tried before.

Once again, we hopped back on the bus and drove over to Astoria, Queens for our final stop: The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden.  This place was a lot of fun.  There was a huge beer garden with a live band, long tables and some great food.  We were given a few more specialty beer samples and told to just hang out and enjoy the band.  At this point we were given the option of either staying at the beer garden or getting back on the bus to Manhattan.  We chose to get on the bus so that we had easy transportation back to the train station, but many people on the tour chose to stay.  The bus then dropped people off at whatever points along the bus route that they wished.  The bus driver even went out of his way to drop us off at Penn Station since there were very few other stop requests.

Overall, it was a great day for my boyfriend and I, as well as everyone on the tour.  Marshall made the driving portions of the tour very informative and entertaining, throwing in some trivia questions with prizes, as well as some souvenirs along the way. Marshall clearly knew his stuff and made a point to talk to each and every person on the tour on an individual basis for at least a few minutes.  I would definitely recommend this to history lovers, beer lovers or anyone who enjoys a fun, relaxing day!