January 31, 2020

This Friday we went to Liberty State Park and ate at the Liberty House in Jersey City. The lovely Val joined us. Colleen surprised me for my birthday. She kept me guessing where we’re going. She kept trying to throw me off the trail, but even if she told me, I have never been here. Lucky us, it was restaurant week!

New York City in the background.
It looks so small from here.

Butternut Squash Soup
We all had the soup. It had pomegranates and creme fraiche. Some of the herbs were a little big, and I feel there was two many pomegranates seeds. I’m really nitpicking because it was excellent and I would definitely get it again.

Lobster Roll
Val had the lobster roll. She said it was really good.

Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon | Chorizo & Sweet Pepper Ragout, Fingerling Potatoes, Leek Coulis
Colleen had the salmon. She really enjoyed it. She said the sauces were really good.

Pappardelle with Pork Bolognese | Ragout of Mushrooms, Crushed Tomatoes, Grana Padana Cheese, Spinach Bell Peppers, Brandy & Cream
This was excellent, it is close to my favorite dish from 618. The noodles were so tender, I ate them all up! Yum! The sauce was excellent with just a hint of spice. It was like eating a hug!

On our way to the restaurant, we traveled on the turnpike. I know that the president turned back a lot of the environmental laws, but why did it take so fast for the companies to stop using the environmental equipment that was already in place. Before this the town of Elizabeth stop smelling, now it smells again. It was a cloudy day and giant plumes of smoke were filling the sky. It was hard to tell which were clouds and which were pollution. There was a brown hue to the sky. If this is so visible, what is happening that we can’t see? What are they dumping into our water and earth? Are we going to have a new river on fire, as was the case in the Cuyahoga River Fire in Ohio in 1969? I don’t understand the people behind the big corporations, they live here too. I know some people don’t believe in global warming but I don’t remember 60 degrees in January. I am afraid of what the summer will bring. Will it be 120 degrees? I remember on 9/11 New Jersey’s former governor and then head of the EPA Christine Todd Whitman declared the air safe. Now many of the brave Police and Firemen are coming down with cancer and other illnesses. The toll is tragic, for the brave first responders and their families. For what, to save from the cost of few hazmat suits and air masks? Why are we so short-sighted?

January 24, 2020

This Friday we went to BAPS Shir Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, David Bradley Chocolatier and Yardville Inn in Yardville.

The Mandir doesn’t want you to take photos inside the temple or to publish them in public, so we will respect those wishes. Here is a link https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Robbinsville/Media-Gallery.aspx

David Bradley’s chocolate shop :). It was just down the road a bit from the temple. One of the best chocolates, I’ve ever had. The chocolate covered pineapple was so juicy!

From the outside of the restaurant it doesn’t really look appealing, inside it has rustic feel. You can feel the history. The earliest known date of this establishment is 1799. Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill often stopped here and had shooting matches outside in the field.

Shrimp Bisque
The bisque was good, not outstanding but not bad.

Pierogies
Some of the best pierogies I’ve ever had. They would be the best if there was a little more filling in them, but the dough is amazing! They just melt in your mouth.

Seafood Cakes
Colleen ordered the special. She said the cakes weren’t the typical crab cakes that is full of bread. It was more a mixture of seafood. She said it was very good.

Vodka Rigatoni
This is the lunch portion! It was very tasty.

The Hindu temple we visited, I can’t begin to describe how beautiful it was. The outside of the building is a pale pink with many carved details. The building was made to shelter the temple itself from the elements. When you go inside there is a place to leave your shoes. The floors are mosaic, the walls are patterned and painted in pretty pastels. The temple itself is made of millions of pounds of Italian marble, all intricately carved by hand. The ceilings are carved. There is a partition, around it are all these elephants and all are different. There were many elephants, a delight to Colleen. The frames are gold plated, not gold paint. There are murals on the walls that are made from stone. I thought it was a painting but Colleen told me that is stone. Simply amazing! The artistry is something to behold. Every detail is perfection. When we left, I left a donation that was given to Prasadam. I was told that it was candy of the Deities and to share it with my friend. It was really good, the best description I can give is that it tasted like a nut fudge. I hope that it made up for stopping Colleen from taking her photo. I thought we were going to miss something because we only had an hour. They closed the displays and she missed her shot. I have a feeling that I will hear about this in years to come. In this day and age of everything being disposable, it is nice to see craftsmanship. This building I’m sure will be marveled at for hundreds perhaps thousands of years.

January 17, 2020

This Friday we went to the orchid show at Rutgers in New Brunswick. Later, we went to Zoup! in Somerset.

This is Colleen’s new plant. It is supposed to get little white flowers between the leaves and they are supposed to smell pretty. We both got new plants, we shall see which lives longer. 🙂

Colleen’s plant from the Glenmont and mine. Her plant is doing wonderfully, mine died. 😦

My new orchid, crossing my fingers that it lives. The last orchid made it 9 months. My other plant from Glenmont. I want to post it before my picture gets posted at all nurseries, “DO NOT SELL PLANTS, PLANT KILLER”
‘

Trio Chicken Pot Pie, Ginger Butternut Squash and Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.
Colleen liked the Gumbo the best. She said it wasn’t too spicy. She said the soups are better than Panera’s .

Southwest Turkey as a wrap
She didn’t care for the sandwich.

Trio Chicken Pot Pie, Lobster Bisque and Fire Roasted Tomato with a Roasted Veggie Wrap.
I unfortunately, had a cold and really couldn’t tell what it tasted like.

This is the second year we have gone to the orchid show. It is held at Rutgers. Last year seemed better, I couldn’t smell but Colleen tells me that it didn’t smell as good, it wasn’t as warm and I think that there were a few less plants. We stayed longer last year and attended some of the lectures. While we were waiting, we were watching ads on the TVs. There was one that was public service announcement. It told the college students, remind you this is at Rutgers which is a well-established college, how to find things! 1. You look for it. 2. You check lost and found. 3 You claim it if it is there. 4. You go get it. We are all doomed.

January 10, 2020

This Friday we went to my sister Joann’s house in Pennsylvania. We then went Shady Maple Smorgasbord.

The lobby of Shady Maple, it is looks very elegant inside.

This a large 3D picture in the lobby. There are many smaller ones around the room.

This is just one of the buffet tables. There is a east and west wing. Every time you go to the buffet tables you see something new.

Some of our plates. There are so many choices, even picky eaters are sure to find something. Colleen tried to eat have a bite of everything that looked good. Her favorites were the crab pasta, peas, kielbasa, scalloped corn, ham vegetable soup and potato pancake. I think my sister enjoyed the shrimp and bread. I really liked baked beans and lemon meringue pie. We spent two hours eating!

There is gift shop downstairs, which we didn’t have time to see. Here is a quilt at the entrance. I don’t think this picture does it justice. From far away it looked like lace. Up close it’s perfect.

I spotted a cloud that looked like an elephant.

People often think of the USA as one nation. Some may think of it as east coast or west coast, others as north and south. Each state is its own little country, each with its laws and quirks. New Jersey is good at moving people. All you need is for one lane of the highway to be closed and you will see how many people travel the road. As I understand New Jersey is the only state with jughandles. Jughandles you use to make u-turns and left turns. You have to stay right and near the traffic light will be a sign to tell you where you can make the turn. The shape is often a jughandle, but sometimes they can make you go around a block. It seems dangerous to me to make a left turn off the highway or even an u-turn. The left lane here is the fast lane, it’s meant for passing slower cars. Everything is quick here, moving people in and out. We have many people in a small area. Take too long to put your receipts in your wallet and someone will say something. Pennsylvania seems much slower, I think that is part of the reason my sister moved there. Also, she likes the rolling hills. It is very beautiful. In Pennsylvania, my sister tells me her town doesn’t have a police officer. Meanwhile, in Englishtown, a town of less than a square mile, there are two police officers on duty at all times. One day I would like to spend some time in each state to experience the pluses and minuses.

January 3, 2020

Real life took over again, while I had this:

Colleen was busy coming back from sunny Florida.

We decided to have a top ten list of our favorite restaurants. This year we will try to revisit the top ten and every year after, to see if they hold up.

My list:

10. Aunt Butchie’s: Best Chicken Soup

9. Turning Point: I have loved this dish for a long time

8. Casablanca: The food was really good

7. Chowda House: The seafood is always fresh here.

6. Greek Festival: Home made Greek food, need I say more.

5. El Guacamole: Worth going back for the soup alone!

4. Juanitos: Some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had.

3. Peking Pavilion: Some the best Chinese food I’ve ever had.

2. Heirloom Kitchen: Really good freshly prepared food.

618: My favorite meal. If they ask what three foods would you like if you lived on a deserted island, this is number one.

Colleen’s List

10. Melting Pot: Fun and good food

9. Comfi: Colleen says best breakfast

8. El Guacamole: Best Appetizers

7. 618: Best Meatballs

Granny’s Meatballs
Best meatballs we’ve ever had they are really light.

6. Juanito’s: Best Mexican food.

5. Blue Water Cafe: Best Seafood, all their seafood is excellent!

New England Clam Chowder
There is a reason this has won awards!

4.Heirloom Kitchen: A really good experience and food

3. Greek Festival: Colleen loves their gyros, she compares everyone else’s to theirs.

2.Casablanca: She loves not only the delicious food but the atmosphere.

1. Thanksgiving Leftovers: It’s a black Friday tradition.

Colleen, also wants to mention losers of the year (makes Great Adventure seem like a 5 star restaurant.

2. Soul Sandwich-still can’t get the horrible mushroom soup taste out of my mouth. (Sad because this was once a favorite soup place)

Jerry and Harvey’s – worst service award (They actually screamed at us for trying to sit down)

This year I hope we can discover new places to have fun and to feast! It is always fun to find a new adventure and try new foods. All my life I have wanted to learn and expand my horizons, I hope that I never loose the sense of adventure. The world is big and I feel like I’ve known so little of it.

December 27, 2019

This Friday we went to take Colleen’s daughter Val to the doctor. We had to go to Glen Rock. After, we ate at Stone and Rail restaurant.

Soup of the day
Colleen and I had the soup of day, Potato Leek Soup. It was very good, it tasted sort of like potato skins with the cheese and bacon.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Val had the tacos. She said it was very good.

Sliders
Colleen and I both had the sliders. She got the grilled chicken, chicken parmigiana and crab cake. Each slider came with its own sauce.

Sliders
I had the chicken parmigiana and crab cake too, but I had the hamburger instead of grilled chicken. We both agree that the chicken parmigiana was the best of the trio. The salad was nice. The sliders were ok but nothing I would crave. I think you’re better off with the tacos. The mac and cheese looked good, but I didn’t have any so I can’t be sure.

After we ate, we had to go back to Manalapan and take Val to work. We didn’t have much time, so we went to Brook farms and I got an angel for my tree.

The end of 2019, has been a bad year for Colleen. It seems when one of us has a bad year the other’s year is ok. I guess it’s good we both don’t have bad years at the same time. That way we can bring each other up. I wouldn’t mind though, us both having good years at the same time.

We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year, may this be your best year yet.

December 20, 2019

This Friday we went to the Brick House and the outlet mall in Neptune.

Zucchini Curls
The zucchini was nice and crunchy. The sauce had just a touch of heat. It was really good.

Chicken Pot Pie
We both had the Chicken Pot Pie. It was really good. The chicken was shredded with peas, carrots and potatoes. The crust was very light with some yummy cheese on top. This wasn’t heavy like most pot pies.

The annual Christmas debate, Colleen’s daughter Tina says it’s officially Christmas when we have this debate. It is over the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas Time”. There is a line that says ” Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you ” Colleen says that is an awful line because she says that you shouldn’t wish it on anyone. She says that you should wish it would never happen. I say it means “There but the grace of God go I” To me, it means that you should be grateful that you are not in that position and you should help those who are, because you were lucky enough not to be born in those circumstances. There will always be those less fortunate. In this season of excess, it would be nice if treated those less fortunate with some kindness.

We want to wish everyone the joy and happiness of the holiday season.

December 13, 2019

This Friday we went to Fireside Grill in Marlboro and Christmas Wonderland at Maple Leaf Farms in Manalapan.

French Onion Soup
Colleen and I both had the soup. It was what you would expect French Onion soup to be, it wasn’t the best or the worst.

Grouper Tacos
Colleen had one of the specials for December, the grouper tacos. She said the sauce wasn’t too spicy and that it was just right. She really liked the beans.

Chop Chop Cobb
I had the salad. I think it’s fun how they present it. If you order this, the dressing is at the bottom. It very lemony and tasty. My only negative is that I like my bacon crispy.

Christmas Wonderland
In New York, the window displays have been attraction for many years now. Each year, they try to out do themselves. The person who put this together started collecting past displays.

There is also, some old advertisements. I’m glad that an iron isn’t the way to a woman’s heart anymore. 🙂

Colleen tells me that the first year this was open that there were many more displays. Last year when I went the were more than this year. I don’t know if the person is losing interest in displaying them or it isn’t cost-effective. Cost-effective the term seems to ruin many good things. The businesses that have staying power seem to be able to provide a good product without compromise. I wonder what the fast-food company’s burgers tasted like when they first started. Today I often wonder if they are food at all. I am not fond of the guy who goes around telling businesses to offer a little fewer sesame seeds on their buns or only one napkin per guest. To me, he ruins many businesses. The companies take away a little here and a little there, in name of profit, until there isn’t much of the original product that everyone loved in the first place. It’s those little extras that make a business, it makes you stand out from the others.

December 6, 2019

This Friday we went to a tree trimming party at World Market in Shrewsbury and Queso in Lincroft. The tree trimming party was advertised as an event where you got to help decorate a tree with refreshments. There was a tree? I think….it was a small fake tree with no signage, so I’m not sure? The refreshments were pieces of cookies and one dixie cup of hot chocolate. We should be mad but we found a cute store with lots of items I never saw anywhere else. There were gifts at all different price points and lots of sales. We both got some Christmas shopping done with a discount and got a free ornament to take home!

Queso
This restaurant had very good Mexican food reasonably priced.

Shrimp Enchilada Special
Colleen got the shrimp enchilada. She remembered after we ordered that we both like the ground beef the best here.

Chicken Enchilada Special
The chicken enchilada was yummy! The chicken was very good but I really like the way the chicken is cooked Qdoba.

What I didn’t take a picture of was the extra rice and beans, we seemingly ordered. I had remembered that previously, we ordered the burritos and forgot to add the combo. I remembered this time not knowing that it was included in special. I don’t understand why the cashier didn’t say that it was included. I have found that happens more and more, I’m not sure why. I wonder if it because computers have made it so that you don’t have to think or even problem solve. The problem with relying on computers is that you don’t know when something is wrong. Being able to add, you have an idea how much something is going to cost. I like to pay in cash. I often have the money ready to pay and when something comes out $9.03, rather than getting 97 cents back, I will tell the cashier I have the 3 cents after they put in the $10. Often their heads explode. They will often ignore me and pretend they didn’t hear me. I took an accounting class in the local community college. My professor was very animated and made accounting fun. He once told a story about a bank employee. This employee had figured out a way to take the .9% of interest from customers and funnel it into his bank account. He figured that no one would notice a .9% missing. He was wrong. A military fellow who liked everything very precise noticed the .9% missing from his account. He went to the bank and they found out what the employee had done. I wonder if he would get caught today?

November 29, 2019

Sadness struck, but that was later. It’s Black Friday, unfortunately store hours have changed since we first went. Now stores start on Thanksgiving Day, I miss waking in the middle of the night to go shopping. It felt strange and exciting like you were doing something naughty. Colleen refuses to shop on Thanksgiving night. So, we got up early and went out. We bought some items. I got what for the most part what I really wanted. Some of the things were sold out. We also went to Great Adventure.

Great Adventure
Later we went to Great Adventure, where I can become victorious on the Justice League Ride!

Broad Street Donuts
We stopped for a bite to eat. Yummy!

Pile of food
Thanksgiving leftovers. I should’ve arranged it prettier, but hungry.

Some of the scenery at Great Adventure, Colleen’s daughter Caroline joined us. Tragedy struck here. So much sadness, I came in last place on the Justice League ride. I even checked the other people in our group, I didn’t even beat the little one. I was not victorious. 😦

It’s Christmas time, the time of year where we think of our family and friends. The world stops for that one day. Even during World War One, there was the Christmas truce, where the British and German soldiers laid down their arms and sang Christmas Carols. It is a magical time of year. We put so much effort into that one day, to show each other our love. We try every year to make it perfect. My goal is to be done Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving so that I can take in all the holiday fun. I have never met my goal. Some people turn into little children again, others hate the hustle and bustle and they turn very grumpy. Try and take time to enjoy something magical, something small you once looked upon with wonder as a child. Maybe closely notice a snowflake, or take a ride to just enjoy Christmas lights, or make hot chocolate from scratch. My wish is that everyone has a safe and joyful holiday, full of magical moments.