Sassy Salmon

On a roll this week with the healthy food (don't worry I'm eating a burger for dinner tonight), I made a fun salmon dish highlighted in this month's Cooking Light.

Salmon with Tomato Peach Salsa

I followed the recipe closely, but added a couple of items that I had around the house.

Everything was quick to pick up and I didn't spend all that much for such a tasty dinner.

What you'll need

• 1 cup chopped peeled peach (I used 2 peaches, 1 nectarine)
• 3/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes (I used a whole box of grape tomatoes instead)
• 1/4 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion (definitely used more than this)
• 3 tablespoons small fresh mint leaves (I chopped these)
• 3 tablespoons small fresh basil leaves (also chopped this)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (optional) - did not use this, couldn't find fresh ones
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) wild Alaskan king salmon fillets - My supermarket only offered regular salmon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• Cooking spray - I used a George Foreman grill to cook my salmon, so didn't use this at all!

To start, I sliced my grape tomatoes, which took some time but it was very relaxing.  For some reason chopping veggies relaxes me.  I actually volunteer to do this every week at God's Love We Deliver. 


Anyhoo, here is what it looked like when I was done.

They remind me of jewels, they were so red and perfect.  I could have just eaten this with a little salt and lemon.  SO GOOD!










Next I chopped the peaches, onions and added 2 small plums and half an avocado that was slowly dying in my fridge.

The peaches weren't ripe enough so they were a pain to de-pit, but I managed.

Everything else was a breeze to cut.  I didn't even cry from chopping the onions.  I can cry from looking at a picture of an onion, I'm so sensitive.  :(




Then I chopped the mint and the basil.

They smelled like heaven and although I only used a little bit, I put them in a pretty vintage-looking can and added some water.  Basil grows roots if you place it in water.  It's the only plant I don't manage to kill.

I'll see if the mint does the same thing.  With my luck, it'll be dead by the end of the week.  I suck at caring for plants.

 

Here is the final product after adding the lemon juice, olive oil and honey. 

It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.  

I then warmed up the grill, and threw the clean filet on with a little salt and pepper.  After about 5 minutes, it was perfectly cooked.  With a side of baby spinach, this was the perfect summer meal!

Mel and I ate it up and raved about how fresh and tasty it was.  I made too much salsa, so I saved some to eat with chicken or something else later this week.

Perhaps even some tortilla chips?! Yum!


Here's a photo showing the actual salmon.  Mel said the first photo just looked like a giant pile of salsa.

Surprise Soup!

I don't know about you, but since the summer hit, I've been eating unhealthy foods left and right.

It's so easy with someone hosting a BBQ every other day and street fairs offering all sorts of tasty delights.

So on Monday, I forced myself to make a healthy dinner to get some vegetables back into my system.  I definitely needed it and could feel my arteries clogging!

I didn't know what to make though and none of the recipe sites I rely on had anything to offer (I was being picky since I didn't want to make something healthy to begin with).

So after wandering the supermarket like a zombie and staring blankly at the vegetables, I decided to make something up.  Yes, I was going to experiment.  It was a win win since I promised myself that if it came out badly I wouldn't have to eat it. And if it happened to come out tasty, well then I had a healthy meal to eat.

Here is what I started with:

• 1 big box of vegetable stock (no salt added) (I didn't feel like making stock cause I was lazy)
• 2 red large potatoes
• 2 small onions
• 2 nice sized carrots
• 1 lovely bunch of kale
• 1 small can of corn
• 1 large can of cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

That's it.  I was attempting to make a really simple soup out of random items that looked good in the super market.

I started by chopping and sauteing the onions in a large pot.  I cooked them on super low, to ensure they didn't burn.  Plus this gave me time to peel and chop the other veggies.  I peeled and sliced my carrots into "half moons," I peeled and cut the potatoes into small half inch cubes and then shredded the kale.  I did this by combining a number of leaves on top of each other, then rolling them (along the stem) so it makes almost like a sushi roll (this is how I imagined it anyway), then very thinly slicing it.  It's super easy and there was a ton of it, to ensure I was getting a lot of goodness in my soup.

After the onions were translucent, I added the stock, brought this to a simmer and then threw in the potatoes and carrots.  After a while I threw in the beans too.  Once the potatoes were cooked, which was about 30 minutes, I took a cup of the veggies and blended it with my hand blender to make a puree, which I then added back to the soup.  I wanted a creamy texture.  I then added a few cups of water to thin it out and added the corn and kale.

I let everything simmer for about 15 minutes, until it was done.  The only spices I added was salt and white pepper.  I was afraid to try the soup since it was way too easy to make... perhaps it wasn't good.

Adam came home hungry and wanted a bowl right away.  So I gave him a bowl and he instantly loved it... so I had a bowl with 2 slices of 7-grain toast. 

And guess what, it was great!!

I really wouldn't change a thing about it and would easily make this again,as it was super easy and fast (for a soup).

I had this for lunch two days in a row now and its still so good.

Here's a close-up of the veggies...

Festa del Papa!

Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere!  Hopefully everyone had a great weekend and spent some time either hanging out, talking to or remembering fathers, whether it was their own or a father-figure that had a positive influence in your life.   (Trying to be as broad as possible here...)

My family and I took the dads in our lives out for dinner on Saturday night, to avoid the chaos on the actual holiday.  My dad was craving Italian and my mom had to go along with it since it was his day.  My mom is deathly allergic to cheese, so she always gets a little nervous and has trust issues with restaurants.  One Brooklyn restaurant years ago used a special cheese as a "secret ingredient" in their meatballs and put her in the hospital.  Needless to say she's been skeptical ever since, but we do what we can to warn the restaurant of her allergy.

We ventured to Gravesend for some quality Italian at Fiorentino's Ristorante, a restaurant that has withstood the test of time and offers incredible food at even better prices.   I know this place is out of the way, but it is so worth it - trust me!

After arriving at 8pm with no reservation (my family is cool like that), we were seated after about 10 minutes.  Just enough time to ogle the desserts in this display case.

We started out with a few appetizers, which I did not get pictures of.  I was so hungry, along with the rest of my family, that we inhaled everything.  We ordered the fried calamari with both the marinara and the fra diavolo sauce, and the clams casino (which are baked clams with a nibble of bacon on top).  It was family style portions, so there was plenty for everyone.  My mom ordered a side salad and it was enormous, so we passed that around for everyone to have a taste.  My dad was in heaven with the clams casino.  It might just be his most favorite food and ate about 6 of them.  I thought they were tasty, but liked the calamari more.  Anything fried in my book is amazing.

Entrees took a while to come out, but that's okay since I wanted to digest from all the appetizers we devoured.  They came out as they were ready, so some started to eat before everyone else, but that's okay, we didn't mind.


First up was Richie (my brother-in-law) who ordered the Chicken Parmesan.  I know what you're thinking - "how typical!" - but it isn't what you would expect. 

His thinking was that he's had a ton of chicken parm from all sorts of places and its just been "okay" and wanted to see what a fancy Italian place would do with it.  He figured if it wasn't good here, there was no hope for it anywhere.

Well, turns out it was incredible and he joined the Clean Plate Club in a hurry!  I even took a bite, regardless of the repercussions I would later deal with.  (Hives not the poops).   It was lightly breaded and perfectly pounded, cooked chicken.  The sauce was definitely homemade and amazing with the most delicious mozzarella spread evenly over the whole dish.

My dad wanted a veal dish since its something he never really orders and eats.  I feel bad for the baby cows, but he ate it, not me.  So pass your judgement somewhere else.  I was not about to give my dad a guilt trip on father days.

He asked our waiter, Charlie - who could have been straight out of a mobster movie, what he recommended.  This was the recommendation and my dad was a happy camper.

This is called Veal Scaloppine Alla Bolognese, which is thin veal steaks with prosciutto and melted mozzarella on top in a white wine sauce.  I took a little nibble (I know, I'm a horrible person!) and it was really good.  Not something I would EVER order for myself for obvious reasons.


RJ (my nephew) ordered his favorite food (at the moment anyway) which he refers to as Monster, cause he's inventive and awesome.  He got the Eggplant Parmesan.  He was overwhelmed by it, as it came in a giant metal bowl straight from the oven.  Not exactly kid-friendly, but after we set him up on a plate he was digging in like a kid in a candy store.

I didn't have a chance to try it, but he asked to have it wrapped to eat for lunch the next day.  How many 10 year old do you know who like left overs?


Mama Maria wanted shrimp and asked Charlie for his recommendations and this is what came of it.  I think its called Shrimp Marinara and its giant grilled shrimp and clams smothered in the amazing marinara sauce.

She seemed to enjoy this a lot and I took a few tastes myself.  The shrimp were perfectly cooked and enormous.  Where do you get shrimp this big?





As for my sisters and I, we were all so indecisive.  We wanted fish and Charlie was adamant about how good the broiled Filet of Sole was.  Mel and I decided to split this dish and the scallops, but when she ordered the scallops Charlie said "no, that isn't a good dish, get something else."  How many waiters do you know who would say something like that?

He was honest about 3 dishes not being good, the scallops, the lasagna and something else, perhaps the clams (zuppa?).  So she went with the broiled Filet of Sole too.  We were THRILLED with our selection as it was huge, fresh and delicious.  Again, where are they getting this giant seafood from?  I really didn't like the stinky potato croquette which looks like a baked potato here.  There was something off and it there might have been cheese mixed in.  Everyone else seemed to like it.  Eh, who needs potato when they have all this fish? 

We also shared sauteed asparagus, which was a little overcooked but still super tasty.




In the end, RJ, Mel, Sandy and I took home left overs.  I ended up eating mine on Monday for lunch at work - and it was still so tasty!

We asked RJ what he thought about the Eggplant Parmesan, whether it was the best he ever had.

He said yes (to Sandy's horror since she makes it for him at home) and gave it a thumbs up!



Here's Richie, Sandy and RJ - one happy family!

We all had such a great time pigging out and celebrating fatherhood.

They had a long drive back home, so after dinner and a little digesting at the restaurant they were off.  Although its important to note that the restaurant didn't rush us one bit, and we were there for over 2 hours.

Food was a little slow to come out, but it was fresh and hot.  This place is big and packed, so its understandable that it takes time to cook food for 7 people at a table.

<-------------Sisters!

It's always nice spending time with my family, which usually means lots of food and then naps (okay, not really but I wish I could nap after eating this much).

 My parents were really happy with their meals and raved about how inexpensive the meal was.  After 2 appetizers, 1 carafe of wine (which we didn't even finish), 7 entrees, 1 vegetable side, 2 salads, 2 coffees and 1 dessert (cheese cake), the total bill was $175.  They did comp us 2 sides of spaghetti and a small slice of spumoni for my mom.   It was a meal fit for a king at a fraction of the cost.

Needless to say we'll be back, and ready to eat!

So again, Happy Father's Day to my awesome, amazing, fantastic Dad! 

I  have you to thank for my gastronomic curiosity since you were always the adventurous eater in our household.  

LOVE YOU!

The Lilac Ball

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I work for a nonprofit organization.  I essentially help nonprofits expand their marketing and communications regardless of their budget.

Every once in a while, I'll be invited to a fundraising gala and I almost always attend.  I'm sure after going to a number of these events, the charm may wear off, but I think they're spectacular!

So Monday night, Chiara and I were fortunate enough to attend Prep for Prep's Lilac Ball to celebrate 25 years of incredible work.  It was held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, so it was uber fancy and everyone dressed up (except me, cause I felt lazy that morning).


Prep for Prep is a truly unique leadership and development program that offers promising students of color access to a private school education and life changing opportunities.  All the teens were there, looking like they were going to prom and celebrating their success together.  It was awe-inspiring and made me feel like a lazy bum.

I'm not sure how many of you out there have attended one of these fancy-pants galas, so I thought it would be fun to take a peek at the food they served.

They started with a cocktail hour, which was funny since Chiara and I checked our bags and didn't have our IDs to prove we weren't still in high school.  The bartender assumed based on our drinks that we weren't under 21 (she went for white wine and I enjoyed my usual vodka soda with lime).  At least he asked?  Ahh, how young I feel when someone assumes I'm under age.

They eventually herded us to our tables where appetizers were already waiting.  This was by the far the largest gala I have been to, as you can see here.  Chiara and I were seated at a table on the balcony which was nice for the view and it wasn't as noisy up here since they seated all the students on the ground level.








 When the program started we dug in to the appetizer, which was really good!  The shrimp were very tasty with a crisp thinly sliced vegetable or fruit, I couldn't figure out what it was.  There was also a chopped beet salad, which I did try and liked.  I don't usually eat beets cause they're freaky, but I was hungry and willing to give it a try.  The sushi-like roll was a roasted veggie roll wrapped in cucumber.

A tiny appetizer, but tasty!

After the presentation, which included awarding the Founder of Prep for Prep and a video presentation of three alumni, the dinner was served. 

They served a roasted chicken breast, which was really juicy and flavorful, with a side of sauteed spinach and creamy mashed potatoes.  Most galas don't serve huge portions, but its a nice, tasty dinner.

Chiara and I were definitely part of the clean plate crew! 

They took away plates and served dessert promptly.  There were cookies on the table, along with coffee that was self-serve.  The dessert was good, but I was already too full to eat any more.

The dessert was interesting and good.

It was a thick brownie-like oatmeal raisin cookie and it was way too big for me to finish. 

There was a dollop of whipped creme with chocolate shavings, which we picked out and ate.  And then the classic scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It was a glorious dessert made even better when we learned that a recent graduate of the Prep for Prep program made the dessert at her start-up vegan bakery!  These kids are amazing!

It was a wonderful night and it was an honor to have taken part in the festivities.  The gala raised over 3.2 million dollars to ensure promising under-served children across NYC have the opportunity to shine!

A Boozey, Babelicious Brunch

AYCD... that's right, All You Can Drink. Say it with me now!  This glorious concept should definitely be embraced when you're in the company of some fabulous lady friends and that is exactly what I did on Saturday.

My gaggle of sexy gals and I hit up Diablo Royale on Ave A off of East 10th.  I made reservations for fear of not getting a seat, but they were completely empty when we showed up at noon.  Apparently everyone is still asleep at this time...

The decor is really fun here, with antler chandeliers and crazy skeleton artwork.  We picked the table near the outdoor area, so we wouldn't get rained on.  Did I mention it was totally gross out.  What is with NYC weather lately?!

Our server, who reminded us all of a hipstered long-haired Michael Cera, was extraordinarily attentive to us the entire time.  He made sure that everything was perfect since we had two food allergies at our table, mine to dairy/cheese and Liz's to gluten.

The deal is $25 for all you can drink mimosas and red sangria with your choice of entree.  The nice thing is how strong both were.  Most AYCD mimosas are mostly orange juice with a splash of the bubbly, but this was the total opposite.  We were ecstatic and certainly got our drink on.

We took our sweet time drinking and ordered our food.  They didn't rush us at all and kept the drinks flowing,  never once having to ask for a refill.

Considering the deal was $25, I wanted to pick the most expensive dish (yeah, that's how I roll), so I went with the Steak and Eggs.


The food took a while to come out, but we were content snacking on some really amazing cinnamon and sugar chips while sipping our drinks.  The restaurant was starting to fill up, so we assumed that the cook was just busy.

Mine came out first and unfortunately there was cheese sprinkled on the eggs.  I had to say something cause it wasn't something I could scrape off.  Our server was a champ and quickly remedied the situation with a new set of fried eggs.  Horray!  I was worried my food would be cold, but the steak was still warm and super juicy.  It wasn't the best brunch food, but when you go to an AYCD place, you don't really focus on the food - am I right?

The eggs were overcooked, but better that than undercooked.  I liked the potatoes a lot - they were crisp and spicy, similar to the Rabbithole's but with a spicy mayo sauce all over.  There was a lot more steak than I thought and couldn't finish.  It was cooked medium rare, just how I like it.  All this dish needed was a good sauce to make it sing, but alas there was none.


Liz M. ordered the the Huevos Rancheros, which looked really good!  It was a huge portion and oozing with goodness.

She was careful to ask for the corn tortilla to avoid any gluten-related issues.    It's really wonderful that so many restaurants are aware of this particular food allergy since it affects so many people! 

Liz did mention that her food was particularly spicy including the cheese grits.  I wasn't able to try anything, but was really surprised that even cheese grits would be so spicy.  Perhaps they need to take it down a notch with that - its annoying when every bite is a kick in the mouth and you have no relief! 




Tara and Jenn ordered the tacos, which were really tempting.  I believe they ordered:

One Fried Fish Taco, which was tempura battered tilapia with guacamole and spicy cabbage slaw.

One Al Pastor Taco, which is roasted pork and pineapple-pico-crema on a flour tortilla.

They also went with the cheese grits instead of beans.


Both ladies seemed to enjoy their food thoroughly. They were nice sized tacos, so it was definitely enough food to fill you up.

They also mentioned that everything was really spicy.  Not sure if it was the overall flavor or the fact that the tacos had giant slices of jalapeno (as you can see in this photo)

I love spicy food, but not sure I could rock it so early on in the day with a stomach full of mimosa. 

Liz B. went with her all time
favorite brunch option, Eggs Benedict, which I would have selected myself except for the fact that it was a cream based sauce.

The Huevos Benedictos looked really good.  It looked like a serious meal, probably because the sauce was green.

The ham was cut thick, the eggs cooked well and the sauce was apparently good.  It was definitely an unusual take on the classic, but she seemed to enjoy it!

I think they made a slight mistake, or they thought I was particularly hungry, and served an extra side of home fries.  It was really unnecessary and we didn't end up eating much of it.  Liz M. had a chance to try them, but wasn't a fan of the spicy mayo sauce.  I think she had enough spice in her life at the moment :)

So after over 2 hours, we were ready to pack up and ship out.  We really did take our sweet time and enjoyed hanging out.  By the time we left, we were full, moderately buzzed and the place was packed.   Oh, and there was one girl near our table that took a little nap and keeled over at one point.  Her friends didn't seem to mind that she looked like she was on the verge of barfing everywhere, but thank goodness she didn't and left shortly after.

So yeah, Diablo Royale is a bit of a party waiting to happen, all you need is a gaggle of awesome gals to make it one kick-ass brunch!  I wouldn't necessarily come back to Diablo Royale again, since the food wasn't exactly remarkable.  With a large enough group and the endless mimosas, it might be a good idea, but there are so many places in the city its silly to not try something new.

Getting Down in the Rabbithole

Last weekend, I met up with Chiara (my fabulous coworker) and a college friend of hers to enjoy some brunch in South Williamsburg.  We were initially going to hit up a restaurant on the North side, since we were going to check out Smorgasburg, which if you didn't already know is a giant food market. I've been collecting photos from this, so I'll write a longer post about it soon.

The L train was down for the weekend (which is nice for those of us who need a little quiet time away from the tourists and youngsters), but it made things difficult for Chiara to get into Brooklyn.  I met her near the Marcy JZ stop and we walked over to the Rabbithole, a place I never had the chance to try.

The Rabbithole is utterly adorable with an old-timey feel to it.  They have a nice garden area to eat in, but we didn't wait the extra 15 minutes to sit here since there were plenty of tables inside near the opened entrance.

Our server was attentive and food and drink came quickly. 



Chiara and I ordered the Eggs Benedict, which came with candied bacon instead of ham.  The eggs were cooked well and the hollandaise was delicious.  Everything about this meal was superb. 


Their potatoes were particularly tasty with a perfect crisp around and spiced to give it a little kick.

The little salad was a nice touch too with a tangy vinaigrette.

I would definitely come back here for this dish.  It was well cooked, perfectly seasoned and incredibly satisfying.

Chiara and I definitely cleaned our plates! 

Chiara's friend (sorry I forgot your name!) ordered the Stuffed French Toast, which sounded amazing.

I believe it was stuffed with a mascarpone, which is apparently an Italian triple-cream cheese made from crème fraîche, so its sweet.

I knew it was something I couldn't even think about touching, but it received rave reviews.  It looks damn good, almost like a dessert!

Needless to say that our table was part of the Clean Plate Club!

I loved the Rabbithole and will definitely be back, except I will wait the extra time to sit outside and enjoy some sunshine!

Rule #1 of Midtown Lunch

Like most people who work in Midtown Manhattan, I'm subjected to expensive and mostly crappy food when I don't pack my own lunch.  There are tons of websites out there that certainly help identify "inexpensive" options, but is $10 or less really inexpensive?  That's $50 per week, about $250 a month or worse, $2600 a year.  That's terrifying.  I don't want to spend $2,600 on crappy food a year, I could go on a lovely vacation for that price.

So after working in Midtown East for over 2 years, I've narrowed down the food that I'm willing to spend money on and there are a few loose rules that I apply when selecting lunch.

Rule#1 of Buying Lunch in Midtown:
If its large enough for two meals then its a win!

Let's be real here, Americans overeat which is why we have an obesity epidemic, but I tend to win in these situations since I portion my meals.  A number of lunches I purchase are more than enough for two, sometimes three!  This brings down the overall lunch cost a great deal.

A very clear example of this rule is from one of my favorite meals for lunch from an Indian take-out place I discovered week 1 at my job called Joy.

I used to eat here about once every two weeks for months on end. That is how much I love my Indian food.  Recently I noticed that they received a B from the Dept of Health but I don't really care.  They're awesome and I will keep eating here.  The reason I don't frequent here as much is due to my diet, but I treat myself every so often and its worth the extra calories.

They have a steam table, which is nice so you can see what you're getting.  They're always adding fresh items throughout the day, so everything is super hot and tasty!

I usually go with their #2 special which is a meat and a vegetarian dish with rice and naan.  It is a TON of food, as you can see from the photo below. 

This is Chicken Karahi, which is mildly spicy (although sometimes its a little hotter than other days since its made fresh and can vary depending on the cook).  I LOVE sauce, so I ask them to drench my rice.  It has fresh ginger and tomatoes with big chunks of white meat chicken.  It is oh so delicious.  I noticed they had Chicken Sag, so I asked that they give me just the sag (spinach) as the veggie side.  They're super nice and know me well by now so they usually cave in to my ridiculous request.  They always have unique and fresh veggie sides.

Indian is one of the few cuisines I could honestly go entirely vegetarian for.  They make everything so good that you really don't care that an animal is missing from your plate.

 

Chiara, my fabulous coworker and usual lunch buddy, ordered the same dish but with a side of mixed vegetables.  There is always so much food that neither of us can ever come close to finishing our lunch.  So we pack it up and save the rest for the next day.  What's wonderful about Indian food is that it usually tastes just as good the next day reheated.  Curry is magical?

I really don't know how people can sit and finish this much food, but I guess power to you if you can?

This meal costs a little under $10 (I think its $9.17) including tax and yes it comes with that giant fluffy amazing nan.  It's hard to find anything in Midtown that feeds a person this well for less than $5.  

This concludes Rule #1 of Midtown Lunch.  

Stayed tuned for Rule #2 Supporting the Food Trucks!

Sweet, sweet brunch

Now that the weather is nicer, I do my best to hit up at least one brunch spot every weekend.  It doesn't always work out that way, but I do try.  I have yet to do it alone, so lately I've been bugging Mel to go with me now that she has Saturday's off.  Horray!

Lately Cafe Colette has been my go-to brunch spot near my hood.  So far, its been fantastic and I look forward to going back over and over again.  I've been here a total of 4 times, once for dinner and three times for brunch.  I know I've already mentioned them before, but I just want to reiterate my love of this place based on the fact that its A.) adorable, B.) the food is fresh and tasty, C.) its really affordable, and D.) their staff is helpful, attentive and super cute!

Of course I usually get their poached egg dishes, but I can't help it.  My new found love of poached eggs is more than I can bare!

Anyhoo, they offer two versions, both of which are super tasty.  The last time I highlighted Cafe Colette, I had ordered the Chick Pea Puree with Kale on Toast variation.  This time I went for the Squash Croquette with Mustard Sauce version.


The croquettes were crispy on the outside and oh-so-good on the inside.  Squash is so versatile! 

The mustard sauce was light and worked well with the oozy goodness of the runny eggs.  The salad was light and fresh with a tart vinaigrette dressing.

This is not the most filling meal, but definitely satisfying.  I ordered the sage sausage on the side, which is truly delicious and turns this fairly healthy brunch option into something I need to walk off.



My fab out-of-town friend Teresa ordered the bread pudding french toast (I think that's what its called), which cooked in a lovely cast iron dish.

She said that although it was dessert-like, it wasn't overly sweet, which was a good thing in order to get through it.

It smelled delicious and she did manage to get most of the way through this hearty entree.






My awesome friends Tubby and Zac (Teresa's brother) ordered the egg sandwiches which come with a choice of cheese and breakfast meat on a roll.  Tubby went for American cheese with sausage while Zac went for the bacon and no cheese (he's a lactard like me!)

Tubby got a side of fries, which were delicious!  You can just eat these guys up without ketchup, they're that good and fresh.



Zac opted for a side of home fries which was a HUGE portion and they looked really good.  One of these days I'm going to have to try some myself.  I love me some good ol' home fries with eggs.  Is there anything more comforting?

I know this is a crappy pic, but I blame Zac who was all the way across the table and took the photo for me.

Zac - you need to steady your hands next time! :)

The next brunch place I tried out recently was Dumont, which I've enjoyed for dinner but never their brunch.  I took my mommie here for Mother's Day, which I know was a long time ago... so sue me if I take forever to write about it!

Honestly, the reason we picked Dumont was because they had a reservation for brunch at a good time through OpenTable.  I didn't want to risk waiting a year and day to take Mama Maria to brunch.  We ended up waiting about 30 minutes anyway due to a "communication" issue with staff since we wanted to sit outside.  Whatever, it was nice outside and we got a chance to look at the menu.

My mom is a particularly picky eater since she has an allergy to cheese and butter.  No dairy for her either, but she's far more allergic than I am and can end up in the hospital with just a sprinkle of cheese.  She really wanted to get the ham omelet but she couldn't due to the fact that they use cream.  I had NO idea that dairy was ever used for scrambled eggs or omelets.  That is truly unfortunate but makes sense as to why I've felt sick afterwards at certain restaurants.

The safest bet for her was the Eggs Benedict without the hollandaise sauce.

It wasn't the most exciting dish, but it was safe for her to eat and she seemed to enjoy it.  The ham was nicely done and the salad was fresh and tasty.  She was a little worried about the bread being buttered, but she took her chances and won!







I ordered the eggs benedict myself, naturally, and enjoyed it a great deal.  The dish came with these spicy home fries that really gave a kick to the mouth.  I like spicy, but I have a feeling a lot of people are overwhelmed by them. 

The eggs were cooked perfectly, the ham was tasty and the sauce was thick and luxurious.  Doesn't it look incredible here.  My only complaint would be the bread, which was REALLY difficult to cut through.  It proved messy to eat since you needed a hacksaw just to get through the bread. 

The backyard area of Dumont is really lovely, so I recommend waiting the extra time to sit outside.  The staff was also really helpful and accommodating to my mother's allergies.  Our server checked on us several times throughout our meal to ensure everything was okay.  I definitely like Dumont, but their selection for brunch can be a little limiting to those who can't have dairy.  I guess the worst case scenario would be to get the burger - which is AWESOME, so there is no downfall to coming here any time of day.