Field Trip! Barbecue in Brooklyn

Since I live in New Jersey and work in Manhattan, Brooklyn is off of my beaten path. I've been there a few times, but I haven't really explored it, much less eaten at many of the great places I've read about. Well, when my wife was meeting up with her girlfriends on a recent Friday night, I got out of work early and spent an afternoon exploring what is arguably the most hyped borough.

After recommendations from several of my coworkers who live in Brooklyn, I had my heart set on Habana Outpost, a cuban spot with outdoor picnic tables and some delicious looking cuban sandwiches. Little did I know, the wife and her girls would be heading there Saturday afternoon. So as not to ruin the novelty for her, we called an audible. Instead of Cuban, we opted for 'cue at The Smoke Joint.

The wife got the (above) pulled chicken sandwich that came with a side of fries. The chicken was dressed in a gold, vinegar-based sauce. The golden color reminded me of a bottle of barbecue sauce a friend of mine gave me from South Carolina a few years back that I was addicted to for more than a year. BBQ sauce on ice cream anyone? But the treat of this plate was the fries. The seasoning on the fries tasted exactly like the seasoning on Herr's BBQ potato chips. It brought me back to my childhood. Tasting them made me want a Minute Maid Mandarin Orange soda. YUM!

In the absence of orange soda, I was able to wash down the deliciousness with their not-to-sweet "limonade". As the name suggests, it's a mix of lemonade and limeade. It definitely was made with fresh lemons and limes and was more on the tart side which I prefer. A refreshing choice on a warm day.

For my meal, I went with the beef ribs at the recommendation of our server. I'm a big fan of beef ribs and these were pretty good. Meaty and smoky with a nice char on the outside. They weren't the most flavorful ribs I've ever tasted, but I enjoyed them.

So I was glad to have gone to Brooklyn and spent some time hanging out and finally getting to sample some of the great food I've read and heard so much about. Looking forward to another return trip this summer.

Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Adventure

I truly enjoy Chick-fil-A. Chicken sandwiches are my go-to fast food item and the sandwiches from Chick-fil-A are probably my favorite. McChickens are an occasional guilty pleasure, but just because McDonald's is hard-wired into my being. And the Checkers chicken sandwich is good, too. But when I read on Me So Hungry that Chick-fil-A was dropping a new spicy chicken sandwich, it immediately made sense.

They had this whole online reservation system prior to the launch. You got to pick a three hour window when you could get your free sandwich. Reservations at a fast food restaurant. Nice.

We headed over for the sandwich and ended up with a whole meal.

In addition to the sandwich, they gave us a bottle of water and and a brownie. We supplemented the lunch with those great waffle fries, the Original Chicken Sandwich (call it the control sandwich) and extra pickles.

The Spicy Chicken Sandwich itself, it was a more peppery version of their Original. Totally worth getting. But if you're like me and really like spicy food, you will need to add hot sauce, or bring your own peppers or something. All in, I now have a new item to order. "Spicy Chicken Sandwich, extra pickles and hot sauce."

The other side of the commute: A taste test in NJ

As much as I love eating in NY, I live in NJ. And so it's imperative that I have some go to places close to home.

And I've found a couple since moving in August. I love Paratha Junction for Indian food. But I haven't found some staples like a money Chinese food spot or just local places with good dishes. So I set out to try four local spots with my wife. The spots we tried were Szechuan Ace, Paradise Biryani Point, Dosa Grill and Rai Rai Ramen. All located within a quarter of a mile of each other. All 5 minutes from home. And all on the same night! Sounds like fun, huh?

I ordered from the train so I could pick each up on my way home. First, Chinese food.


Szechuan Ace
I got a spicy chicken dish off the regular menu and fried chicken over rice and shredded potato cooked in red oil from the szechuan menu. I also got a scallion pancake, although it was more pancake than scallion. The highlight was the potato. It had a nice flavor and texture. The chicken was cooked well and was served with minced pork and the Chinese greens, like the NYC Cravings truck introduced me to. It wasn't as good as the NY counterpart, which wasn't surprising to me.

Paradise Biryani

I didn't get the biryani here because I my eye on another rice dish. Plus, the biryani at Paratha is really good. Instead, I decided to try the butter chicken. It was enjoyable, but with a closer and equitable option, I doubt I would go back just for that.

Dosa Grill

I got some vegetarian Indian from Dosa Grill. Bhindi masala was the order here (okra in a mild curry sauce) was also very tasty. But it wasn't a game changer. Udipi is closer, so we'll probably stick with that. That's the bhindi masala below.

Rai Rai Ramen

I was excited to try this spot. They have a lot of standard Chinese dishes and sushi on the menu, but I was focused on the Japanese ramen section. I got the chicken katsu curry ramen and kim chee fried rice. The curry broth that came with the ramen was delicious and flavorful. The chicken katsu was nice; panko breaded, crispy and juicy. The only downer were the noodles which were very much like what you would get out of a package. The star of our tasting was definitely the kim chee fried rice. Absolutely delicious! It's hard to mess up fried rice, but this was just great. The kim chee gave great flavor and the pickled ginger gave a bit of bite. We will definitely be heading back here!

It was definitely a fun night of eating, and we now know some more local spots with unique dishes. Love eating, even on the other side of the commute.

It was also date night, and you can read more about that from my wife Tanya over at tanyaandeddie.com.