NY DAY 4: FROM HIGH BROW TO LOW BROW

We had only one thing to do on our last day in NY, and that was lunch at the famed Jean Georges Restaurant. Now, as many of you know, Jean Georges is one of the few restaurants in NY that has been awarded 4 stars by the NY Times. I've only been to only one other 4 star restaurant, and that was Per Se. Amazingly enough, Jean Georges does a lunch prix fixe menu that's very reasonable. You get two courses for $28 and each additional course is $12. (Dessert is only $8, and considering the price of dessert yesterday at KO Prime, that's a freaking bargain).

So Tom, my cousin Jeany and I headed off to Trump International on Columbus Circle. When we arrived, we were escorted through Nougatine (the casual part of the restaurant) into Jean Georges. The dining room was very small (actually, I think it was smaller the Nougatine) and I'm sure it couldn't seat more than 50 people. The rooms was bright and airy, with high ceilings, but I immediately started noticing some flaws- the stain from a spilled drink on the carpet, the smudge on the white tablecloth, paint faded on the dishwear...small details, but details that a 4 star restaurant isn't supposed to miss. Perhaps it was because we were dining while the sun was streaming into the restaurant that I noticed these flaws, and they would be less noticeable during dinner service, when the lighting of the restaurant would make in dimmer and change the atmosphere.

The service was quick, attentive and pleasant, though I could sense the disappointment when we didn't ordered wine with our meal. When we opened up our menus, we realized that it was very seafood heavy. A ton of fish, which isn't unusual for summer, but with Jeany being pregnant, she didn't have a ton of choices. I, on the other hand, had a tough time trying to decide what I'd be ordering and Tom ended up getting 3 lunch courses.

I did order a fun passion fruit lime soda, which was quite tasty. I do love passion fruit. And soon we were serve our amuse bouche (compliments of the chef). Below, you'll see a shrimp, a mini spring roll and a chilled mango soup.

My favorite (actually I think everyone's favorite) item was the mini spring roll. It contained a very familiar Asian plant, but I don't know the name in English. But this is when Jeany first noted that there's a progression of flavors in your mouth. You start out with something, and it becomes something else. Take for example, the mango soup. I wasn't a fan of it, but the first thing you tasted was salt. Then there's a hint of sweetness from the mango and it finishes wish a slight tingle and heat from a mild chili. It really makes you think, and this would be repeated the same experience would be repeated throughout the rest of the meal. And I must say, I think this is the first time I've had an eating experience like this.

Next up was my first course. It was grilled prawns on shitake mushrooms and topped with a yuzu foam. When it first arrived, I was surprised at the sheer amount of foam. First, I kinda feel that foams are very 5 years ago, and I've never been a huge fan of them. Plus, foam was also used in Tom's appetizer of sashimi.

Again with this dish you have that same progression of flavors. The slight sweet/sour character of the foamy. The saltiness of the shrimp, and there was a mayo-like sauce spread on the bottom of the plate. It was pretty good, and really filling.

Next up was Tom's second course. A dish of scallops with cauliflower and caper sauce.

I'm picturing it here cause I really enjoyed the pairing of cauliflower and scallops. It's not something I'd ever think of, but the sweetness of the cauliflower really enhanced the flavor of the scallops. However, the capers sauce was far too salty and overwhelment the entire dish. It should've been used sparingly.

Next up, my second course. Poached halibut with Shimeji mushrooms and lemongrass water. This was my favorite dish of the entire meal.

The halibut was cooked well, maybe like 30 seconds too long, but it was still tender. And once again, you have that same progression of flavors: the earthiness of the mushrooms, the sweetness of the fish and the spice of the lemongrass. It looks simple, but really was quite complex.

For his third course, Tom had sweetbreads, which he enjoyed, saying they were very well cooked and tender. Oh also, during our meal, we actually did see the chef, Jean Georges Vongerichstein. He came out to the dining room to greet some of his VIP diners, and I always say, it's great to see a chef in one of his long running restaurants. I mean, he really didn't need to be there. It was a Monday, lunch service, and the summer. Could you ask for a slower time? And I was recently reading an article about his plans of developing an eatery in Mexico City. Yet, there he was, checking up on his restaurant, and I admire that.

By this point in the meal, we were all stuffed, but I insisted that everyone order dessert, because the pastry chef, Johnny Iuzzini, is very well known, and I wanted to see what he was doing. Jean Georges is well known for serving "themed" desserts. For lunch you get 2 small plates (dinner you get 4) which revolve around a theme, like chocolate. I ordered "summer", Jeany ordered "rhubarb" and Tom get "chocolate."

Here's my summer dessert: I was really excited by it because I got a mini cherry souffle with a side of chocolate ice cream and a plate of macerated peaches with candied pistachios and farmer's cheese. Unfortunately, I wasn't totally in love with it. The souffle was a bit undercooked and the peaches were kinda mealy. Half way through, I made Tom trade with me.

Here's his chocolate dessert:
There's a Jean Georges chocolate cake (aka, a molten chocolate cake) with a side of vanilla ice cream, and chocolate panini with hazelnut, olives and cheese (I forget which kind). I must say, the panini was my favorite dessert, just for its interesting combination of flavors and the crunchy chocolate "bread". The chocolate souffle was also well made, but not anything new.

Lastly, here's Jeany's rhubarb dessert:
The thing on the right is some type of rhubarb slushy, that Jeany enjoyed. She let us have the rhubarb cake with yogurt ice cream on the left. I gotta say, it wasn't all that great.

And of course, you gotta finish with the complimentary petit fours. Here's a plate of chocolates:I was surprised at how well made the chocolates were. Usually when pastry chefs make chocolates, they don't turn out great. (The ones at Per Se weren't stellar) But these were very well made.

And finally, a side of homemade marshmallows (in vanilla, mint and stawberry) and some mini macaroons.I wasn't a fan of the marshmallows, though I applaud the cute idea (having them cut in front of you fresh from a jar). And the mini macaroons were good, but too tiny to really proffer an opinion on.

Up to this point, our meal was well timed and the serving staff quite attentive. But after the desserts were served, we were basically ignored. We had finished eating, plates had been cleared and we had to wait 20 minutes before getting our check. We would've asked for it if our server was anywhere near us, but he was too busy serving his other tables. Plus, the valet service and door service at Trump International in general leaves much to be desired. They should keep in mind that dining is an entire experience, and waiting an additional 15 minutes in 90F heat post lunch for your car to be pulled out of valet (in addition to the $25 they charge), doesn't make a diner leave happy.

Overall, we had a pleasant dining experience, and I'm sure it's a different restaurant during dinner service. But based on our experience, I just feel that Jean Georges was more like a 3 star restaurant than a four star one. For me, we didn't have any truly memorable dishes. Ones that we'd remember and talk about later (Like the chestnut agnolotti or the oysters and pearls at Per Se) I don't think we'll be back, too many other places to try, but if you're looking for a fancy lunch at a bargain price, Jean Georges is the way to go.

After finishing lunch, we started on our long drive back to Boston. I say long, because we got delayed on the departure and ended up in the middle of rush hour traffic. We made one stop to get gas and ended up grabbing dinner at a Friendly's. My very first trip to Friendly's (though I see them all the time)
I was expecting to be like a fast food take out place, more like Wendy's, but turns out, it's a sit down restaurant more like Denny's (with really ugly decor that's suppose to invoke memories of your aunt or grandmother's place).

We still had a way to go, so I didn't want to order anything too heavy. I got a salad and soup combo. Hands down, this is one of the worst salads/meals that I've had in a long time. The soup tasted like Progresso and the salad just didn't taste like salad. When I ordered it with Italian dressing, the server proudly presented me with a bottle of Ken's Lite Italian dressing, proudly proclaiming that I got the whole bottle. The only edible thing on the plate was the garlic bread. I should've just ordered an ice cream sundae, which looked quite good.

Meanwhile, Tom got a turkey burger. Which he said was edible. I snacked on some of his fries.I only include this because this meal was the polar opposite of the one we'd had early in the day. But it just shows our ability to go from high brow meals, to low brow meals, all in the course of 6 hours.

SHAKE SHACK

Well, it was the last meal of the trip and I decided to take my sister to the famous/infamous Shake Shack. For those of you who don't know, Shake Shack was opened by Danny Meyers (the restaurateur of well known places like Gramercy Tavern, etc. ) in the middle of Madison Square Park. (next to the Flatiron building). It is famous for it's burgers and because it's only open like 4 months of the year, the anticipation and countdown for it's opening is also well known. I think it's most infamous for its lines, which are so long that they have a live webcam on their website so people can plan their visits accordingly. Tom (not my Tom, Jeany's Tom) accurately described it as the In N Out of New York (at double the price and there's only one of them for a population of 10 million).

It opens at 11am, so we arrived a little before then. We saw the Shake Shack team sitting outside, enjoying the beautiful weather and we quickly grabbed some tables. As 11 approached, a line began, so we joined it.

Luckily, it wasn't too bad. And the entire time we were there, there was a line, but it never got to be too crazy. The thing I discovered this weekend is that if you go to NY during holiday weekends, and you hit the places that's normally mobbed by locals, you have a much better chance of getting what you want, because the locals are gone, and the tourists don't know about it. After placing our ordered, we were given little devices that vibrated when our orders were ready- which was less than 10 minutes later.

Here's Tom's order of Shake burger and we shared an order of fries. The fries were pretty good. I know Shake Shack gets a lot of crap for using frozen fries, but due to the way these fries are cut, they end up being really crispy and I enjoyed them. Tom also enjoyed his burger.

Here's my order of Second City Bird dog. It's a chicken and apple sausage with mustard, onion, relish, pickles and red peppers slices. It was good, but so big I couldn't finish it. And they put too much mustard on it, which ended up squirting all over hand. The main thing i didn't like about it was the bun. Since it wasn't grilled or anything, it was a little weak and actually fell apart as I ate the hot dog. The good thing about the sausage was that it was the first apple chicken sausage I've ever had where you can also see chunks of apple inside.

And here's my little sis with her bf, Ben. She's enjoying a double burger. If you happen to order this, be warned that it's two patties on a bun. That's it. So if you want the extra stuff, order a Shake Burger.

I think everyone really enjoyed their food. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't too expensive, either. (by NY standards) And we got to enjoy it in a beautiful park on a lovely day. I wouldn't wait an hour in line for it (hell, I wouldn't wait 30 minutes in line, maybe 15) but for the day and time, it really was a great meal. So if you're there early, and there's no line, than check out Shake Shack for a yummy burger and crispy fries.

MY FIRST TRIP TO POPEYE'S

Well, Popeye's had finally opened in Kenmore Square. You could tell by the Popeye's boxes and cups littering the street and the line of illegally parked cars on Brookline Ave. So it was time to make our long planned visit. I had mixed feelings about trying Popeye's. When I told people about it, I got the same response from everyone: "I love Popeye's. It's so greasy!" My little sister had told me that I wouldn't like it, but I tried to be enthusiastic and even invited my staff to join in.

When we arrived at Popeye's, a game had just started at Fenway Park, so most of then fans had cleared out. What we had instead was a lot of students. The space is a tiny little basement space and there was already a long line. Luckily, my employees had already arrived and snagged us one of the few tables. Most people were taking out, and I wouldn't blame them. The space is small, crowded, hot and strangely lit. We immediately got in line and planned what we'd be ordering. As you can see from the pic below, it was a bit hard reading the menu, cause it was blocked by the soda machine. That's how little space they had.There was also an ENORMOUS pile of fried chicken ready to go. They had 2 people taking orders, and the rest were just boxing up the orders. It took us a little while to finally put our orders in and I got a 2 piece meal (which came with a drink and a side). They were super efficient there. I got my food 5 minutes after ordering. If you also look at the pic above, you can see a computer screen. I'm not sure if they do this at all Popeye's, but it's a game. When you place your order, you have the option of rounding your order up to the nearest dollar and you get two choices. The more you spend, the better your options tend to be. One of my employees got to pick two apple pies. But I was presented with the option of 2 extra biscuits, or an extra side of rice. I passed. Here's my meal below.And here's my side of mashed potatoes and gravy.So I gotta say, I liked Popeye's. The chicken that is. But there are qualifiers. First, the night we went, it was crazy busy. It was clear that they were turning all the food pretty quickly, so the chicken didn't have time to sit and get lukewarm and super greasy. The chicken breast I had was crispy on the outside and perfectly moist on the interior. I did enjoy that. I ordered spicy, but it really didn't taste spicy at all, which makes me wonder what the original tastes like. I was not a fan of the biscuit, it was too greasy and I prefer KFC's biscuits. Ditto goes for the mashed potatoes and gravy. The gravy had little chunks of chicken and jalapenos, which, while good in theory, weren't that delicious in practice. It was an enjoyable meal. Certainly not somewhere I'd visit often, but it's nice to have another junk food option in Kenmore Square.

FRIED CHICKEN AND CUPCAKES

I'm taking a break from my LA posts to write about my recent Bday celebration. As is pretty typical of me, I wrote this whole long posting about my Bday, part 1. And then closed the window before it had time to load. So here I am, trying to recreate a post that I wrote two days ago. At any rate, as many of you know, I celebrated my 27th Bday last Sunday (Ha, and I'm still younger that most of you.) I wanted to celebrate in a low key fashion. No big dinners, reservations, rsvp's involved. So I simplified by having everyone over for KFC and cupcakes. But more on that later.

We started off the day at Simon's Coffeeshop. I'd heard a lot about this place, but I had never made it over there, though I'd driven by it hundreds of times. I always new it was on Mass Ave. between Harvard and Porter, but it turns out I was looking on the wrong side of the street. It's on the west side of Mass and I was looking for it on the east side. But it is easy to miss. It's a very narrow store, so not many windows, and it is stuck right next to Hollywood Video and Brook's Pharmacy, so you don't expect it to be there. At any rate, Simon's is well known for making a great cappuccino (the right way, with the right foam) and the use George Howell's coffee, and you all know what a big fan I am of George.

When we finally found parking and walked in, the place was full, and not one table was available. (It's a narrow, long space) It's true that they didn't start off with that many tables anyway, but you could tell that they were filled with locals who were spending a relaxing Sunday morning over a cup of coffee. But Tom and I ordered anyway and figured we'd wait until someone got up. Pretty soon after we placed our orders, a table did open up. Another customer had spotted it first, but he was nice enough to let us sit there cause we'd gotten to the shop first. (Tom later returned the favor when he was the table next to us opening up).

So here's a pic of my cappuccino. As you can see, the foam is made perfectly (actually, Simon made it) and it has a leaf design. I thought the foam was great, but the espresso was only Ok. I still prefer illy espresso, which is a little more flavorful and robust. And here's my almond croissant. They get all their pastries from Carberry's. It was a sizable pastry, but not all that tasty. (I wasn't too suprised about that). But I was here more for the coffee, anyway. After we'd settled in for a bit, Jayna joined us and we ended up spending close to two hours at the shop. I did like it quite a lot. But I was surprised that they charged for Wifi and was a little put off by that Almost every place offers free wifi now, and it's not that expensive to maintain, so I felt charging was a bit silly. (Tom paid for it anyway, so he could read the NYTimes). My only other complaint is the lack of parking in the area (though that's a complaint for Cambridge). If you're not a resident of Cambridge, you can only park at the meters on Mass Ave, otherwise, my other tip is to visit on Sunday when anyone can park in the resident spots.

After Simon's, we headed over to the new ICA. I'll mention their cafe here. It is very pretty in design and is a Wolfgang Puck Cafe, which is probably why they feel it's ok to charge $10 for a freaking sandwich. Tom and I were a little snackish after exploring the exhibits, but we weren't paying that much for food. (Admission to the museum already cost $22 and that was including my student admission) The other problem is that there aren't many casual dining options in that area, so if you're heading over to the ICA, my tip is to eat first. Or pack up a nice picnic and sit outside on the deck area that has a great view of the harbor.

That evening, we had the aforementioned casual get together at my house. Tom and I headed out to the KFC in Allston to pick up 2 buckets of chicken and we actually finished most of it off. Oh, I was also happy that I'd thought to print out some KFC coupons off their website beforehand. I figured we'd save $5, but we ended up saving closer to $10, so that was cool. Here's my plate of chicken. Greasy and perfect. And I love the biscuits. Will they taste different sans trans fats?And of course, here are my cupcakes. Ok, I didn't make these from scratch. It was a boxed mix with canned frosting. (Hey, it was my bday) But I did decorate them all by myself! And I think they still tasted yummy. To top it all off, I got some great food related bday presents. Tom got me a 7cup Cuisinart and Leah got me a matching mini 3cup one. They're so cute together. My little sister got me the covered wok I had been asking for and my older sister got me the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook that I wanted (still waiting for it to arrive). Lastly, Suemin got me a giftcard to TJ's. So basically, this means that I'll be doing a ton of baking this winter and sharing all my treats with you! (Tom and I are supposed to be eating healthier, but I still love to bake). Thanks everyone for making my 27th Bday so much fun!

ROSCOE'S CHICKEN N' WAFFLES

Another LA institution is Roscoe's Chicken N' Waffles. You've read about it in the news, on blogs, in movies...The funny thing is, if you actually talk to anyone who grew up in LA, you'll find out that most natives have never been to Roscoe's. At least that was true of my friends, and true of myself. So fulfilling Tom's request to visit was also my first time. I decided to take him to the one in Hollywood. We couldn't figure out if it was the original or not, but when we arrived, there was a small crowd waiting outdoors. I gave our name and we sat in the sunshine to wait for our table. As I looked at the people waiting, I realized that there are some tourists, but there are also a lot of regulars who visit this place. The wait was pretty quick and after about 15 minutes, we were seated at a booth inside, all aglow with this funky red/pink lighting.

I took a pic of the menu without the flash so that you could experience the lighting for yourself. The menu was more extensive than I expected. Not due to the variety of food, but due to the multitude of combinations you could order it in. You could also get breakfast. After looking at the waffles that were coming out, I concluded that I probably wouldn't like them. I prefer the Belgian style waffles that are more crispy on the outside. These looked a bit soggy. So I ordered some friend chicken with gravy and rice (I admit, it thought it was gravy and biscuits, but the biscuit came on the side with a large pat of melting butter). Tom and I also shared an order of mac and cheese. Here's a pic of my food: And the side of mac and cheese and my biscuit.
I'll admit that I wasn't a huge fan of the rice, but everything else was great. The chicken was well fried (though my fried chicken is better, I guess it's easier when you're not cooking for hundreds of people a day) , the biscuit was delicious and the mac and cheese was truly tasty (thought the noodles were way over cooked).

Meanwhile, Tom ordered the typical fried chicken and waffles, with a side of gravy.

Tom also enjoyed his fried chicken and though he wasn't in love with the waffle, he did say it was a great vehicle for the gravy. Oh yeah, the gravy was also really tasty. Overall, we had a pretty enjoyable experience. The service was just ok, but they did have a lot of people to serve. We were so stuffed with greasy food after lunch that it was painful to move and we ate very little for dinner. But it was still a great once in the lifetime type thing to do. In the future, I'll fry my own chicken.

A TRIP TO IN N OUT

Everyone's heard about California's famed In N Out. And it was one of the few places Tom requested that we visit. Truth is, I had only been to In N Out once. And it was when I was in high school. I remember having an amazing burger, but I also remember being starving when I had it, so I'm not sure if it was the burger or my hunger that made the experience so memorable. But I gave up red meat soon after and was never to return. I knew that In N Out made veggies burgers (a burger minus the patty) and even my friend, Raj, who's a vegetarian, praised the merits of In N out, so I didn't mind a visit.

But first we went to once of my favorite places in the world, the Santa Monica Farmer's market on 3rd St. I already talked about this place the last time I was in LA, but I also wanted to show you a picture of adorable mini heads of cauliflowers and purple cauliflowers. If only I was in Boston, I would've bought these for dinner. And as Tom can tell you, I spent many hours of my trip tracking down the best Satsuma Tangerines. I love Satsumas, yet they're rarely sold on this coast. So I decided I was gonna bring some back, and picked up a few from one of my favorite vendors at the farmer's market. I mean really. If your only other choice was paying $5/lb. for Satsumas at Formaggio, wouldn't you have brought a box back, too?

Our next stop was In N Out with my older sis. Here's the iconic logo. We arrived pretty early, at 11, but there were already people in there ordering. As many of you may also know, the menu is pretty short, they like to keep things simple. But there is also a secret menu that isn't published anywhere. You just have to know about it. I ordered my veggie burger (not on the menu) while my sis and Tom both ordered Cheeseburgers "Animal style". We also got a side of fries and drinks. And all that for less that $12. You can't get that kind of deal anywhere in Boston. Here's our food:

My veggies burger was actually pretty good. I think it was cause the bun was grilled, so I didn't miss the meat. But I did want grilled onion, which were lacking. I think I'll order the grilled cheese next time. The fries also weren't spectacular, but I do think Tom enjoyed his burger, so it was worth the trip. He also wanted to go to Taco Bell to compare, but we didn't have time for that. It'll just have to wait until next time.

UBURGER, KENMORE SQUARE

Tom took a week off from work last week. Which left him some time to bring me lunch at work! We decided to try out the new burger joint in Kenmore Square, which has been open for just a week. I'd read some stuff about it on Chowhound and it seemed like a decent enough place. So Tom ordered me a chicken sandwich and onoin rings, while he got a Texas burger and fries.

Here's my sandwich.I was surprised to find it very tasty. The chicken breast was seasoned well and it wasn't overcooked at all, so it was quite moist. I also thoroughly enjoyed the grilled onions, since it adds a nice flavor and texture. Meanwhile, I was not as thrilled with my onion rings. First, I've never seen onion rings look like this before. I just didn't like the batter on them. I like them to be greasier. My second complaint about this place is that they're kinda cheapy on the ketchup. (Have you ever been to a McDonald's abroad when they ration the ketchup packets? They give you like one packet for a large order of fries and make you pay more for extra packets. Anyway, it was kinda like that) They only gave us 2 packets for our take out orders and Tom had to ask for an extra 2. It was not enough for 2 burgers with 2 sides. So remember to grab extra ketchup with your order. Tom was nice enough to trade his fries for my onion rings. (let's be honest, i would've eaten them anyway) The fries were very good. Apparently they're fresh cut. And they had a nice seasoning salt. Maybe not as great as the E.S. fries, but definitely a close second. And lastly, here's Tom's burger. Take note of the bacon and cheese. Tom also enjoyed his burger. It wasn't the greatest in the world, but as he pointed out, it's been a long time since Kenmore Square has had a burger joint like this, so this was very decent. I think I'll definitely be back to UBurger. It's not the cheapest or best burger in town, but it's better than McDonald's and certainly a welcome addition to Kenmore Square.

FAIR FOOD AT THE TOPSFIELD FAIR

Ok, so if you read my entry about things that I wanted to do during the fall, you'll notice that one thing I wanted to do was visit the Topsfield Fair. I was excited to go see various animals (with the hope of holding a little chick or bunny in my hand) and Tom and I were both looking foward to eating some truly unhealthy fair food.

I haven't been to a fair in a long long time. The last time I went was probably 15 years ago. Apparently state fairs like this started as a way to promote agriculture and farming. (There was some article in the NYTimes a while ago describing the decline of state fairs cause such a small number of people are actually farmers). At any rate, the Topsfield Fair is more like an endless buffet of really really unhealthy food, with some small farm attractions and a number of rides thrown in. The reality is, people come here to eat, and I don't have a huge problem with that (it's only once a year after all.) It reminded me a lot of the Charlotte's Web movie where the rat is at the fair after it closes and does a whole song and dance about a smorgasbord.

So onto the food. We walked around a bit before deciding what to get. There were just a whole lot of options and I had a hard time figuring out what to start with. But Tom was very smart in spotting this sausage vendor and I was able to get a chicken sausage.
I've been lamenting the fact that they have stopped selling chicken sausages at Fenway Park this season. It was the one thing I'd always eat when I went to a game. But this chicken sausage was so much better It was juicy and very fresh (not some mass manufacture sausage). Plus, they were very generous with the onions and peppers. I enjoyed this a lot. If only they hadn't put fennel seeds in the sausage (I'm not a fan of fennel or anything licorice tasting). Ah well.

Tom started off his eating with a corn dog. He'd been looking foward to having one for a while. And I must admit, I was a bit envious. I love corn dogs, too! No worries, though. When I go home in December, I plan on having 2 corn dogs from Hot Dog on a Stick, where they make their corn dogs with turkey dogs!
So after the meat, I was ready for some fried foods. We started off with some German Fries (aka waffle fries). These were pretty good I found them kinda soggy and wished they were more crunchy. But still good.
We also walked around to check out the fair. My most favorite part was the newly hatched chicks. Unfortunately, they don't actually let you touch them. But they were soooo cute! Some of them were so new that they were still wet from coming out of the egg and were stumbling around with egg shell still attached to them cause they were so weak. I also enjoyed seeing the little piglets and the babe bunnies, which were less than 10 days old.

After a while, we were pretty tired, so it was back to the food. Tom got a chocolate chip cannoli (which I didn't photograph). It was grossly expensive though. Something like $6.25? I thought that was waaaayyyy too much, but oh well. Meanwhile, I was having a dilemma. I was pretty full, but how often do you get to go to a fair? I debated whether to get some dipped ice cream, but finally just settled on a lemonade.

The last thing we had was fried dough, spinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It was pretty good, albiet greasy. I was discussing this with Leah last night, and we both prefer funnel cakes to fried dough. Same concept, but with funnel cakes, you have the holes, which allows the battter to get crispier as it cooks. Actually, I think the fried dough is a New England thing, cause I've never seen it on the West Coast before. We just have funnel cakes.

By this point in the day, we were pretty much done. I think we both could've eaten more, but it's at the point where you know if you eat anything else, you'll regret it for the rest of the day. So we headed home, with our tummies full. I perfect outing for a lovely fall day. 

THE NEIGHBORHOOD PUB IN JP, DINNER AT JAMES GATE RESTAURANT AND PUB

If I lived in Jamaica Plain, the James Gate restaurant and pub might be my neighborhood bar... If i had a bar that i frequented, which i don't, since i rarely drink anymore. but that's getting totally off the topic. Last week, Katie and decided to head down to JP for dinner. Some of you may be more familiar with the restaurants on Centre street, but we wandered off the beaten path and ended up on South St. in JP in search of James Gate.

So the first nice thing about James Gate is that they have a parking lot. Don't be fooled by the first parking lot that you see up front, with only 5 spaces. There's a much larger one just half a block down on your left with like 20 more spaces. Only problem was that they didn't seem to have any more spaces available for us, but we managed to squeeze into a semi-spot next to a dumpster. (were there really that many people in this place?)

And upon entering the actually pub, the answer is, yes. There really were that many people inside. But the vibe was totally one of people hanging out with their friends for a beer and dinner. This was a neighborhood place and totally relaxed and comfortable. And there were still one or two open tables. Katie and I took one in a corner. I had noticed online that James Gate had 2 menus, a dinner menu and a pub menu. and I had wondered how they would separate the two, was the pub menu only served in the bar area? And what if you sat in the dinner area and wanted to order pub food? This question was answered pretty quickly when we entered. This restaurant is divided in half, with separate entrances to either side. The pub is dark, noisy and the bar takes up an entire side. But you can see through a doorway to the restaurant side with it's light yellow painted walls and art work. The restaurant side is also significantly more expensive.

Upon sitting down, we learned that you had to place your orders with the bartender. That's right, no real table service in the bar. Which was fine, but a little difficult trying to navigate past the people actually sitting at the bar while getting the attention of the lone bartender who was taking care of the entire restaurant. Katie ordered a turkey burger while I got chicken fingers with curry sauce.

Here's my dinner:
ok fine. I forgot to take pictures until i had already started eating. I got onion rings rather than fries. And they were good, but they put beer in the batter and it wasn't subtle. That kinda turned me off from the rings. My chicken fingers were a little too dry and stringy for my taste, but i really liked the curry sauce that came on the side.

And here's katie's turkey burger. So perhaps I'll try that next time.Katie deemed this the best turkey burger she's ever had.

All the food comes in huge portions, which is great for the amount that they charge. I kept watching huge platters of food whiz by. and though service is a bit lacking (it took forever to get the bartender to give me the bill) it's a really relaxed and comfortable place to hang out for a beer and a burger. So i would certainly give this place another try. Maybe next time I'll go for the turkey burger, or try something like the fish sandwich.