Connecticut: Lobster Landing alongside the water

A couple of months ago, J and I made a quick stop at Lobster Landing before hitting Maine. It was windy and cold that afternoon and the fact that it was by the water didn't really help.

The area was nice, big open space and I'm sure it would be beautiful in the summer when the sun comes out. But that day was eerily cloudy.

The menu was small but J knew what to order for us. His cousin was there also and gotten something else other than the lobster roll. Apparently to her, nothing beats Maine's lobster.

She had gotten the Hot Dog ($3). The wiener was pretty big and for that price, it was quite worth it.

The Lobster Roll ($15) was long. It was alright, nothing that really stood out. The butter was all on the bottom of the roll was made it messy to eat. Good pieces of meat but lacked flavor. It just felt like something was missing whenever I take a bite.

I'm glad I got to try it but still nothing beats Luke's Lobster.

Lobster Landing
152 Commerce St
Clinton, CT 06413
(860) 669-2005

JoJu - an anticipation left in disapointment

I'm not gonna lie, I like a good Vietnamese sandwich sometimes. I know that I might not get the best service at these places because Asian people aren't the friendliest. They care about making money, so they just want your order so they can put it through and get it to you asap. JoJu was a bit different, the people behind the counter were actually young...

Apparently for JoJu, when you check-in Yelp, you get a free egg with your sandwich. Which means, I save just $1 which is still a lot of money. J and I also ordered the Kimchi Fries but they messed that up.

Fries came first, we really thought it was the Kimchi Fries which was why we dug right in but then learn that it was the Banh Mi Fries ($5.25). By then it was too late to change our order. The fries were definitely fried twice if not more than that because it stayed a hard texture throughout the entire time we were eating it. There were a lot of pickled carrots and daikon which I felt like a vegetarian dish, it would've been a bit more exciting if there were some meat in it.

The JoJu Monster (originally $6.75 but I got it for $1 less because of the Yelp check-in) was literally what everyone was raving about. Is it just because of the extra egg that so many people like it? I wasn't impress at all. First off, all the sandwiches I had before had the same problem as this, everything is sectioned off weirdly. Why can't it just lay flat so when I bite, I get a little of everything? The meat and veggies are always squished off to the side...I mainly just taste the egg and the veggies, I didn't even know the meat existed until I look at my sandwich.

I wouldn't travel for JoJu unless I'm in the neighborhood. Then again, I don't really think it was worth it. I rather spent my money at Banh Mi Saigon or Luu's Baguette.

JoJu
83-25 Broadway
Elmhurst, NY 11373
(347) 808-0887

Two Door Tavern - the latest brunch I've had to cure my hunger

This past Saturday, J and I slept in - like really slept in. We were deciding where to brunch and that totally took like 2 hours to do. After much yelping on my side and J just browsing around on the web, finally we agreed on Two Door Tavern.

By the time we got there, it was around 3pm already. Never had I ate this late before. Two Door was cute, modern and chic bar. They have a second floor that opens up and you can see the first floor. Staff there were very polite and attentive.

They had a huge brunch menu, which was why we chose this place. Also, the brunch prixe fix came with coffee and your choice of alcohol beverage.

Truthfully, I think I'm hooked onto coffee now. No longer do I worry about using the bathroom when I drink it (and I tend to go like every 10 minutes when I intake coffee) because it just taste so good. The bellini was alright, I'm not a fan of champagne. J had coffee also along with his Brooklyn Season Ale, again, me no like beer.

I ordered the Two Door Eggs Benedict ($15.95), been craving a good one lately and this one didn't really cut it. I liked how it had tomatoes and spinach but the tomato sogged up my English muffin! Making it extremely un-enjoyable. Home fries were good though, yummy onions.

J had the Marinated Skirt Steak ($18.95), freaking amazing dammit! Steak was nicely cooked and had that burnt charred taste, loved it. I can just eat a whole plate of skirt steak made by them.

I'm coming back, for the steak. I hope they have this option for dinner. So rare that we find a restaurant that cooks the steak perfectly, Two Door is definitely one of the few places that does it right.

Two Door Tavern
116 N 5th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 599-0222

Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar - no reservations, no worries

I don't know what was it about Ayza that made J and I came.
My coworker went the week right before us and told us to definitely go because the food was really good.

I could've made reservations that morning of, but decided not to since we didn't know what time we might get there. It was a beautiful Friday evening and I knew I wanted to sit outdoor. When we got there, it was pretty packed. There was already a group in front of us so we knew we wouldn't be seated any time soon. Boy, was I wrong...

We got seated before that group and they got pretty mad, left the place. Kind of feel a little smug, if you know what I mean.

It was really hot but there was a breeze here and there, warm/hot breeze though.

I love a good glass of Riesling ($11). Been hooked ever since I first had it 8th Street Wine Cellar. They're so light and crisp, it doesn't even feel like you're drinking wine. I'm not a huge fan of spiced wine, which is why I steer away from red wine at times.

Some bread to begin with. I have no idea what the spread is, if anyone can enlighten me that would be appreciated.

Pretty much everything came at once. Good thing we didn't order too much because the small table they had there just wasn't gonna cut it. Hot Artichoke Hearts ($7) was pretty dam good. For some reason, I didn't picture it as a dip which was why I was a bit hesitant when J wanted to order it. I should never doubt him since he always seems to order the "good stuff."

One of the many dishes my coworker wanted me to try was the White Truffle Pizza ($10). It was good, freshly good. What was truffle about it? The oil. I can see it and smell it. Simple, but quite excellent.

I thought J would order the cheese platter since I know he's been wanting; on the other hand, I don't like cheese and I actually suggested it - his loss! Ended up with a Meat Platter ($16), definitely not worth the price. Beside the small portion, it doesn't have any gherkins! This was quite the disappointment.

Finally, the must-must try dish was the Twenty-Layer Crêpes Cake Brûlée ($12). It was insanely hyped up and I wasn't blown away. I mean it was nicely flambé but too much was going on with this plate. Crusty on the top, each layered with some creme, the powder sugar, along with the chocolate and raspberry plate glaze - way too much. It was just mediocre. I would probably be better off with some chocolate truffles instead. J and I actually took our time (because we were bored and wanted to amuse ourselves) to unravel this so-called twenty-layer. It wasn't 20, more like 17 layers. Meh, the point is not how many layers, but the actual quality of the cake - yes, another disappointment here.

Would we go back? Maybe..? I wouldn't mind coming back for the appetizer dips, pizza and wine, but that's about it because everything else wasn't memorable.

Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar
11 W 31st St
New York, NY 10001
(212) 714-2992

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro - a beautiful day calls for eating outside literally

Another spontaneous decision on Memorial Day weekend. J and I were suppose to go to a diner but ended up on the other side of the park and was too lazy to turn around and walk back. We were also hungry, so when we saw this bright awning in front of us, we decided to just brunch there.

The weather was great, I was definitely overdressed. We sat outside and enjoyed the sun which thankfully wasn't hitting us dead on. I've been wanting to sit along the sidewalk and have a nice meal, it's usually either or - I have nice meal but no sun or I get sun and the meal sucks. I can actually say otherwise about Lokal.

My coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice came first. I had the brunch prixe fix ($14.50) which I thought was a pretty good deal. The coffee was perfect, at least for me, didn't need too much milk and the temperature was just right. Being it was quite hot that day, having coffee that was steaming wasn't the brightest idea but after adding the milk, it was just a bit more than lukewarm and stayed that way throughout my meal. Oh, and the orange juice is also perfect. Tis the season for oranges which makes the little cup extra sweet.

I usually don't order Eggs Benedict but for some reason I did this time around. I did want a burger but then I didn't exactly want to use my hands - girl problems. Alright, so I popped the first pouched egg and water squirted out (weird) then the yolk started oozing out. Love when that happens. Runny egg yolks are the best thing ever. Salad needed more dressing and the potatoes were ok, a bit oily tho...

I was surprised when J ordered the Bacon Bloody Mary ($8). First off, we don't usually get bloody marys and second, I didn't know they even had that on their menu. But the surprising factor was, it actually tasted good. I would totally order that for myself next time. I never really liked bloody marys but then again maybe I just haven't had one that was made to my liking.

Tuna Burger ($13) was just ok. We definitely had better before so it wasn't anything to really "talk about." One thing though, that's a shitload of fries.

I mean, I liked the meal. I liked that we were able to sit outdoors and soak up the good weather. I also liked how it was spontaneous.

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro
905 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 384-6777

Memorial Day @ Red Hook Ball Fields

This past weekend J and I spent it together and just tried to take it easy. We went to Red Hook where the soccer games took place and had delicious authentic food. Trucks were set up to serve the Hispanic community and now it became something more than that. If you want some real tacos and ceviche, this is where you want to get it.

There wasn't much trucks and stalls this weekend probably because of the holiday. But that didn't stop us from getting great food and enjoying the weather.

I heard about pupusas and knew we had to try it. It's basically a patty cake with meat/vegetable/cheese fillings. I've never tried pupusas and was extremely excited about it.

J and I got the pupusas along with a meal that included chicharrons (fried pork bits) for $9. Not a bad price. Pupusa are made from corn flour and shaped into a round patty filled with your choice of anything on their menu. The longer they have it laying on the grill, the crunchier the texture will be, but if they're in a rush the pupusa would be cooked just right and still have that soft corn bread texture, I prefer the former. The cabbage was really good and the chicharrons were nice and crunchy meaty goodness. I liked how they threw in some onions and cilantro, can't forget the lime - all together, it was delicious and a true hearty meal.

For munchies, I got some Fried Plantains ($3). I thought they were flavorless until I got further down, it was salty but quite addicting.

J ordered the Horchata ($2). Definitely not my thing, I tried it twice and it was still not my thing. The initial sip was fine until the aftertaste hits you and you get that awkward feeling in the mouth. Like, a beautiful looking female suddenly opening her mouth and sounded like a guy kind of awkwardness.

One of our last dishes was the Ceviche de Camerones ($7). Extremely refreshing on a hot sunny day. We were sitting on the bench and just watching and enjoying the people playing soccer in the field. The next thing I know, I see a lady pushing a cart of...churros! I have to get it since it's been so long and we needed to be in the spirit! I mean, since we're there already, might as well right?

It was a wonderful day.

Might be a little breezy but the sun was always trying to peak out. This little date in the park was really relaxing. I rather have this with J anytime than a hectic barbeque (unless we don't have to hook and clean up).

Red Hook Ball Fields/Vendors

Clinton St & Bay St
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Lunchin' Solo: Yogi Korean BBQ - Spicy Pork w/ White Rice

The Yogi cart is here occasionally and not all the time, it's a hit or miss when I see it. The first couple of times I saw it, I was either not in the mood for it or I had already brought in lunch from home.

But this time, was an excellent time to get it since my coworker was getting froyo from the truck right next to it.

Thankfully, there was no line because nothing can be worse than standing in line for food when its 85 degrees out and you're near a blistering hot little food cart.

They had an array of options, anything from tacos to burritos to rice. I settled for the rice since by that time, I was really hungry and you can't really screw this up. The Spicy Pork ($7) was my choice since I didn't want Teriyaki Chicken or Bulgogi. They were also out of fried rice, what I initially wanted, so they gave me white rice. Told them to add on the kimchi and also some salad, ended up choosing the ginger white sauce - the guy told me it was made of ginger and some vinegar, sure why not since my pork is spicy anyways.

Kimchi was pretty great, might be sliced up too small but overall not bad. Also, be great if it was colder but no complaints because it was pretty bomb.

The pork was amazing. Tender and flavorful, the sauce went so well - kind of addicting. I was so glad I got the white rice also, the juices from the pork literally just covered the rice making it extremely heavenly. I've had fried rice from a Korean cart before and it wasn't exactly great so I'll steer away from it for now when I still can.

Definitely return for their tacos and burritos, plus the 2 guys working in the cart are extremely nice.

Yogi Korean BBQ
47th St & 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10017