Eating Our Way

Eating Our Way

What would vacation be without fabulous eating experiences? Ours was no exception. Without planning it, both of our hotels in NYC and in Boston were right next to Whole Foods. We found lots of yummy treats there for late night snacks or quick breakfasts. Some other delish highlight of our trip:

Clam Chowder in Newport, Rhode Island.

Newport was such a fun little beach town. Totally unlike the beachtowns of the West Coast that I've been to before. No surf paraphenlia, or really even sunbathi

ng. More like popped collars and Ann Taylors. I don't think East Coast women can escape the pull of Ann Taylor - they are on every corner! We drove by the HUGE mansions that this island town is known for - these houses are the castles of America. Asher was hoping for some legit fish and chips on our trip and I wanted homemade clam chowder. We

were not disappointed when we found a little hole in the wall restaurant off the beaten path that made both of these.

We happened to eat at two of the top ten pizzeria's in the USA on this trip. In New Haven we ate at Pepe's with Courtney and Ben. There is decades of flavor in their coal oven that is synonymous with the New Haven style of pizza. Thin crusted goodness. We also at Lombardi's in Little Italy in NYC. This is supposedly the first pizza place in America that had a restaurant license and he taught the other famous pizza owners in NYC the proper way to ma

ke a good Naples-style pie. The cute checkered tablecloths, white tiled floors, and cast iron decor added to the old world charm of the restaurant.

Our last day in NYC had us on 5th Avenue, in the h

eart of the Fashion district. I had been reading in Centra

l Park, enjoying the sun for the first time in three days. Asher

and I consulted our NFT guide and decided on Serafina's for our lunch time destination and we made a good decision on this Italian eatery. We sat on the outside terrace and were convinced we made a good decision based on the constant flow of beautiful people walking in, even at 3 in the afternoon.

After looking at the newspaper articles posted in the hallways, I realized that one of the beautiful people was the owner, constantly kissing his favorite guests. Our waiter was the a blunt and somewhat disengaged New Yorker, with the looks and charm of an Italian. Asher had a shrimp scampi in a cream sauce that he says was the best pasta dish he's ever had. I had a very basic red sauce pasta that was elegant and the perfect mix of tomatoes, basic and garlic flavors. Top if off with a glass of sangria and it was a perfect meal for us.

My other favorite NYC experience was a deli in Chelsea that we stumbled upon. I think it was called West Village Market. It was like Whole Foods

in miniature. The cheese

selection was mouth watering and the made-to-order sandwiches were the perfect lunchtime treat. I had a chicken parmesan sandwich and Asher had something layered with inches of spicy salami. He was a happy man.

In Florida, Chris and Sarah took us to Bahama Breeze, an "island getaway". Their fish was great, the citrus vinaigrette was delicious, and my chicken with black beans totally hit the spot. After a full afternoon of shopping in the outlet malls, it was great to sit back and relax, and enjoy a mojito. Chris worked his magic on the hostess, and cut our hour long wait down to fifteen minutes. Oh the wonders a dollar bill can work. Our other Florida food experience (besides the always-wonderful Semchuck cooking) was the strawberry shakes we got in Plant City. Plant City has an incredible strawberry harvest and the shakes were no exception... we bought it from a fun little market on the side of the road.