Catching up on a few things....

So, it appears Sundays are turning into my food blog day, potentially because it's also the day when I look back at what I've spent this week and nearly pass out. I just love restaurants, though! I hope my two readers (shout outs to Vanessa and Max for the comments...you keep me going!) don't mind the frequent hiati...hiatuses....um...

A few things to catch up on from this week....

Ben & Jerry's Lemon Meringue Pie ice cream. Un-freaking-real, but you can only eat it in small doses, lest it become too much. I'm a kiddie-sized ice cream girl anyway, but this one is just really rich. Tart, creamy lemon ice cream with fluffy streams of meringue (I'm not sure I buy that it's actual meringue, but it's good) and pieces of pie crust. Mm Mm Mmmmm.

It's Greek to Me (Palisade Ave., Englewood, NJ) I went to this little place for lunch with a gaggle of colleagues this week for a birthday. The Greek salad with fresh grilled calamari on top was perfect for a work day lunch. I inhaled it. Guess I was hungry. I think there are a number of these places...including one in Hoboken...and I highly recommend trying. Super tasty, relatively inexpensive and very filling. Strikes me as one of those places that will be totally dependable.

Kin Khao (http://www.eatrice.com/kinKhao.html, Soho, NY) I first went here about...oh my...6 years ago, when I was traveling to NY on business and visiting my friend Melissa, and it was great at the time. I think it's only gotten better, save for some semi-rude service from a potentially new, or potentially cranky, waitress. When, after a day of shopping, I popped in here with two girlfriends on Saturday at 7, it was easy to get a table (granted, mid-summer in NY isn't hopping), and the food was just excellent. The Gung Gratiem, shrimp in red curry with bamboo shoots, was delicious with the coconut milk gravy poured over rice. Tangy and spicy with just enough kick to tantalize the senses. My friend ordered the Gai Yang, half a chicken, roasted and served with sweet chili sauce. But the best, and from what I remember what was best a few years ago, was the Pad Thai. I mean, this might be my favorite Pad Thai ever. Sweet, full of flavor, not at all gummy - this is what Pad Thai should be. I seriously love this sh**. Even better, I bumped into a classmate of mine there whom I haven't seen since graduation but who lives literally a block away. It will be good to see him again now that we've reconnected!

Taqueria (Grove & Grand, Jersey City, NJ). Last but not least, a tiny little garden level restaurant on an arbitrary corner in still-revitalizing JC, this might be my pick-o-the-week. As you probably know, I moved to the NY area from LA just six months ago, and one of the things that has been missing is a good fish taco. Yes, I said fish taco. This brightly colored space features a menu free of Chili's style tex mex...no fajitas, chips and salsa or nachos. Instead, the small menu is layered with fresh tasting, authentic food that might be the best I've had since I moved. The corn tortillas included a tender piece of grilled fish, served with a tomatillo and tomato salsa and traditional shredded cabbage. I seriously loved this. For $3.00, you can't get much better in the area. It's fast and tasty and gives me my fix without the 5+ hour flight.

Anyway, this could be a rough couple of weeks, as I'm sitting on about four NY Restaurant Week reservations. Yes, four. Moo. Not a good thing for the waistline or the pocketbook, but I'm looking forward to an array of new entries!!

Happy Restaurant Week (esp you Max and Vanessa)!!