Traveling Stomach

So my weekend was eventful. It was not quite the weekend I had planned (you can see showering hippie's blog for the details she hasn't blacked out -- last night she learned that the fire truck came with screaming sirens so her description is hazy) but I realized that every meal I had was incredible and so I have decided to focus on the gluttony of the weekend (also known as the serious high points).

Thursday we drove down to NYC and stopped in CT for lobster rolls. It is important to note, that while no two lobster roll offerings are the same, Connecticut and Maine have decidedly different versions. I have only ever had Maine lobster rolls (mostly at the Big E in the Maine State House on the avenue of the states -- I LOVE the Big E). I was planning on not liking the Connecticut version very much out of loyalty to my traditional Big E lobster roll. I ordered a scallop roll (because what could be better than fried scallops?!) and when we were sitting down I merely had a bite of the lobster roll and then another. It was UNBELIEVABLY good. The hot butter they drizzled over the lobster was seeping into the roll which had been toasted and buttered already on the outside. I cannot stress enough, it was really good. I recommend the slight detour to visit Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale. I don't know if there's is the best Connecticut lobster roll out there, but it's pretty damn good.

Friday we had "confusing breakfast" at our very kind host's house. There was a creamy blue cheese that melted in your mouth, a natural salami, fresh fruit, warm bialys and cream cheese and lox. We met my roommate at the train station shortly afterward and to boost his moral (and blood sugar) after the confusing breakfast Robert got three Chinese pork buns and a bubble tea with freshly made tapioca bubbles. We all four took the train into town, had some excitement and three out of the four made it to lunch at Mandoo Bar where we had incredible color coded dumplings (pink for seafood, green for veggie and white for pork) and kimchee dumplings (which could have been spicier but were a fun idea) and a warm Korean dish (dduk boki) with fish cake slices, rice cakes, cabbage and noodles it was so warm and comforting in the horrible weather we'd trudged through all day. We also had a nice cool noodle salad with asian pear, and a lemony dressing (dotori noodle). After a long hard day and much more time spent in terrible weather we all four headed over to s'mac for a comfort food dinner. We tried the brie, manchego, Cajun, and hamburger varieties and the special of the night the buffalo chicken with a blue cheese topping. They were all incredibly good. I think in the end Suzib chose Cajun (shocking I know) as her favorite, Christina chose manchego, and Robert and I were split between the buffalo chicken and the brie. We all thought there should be a dessert mac and cheese and even came up with some ideas on how they could do it (creating a derivative of noodle kuegal and/or using a marscapone cheese). Perhaps we should write in and let them know. To finish the comfort food/single item restaurant theme we got dessert at rice to riches. Robert and Christina got the cinnamon graham and caramel puddings heated, I got half peanut butter and half banana (the peanut butter was great, the banana so-so) and Suzib got cheesecake and raspberry (the cheesecake was better than the raspberry in my opinion). There were like 20 varieties to choose from though, so it was hard to leave so many behind untasted.

Saturday we decided to take it easy. We went to dim sum in flushing (I am a little confused b/c the link I am enclosing I think is the link to the place we went except it doesn't say it's in flushing and so I am only hoping this is the place I am about to talk up). While I didn't have as much traditional dim sum fare as I do at the places we go in Boston, I loved this place. There was the option of dim sum, you could have fresh sushi (or hand rolls on request) there was a carving station with Peking duck and a salad bar with seaweed salad, lotus root salad, noodle salads and more. There were so many great buns (including a neon green one with a black filling that turned out to be sesame and tasted like peanut butter). Sadly, one of my favorite items on the menu were the corn nuggets which I swear was breaded and deep fried creamed corn, how white trash am I? The spread here was amazing though all the food tasted good and was of a good quality (though the three or four Italian dishes were slightly off putting). Bubble tea was included (but apparently the bubbles weren't that good) and the best part was the cotton candy on the way out. I LOVE cotton candy, no matter how odd it is to have at the end of a dim sum extravaganza. We went next door where I bought a sushi boat (I am so excited about this, I told my boy it was for him but we're keeping it at my house -- I have the fancy rice maker after all, it's just more practical ;)) and then we headed home to play games and watch a movie (which looked good but I fell asleep through). I woke up in time to discuss dinner and to mention that really I just wanted a salad. Robert REALLY wanted Korean fried chicken and won in the end. By the time we got home with it, it turned out he was right, I really did want fried chicken, not a salad, that was just crazy talk! This was the best fried chicken I had ever had. It was thoroughly crispy on the outside, so much so that you could hear the crunch as people ate. It was also saturated with flavor (we got garlic and hot and spicy varieties). We're going to try and make some of our own, but I think it will probably only be a dim reflection of what we had.

Sunday we had crepes courtesy of Robert (and Christina and her mother's watchful eyes). They were delicious. He made cream cheese and lox crepes, caramelized banana crepes, lemon sugar crepes, cinnamon sugar and blueberry jam. Every one that I tried was great. We left the house by 11:00 sorry to say goodbye to Christina's incredibly generous parents and headed toward Boston. Stopping shortly afterward for second breakfast. We went to this great (I can't stress that enough) empanada place. It was incredibly reasonably priced with an impressive assortment of flavors. They have three types of shells, flour, corn and whole grain. The fillings range from traditional beef and chicken, to spinach, tuna, plantain and caramel with cheese. They also have frozen treats that are rich and good (we got dulce de leche and peanut butter). I want to move to NY based on this place. I am hoping I can get an apartment right upstairs, you know to truly maximize the possibility I will get on TLC as the two ton woman!

Anyway, that's my trip. I ended the day with a burger at B. Good with my boy and a shared dessert at pizzeria uno (because it's hard for us to find places open late on Sunday nights).