Dodging oncoming bikers to get to SMORGASBURG.

Smorgasburg (DUMBO)
Tobacco Warehouse
30 Water Street Brooklyn, NY 11201

My boyfriend and I went to the Smorgasburg event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn last year and we had loads of fun especially since it was my first time in Williamsburg. Last year we were suppose to check out the one in DUMBO, Brooklyn but never had the chance to.

We, I mean I... couldn't have picked a better day to go Smorgasburg, than May 5th where it was the TD Five Boro Bike Tour. We decided to drive and park in DUMBO which probably wasn't a good idea. There were a few road closures along the BQE, Belt Parkway, and etc but we were able to get through it. After we parked we stumbled a few roads closed off because people were biking. It was literally a stampede of bikes and people and I thought we would never get across. I got my boyfriend and I lost halfway to the Tobacco Warehouse since I had a bad sense of direction that day even though I do have a smartphone.

Any way, after walking streets full of cobblestone, we found the Brooklyn Bridge Park where the Tobacco Warehouse was and all the food and vendors!

We didn't get to try a whole lot of food cause we had errands to run in the late afternoon, but that's okay.

Chicken & Waffles

My boyfriend lined up at Buttermilk Channel and got the Butter Fried Chicken & Waffle. I've never had fried chicken and waffle before. I'm not a huge fan of fried chicken, but since I haven't had it in a long time I decided to dig in with my boyfriend.

The fried chicken was amazing. It was pure fried goodness, crispy and crunchy skin, tender and gorgeous meat. The waffle wasn't too special.

Fried Chicken Adobo Spring Rolls

While my boyfriend was lining up for food and looking for a sitting area, I decided to walk around and see what the other vendors were mixing up. I stumbled upon Lumpia Shack and noticed that it was Filipino cuisine and they were frying up spring rolls.

I ordered the special of the day which was the chicken adobo spring rollls. I really love the way the spring rolls were presented because it looks so inviting and the colors are just so vibrant. The fried chicken adobo spring rolls were phenomenal! Fried and crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. The chicken was moist and seasoned perfectly. These were by far the BEST spring rolls I've ever had! I really enjoyed them.

Tater tots with Parmesan Cheese

Next, I saw a sign that said tater tots and it's been a while since I had these little suckers, so my boyfriend and I stopped by BossaNova ChixBurgs. There were only three selections for tater tots, but two of them didn't sound very appealing so I got the tater tots with Parmesan cheese. Surprisingly, it didn't taste too bad. The tater tots were adorable, tasty, and slightly crunchy. The Parmesan cheese wasn't overly powerful which was good. 

Grilled Chicken burger

My boyfriend was craving for a grilled chicken burger. It looked really small in person, almost like a mini burger. It kind of shocked me that for a mini burger, it cost $6.00. Any way, the burger was okay. The chicken was grilled to perfection, but lacked a bit of salt and pepper. 

Bubble Tea

Before we left, I was really craving a smoothie or a bubble tea or even ice cream. I decided to return to Thirstea which is where my boyfriend & I tried at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg. I got the Pineapple Lychee Hibiscus and the boyfriend got the Honey Lavender. I didn't really like the pineapple lychee hibiscus much.

I tried the Honey Lavender bubble tea before and I fell into absolute bliss with it. It's a very soothing and relaxing  beverage.

Altogether, the event was fun, but in a way I was kind of expecting a little more out of it -- maybe more vendors. It was a great experience though and I am glad we dodged all those bikers and got through the road closures. I'm not sure if I'll be going to Smorgasburg for the rest of the year, except maybe I'll check out the one at Whole Foods. 

Since we were in DUMBO and at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and it was a sunny and beautiful day... I couldn't help but snap two pictures of the bridges we cross almost every day just to get around to Manhattan/Brooklyn --

A view of the Manhattan Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

The Right Spot

Spot Dessert Bar
11 West 32nd Street New York, NY 10001
212.967.1678

I've heard many things about Spot Dessert Bar and have seen a lot of photos of their delectable desserts, but  I haven't had a chance to try the original Spot Dessert Bar located in East Village of NYC because there's always a line when I'm in the neighborhood.

Any way, I learned that there was a Spot Dessert Bar at Food Gallery 32 in Korean-town. My boyfriend and I were meeting with our friends inside Food Gallery 32 for a lunch and conveniently we were sitting on the same floor as Spot. It was so humid and hot at Food Gallery and there was absolutely no ventilation so my boyfriend & I decided to get an ice cold drink from Spot Dessert Bar.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I was going to order this originally but my boyfriend beat me to it. He ordered the frozen hot chocolate which  looked amazing! I was able to take a few sips of his frozen hot chocolate and it was amazing! Oh my lord, it was like chocolate and cream heaven in a cup. So good and full of chocolate goodness!

Thai Ice Tea Float

Since my boyfriend beat me to the Frozen Hot Chocolate, I decided to get the Thai Ice Tea float which actually wasn't a bad decision. It tasted amazing and rich. It was pure Thai Ice Tea creamy and heavenly goodness. I wish they didn't top off our drinks with whipped cream though. I would have much prefer a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Customer service at Spot was great. Our drinks were great, but next time we return to Spot - I would love to try their desserts instead.

Dining @ Song

Song
295 5th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11215
718.965.1108

I heard about this restaurant through a mutual friend of my boyfriend and it sounded interesting enough to try so I came here with my boyfriend to try. I came here with my boyfriend for dinner for our 27th month anniversary and plus we haven't ventured much into Park Slope, so why not?

When we entered into the restaurant, we were a little puzzled because there was no one to greet us. It was just a waiting area and a bar so we walked past the bar and finally there was a hostess that greeted us. The wait for a table was around 30 minutes. Once we were seated, we waited around 8-10 minutes before a waitress came by and finally placed our order.

Thai Ice Tea

Whenever my boyfriend and I go for Thai food, we usually opt for Thai Ice Tea and that's what we did at Song. My Thai Ice Tea wasn't mixed very well and  I didn't enjoy it very much since it was rather sweeter than usual.

Chicken Spring Rolls

We ordered 2 appetizers. The first appetizer was the chicken spring rolls. The spring rolls were crunchy, tasty, and I liked that there were glass noodles in the chicken spring rolls.

Fried Calamari

The second appetizer we ordered was the fried calamari. I like that there's a selection for a small plate ($6.50) or a large plate ($9.95). Thankfully we ordered the small plate, but even we had trouble finishing our fried calamari.

The calamari was deep fried, but it didn't seem to have any seasoning whatsoever. A dash of salt and pepper would have gone a long way. I was a little disappointed by this dish.

Pad Thai with Baby Scallops

I was in a mood for Pad Thai and when I saw the special menu, there was: Pad Thai with Baby Scallops and it sounded interesting so I ordered it. It didn't look too appealing when it reached our table. The Pad Thai was flavorless, lacked the sweet fish sauce you would taste in most Pad Thai dishes. I also noticed that it was very greasy too.

Pad See Yue

This was my boyfriend's entree. It sure looked a little bit more appealing than mine. He ordered the Pad See Yue with beef. The beef was seasoned perfectly and was tender. His dish seemed rather oily, but at least his noodles had flavor and the sweet fish sauce.

After dinner,  we both felt we weren't very satisfied with the food at Song. Food was mediocre and service could have improved just a tad bit. This restaurant is CASH only. I don't think I will be returning to Song since there was really no wow factor about the restaurant.

Egg for Brunch

Egg
135 North 5th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.302.5151

My boyfriend and I had a double date brunch at Egg earlier last month with our friends.

Egg was truly a cute and homey restaurant. I love how once you enter through the first door, there's a small waiting area and a waiting list where you sign-in. Beside the waiting list is a little table with a coffee dispense, cream, and sugar all neatly lined up so you can make a small cup of coffee while waiting to be called.

The wait for our table was around 15-20 minutes. It was quite packed since we went on a Saturday morning. After waiting around for a while, we finally got seated and our waiter came and took down our orders and the wait for the food wasn't long at all.

Every table had a place mat (paper) where you can draw with using the crayons that are supplied on the table.

Water

I like that we were able to serve our own water and very classy with the glass bottle.

Ice Coffee

My boyfriend and I got the ice coffee. I totally forgot how much it was, but I know it was definitely inexpensive. It was refreshing and tasted just right.

Country Ham Biscuit

When we ran into my boyfriend's colleague at Egg, he suggested that we should try the Country Ham Biscuit. Since my boyfriend didn't order it, I decided to order it. The country ham biscuit ($9.00) was fantastic! The ham was unlike any other ham I've had before, thinly slices and tasted great. The biscuit was full of rich and buttery goodness and the fig jam was an interesting element.

I've never had grits before, so I was really excited to see the grits. I ordered it with cheese. At first it looked almost like very finely mashed potatoes. I really, really enjoyed the grits. I really, really enjoyed it because of the nice and soft texture of it and there was a right amount of cheese. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it because it was just too filling,but I really did enjoy it.

I also ordered a side with my brunch. I had read Yelp reviews on Egg and Yelp reviewers shared the candied bacon was delectable. I knew I had to try it and OH MY LORD! It was literally the BEST bacon I've ever had. It really was! This is because it was very crunchy and it wasn't too sweet either. It was just the right amount of sweetness and tasted a lot like Chinese beef jerky but better.

Chorizo & Eggs

My other friend had the Chorizo & Eggs ($12.00) which was homemade chorizo with eggs (any style), salsa verde, pickled jalapenos, and toast. The chorizo was okay, didn't seem to have much flavor in it.

Eggs Rothko

My boyfriend and our other friend ordered the same exact meal which was the Eggs Rothko ($10.00) which was another dish that was mentioned a lot on Yelp reviews. It was an easy-cooked egg submerged in a slice of a brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. It was also served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat.

Sausage

We also had a side order of sausage which was quite tasty!

I really enjoyed our experience at Egg even though the wait was for a bit, but the old saying "good things come to those who wait" is really true at Egg. I highly recommend you to come here for brunch if you're looking for a change in atmosphere and neighborhood. It's a really cute and cozy spot with amazing and simple dishes you won't regret!

Friendly Tip: This is a CASH only restaurant

Traveling to a different side of Brooklyn: Arepera Guacuco

Arepera Guacuco
44 Irving Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11237
347.305.3300

After my boyfriend and I returned from Virginia, the following day we had lunch with our friends. One of them whom lived in Bushwick Brooklyn suggested this Venezuelan restaurant that she had once gone to and enjoyed, so we decided to give it a try. Since I've never been to Bushwick before and I've never had Venezuelan food before either, I was actually excited about it.

The restaurant had a relaxing ambiance with Spanish music playing in the background. The service was on point and the food was just really, really good.

We started off with drinks.

Coconut milk shake w/ cinnamon powder & maraschino cherry

Yelp reviewers were right on about this drink! This was definitely the highlight of my experience at Arepera Guacuco. I'm actually not a big fan of coconut, but man... this drink was awesome and heavenly. It was absolutely refreshing and light. I highly recommend this drink if you ever try this restaurant.

Molasses with lemon

My boyfriend ordered this drink. It tasted a lot like lemon tea, but the taste is a little more milder.

Pabellon Oriental

I ordered the Pabellon Oriental which is inspired from the Southeastern part of Venezuela. The dish had a lot of elements to it - shredded fish, rice, black beans, arepa, and fried sweet plantains sprinkled with salty dish.

For those of you that don't know what an arepa is, it's basically a flat, round patty. It's an essential food to Colombian cuisine and Venezuelan cuisine.  It can be topped or filled with meat, eggs, tomatoes, salad, cheese, shrimp, or fish -- depending on the meal.

I've never had an arepa before and I wasn't sure how to eat it. I sliced it open as if it were a pita and stuffed it with the shredded fish, black beans, and rice. The shredded fish packed a lot of flavor. The black beans were cooked to the perfect consistency. I liked the plantains. They were sweet and moist, but I didn't really like the  salty cheese that was sprinkled on it. $12.00 for this meal, which isn't bad at all.

Pabellon Criollo

My boyfriend ordered the same exact dish as mine with two exceptions. His dish is a symbolism of a Venezuelan national dish and instead of shredded fish, he has shredded beef. His dish was made up of the same elements as mine - arepa, rice, black beans, and plantains sprinkled with salty cheese. He let me try some of his beef and man, it was so flavorful and just cooked to the right texture. This dish cost $12.50

Desayuno Margariteno

Our friend ordered this from the brunch menu. This is slightly different from the my and my boyfriend's dish. It consists of shredded fish, black beans, slices of avocado, and a plain arepa. In addition, there's scrambled eggs. Our friend's dish was $9.50.

Desayuno Capitalino

Our other friend ordered this dish. It's shredded beef, paisa cheese, black beans and a plain arepa to enjoy your dish. This dish was $10.00.

Ham and Cheese Empanada

I was itching to try an empanada so I ordered it. Unfortunately I didn't like it. It was hug, but it tasted a lot like a Hot Pocket especially with the cheese sauce inside. The empanada cost: $5.00 which wasn't bad since the size of it was huge.

Arepas - Mariscada

Our friends wanted to order this. It's an arepa and a combination of squids, shrimp, and mussels in a red, flavorful tomato sauce. $8.00 for this dish which wasn't bad at all.

Arepas - Parrillada

Last, but not least - we also ordered the arepas - parillada which was an arepa filled with griilled slice of steak with chicken, onions, and peppers. This reminds me a lot of an overstuffed pita and burrito. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try this because I was completely stuffed with my entree and a few bits of the dishes we ordered. This dish cost $7.00

I must say the food here was great. It was presented nicely and tasted authentic and amazing! This was a nice change from what my boyfriend & I usually eat and nice change of atmosphere. I highly recommend Arepera Guacuco if you're interested in trying Venezuelan food, as long as you don't mind traveling to Bushwick. I will definitely be back here again.

Brunching at Mama Steve's House of Pancakes

Mama Steve's House of Pancakes
1509 Richmond Road Williamsburg, VA 23185
757.229.7613

I apologize for being MIA for the past week and a half. I had an accounting exam to study and cram for and work has got me tied down, but I'm here and have got a lot of great reviews to write about.

My boyfriend, his family, and I decided to have brunch before we started to head back home in Williamsburg, Virginia. When we arrived it was packed with customers. We were greeted by one of the hostess and we were seated down immediately. Unfortunately, we were seated near the restroom which had a horrible stench to it.

The decor could really use an update because it felt very old and outdated in the restaurant. The furniture felt  outdated as well. The waitresses were all dressed in maid outfits.

Menu

Iced Coffee

Minutes after we sat down, our waitress served us our coffee and came back later to take our orders. Unfortunately, we waited for a half hour for our food which didn't leave a good impression towards us at all.

Grilled Virginia ham & Two Country eggs with hash browns

I ordered the grilled Virginia ham and two eggs with hash browns. The total amount of my dish was: $7.50. I ordered the eggs sunny side-up, but wasn't too happy with how the egg yolk broke so easily. I like runny eggs, but this was overly runny. The grilled Virginia ham packed a lot of sodium in it. The hash browns weren't up to par and was very greasy.

Mama Steve's Famous Southern Country Plantation Platter

My boyfriend ordered the famous platter and boy, it sounded really good. It came with a choice of meat, two country fresh eggs or mashed potato, silver dollar pancakes, and hash browns. Our waitress recommended the salty Virginia ham and that it tasted good, but the boyfriend didn't enjoy it. It was salt overkill. As for everything else on his dish, it was mediocre. I found the platter to be rather expensive and the portion size wasn't huge either. It was $10.75.

I really wished we had done research before we decided to visit Mama Steve's House of Pancakes so we could have saved ourselves from the poor food quality and slow service. If you ever visit Williamsburg, Virginia I would not recommend coming to this restaurant for brunch. It's not worth it.

Virginia Eats: Red Hot & Blue

Red Hot & Blue
1622 Richmond Road Williamsburg, VA 23185
757.259.1670

So I recently went to Virginia with my boyfriend's family during my Spring Break. After a long day at Busch Gardens and to celebrate my boyfriend's mother's birthday, we had dinner at Red Hot & Blue.

We arrived around 7-7:30PM on a Friday evening and the wait for a table of six was around 10-15 minutes. The hostess was very friendly and nice. After the wait, our table was ready for us. We were greeted by our waitress who was also very friendly and started us off with drinks.

The atmosphere of Red Hot & Blue reminded me a bit of Dallas BBQ/Sports bar. The restaurant was about average size. I was surprised that there wasn't much of a line when we arrived because it was a Friday night after all.

After a bit of a wait, our food arrived.

Tennessee Triple

This was my boyfriend's dinner. It's quite a massive plate of food when you see it in person. The Tennessee Triple consisted of: St. Louis-style ribs, 1/4 chicken, and tender slices of beef brisket. I actually tried the ribs and it was juicy, flavorful, and tender. The meat fell right off the bones.

Wet Ribs

Since Red Hot & Blue has "Award-Winning" ribs, my boyfriend's sister ordered the Wet Ribs that comes with the mojo mild bbq sauce and is grilled to perfection. It also came with a big scoop of cole slaw and a biscuit on the side.

Southern Fried Seafood Platter

As for myself, I got the Southern Fried Seafood Platter. It was a massive plate of fried seafood. The Southern Fried Seafood Platter consisted of: golden fried Gulf shrimp, lightly breaded Delta catfish fillet served with Memphis fries, hush puppies, and a creamy cole slaw.

I really like the cole slaw and it was probably the best cole slaw ever. It tasted refreshing and it's a good portion size too. I wasn't crazy about the hush puppies. The shrimp and catfish was deep-fried to perfection, but could have used some seasoning.

Overall, the experience at Red Hot & Blue was average. Our waitress passed a TripAdvisor business card to me to ask me to review, but I've already reviewed them on Yelp and here. I guess I'll just e-mail them my review since they did ask me to review them.

Would I come back here? I guess if I'm in the area again and craving for BBQ food.