In the midst of this cold front that northern New Jersey has been facing, one must find a way to embrace the single-digit temperatures. Whether it is taking your energy out onto the ice rink, traveling to Rockefeller Center to see the famous Christmas tree, staying warm in bed under fuzzy blankets or even hopping on a plane to visit your grandparents in Florida, everyone seems to find their way through what seems to be the longest time of the year. For me, as much as I would love to sleep in on weekends and during winter vacation, I often pull myself out of bed at a relatively decent time (though I still wake up to find my entire family already at the gym) and plan out my day, including where I’ll be dining. If it’s not leftovers for lunch (refrigerator cold pizza is a personal favorite), then I’m going out with my family or friends.
The week before my winter break started, my friends and I went out to lunch. Going out to lunch during the school week is a rare occasion for me as I usually bring food from home because I’d rather spend my money on weekend brunches instead. We went to Crossroads Deli in Bergenfield, NJ, which is a short and convenient 5-minute drive from my school. It was my first time going to ‘Roads, and since it was Friday, they were serving their famous Fat Bubba sandwich (#FatBubbaFriday).
The Fat Bubba has homemade mac and cheese, chicken cutlet slices, and their famous barbecue sauce. I didn’t get the bacon that usually comes on it, and I got it on a wrap instead of a roll.
Right as winter break started, I felt the need to celebrate with a girls’ lunch. With my friend from a neighboring town, we went to my favorite local cafe, Patisserie Florentine in Closter, NJ. Being the well-lit restaurant that it is, the snap of my lunch is perfect, if I do say so myself. Just imagine me standing over the table just to get this shot...
This is my favorite salad with avocado, tomatoes, shredded carrots, cucumbers, an egg and toasted bread with shallot vinaigrette. My friend got the smoked salmon and tomato open-faced sandwich.
To really kick off winter break, my sister and I took a nice trip into The City (New York City, to clarify for those who don’t live in my area) just to get lunch. I’ve been eyeing this vegan place called by Chloe. which has an emphasis on serving energizing plant-based all-natural food. The wind and rain had no damper on my day as my sister and I had the BEST lunch. I got the smoothie bowl that had granola, banana, apple, blueberries, goji berries, chia seeds, coconut and raw almond butter (which was a GREAT addition); my sister got the spicy Thai salad. As incredible as that all sounds, my sister and I ALSO split the vegan(!!!) “bacon” mac and cheese which had a sweet potato-cashew cheese sauce (so not actually cheese) with shiitake mushroom bacon (smoked mushrooms pretty much). Here’s a snap, which also involved me standing up:
The top right corner features our vegan cinnamon roll that we had for dessert later in the evening. We usually don’t get random unhealthy store-bought sweets, but these cinnamon rolls are famous, and they’re rightfully so; it was AMAZING.
To continue with the trend of eating out with my sister in cities, we decided to take a spontaneous trip to Washington DC during, coincidentally, the city’s coldest week. Nevertheless, we hit all of our favorite boutiques and restaurants; a major perk of my sister going to college in DC is that she knows only the best places to dine and shine, so we didn’t waste any time anywhere but the best. As we got off the train, our first lunch was at my favorite salad joint… Sweetgreen!!! Being the trendy salad place that it is, I got everything I wanted and more; I steered away from my ordinary salad and got a warm roasted tofu bowl with wild rice and other toppings…
Throughout the rest of our outing in Washington DC, my sister and I hit all of the tourist attractions. Though my sister once considered herself a local, and though I’ve been to the Lincoln Memorial and walked the Reflecting Pool more times than I can count, we enjoyed everything that the city had to offer. We went to some of the best restaurants in the city, both new and old. During our only full day in DC, the one where we spent a nice chunk of it outside in the cold (17 degrees, plus a windchill), we stopped into Fruitive for lunch. Though I was chilled to the bone, I still got the cold Antioxidant Superberry Bowl (housemade cashew milk, açai and berry “custard”) topped with granola, banana, blueberries and chia seeds. Honestly, I think the following picture goes on the list for top 10 food snaps I’ve ever taken; the presentation, the lighting and the camera quality make this a 10/10. Beautifully presented and not in a take-out container, this Superberry bowl hit the spot, though it kept me cold for the rest of the day!
My favorite dinner in DC was at il Canale in Georgetown. Being right off of M Street, the 5th Avenue of Georgetown, and with holiday cheer in the air, il Canale served up a great meal with great service. My sister and I got a margarita pizza and gnocchi. The pizza, of course, was INCREDIBLE… arguably some of the best pizza I’ve had in a long time. The gnocchi was also unbelievable, being ricotta-filled, and served in red sauce and smothered with buffalo mozzarella. Here are snaps of both of the meals:
To end my trip to Washington, my sister and I went to my favorite bakery in the entire world, Baked and Wired. I usually get my favorite strawberry champagne cupcake (their cupcakes are massive, by the way), but instead, my sister and I splurged on a few smaller treats. We got Alfajores (peruvian shortbread mini cookie sandwich with dulce de leche filling), and an assortment of other cookies. But, my favorite was the Honey Pecan bar, which was held together with sticky-sweet honey. Here’s a snap:
On the bottom was a chewy layer of- I’m not too sure, actually. Nevertheless, this was AMAZING.
Hungry yet? Yeah, me too. But before I leave, be sure to follow my food-stagram account (@foodieeatsss) to see more posts of my daily #EEEATS! I do share my Instagram with a friend, however, so not everything on there is mine. But check it out! Feel free to follow this blog, too, and signup to get email notifications when I post (which isn’t too often, so your email won’t blow up with notifications).
Ta ta for now. Happy eating, happy traveling and happy new year!
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