To hear some of my family's conversations you might think we live to eat. Of course we eat to live so we might as well enjoy life while we're at it. Eating is probably one of the main conversations in which a good many of us engage when we're together. And just think of all the television shows about food. Meals can be a great time of social activity.
So most of us talk about what we're going to eat later and about things we've eaten in the past and things we'd like to eat. We look at Yelp reviews of restaurants, books and articles about different cuisines, and recipes of dishes we are going to be making or might make one day. Food can be a controversial topic at times, but usually far less heated and uncomfortable than topics such politics or religion.
My visit to New Jersey has involved a goodly share of eating adventures. Here are a few of those food outings:
Arlee's Raw Blends
Here I am in my "official" Arlee Bird shirt posing in front of
Arlee's Raw Blends in Princeton, NJ
When I ran across this establishment on Google I made it a point to make the drive over to Princeton (yes, home of that famous university) to check it out. Fresh juices are something I need to drink more of so this seemed like an enticing offering to try. Besides, I needed to check out a place using the same name as I use as my pseudonym.
Princeton is a lovely town from what I saw. Arlee's Raw Blends seems like the type of natural food establishment that you'd expect to find in a university town--good healthy stuff. A friendly young lady on duty at the time of our visit provided us some samples of their products. We bought a bottle of very veggie tasting juice that my daughter didn't care too much for since it contained cucumber juice, but my son-in-law and especially their kids enjoyed it. It's a great kid alternative to sugar laden drinks.
After that initial Arlee's visit we stepped a couple doors down to grab some hoagies to eat on a street bench. Having eaten we returned to Arlee's for a "dessert" drink. I was a bit wary of a cleanse drink since I didn't know how that would affect me so I settled for a coffee blend drink as did my daughter. It was tasty stuff. The little ones got a fruit drink and were quite happy.
If you're ever in the Princeton, NJ area check out Arlee's and think about me while you're enjoying a healthy beverage freshly blended on premise.
Fusaro Pizza and Pasta
My daughter Emilee is a real estate agent in Jersey and knows a ton of people in the area. Having gotten her real estate license at age 18 right after she graduated from high school, ten years later she is now one of the top agents in the area. I'm so proud of her!
One of her friends owns a pizza restaurant in Manahawkin so one day we took a short trip there to have pizza for lunch. Pizza is one of the New Jersey staples that I always look forward to eating when I go visit my daughters. Fusaro Pizza was a great stop. It's also a very kid friendly place. We decided to dine outside since the day was pleasant.
The family enjoying a pizza lunch outdoors at Fusaro's in
Manahawkin, NJ
We ordered a nice assortment of pizzas among us. I decided on a white pizza with spinach which turned out to be a very good choice for me on that day. Everyone enjoyed their pizzas including the kids. The owner treated us royally. Antimo Esposito-Costagliola--or Andy as friends call him--comes from of family of restaurateurs so he knows what he's doing when it comes to pizza.
Fusaro Pizza is highly recommended if you're anywhere near Manahawkin, New Jersey. I wish they'd open a branch near me in California.
Arlee Bird (on right) and Andy Esposito-Costagliola, owner of Fusaro Pizza and Pasta
Harold's Deli
After my wife arrived at Newark Airport, a bunch of us--two carloads of kids and adults-- headed over to the world famous Harold's New York Deli in Edison, New Jersey. This place had been receiving a big build up from my son-in-law Tom for a couple of years now and this seemed like the opportune time to try it out. Harold's did not disappoint.
I won't go into details, but you can click on the link to visit the website and see their unbelievable menu. We were famished when we got there and totally forgot to take a picture of our food until it was over half gone. To give you an idea of things at this restaurant let me tell you about what we ordered for the nine of us.
We split one pastrami sandwich among the six adults and got the kids an order of chicken fingers and fries to split. We also got a few sides. One sandwich you may ask? I kid you not--this sandwich is huge and at $50 you would expect a big sandwich. Not only did we all have plenty of corned beef sandwiches to get us through that dinner, there was enough left for sandwiches for the next day's dinner. "Sandwich" is probably a misnomer since it's really just a massive helping of premium quality pastrami with as much bread as you care to grab off the pickle bar if you run out of the bread they initially bring to your table. Yes, there is a pickle bar that you can read more about at the Harold's website.
If you're ever in the Edison, NJ area you really should check out Harold's. But bring several people with you as Harold's works better for group dining.
This is the pastrami "sandwich" leftovers that we took home with us.
Road Warrior Days Ahead
This Tuesday begins our return home with 6 more days on the road that should prove to be fun and exciting. I've scheduled interesting stops along the way that will include Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone Park, and the bizarre House on the Rock in Wisconsin.
Since we have jam-packed days of driving and sightseeing, blogging will probably not be on my agenda until I get home after August 17th. This means I'll be visiting Battle of the Bands posts a couple days after they've gone up. I already have my BOTB post scheduled for this coming Saturday August 15th. It's kind of a weak one, but due to my schedule I intended it to be this way. The next one will be better I hope.
Do you talk about food when you're with others? Have you been to any of the food establishments I've named above? Do you have any vacation plans scheduled for this summer or going on now?