Our first morning in NYC was not unlike many mornings back home. My entire family woke up and wanted to find some bagels for breakfast. Fortunately I already knew that Bagel Express was just down the road from our hotel on Lexington Ave.

Inside

The shop is not very large at all, but there are still a small handful of tables at the front for dining inside. The menu is much larger than I am used to from bagel shops back in Ohio. In fact full breakfast platters are available with home fries, french toast, pancakes, and the list goes on. My family was all able to order exactly what we wanted and it was prepared quickly and with a smile.

Everything Bagel

I went for an everything bagel toasted with sun-dried tomato cream cheese, which was awesome. There are well over a dozen cream cheese varieties, but I knew right away which one I wanted, as I remember trying sun-dried tomato cream cheese before and loving it. This was no exception and I wish I could get it closer to home. My wife had a western omelette served on a bagel, while our kids enjoyed scrambled eggs and sausage patties. Breakfast at Bagel Express  was an excellent start to our day.

On our first night in NYC we wanted to get some pizza and eventually found somewhere with inside seating, Pizza da Solo. The restaurant itself is a tiny space, with barely room for the oven, but it is inside the Sony Atrium at 550 Madison Ave., which has plenty of seating.

Outside

Pizza da Solo features made in-house mozzarella and ricotta on top of 10-inch Neapolitan style pizzas that are baked to order. No meat toppings are available, though tuna and salmon can be found, and the pizzas are actually kosher.

Oven

I knew right away that I wanted to try the Piccante pizza with ricotta and mozzarella, jalapeño, sautéed cherry tomatoes, basil, and garlic ($18). The pizza took longer to build than it did to cook in the fiery oven, but overall the wait was very minimal. This pizza was expertly cooked and was delicious, though maybe a bit too spicy for the average  customer. I loved it!

Piccante

We also ordered the Margherita with San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, and Parmesan ($13). We knew that our son would eat this classic pizza and that we would still have plenty left over to share between my wife and I. Again, it was perfectly cooked and tasted wonderful.

Margherita

I’m not sure if it is the kosher restrictions that drive up the price, or the location, but I found the pizza to be a tad expensive. With that said, it was of excellent quality and I wouldn’t hesitate to grab another pie in the future.

I have a few dining experiences from our recent trip to New York that I will be sharing over the next week or so. We arrived in New Rochelle in the late evening after a day full of travel. My wife and kids stayed back at the hotel while I walked the nearby streets to find something for dinner. I eventually settled on  Coromandel Cuisine of India, a small chain based mostly in Connecticut.

Inside

I found a seat at the bar and looked over the menu. After placing a carry out order I asked for a beer while I waited and was also given a complimentary appetizer, which was a nice touch. The food was prepared very quickly and I was soon on my way back to the hotel.

Papadum Appetizer

I was immediately impressed by the amount of food I received. The entrées  themselves were of normal size but again there was another complimentary appetizer in the bag. My wife and shared the chicken saag ($16.95) and chicken tikka masala ($16.95) along with a side of garlic naan ($3.95).

Our Very Large Meal

The saag was not as good as I’m used to, but the tikka masala was tasty. Plus the garlic naan was some of the best I’ve had. The price seemed quite  high to me, but that is somewhat to be expected in New York, and at least there are some freebies thrown in to somewhat offset the cost.

Saag and Tikka Masala

Overall we had a mostly positive experience with Coromandel.

A few weeks back my wife and I wanted something different delivered to our door for dinner. We settled on Chinese from Doodles  nearby in Hyde Park. Our orders were prepared and delivered to our door very quickly, which was a great start.

Thick & Wide Fresh Rice Noodles

My wife ordered the thick and wide fresh rice noodles with spicy black bean sauce, crisp bean sprouts, Napa cabbage, red pepper, and chicken ($10.95). The serving size was plenty, definitely enough to share or for leftovers the next day, and the noodles were good. The chicken was a little dry and I could have used a little more vegetables.

Kung Pao Chicken

I ordered the traditional Kung Pao chicken ($10.95). Again the serving size was more than enough. This time there were plenty of vegetables but I found the sauce a little bland. It also seemed that the  peanuts were not stir-fried as I expected. I would skip this dish in the future and order another noodle dish. Overall it was an average dinner with fast and friendly service.

After spending the better part of an afternoon at the Cincinnati Zoo for their HallZOOween event  my wife and I wanted to get something to eat nearby. Some friends of ours mentioned they  like going to Zoup! before or after the zoo, so we decided to give it a try. Zoup! operates 60 locations in 15 U.S. states and Canada. The Cincinnati location can be found just off Martin Luther King Dr near the University of Cincinnati at Stetson Square.

Outside

The inside of Zoup is pretty large with a ton of seating areas, which makes sense considering the close proximity to the University of Cincinnati, especially the Medical Center. Free Wi-Fi is also offered. Orders are placed at the counter and are prepared just behind the counter in open view.

Inside

Soup is obviously the specialty item here, and they have a dozen unique creations available daily, but they also have a variety of sandwiches and salads. I tried the southwest turkey sandwich with pepper jack, tomato, and chipotle  mayo on toasted country fresh bread ($6.50 for whole). The sandwich was prepared fresh and toasted beautifully. The ingredients were fairly standard, though the chipotle mayo was a nice touch.

Southwest Turkey

My wife and I split a side of the chicken potpie soup ($4.25) and this was excellent, though a bit expensive for the serving size. I think on a return visit I would order a combo half sandwich and a side of soup for myself, which start at $7.50, which I find to be an acceptable price for a solid lunch.

Penn Station, home of the best-tasting subs, is giving you a chance to score tickets and ultimate getaway package to the Big Game. Enter the code printed on your receipt for a chance to win one of the three Big Game Getaway prize packages outlined below.

• Grand Prize: Winner will receive a three (3) night stay at the Holiday Inn Express Scottsdale North, two (2) tickets to the Big Game, access to PrimeSport’s VIP Pre-Game Experience featuring an open bar, great local cuisine, live entertainment and celebrity guests, round-trip transportation to the University of Phoenix Stadium, official Big Game souvenirs, Pepsi suitcases, professional event staff to assist you for the Big Game and more!
• Big Game Viewing Party: Winner will receive 70” TV and Blue-Ray player, team jerseys to wear for the Big Game, a Pepsi bean bag toss set, Penn Station East Coast Subs party for 20, Pepsi cooler and Oakley sunglasses.
• Big Game Digital Prize Pack: Winner will receive Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Penn Station East Coast Subs party for 20, NFL jerseys and hat to wear for the Big Game and a Pepsi Mini Fridge.

This promotion runs from October 1, 2014 to November 30, 2014. Hurry in to get your code. Let me recommend the chicken teriyaki sub and an order of fresh-cut fries. That’s what I order  nearly every time  when visiting my local Penn Station restaurant.

One of the Cincinnati area’s next breweries, Braxton Brewing Company, launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to build their taproom of the future. Some of the  plans include:

• Multi-functional co-working space – If you’re going to spend the morning at a coffee shop, why not spend the afternoon at the brewery? They’ll  have the space that allows you to do just that.
• They’ll  be the first microbrewery in the U.S. with Gigabit Internet – Never wait on a web page again! Feel free to use their  speeds to change the world.
• The freshest growler fills available provided by their  20 tap Pegas Growler Filler!
• Fully-custom Mobile Application – Redefining how you interact with us in their  taproom.
• Private Events Space – Want to host a team off-site, Fantasy Football draft, or neighborhood movie night? They’ll  have the perfect room for you. With 8 metered taps, they  won’t even interrupt while you use the space!

Sounds like I may have a new spot to check out while working remotely! For more information on Braxton Brewing Company check out the Brew Professor’s post from April.

Previous reviews that I’ve read of J & W Sandwich Shoppe have all been 100% positive and I finally made the short drive over to Norwood to give it a try.  The shoppe is located on Worth Avenue, a mostly vacant commercial street in a predominately residential neighborhood. The outside of their building and the surrounding ones are in desperate need of maintenance, as if nothing has changed in the 23 years they have been in business.

Outside

Inside J & W offers just two tables and a handful of chairs which is an excellent way to start, so I’m assuming the majority of their customers come in for carry out orders, just as I did. Printed menus can be found at the counter. In addition to a wide variety of cold and hot sandwiches, various soup and salad selections are also available.

Double Decker BLT

I ordered the very highly reviewed double-decker BLT with chips and a pickle ($4.75). This is a massive sandwich about four inches tall and it was packed full with plenty of  bacon. It was a little messy to eat due to the size, but it was a very good sandwich. I’d like to give some of the other sandwiches a try, but this BLT will be hard to pass up in the future.

J & W offers delivery to a pretty wide area of town and charges just $1 for the service (minimum order of $10). They also offer party trays with 24 hour notification and those can be delivered as well. J & W Sandwich Shoppe is a hidden gem that is very affordable and quite delicious.

While attending Covington’s MainStrasse Oktoberfest over the weekend, we stopped into Piper’s Cafe for ice cream. They have a walk up window and feature 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream in addition to hot dogs, burgers, and breakfast served all day.

Outside

All of their flavors start out as vanilla, flavor extracts are added and mixed in, then the newly flavored ice cream is pressed out into a cone. You can combine up to three flavors, or  we found that the $1 kid’s cone was a great way to give multiple flavors a try without mixing.

Kid’s Cone

Piper’s is located near Goebel Park and with so many festivals taking place in the MainStrasse Village I’m sure we will be back for more.

For our last meal on Hilton Head Island, my family and I headed to Skull Creek Boathouse, a place my parents couldn’t say enough great things about. The restaurant sits cleverly on the shores of the Skull Creek at the northern end of the island. The views are pretty nice, but keep in mind that it does not sit on the ocean side of the island.

Skull Creek Overlook

Upon our arrival at 6 PM we were told it would be a twenty-minute wait for a table inside for our party of four,  but we could have a table  outside immediately. We all agreed to go ahead and sit outside.

Inside

The outside dining space is much larger than what is available inside. It was a little hot throughout our visit, but large oscillating fans helped to cool us down a bit. The majority of the outdoor dining are is uncovered, but there is a fairly large covered bar area with some tables undercover.

Outside

There are numerous games throughout the outdoor area that make for a great way to pass the time while waiting for a table, waiting for your food, etc. My three-year-old ran from giant jenga to connect four to sidewalk chalk and finally to the elevated sandbox. I wish more restaurants had these, I’m sure adults wouldn’t mind playing some of the games too.

Games

For dinner I had the Cajun chicken pasta with andouille sausage, bell peppers, Cajun cream sauce over linguine ($16.75). This was one of a pretty good selection for the non seafood eaters. The pasta dish was filled with plenty of chicken and sausage but I thought the sauce could have used a bit more spice. But perhaps I should be thankful it wasn’t too spicy as the weather outside was hot enough.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

My wife went with the crab, artichoke, and hearts of palm stuffed flounder with Savannah red rice and season vegetables ($18.75). I did not try a bite but I think she was happy with her choice.  The sides were okay, but I wish she would have skipped the rice and tried the Yukon gold smashed potatoes instead.

Stuffed Flounder

The kids menu is lengthy and affordable. The corn dog we ordered  was served with fries ($5.50), and after the meal was over the server gave each of our kids a token that they could exchange inside for a small toy of their choice. It was a very nice touch to make the kids’ dinning experience way more memorable than others. Skull Creek Boathouse is truly one of the most family friendly dining establishments I’ve visited, and the food is good too.