Grandpa A. Visit May 2017: A quick trip to get pasta and a treat

On Saturday we ventured down to Greenwich Village for some fresh pasta from Raffetto's and a sweet treat from François Payard Bakery. Jeff and Cohen have made this tip several times over the past couple of months, so I was excited to finally join them and see what it's all about. It was lunch time so we also stopped and grabbed some pizza from Denino's. Dad said it was the best pizza he's had in New York. I don't know if I agree, but it was pretty good.

Washington Trip January 2017: Date Night in Portland - Pearl Bakery

My mom and Kari were kind enough to watch Cohen while Jeff and I spent an evening in Portland for our date night. I've always enjoyed visiting downtown Portland, but after this trip I've decided thatI love it.  It has an amazing atmosphere and both Jeff and I really enjoyed ourselves.

We met Kari at PSU for lunch before heading to Pearl Bakery. Those of you that know us well,  know that we are all about the food. We always do research before heading out to try new places. Pearl Bakery was one of the bakery's in the area that had good reviews and it wasn't a far walk from our hotel. We weren't blown away, but it was definitely good.

I had the Gibassier. I loved the texture (totally fluffy) and the sugar on top, but it had a black licorice aftertaste that I wasn't a fan of.

I also had the Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant. This isn't your traditional chocolate croissant (you know the one with just two small strips of chocolate in the middle). It was full of chocolate and hazelnuts! It was amazingly rich, but I enjoyed it.

Food Photography: Week 13 - Apple Pie from Magnolia Bakery

Jeff and I went to see Jurassic Park at the Lincoln Center IMAX in the city last weekend and stopped at Magnolia Bakery for a treat. We went to get banana pudding (It's AMAZING!), but the apple pie caught Jeff's eye so we had to get one of those too.

It was good. Not the best apple pie I have ever had, but good :)

Birthday Breakfast at Voodoo Doughnut!

On Saturday, Kari and I got up and went to Voodoo Doughnut for breakfast before getting facials at the Aveda Institute.

These doughnuts are out of control! There were so many choices and we couldn't decide, so we had them give us the Voodoo dozen where they just throw in 12 random doughnuts. I will admit that these doughnuts were a little sweet for my taste, but the were still really good! I so want to go back and get more when I visit for Christmas.

Chicago: Day 4 - Do-Rite Donuts

And back to food :) What can I say...we love food! Jeff wanted donuts on Saturday morning, so he did some research to find where to get the best ones in the area. He found Do-Rite Donuts. They were really good. EXPENSIVE, but really good. I think my favorite was the boston cream pie. I also liked the old fashioned with chocolate. Let's face it, I liked almost all of them. I just love donuts!

I figure that since this is my last post about Chicago I should talk about The Wit, which is the hotel we stayed at. This hotel had a few things going for it, however there were more things that made it a place that we will never stay at again. Why, you ask? Well,

Things that were great about the hotel:

• Location - Perfect! It's located on the corner of Lake and State Street in downtown Chicago.

• Cleanliness - Also, very nice. The only exception to this was that they would leave room service trays in the halls for a couple of days before they picked it up. They actually did this a couple of times.

• Design - Very nice. Totally upscaled. We loved the chandeliers in the lobby.

Why we will never stay there again...

• NO POOL - The hotel opted-in to put a bar on the roof instead of a pool. While I know this is a money maker for them, it sucked for us in the 100+ degree weather.

• TERRIBLE CONCIERGE - Jeff always leverages the concierge while on a trip. They are the best people to give advice on what to do and where to eat in the city. Well, the concierge at the Wit was completely uselss!

• LAZY FRONT DESK - So, Jeff was looking for a cable to hook up his iPad to the TV. He called down to the front desk to see if they had one. He knew it was a long shot but figured he would give it a try. Well, after they put him on hold for a long time they came back with, "Yes, we have them, but they are all out right now." Understandable....so, we decided to go and get one at a RadioShack on the way back from our boat tour. Jeff bought the cable he needed, but decided to call the front desk again to see if they had an HDMI cable he could borrow, since he has several at home and didn't want to pay $20 for another one. The front desk told him that they would have one sent up to our room. We were all high fives and walked back to the hotel. After waiting for some time and no cable, Jeff called back down to the front desk to inquire as to the whereabouts of the HDMI cable. After being on hold for some time the front desk informed him that the hotel doesn't have any. AWESOME! 

• ROOM DOORS THAT DON'T LOCK - Supposedly there is a problem at the Wit hotel with the room doors not closing all the way and locking. They sound like they have closed, but they need a little extra push to lock. We tried our best to make sure we REALLY shut the door, but we got calls from the front desk to inform us that our door wasn't closed. We even had hotel security show up to tell us to close the door. You would think that if this was a hotel wide problem they would fix it. Just saying.

• AWKWARD BATHROOM DOOR - The bathroom door was a sliding door. No big deal, right? We have all seen these before. Unfortunately, the bathroom doors at the Wit have a gap on both sides of the door when it's closed. A little awkward when you're sharing a room. Also, it was hard to open and close.

Despite having a not so great hotel we had a really great time in Chicago! I love it there and can't wait till we go back!

Something I like about NJ: The Flaky Tart

I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of New Jersey, but I'm trying to get a better attitude since it looks like I'm going to be here for awhile. I've been making a list of things that I like about the "garden state" to help me feel better about living here. One of the things on my list is the Flaky Tart.

Jeff and I discovered this bakery while we were dating and it's one of my favorite places in New Jersey. They have a lot of amazing sweet treats, but what I love the most is the Macaroni and Cheese. Seriously, it's the best. Jeff and I tried to replicate it at home, but didn't even come close to this masterpiece of cheesy goodness.

It's a little out of the way, but if you are ever in Atlantic Highlands, NJ be sure to stop by for a treat. http://www.theflakytart.com/
Jeff and I made a little trip out there today for a Macaroni and Cheese run and the staff let me take a few pictures.