Hop Kee - New York

Seeing as though this would be our last visit to New York this summer, I wanted to make an effort to visit China Town. Genuine Chinese food was what we were looking for and boy did we find it. Located at 21 Mott St, you’ll find the underground restaurant Hop Kee. When you enter you will see pictures of Bill Cosby and Anthony Bourdain on the walls enjoying some of their favorite dishes here. It is a family style restaurant so we decided to share a couple of dishes. First of all they give you a bowl of crispy wonton snacks accompanied by sweet and sour sauce to dip them; they were good but nothing as spectacular as our main course. For entrée’s we all shared Chicken Fried Rice, Salted Squid and Fried Hop Kee Chicken. The rice was hands down the best fried rice I have ever tasted. The Squid was a dish I heard about a lot and had to get it, crispy, mouth watering, salty squid, topped with thin slices of jalapeno which made my day. I probably could have eaten this entire plate to myself and ordered another to ship home to California. Last but certainly not least, the Hop Kee Chicken. When we received the plate it wasn’t like any other fried chicken I’ve had in my life. Visually it looked like a wet battered fried chicken garnished with bok choy, water chestnuts and peas, drenched in a creamy gravy. It was phenomenal, all of the flavors worked well with each other. If you come here, you must order this. I like my food a bit spicy so when I asked for sriacha they laughed. He came out with this oil chili which was awesome and added that perfect heat to my dish. The server was extremely friendly and spoke in Spanish to my husband the entire time which wasn’t expected seeing as though he was Chinese. I absolutely love this place and if you decide on going to China town I highly recommend you to visit Hop Kee.

Gray's Papaya - New York

Ever since the movie “Fools Rush In” came out in 1997, Mathew Perry’s character added one more thing to my bucket list. And that was to taste Grays Papaya’s hot dogs. I went here with high expectations and hoping for the best dog in NYC, but in my opinion when I left I was sadly disappointed. They have a “Recession Special” 2 Franks 1 Drink (except the pineapple) for $4.95. Sauerkraut and onions are free but other add on’s are 50 cents each. I decided to go with the special and also get a side of fries. As for Drinks they have a handful of options to choose from, natural fruit drinks such as coconut, banana, apple and of course papaya. I’d have to say the papaya was the best out of the 3 I tried. As for the hot dogs, there was nothing special to report. They were tasteless in my opinion, the sauerkraut, the onions, the bun and even the fries. I really don’t understand why people rave about this place. I had a better hot dog earlier on the street. The only positive thing I can say about this place is the service, the staff was quite friendly, and we even chatted for a bit. I hate to have such a negative review but that’s why I’m here, to tell my honest opinion.

Wine Market Bistro - Baltimore Maryland

Baltimore Maryland, so many great restaurants to try yet so little time. However, we were able to try The Wine Bistro. From the incredible food to the superb service, it was an all around wonderful experience. What makes this bistro unique is that they also have a wine shop. There is about 900 bottles of wine to select from and you can even purchase a bottle to take to your table. Not to mention customers get a 10% discount. Well, enough about the wine. We were first served a Roasted tomato sauce with olive oil and bread which was to die for.

On this Thursday evening they were having a special, 3 courses for $33. When I see something like this I always go for it especially when the server says the portions are exactly the same as the normal menu. For an appetizer I chose the Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with a Sweet Jalapeno Emulsion. Flavorful filling, with a crisp outer layer and the Jalapeno Emulsion reminded me of a cucumber gazpacho sauce.

For an Entrée I received the Braised Lamb with Sweetbread Nuggets, Spring Peas, Pea Tendrils, Horseradish and Orange Gremolata. The Lamb tasted as though it was cooked for hours just falling apart with my fork and I had no idea what to expect with the sweetbread nuggets but come to find out it was fried Lamb, tasted just like fried chicken, it was in perfect harmony with the braised lamb. Next my Mother tried the Herb Roasted Murray’s Farm Half Chicken with a Corn Flan, Poached Medjool Dates, Chorizo Puree and Garden Vegetables. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? The skin was perfectly browned and crispy and the chicken was juicy and savory. Lastly as an entrée, Jorge decided on the 14oz Ribeye. Cooked to perfection, garnished with pickled red onions and  accompanied by a Rasberry Reduction sauce as well as a Horseradish Sauce. What more could you ask for? Our son Jayden enjoyed his Truffeled White Cheddar Mac and Cheese very much. He said it was rich and flavorful. :)

 One of my all time favorite desserts is s’mores, so when I saw this on the desert menu I had to try it. A creamy dollop of marshmallow torched to make that smoky flavor atop a warm luscious brownie with bits of crunchy graham cracker and a side of chocolate ice cream made the perfect ending to the perfect meal.

TJ Oyster Bar - San Diego

I was told by a couple friends that TJ Oyster bar should be on my list of spots to eat at in Chula Vista, Bonita to be exact. If you go before the lunch rush you might miss the line out the door and be lucky enough to get a seat. This place is pretty small but I find most places like these have the best food. If you’re in the mood for some unique tacos this is the spot. For starters some Canadian oysters, I have had an oyster or two in my day and as soon as that oyster hit my mouth I knew it was the best oyster I have ever tasted! We haven’t had the pleasure of tasting an octopus tostada so we decided to order one. The octopus was fresh and not chewy which was exciting. The sauce they used to top it off was sweet so I made sure to add a lot of Tapatio and limeJ. Next was a Shrimp Ceviche Tostada, It was nothing extraordinary but simple and tasty.We make these a lot at home and I love them. The Fish tacos are always $1 each. Jorge ate his in one bite. Crispy texture and the crema sauce was great but I still prefer Brigantine's fish tacos over any, So far. These next two tacos I was really excited to taste. The Sting Ray taco aka Manta Tacos looks like shredded beef but has this unique flavor to it; I could eat a few of these. The couple sitting next to us said they travel once a week from Orange County and the Smoked Tuna was there taco of choice. If you enjoy smoked fish this is something to try. I can’t even describe the flavors but it’s amazing!!! I noticed when the chefs were preparing this and a few other items; they used Maggie which is a Mexican style soy sauce. There are so many more food options but these were just a few I wanted to share. One thing I did not get to try was the Aguachile. Probably one of my favorite dishes my husband makes, it's shrimp, onion and cucumber drenched in this lime Serrano sauce, we will be getting that on our next visit. I most definitely recommend TJ Oyster bar for a flavorful Mexican seafood lunch.

Centrico - New York City

One of my favorite shows on the Food Network is Chopped, and when I was researching my next food destination in The Big Apple I came across Centrico.  Chopped Judge Aaron Sanchez is Executive Chef and Owner of this Restaurant. We were in the mood for reasonably priced authentic Mexican food so we decided to give Centrico a shot. Turns out we were right! We decided to start off with Tres Salsas and Chips since every Mexican restaurant should first be judged by their salsa. Chipotle, Verde and a Habanero were up for tasting, I am not the biggest fan of chipotle sauce in general so we won’t go there but the other two were wonderful. We received another complimentary trio of Chunky salsas, Mango, Pineapple and Guacamole. So Yummy! For an Appetizer we tasted the Queso Fundido which is essentially a cheese casserole. This was baked with Chorizo and Potato and was scrumptious; the potatoes added a great surprise to the palette. You also have the option of a Poblano Queso Fundido which I will have to try next time; you really can’t go wrong with this dish. As for Entrees we had the Cochinita Pibil - Slow Roasted Pork, Achiote Ricado and Pickled Onions. Achiote ricado is an achiote seed paste; this plate was garnished with cactus and fried Platano which made it perfect in every way. Next was Birria Al Jalisco – Braised Short Ribs Jalisco style in an Ancho Chili Broth. Also great flavors coming out of this but the only down fall was the amount of fat on this piece of meat. After that was Bistec Con Chile Verdes - Adobo sirloin steak with cactus and rajas. Once again the flavors were bold, powerful and authentic. My son Jayden decided on a side of Black Beans and Rice which he loved. After enjoying a few cocktails and tasting some great food I really felt that we were closer to the border then we really were. And that melts my heart. I hope you guys enjoy.