Famous Dave's BBQ - Back On The Sauce

I randomly found this place last weekend when I was doing my tour de Jersey mall trip. I heard about this place from my brother, the chain of food king so we decided to give it a try.

I must admit, I am not a huge pork eater so BBQ places do not always do it for me.

I love BBQ sauce but the meat, I can do without. Anyway I will get down to business.

I was disappointed that this place did not give you any bread or corn muffins to start your meal. I think a place where the food is so fatty should just start you with some bread, go all out ya know. For my meal I got a simple grilled chicken sandwich. I was very pleased with the size of the sandwich and the chicken was very juicy. What I really liked about this place was that you could pick from a long list what side you wanted. I went with the sweet potato mashed, which were just ok, I had better at many other places. On the sandwich they put what they called hell-fire pickle chips. They were awesome, hot, spicy pickles, amazing!! I also really loved the BBQ sauce here. I could not get enough of it which is important because it is a BBQ place. I was dipping my left over bread in it.

The platters at this place come with two side dishes, corn and corn bread. I think that is awesome because I like a lot of sides. I just could not find a platter I would eat because it was all meat on the bone or brisket and I am not so into that. Other side dish options here are apples, regular mashed potatoes, fries and green beans. They also have this huge family size BBQ plate which is probably fun to share with a big group.

The atmosphere here is very Texas BBQ like. I did not fee like I was in the middle of Jersey at all.

I must say though, I did like this place, loved the BBQ sauce, BUT Texas Roadhouse is 10times better for sure.

Cosi Can Be Cozy

Lately I have been having the majority of my lunches at Cosi. I was never a huge fan of Cosi but after listening to my cousin and trying their veggie and hummus sandwhich I was hooked. This is by far the best veggie and hummus sandwhich in the area. It is served on their delicious homemade flatbread and filled with hummus, cucumbers, basil (for some reason I totally love basil), and tomatoes. I of course HATE tomatoes so I get carrots instead. It is very fulfilling. You also get a choice of chips or carrots. This bothers me. I wish there was more choices like baked lays or sliced apples. That would be awesome.

I first started going to Cosi when I lived in DC. My roommate loved the square bagels. I liked the novelty of them too but now I just kind of think they are Ok and too doughy. I rather get a good NY bagel. The coffee drinks are pretty good there. They have all the standard fun coffee and tea drinks that most chain sandwhich places have. Nothing really stands out in my mind though.

Besides the hummus sandwich other sandwiches I recommend are the Tuscan Pesto Chicken, I love everything pesto so of course I pick that, and the Sesame Ginger Chicken which they claim to be on the healthy side. I get them heated up because I despise cold chicken (which actually is one of the reasons I used to not love Cosi, I did not know you can get them to heat up the chicken). I know a lot of people also really like their TBM, tomatoes basil and mozzarella sandwich but because I don't eat tomatoes it might be weird getting that.

When I am not eating the hummus sandwich I am probably getting their signature salad which is totally awesome and such a Rori salad. What does that mean??? It means it is filled with fruits and nuts and no veggies!!! The signature salad has dried cranberries, pistachio nuts, pears, grapes and gorgonzola cheese (I don't get the cheese). What is awesome about Cosi salads is that you also get a piece of their amazing hot bread in either wheat or plain. This is probably the best part of the salad experience.

Oh I also love having all the little pieces of bread that they keep in the front of the line. It is almost like a little preview of what is to come. My favorite are the people that take 10 pieces. I at least have some self control and only take about 2.

Cosi also has soups that my friend gets a lot. They look pretty good but I never had one. Another cool thing is that they have these flatbread pizzas in variety's like meatball pesto, pan asian chicken and Margarita. Again never had one, but they look really, really good. I will try one soon and let you know how they are.

Some Cosi's are fancier than others. It really depends on the location. The one in DC I used to go to kind of was a hot spot at night. I saw many a dates there. They have a dessert menu and fondue so I guess that is why. I never was taken on a date here. Probably because I am not going on some fondue date, hellz no, maybe if there was wine served too or something.

Puerto Rico The Shining Star of Chains

Santa was good to me this year, or maybe I was just good to myself.

I was fortunate enough to spend my Christmas in my mother's favorite play ground, Puerto Rico, the shining star. I love Puerto Rico. The people are really cool, you don't need a passport to get there, it is always warm, I can wear flip flops 24/7, get a hot tan, etc. The food in Puerto Rico is also outstanding. One thing that really stuck out in my mind was how many chain restaurants were there. It went from the low end of the chain pole all the way up to the high end stuff like Morton's. Below is a list of some of the chains that have a home in Bernie William's and Jorge Posada's hood, Puerto Rico. I think some might surprise you.

1) The Palm

2) Morton's

3) BLT Steak - ummm such a chain for sure now

4) Wendy's

5) Ponderosa

6) Burger King

7) Sizzler - this actually looked nice and was on the water

8) Hard Rock Cafe

9) Denny's - yuck

10) Ruth Chris Steakhouse - yum

11) Starbucks - had it everyday

12) Outback

Benihana is Benny Good!

Alright I am back and what a way to begin. Happy New Year! Here is to a fun, food filled 2008.

Last week I had the pleasure of dining with some of my favorite Mediavest people at a chain I have always been dying to try....................Benihanna. Of course I have been to other hibachi places but I never tried the original mecca before. This is where the chefs cook the food in front of you.

The ambiance of this place is just what you would expect, big rooms with big hibachi tables. Now, I hope I don't seem racist but I was a bit shocked when my cook introduced himself and his name was Pedro. Hmmm, ok.

Anyway I went for lunch and got a chicken and shrimp hibachi lunch special. It was outstanding! It came with a small salad with that yummy ginger dressing. Of course the best part is the actual meal. The chicken was very flavorful and the shrimp was scrumptious. It also came with good veggies like zucchini and onions. Of the 4 veggies I actually eat, those are two of them. My favorite part of the meal was the rice, yum, yum. It was delicious fried rice. Seeing Pedro dump mounds of garlic butter on it is probably why it was so good, but whatever it looked healthy. I did not get dessert here but I did get a fabulous drink. In fact, it was the Benihanna Special Rum Punch. It was awesome and brought me back to Sophomore year of college and the Booze Cruise in the Bahamas. Any drink that can bring you back to that is worth trying.

Booyah, I am back!