Ode to the Ironbound

There is nothing like the shrimp and garlic that you get at Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark.

My sister and I have tried to order it in Spanish resturants in the city and to replicate it in our kitchens but our attempts (while commendable) have not even come close. So when MPV suggested meeting for dinner in Newark last night, not even a Path station hotter than the pits of hell was going to keep me from shrimp & garlic.

We headed to Casa Vasca, a place I've been to quite a few times before. The place was packed and our service was a bit rushed, but who cares when you know there's a garlicky plate of shrimp coming your way!

With a pitcher of sangria and a basket of bread we sopped up every last bit of the oil (or at least I did!). We ordered two entrees, a grilled grouper and monkfish with clams & shrimp in a green garlic sauce but at that point I was more interested in chatting & catching up than taking much notice of the meal. At that point, I got what I came for...some quality time with one of my best friends and some quality time with one of my all-time favorite dishes!

I scream, You scream

RRR & I spent a rainy Saturday down the shore and one of the highlights of our trip was a stop at the 4th Annual New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival .

The concept is simple: pay 5 bucks, get a plastic spoon, pink tasting tickets to hand to the vendors and green voting ballots to pick your favorite national and local ice cream flavor.

Contestants included the following national brands: America's Birthday Cake (Baskin-Robbins), Forbidden Chocolate Explosion (Friendly's), Raspberry Chip Royale (Edy's) and Cookies and Cream (Super Foodtown) which was a last minute substitution for the listed flavor, chocolate chip mint.

On the local level were the following: Peanut Butter Caramel Craze (Sundaes), Cake Mix (Mrs. Walker's), Pupmkin Pie (Sweet Kate's), Dough Yo! (Ummm Ice Cream), Mint Chip Mania (Napoli Bros) and Extreme Chocolate (Applegate Farms).

We found the Edy's entry to be a bit disappointing since there are so many great flavors of that brand and Applegate Farms seemed like to be a weak entry as well. We were not sure if the samples they brought weren't frozen properly, but the chocolate was a bit chalky. Having visited their Montclair location so many times when I lived in the area, I know they could have had a better choice. All of the others vendors did have their standout traits - rich, creamy, sweet, spicy (the nutmeg in the pumpkin pie was quite interesting) but there were a few that stood out above the rest.

Impressive flavors included the Peanut Butter Craze which included a delightful caramel ribbon infused with the chunks of peanut butter and Chocolate Mint Mania included chocolate chips and Thin Mints, a mint lover's paradise! RRR, who is normally not a fan, finished her sample with delight, much to my disappointment. And Friendly's Forbidden Chocolate Explosion made up for what Applegate Farms was lacking -- rich deep creamy chocolate flavor, sure to please even the most discriminating chocoholic.

We made our picks... Peanut Butter Craze (local) & Chocolate Explosion (national) were my top picks (with Chocolate Mint Mania a very close runner-up) and RRR was on the same page except in her voting Napoli Bros' edged out the Peanut Butter Craze as her favorite local flavor. Has she been converted to embrace all things chocolate & minty?

So how'd did our choices compare? We didn't stick around for the annoucements since Dad was waiting, but we did receive a quick response to our email requesting the winners:

Peoples Choice
Name Brand
1 Forbidden Chocolate Explosion Friendly's
2 Cookies & Cream Foodtown
3 America's Birthday Cake Baskin Robbins

Local
1 Peanut Butter Caramel Craze Sundae's
2 Pumpkin Pie Sweet Kate's
3 Extreme Chocolate Applegate Farm

Special Judges
Name Brand
1 America's Birthday Cake Baskin Robbins
2 Forbidden Chocolate Explosion Friendly's
3 Cookies & Cream Foodtown

Local
1 Pumpkin Pie Sweet Kate's
2 Peanut Butter Caramel Craze Sundaes
3 Cake Mix Mrs. Walkers

I want my (mtv) cupcake

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of MTV (aka my employer), there were signs posted proclaiming "free cupcakes at 3pm". As any sweet freak would do, I spent the day wondering if somehow I'd be able to grab one in between my 2:30 and my 3pm meetings... and of course shared my concern with a few who know my penchant for all things sugary.

At 2:15 I was heating up my lunch and a gentlemen in the kitchen setting up the cupcakes. To my delight they were from Eleni's! While my loyalties lie with Magnolia Bakery, these were certainly sweet treats I couldn't afford to pass up! I tried to use my charms to get into the boxes early but no dice - this guy was one tough customer. I even returned to the kitchen hoping he had moved on to another floor, but again s.o.l.

I went to my meeting, knowing that I was calorically better off missing the cupcakes. Of course, when the meeting ended on time, I made a beeline to the kitchen and there they were in all there glory! I grabbed one chocolate and one vanilla one (hey they were on the small side) and headed to my office to revel in my gluttony.

To my suprise, there were two more cupcakes waiting for me on my desk! Apparently two of my co-workers were also concerned with my sugar depravation and grabbed one chocolate and one vanilla one for me. Of course, this is way too much temptation for an addict like me to bear and I stopped myself after polishing off cupcake #3 and threw cupcake #4 in the garbage after unsuccessfully trying to pass it off to one of my peers. The cake was moist and flavorful, the icing sugary sweet and creamy.

The end result? Euphoria, then nausea, then a sugar coma...