The East Coast Food Scene

Eating our way round the east coast.

Lets just say we were a little more than excited to begin our trip to New Jersey for a family wedding. Just from instagram, the various blogs I follow and the many episodes of No reservations and triple D, I was craving the incredible range of food, gargantuan portions and innovative new eateries in the states. As soon as the plane touched down on American soil I could feel the American summer heat that was surprisingly comparable to Asian weather. Whilst returning back from the wedding venue, we spotted an American diner by the motorway and decided to stop by. This was my first experience at a legit American diner with red sofa booths, antique hanging lights and the expected ginormous portions. They even had a rotating fridge with their own homemade cakes and windows filled with American favorites such as pies, tarts, cakes and cookies. We tried the philly cheesesteak, fish and chips and a crab cake salad. Luckily we were sufficiently hungry to finish the majority of what we had ordered! A meal at an American diner is an experience in and of itself. Maybe not so special for locals, but definitely an attraction for tourists like ourselves.

For our first meal in New Jersey we went to Due Mari a restaurant with an interesting menu with innovative takes on traditional favorites such as eggs benedict. We can never stray too far away from breakfast - undoubtedly my favorite meal of the day.

Lobster Benedict

Strawberry French Toast

During the first weekend I was in NJ we decided to have a day trip out to Princeton one of the most picturesque towns I have ever seen. It exhibits independent coffee shops and homemade gelato vendors fitting for the incredibly warm weather we were experiencing that day. We stopped at Bent Spoon, nearby the Princeton campus to grab scoops of Lavender Marscapone and Butter Pecan Gelato, both so delicious and as good as they sound. Bent spoon offer a range of innovative flavors and all are made from top notch ingredients.

Lavender Marscapone and Butter Pecan Gelato at Bent Spoon

We had a few spare days from wedding preparation so we decided to wander around NYC. We took the bus in and once we traversed the Lincoln tunnel we began to see the towering buildings, the yellow traffic lights and NYC cabs. It is a bustling city with every street as busy as the one before. The city is built on a grid system which made finding places a little bit more straightforward than in London. We also began catching on to the lingo – “where is it?” “5th Ave and 31st Street”. We had to visit the heavily recommended Breads Bakery which boasts its famous Nutella Babka, albeit slightly expensive, it is most definitely worth it especially if you heat it up just before consuming (or maybe eating by the mouthfuls). We also hit up the best doughnut shop in NYC called Dough, we tried the hibiscus doughnut which was incredibly delectable, not overly sweet and with the an incredibly soft and doughy texture unlike more cake-y doughtnuts that aren’t my favorite kind of doughnuts. As we walked around we found each street to be unique, especially those around the Soho area with tradition brick buildings and iron staircases linining the fronts of apartment blocks – a throwback to west side story. We also stopped by Two Hands located in the heart of Chinatown for their acai bowl. This was the first coffee shop that I came across that offered a "flat white" as the owner originates from Australia. Their acai bowl was really fresh and chock full of really great stuff such as gluten free granola, hemp seeds, chia seeds and cacao nibs. If you were like us and had maybe indulged too much over the weekend, then this is a great place to stop off at to grab a healthy meal.

For the bride's bachelorette party we decided to surprise her with a lunch at Isola Trattoria in Soho. This glasshouse is astounding with natural light streaming through every glass window and lusciously decorated interiors with glass vases hanging from the ceiling and greenery reinforcing the natural decor throughout. We ordered the truffle flat bread, Cacio E Pepe (Pasta with Pecorino romano, fresh egg yolk and grana padano cheese - a high class take on the traditional carbonara), chicken cutlet with shaved beets and vegetable medley and fish tacos. The pasta was fresh, no doubt, and incredibly textured but delicate. The chicken was extremely tasty yet light with a subtle olive oil vinagrette dressing the dish. We were most looking forward to the truffle flatbread, one of my favourite flavors. It even had fresh shaved truffles on top which made the dish even more luxurious.