Day 3 of the pouch test runs a bit off the rails

Yesterday was Day 3 of the 5 Day Pouch Test and so I was supposed to be restricted to soft proteins (eggs, fish, etc).  I did well all day, knowing that there would be an exception made that evening when I went to a "taste of the town" event.  I was going to try and stick to the plan, but not beat myself up if I didn't.

So here's how it went: for $5, we each purchased 5 samples of foods.  You got a card that they punched each time you visited a restaurant (punched as in punched a hole through - wouldn't dieting be so much easier if someone punched you every time you went to a restaurant?).  The wine tasting was an additional $10 so I opted against it.  I can bring a bottle home for less.

Restaurant 1: General Tso's chicken (spicy!!!) ... with rice, gah - and white, to boot.  This was very tasty and very spicy for me (I don't have a high spice tolerance).  I tried not to eat too much of the rice, but I did eat some.  I didn't finish the whole sample, though.

Restaurant 2: Didn't know what the choices were until I got up to the table after waiting in one of the longer lines around.  Long line = assumed it'd be good.  The choices were: pasta, rice balls, potato croquettes.  Eep!  Of course the line was long; we're a nation of white carb freaks.  I went with the rice balls, only eating one of the two they gave me (it was the size of a golfball).  Oh, and it was taaaastteeeee.

Restaurant 3: Vegan chili.  YUM YUM.  Definitely going to have more of that.

Restaurant 4: Half of a chicken empanada.  Okay, so the fried outside dough part wasn't on-plan, but it was really, really delicious.  I haven't been to that restaurant before but definitely plan to go back.

Restaurant 5: Vegan pancakes (same place I got the vegan chili).  And again - YUM YUM.  I would have never guessed they were vegan; they tasted just like their regular pancakes.  I ate three silver dollar sized ones with some sugar-free syrup.  Okay, totally off-plan but, hey, they were vegan. 

So, okay, I'm eating milk and eggs every day this week, so that doesn't count for much but it made me feel better at the time.  I don't think they were too bad. I went home, totally full and not in need of an official dinner.  I did get hungry around 10pm, though, which has been happening every night and is frustrating, especially when my husband also gets hungry around that time and opts to eat a large bowl of Spaghettios.  The funny thing was, though, that I didn't want his Spaghettios.  I wanted something (probably chips and salsa) but not the Spaghettios.  I'm missing my crunchy carbs more than anything, I think.  If he had been eating a panini, all might have been lost.

Today I can eat firm protein, like ground meat and seafood.  However, I'm allergic to shellfish and don't like ground meat lately, so I'm going to stay on the Day 3 plan and stick with soft protein.  Tonight for dinner, I believe we'll have some fish.  Tomorrow I can have firm proteins: chicken, pork, steak, etc., so I think some pork chops are on the menu for tomorrow.

So, yeah, today is Day 4 and all is going well so far.  I thought when I got to this part I'd be like, "THANK GOD tomorrow is Day 5!  I can't wait to be done with this crazy crapola!"  But I don't feel that way at all.  This feels like something I could continue to do, which I think might just be how it's supposed to feel.

Macarons, BBQ, and Hare Krishnas, oh my!

Delightfully Sweet* has been on a hunt for authentic macarons (the French kind, not the coconut macaroon kind) so yesterday we headed into NYC to the Madeleine Patisserie**.  The window display was totally mouth-watering:

I opted for a lemon one, an orange one, a pistachio one, a pear tart, a mini lemon tart, and an iced coffee:

Well, let me correct that.  I had half of the macarons, some of Delightfully Sweet's and a bite of her chocolate croissant... and that was enough sugar for me so I got the pear tart wrapped up for home.  I'm still looking forward to eating it (hm, dessert tonight?).

After the patisserie, we decided to walk around and ran into 101.9 and Snapple's Big Apple BBQ.  Free Snapple, Snapple Sno-Cones, and lots of cheap beer, apple cider, and BBQ.  We just partook of the Snapple ice and went along our way - right into a Hare Krishna parade!  (What?)

And, of course, we had the chance to walk past and take some time to admire my absolutely two favorite buildings in all of NYC:

We stumbled upon a little historic church, a three-level store of Japanese items (manga, dolls, etc), and took some time to admire Bryant Park before hiking it back to Port Authority and onto the bus. I love NYC and could spend every day there.   I can't wait to go back to Madeleine's and can't wait for my next city adventure.  For now, I'm going to have my little pear tart and enjoy the little French piece of NYC I brought home.

*See Delightfully Sweet's page for better photos and more description.

**Madeleine Patisserie
128 W. 23rd Street
New York City

The Fiesta Hut

96. Try five new restaurants. (3/5)

Fiesta Hut
227 Park Avenue
East Rutherford NJ 07073

For this month's date night, the hubby and I decided to see Monsters vs Aliens and go to dinner at a little restaurant called The Fiesta Hut.  We've been wanting to eat there for quite a while and even thought about having our rehearsal dinner there (back when we still thought we'd have money for a rehearsal dinner), but the funny thing was that they randomly seemed to be closed when they were supposed to be open.  This happened to us several times; we'd stop by to pick up a menu and ask about hosting a party and they'd be closed, but the hours on the door indicated they should be open and there was no sign up about a holiday or vacation.  But we were insistent because we love Mexican food and had heard good things about this place, and it turned out to be fairly okay.

The place itself is cute - just the sort of small restaurant I love to go to.  They've won awards for their margaritas, and I can confirm that it's well deserved; I had one and it was quite yummy.  The menu itself is fairly simple and standard fare, which is always fine by me.  I hate when I go out to eat and every dish has some kind of addition that makes me not want to eat it (cream sauce, mushrooms, shellfish, etc).  I ordered the soft chicken tacos and the hubby had a combination plate of a small burrito, a soft chicken taco, and a tostada.  Overall, the food tasted good.  It's clear that they use very fresh ingredients and that everything is made fresh, on site.  My one complaint was that my tacos were a bit dry.  I could have added salsa to them, but their salsa was a bit hot for me so that wasn't going to work.  If the chicken had some kind of marinade (like lime, perhaps, mmmm), it would have been absolutely perfect.  Without that, the dish was left a bit bland.  The hubby was happier with his meal - no complaints there (which is significant because he's a big fan of Mexican/Tex-Mex food).

So, even though I wasn't 100% thrilled with the food, I was happy and we do plan on going back there again.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Food: 6.5

Service: 9

Decor: 8

Verdict: I'm not going to rave about it, but it's definitely worth a repeat visit.

Rutherford Pancake House

96. Try five new restaurants. (2/5)

Rutherford Pancake House
40 Park Avenue
Rutherford NJ

Today the hubby, friends, and I went to a new restaurant for brunch - my very favorite meal; to me, there is nothing like Sunday brunch.  The restaurant just opened on Monday and I've been really excited to try it out.  I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed; in fact, I enjoyed everything more than I even hoped to!  It's one of those places where you take one bite and go, "Ohhh, this is gooood."  Everything tastes really, really fresh - like it just came from a farmers' market or garden (and they do use fresh ingredients).  The eggs and potatoes tasted great and the silver dollar pancakes were definitely a stand-out item.

In addition, the owners are really thoughtful.  They're committed to keeping their restaurant green: all of their take-out containers and cups are biodegradable and compostable and they only use non-toxic, natural cleaning products in the restaurant and kitchen.  They also really think about people: active military members get a 10% discount, there's a great vegan menu, and a great children's menu. 

The decor is beautiful, simple, welcoming, and relaxing and the staff was clearly working really hard but still very chipper and friendly.  Every table was full and there was a line out the door at one point.  Clearly, the word has gotten out about the Rutherford Pancake House!

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Food: 10

Service: 10 (Disclosure: my sister was our server, so of course she gets a ten... but I swear, you'd give her a ten, too.)

Decor: 10

Verdict: Run, don't walk, to the Rutherford Pancake House!  You won't be sorry.

Cafe Cafe

96. Try five new restaurants. (1/5)

Cafe Cafe
16 Glen Road
Rutherford NJ

When trying a new restaurant, I think there are two areas to assess: service and food.  For me, one does not affect the other and I can always forgive lackluster service if the food is great.  I know people who won't eat at a restaurant if the service isn't as good as they'd like and they'll say things like, "It's a shame, too, because the food is so good."  I might not go to that restaurant if I'm starving and want to eat quickly, but I'll make the time to go.

I was really excited about last night's dinner prospect because both my sister and father like this restaurant and I love trying new restaurants.  I don't know if perhaps we had a slightly "off" experience there, but I wasn't as super impressed as I expected to be.  I had sangria, an empanada appetizer, and chicken enchiladas for dinner.  The empanada was really good.  The sangria and enchiladas were good - not great, but good.

There were some issues with the service; they weren't as forthcoming with drink refills as I like restaurants to be.  I don't mind if the food service is on more of a European timeline where there's a lot of time between your order and appetizer and dinner.  I enjoy a slow dining experience; I'm not a fan of the TGI Fridays/Applebees/Chilis type of dining where your food is practically stacked on top of itself.  I love having time to let my food settle and talk to my husband and friends.  Dinner out is supposed to be about enjoying the food and the company and that part was great last night.

They did, though, have an issue with our dinners.  Three of us ordered the same dinner but the cook (who I was told is new there) only read it as one so two of us were without dinners while the cook caught up.  These things happen and don't faze me much at all, but I felt bad because this was my dinner choice and I wanted it to be perfect for my friends.  Then there was a slight error with the check which, of course, gets people in a tizzy but it was settled very quickly and, again, didn't faze me at all.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10:

Food: 7.5

Service: 7

Decor: 9

Because my sister loves the place so much, I'm wondering if we just had an off night there.  Plus, she recommended the apple dessert but there was no way I was going to be able to have any of that because 1 - my husband won't eat cooked apples and 2 - everyone else is watching what they eat.  I should be, too, but I love hot apple desserts.  Perhaps I'll try this place again with my sister.  I think she and my father both went for lunch; perhaps that makes the difference.