Cape May- The End

Having returned home and unpacked all of our things, I think it's safe to say that our Cape May vacation is officially over. It's sad, really. We look forward to this one week all year long, only to have it fly by in the flashest of flashes. One week is always too short. We would probably stay the whole summer if we could.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our trip would not have been complete without a bon voyage breakfast at Uncle Bill's.

I ordered... the Blueberry Waffle! Surprising, I know. ;) The special pancake of the day was the sausage pancake. My uncle, naturally, went for that one.

Yes, that's sausage in the pancake itself. It just looks too weird for me, but he enjoyed it, so I guess it's a personal thing. To each his own, right?! 

The wait for our food was a little bit longer today, but our waiter was very accommodating (considering we changed our orders about six times) and he even understood our humor. Bill's is a great spot. But, a word to the wise: If you're going on a Saturday, be sure to go before nine. Saturday is the big change over day for beach rentals, so you have the hungry people leaving and arriving at Cape May, all converging upon Uncle Bill's for breakfast. Avoid that rush if you can. We did, and thank goodness! 

Once we were all full of pancake and waffle yumminess, there was nothing left for us to do but to take our end-of-vacation-family-picture, and hit the road. 

It was especially difficult to leave this year. We'd done so many great things and made so many wonderful memories. I miss it already. Next year just seems so far away. :( One day I would love to own one of the old houses in Cape May. Then we really could stay as long as we wanted! 

But the summer is still young, and there's still many foods to be eaten. Although Cape May is over, there's plenty more adventures in store! 

Until then, I wish you happy hearts and full bellies. 

Cape May- The Merion Inn

Well, this is it. Our last night in Cape May. It always makes me sad to realize that the week has gone by so quickly, and that we'll soon be returning to reality. It feels nice to get away for a few days. And we always end up wishing we could stay just a little bit longer. Next year we'd love to stay for two weeks instead of just one (one is just too short), but we'll have to see how that goes. I can only hope!

Tonight we had our final Cape May dinner at a perennial favorite, the Merion Inn. When Mom, Nina, and I visited in December, we dined at the Merion Inn as well. (You can see what we ate there in my very first blog post.)

We chose the Merion for a myriad of reasons. It's picturesque, it's reliable in terms of food quality and service (save the waiter we had last year...but that's another story...) and we've been going to it forever.

One of my favorite things about eating at the Merion is the phenomenal mini muffins and apple butter. You never know what kind of muffins they are going to give you, and I can't say I really eat apple butter anywhere else, but at the Merion Inn, these delicious morsels combine to make possibly my most highly anticipated dinner muffins of the whole trip. Now that's saying something.

There were a lot more than just four muffins...we were hungry....

I'm telling you, the nuttiness of the muffin coupled with the sweet, smoothness of the apple butter is pure goodness in bread form. When our waiter, Matthew, (who we really enjoyed) brought the muffins, they were warm, too. Warm, delicious muffins. How much better does it get?!?

As a side note, it's absolutely pouring right now, and I can't help but to think of that scene in The Sound of Music, where it's storming and Frauline Maria and the kids are all singing in the bedroom. That's one of my favorite movies ever and I feel like I could be in it right now! But back to the food....

My aunt and uncle let me try some of their ahi tuna appetizer.

I'm going to be completely honest and say that I am kind of luke warm on the ahi tuna debate. I don't LOVE it like some people, but I'm not grossed out by it either. I typically find the consistency a little weird, but I'll try most things. So when they offered some for me to taste, I said sure.

This was actually quite good. The noodles were a cold noodle that balanced out the heat from the wasabi on the tuna. And the tuna itself was so tender. It really fell apart in your mouth. Seared tuna always reminds me of something very buttery in that way.

For dinner, I ordered the Swordfish with Saffron-Parmesan Risotto Cake. While the fish was fine, the risotto cake was the real star of the meal.

The swordfish was a meaty fish. It was decent. I mean, it wasn't anything special, nor anything that I would seek out to eat again, but I didn't dislike it. And, ultimately, the risotto cake overshadowed it anyway. This was SO GOOD! The risotto was crunchy on the outside and warm on the inside.

Because leftovers wouldn't be able to handle the long car ride home tomorrow, I had to make a decision on which I wanted to eat more of, and the choice was clear. The risotto cake. I seriously could have made a meal off of that risotto cake, alone!

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves tonight. We reminisced about our week, and planned for the future, all while listening to the calming tunes from the piano player in the next room. It felt so final, taking my last bite of muffin tonight. I didn't want to believe that our dinner, or our vacation, was over.

The last bite!

It's so hard to leave a place that you feel such a strong connection to, and I will most definitely miss it. It really makes me sad. It's been such fun. And it will be a whole year before we return. :( I miss it already...

 Only one more sleep in our Cape May beds, and one more breakfast in the morning.

Sleep tight!

Cape May- Uncle Bill's Pancake House

It's raining as I type this post in lovely Cape May, New Jersey. I guess if it was going to rain one day this week, the last afternoon of our stay would be the best time. Although the darkening skies meant we had to leave the beach a little earlier than we would have liked (especially on our last day), we've had a wonderful week, so we can't feel too miffed about the impending storm.

This morning, however, the sky was beautiful and clear! Hungry, we set out for a favorite breakfast spot of ours: Uncle Bill's Pancake House. If you're looking for a good breakfast in Cape May, Uncle Bill's has you covered.

I think they must have 30 different kinds of pancakes and waffles to choose from, in addition to hefty omelets and an array of sides. And although many of the varieties look delicious, I stick to my standby: the Blueberry Waffle with a side of Tater Tots.

Nothing like fresh Jersey berries in the summer!

And who can resist the lure of a Tot? 

But just because I have standbys doesn't mean that everyone in my family is as consistent as me. Both Mom and Nina ordered blueberry pancakes. I didn't try any of them, and they looked lovely, but if it's between pancakes and waffles for me at Uncle Bill's, I go for waffles. 

My Aunt Susan ordered the Banana Nut pancakes. Interestingly enough, I had been eyeing these up on the menu earlier, so I was glad she let me have a bite. 

Personally, I thought these were just okay. I like banana, so maybe I would have liked it more if the bananas had been in the pancakes? I'm not sure. I think I just wanted it to be sweeter than it was. My aunt enjoyed them, but she said it was more of a Fall pancake (because of the nut). She commented that she probably should have gotten a more seasonal dish, since it's June and not October. But overall, she was happy.

My uncle, who is generally an adventurous eater, ordered the Stuffed French Toast with blueberries. (Yay for Jersey berries!!!) 

What were they stuffed with? I really couldn't tell. Nina said it looked like pudding, but I usually think of stuffed french toast being stuffed with cream cheese. When I asked my uncle, the second answer he gave me when I inquired about the filling was, in fact, cream cheese. (The first answer was pork chops...I'm pretty sure it wasn't that.) Regardless, he also enjoyed his meal and would order it again. 

All eight of us left Uncle Bill's with full, contented tummies this morning. It's fast, convenient, and delicious. It's a "must" every time we visit. In fact, we'll be dining there for our bon voyage breakfast tomorrow morning. And though I'll be sad to leave (we mustn't dwell on that now!), I can't wait for another breakfast with Uncle Bill. 

Cape May- Island Grill

For some reason, we had a particularly difficult time figuring out where to go for dinner tonight. With tomorrow night's dinner already figured out, tonight was a free night to either pick a new place or return to an old favorite.

We hemmed and hawed for most of the day (we were really dragging our feet), until suddenly we all agreed to try the Island Grill. For the past two years, we've looked at the Island Grill and wanted to go. Both times, however, we encountered issues. Once there was a wedding reception, and another time we called and got an answering machine.

But this year it finally worked out! We made a reservation for 5:30 and walked the couple of blocks (in the stifling heat- boy, was it hot today!) to get there.

Upon entering the restaurant we had the choice of ordering from a pre-fix menu, or choosing something from the regular menu. This presented the problem of choice, as there was a lot to choose from. But, in the end, almost everyone at the table went for the regular menu, skipping the pre-fix this time around.

I was pleased to discover a lot of menu items that appealed to me. It's always a plus to go to a place where you want to try more than one thing. And, lucky for us, thanks to everyone else at the table, we were able to.

My uncle ordered the Coconut Beer-batterd Shrimp for the table. When it arrived, it smelt so good, I could barely wait to try it. It turned out to be very delicious. I didn't get a picture of it, but the crust was wonderfully crunchy and complemented nicely by the tomatoes and mango chunks served with it.

My Nina ordered the Calamari which was coated in graham cracker crumbs, fried, and drizzled with a plum sauce. This was fabulous. We're big calamari eaters in my family. If they're on the menu, we're probably eating them. So, we've had our fair share of them. These stood out for a number of reasons. First, they were not rubbery, which is always a possible issue when you order calamari. Second, the unique flavors of this dish were unlike any other calamari I'd had before. Coating them in graham crackers was such a cool idea, made even more original by drizzling them with plum sauce. I think the sauce worked because it played off of the sweetness of the graham cracker crust. Overall, a great way to start the meal.

My aunt and uncle also got a salad they enjoyed, and a conch soup that was very good as well. Everyone agreed that the appetizers were certainly making a positive first impression. And it wasn't just that we were hungry and this was food. This was actually exciting food to eat.

Most of our entrees looked very similar when they arrived at our table. There were four orders of the Lobster Mac and Cheese, an order of Fish and Chips, and a steak.

I was particularly excited about the Lobster Mac and Cheese. I ADORE macaroni and cheese. I am always up for a fun variation on the classic, and so this dish practically jumped off the page for me when I read it.

Mom and I had lobster mac and cheese while college visiting in Clinton, New York, so we had tried the flavor combo before and fell in love. Ever since, if I see a lobster mac and cheese, you can bet I'm there.

This was heavenly. The noodles were perfect for holding both the breadcrumbs and the lobster. The sauce, which was a cream sauce, was very hot when it arrived (and slightly thinner than I am accustomed to), but it cooled and thickened as I ate, making for a perfect coating for the noodles.

The lobster pieces were chopped small, but they were not skimpy on them at all. And the portion was large enough that I ended up only eating half and taking the rest home. It took some serious restraint to not eat all of it. But I wanted to stop while I was ahead.

Since we were feeling pretty good, we decided to order dessert. And here's where we went a little off course.

Mom and I agreed to split the Passion Fruit cake with Champagne sorbet. Sounds awesome, right? We were very excited when it arrived.

It looked beautiful!

Unfortunately, I think we picked the wrong dish for our tastes. My aunt and uncle loved theirs, so I think maybe it was just us. I had really wanted to like it, but Mom and I both left most of it on the plate. A disappointing end to our otherwise fabulous meal.

Nina had a creme brûlée that was good. The sugar on top was a little darker than I would have liked (probably dark enough that I would have sent it back), and left a burnt sugar taste in my mouth, but the custard part itself was awesome. I think next time I would just have to stick with a flavor I know I will enjoy.

The dessert didn't influence my overall opinion of the restaurant, though. Everyone was helpful and accommodating at Island Grill, so much so that we unanimously added it to our yearly rotation. The waitstaff were great. They cleared away dirty plates at a moment's notice, and kept my water glass topped off throughout the meal.

And on top of all of that, our waitress was so sweet and personable, going so far as to bring my cousin's toy train outside for him when she realized he'd left it on the table after we finished the meal.

I would highly recommend Island Grill to everyone who visits Cape May. Be warned: it is a little hot inside the restaurant itself, especially depending on the weather. They do have overhead fans, but the temperature is worth it. All of the food (and we sampled a wide variety) was delicious, and I am already looking forward to a return trip next year. What a great find!

Tonight just proved that a little patience in selecting a restaurant can really pay off.

Cape May- Crab Feast 2012

A couple years ago my family started this tradition at Cape May. One night, during our week-long vacation, we eat in and have a good 'ol crab feast, complete with freshly steamed crabs (loaded with Old Bay, of course), corn, potatoes, shrimp, and cold beverages.

This was just the first round...

I am a Maryland girl, so I have grown up with the idea that I am supposed to enjoy crab feasts. But until Cape May, I honestly cannot remember ever attending one. That said, ours our very fun and I'm not sure I'd want to go to any other.

What is most enjoyable is not the minutes you spend, dissecting crab after crab in search of the morsel of meat you can actually eat, but the conversation around the table as you sit there. This evening, I didn't eat any of the crabs (and we had a TON!). I just find the whole picking process so complicated. I'd much rather pull the shell off a shrimp or take a bite out of an ear of corn. But there's something so special about spending time with your family, it doesn't seem to matter whether you're eating crabs or not.

Think about it. We all live busy lives. Normally, at any given time, my family is moving in a million different directions. (As yours might be as well.) How often do we get to sit down and just enjoy each other's company? To recline in outdoor furniture, revel in the comfortable evening air, and laugh with each other? To pick crab meat out of impossibly thin legs until you poke yourself in the thumb with a claw, and your nails smell of Old Bay?

Okay, so maybe that last one isn't so great, but seriously, spending time with family isn't something that can necessarily happen like this every day. To have the time to be so carefree and liberated from any worry is especially rare.

So, did I want to sit there and pick meat out of crab claws for the crab cakes we'll have tomorrow? Not really. I don't even like picking meat for myself, let alone for a whole batch of crab cakes. But I did it because I love spending time with my family. They've always been there for me and always will be, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to be with them.

So, what's a little Old Bay under my nails? It's nothing, when compared to the lifelong memories I'll have of our few hours outside around the table. Sometimes it's the humblest things that make you realize how good life really is.

We didn't need to go out tonight to enjoy each other. We had everything we needed right in our backyard.

Cape May- Zoe's French Toast

Mom and I were up early today, as we usually are when we go to the beach. It's just so invigorating to feel like you are one of the first people up, greeting the sun as it begins its' slow ascent into the sky. The peacefulness of the town at dawn is one of the main reasons I hate to sleep in. I feel like I've already missed too much of the day if I'm asleep past six.

So we walked around, soaking up the morning air with a certain four legged family member we brought with us this year. :) The house we're staying at is pet friendly, so we jumped at the opportunity to take Bee along for the ride.

After our stroll, we hopped on our bikes and pedaled around the town before stopping for breakfast at one of our long-time, favorite beach-side eateries: Zoe's. Zoe's has been a family favorite at Cape May for as long as we can remember. Early on, we used to get our muffins from Zoe's every morning. They also have an full breakfast menu, boasting egg sandwiches, omelets, pancakes, french toast, etc., as well as a huge lunch menu (we will also be stopping there for lunch some time soon).

It had been a while since we'd actually sat at the white plastic tables on Zoe's patio for a sit-down meal. Usually we grab a muffin and go. But today we thought we'd make ourselves at home and stay a while.

Although Mom had originally wanted to go for the pancakes, both of us were hooked by the french toasts we saw as we perused the menu.

The Cinnamon Swirl sounded great, but the Crunchy Style was intriguing. When I asked what that was, the girl told me it's french toast, coated in corn flakes and then fried. Oh, what to choose?!? In the end, Mom went for the Cinnamon Swirl, while I went for the Crunchy Style. (Who am I kidding, it wasn't that hard of a choice.) We agreed to share.

While we were waiting to order our food, the freshly made muffins caught our eyes and we decided to order a Zucchini-nut muffin as well. Why not? We're only in Cape May for a week, right?

I enjoyed the muffin. It tasted like zucchini bread. And although it could have been a tiny bit more moist, it was definitely a muffin I would get again.

When the french toasts came out, I was blown away. They were beautiful.

Mom's

Mine

When I bit into mine, it was like eating fried bread. (Which I guess is exactly what it was.) The corn flakes were crunchy and the bread was absolutely piping hot! It was divine. I mean, seriously, this was such a good idea!! (Not sure if my heart was thinking that, but my taste-buds certainly were!)

Mom's had a lovely sweet flavor, but I preferred my crunchy one. It doesn't get much better than fried bread for breakfast.

See the crunchiness?!?

Because of the mild health concerns I had about eating three pieces of fried french toast in one sitting, as well as my stomach's rather small maximum capacity, I was only able to consume a half of the piece mom gave me, and two of the triangles of mine before I was full. But trust me, we did not let any of that go to waste! We brought it home and plan on warming it back up tomorrow! And though I'm sure it won't be as delicious out of the microwave as it was out of the fryer, I'll just have to force it. :) (note the sarcasm...)

It's already day 4. (The week sure does go by fast.) But I'm looking forward to seeing what food I eat next!

Cape May- Adventures Around Every Corner

I've been wanting to write this, if only to bump the last post out of the top position on this blog. I honestly don't even want to look at those pictures...not after today!

We began our day again at Coffee Tyme, and this time my cinnamon roll was warm!!! It was so exciting to carry that lovely bun home, still fresh from the oven. It always makes me feel better if I know I'm eating something that was just made! Since it was kind of overcast we didn't get to eat on the beach again, but eating inside was just fine.

We biked around all of Cape May today, riding all the way out to the far side where the houses look like they should be in Pottery Barn magazine, and the yards are exquisite.

After our bike ride, Mom and I went to the Cape May Bakery and bought some baked goods. Honestly, you cannot walk by this bakery without smelling something delicious. They must pump the air vent from the kitchen out over the sidewalk every time they see people pass by, or something. I'm telling you- it lures you in!!

Since the Elephant Ear my aunt bough yesterday was so yummy, Mom and I bought two (one for us and one for her) and a cinnamon walnut stick to try.

I felt very Parisian riding home with my basket full of fresh baked goods. The sweet smell wafted up out of the paper bag as I imagined myself pedaling next to the Seine river. I'm sure my green flowered bike helmet wasn't exactly tres chic, but hey, better safe than sorry.

We arrived home to confront this problem we have with pastries. Once we start eating them we have to take just a little bit more, and a little bit more, and a little bit more, until our little nibbles aren't so little anymore. It's bad...but we can't help it! This is exactly what happened with our Elephant Ear....and walnut cinnamon stick.

See how irresistible this is? 

Unbeknownst to us, my aunt also stopped by the Cape May Bakery and bought two Elephant Ears and a loaf of warm sunflower seed bread. The bread was so awesome. It was warm and flaky, and so delicious, I didn't even need to put butter on it. We laughed about the Elephant Ear coincidence while putting the extras in bags to save for later. So now we have a third of a loaf of bread left over, and lots of Elephant Ears! (Not that this is a bad thing at all! I'm looking forward to munching on them tomorow.)

Although the weather was foreboding at first, the sun came out strong around lunch time. We had a lovely beach day, soaked up the sun, and generally enjoyed ourselves.

When it came time for dinner, we were all ready to try out a place we'd heard about: George's Place. Of all of the restaurants in Cape May, this is one that repeatedly gets rave reviews. And after last night at the Chalfonte, we needed a good dinner. Being the thorough person that I am, I researched the place online. Although they currently don't seem to have a working website, they have a ton of reviews on travel sites. Across the board, people are in love with George's Place. What did we have to lose?

Since they don't take reservations, we walked down at around 5:45, expecting a little bit of a wait since it was dinner time, but we could handle a wait. What we experienced was something completely unexpected. Please, read on.

There was a man in a chef jacket standing in the doorway when we arrived. Mom, unsure of how to enter, peeked around him into the restaurant. When she did so, he put out his arm, blocking her path and asked where she was going.

Mom explained that we had never been here before and weren't sure how to proceed.

He then made a comment about how it was obvious we were rookies.

I thought he was joking. Honestly, I was having difficulty reading him. But if he was serious, I thought that was utterly rude.

As we stood there, teetering between offense and confusion, he told us that they have a policy: no kids after six, under six. We had Paige, so this meant no George's for us. But in everywhere I've looked, this little factoid isn't advertised.

This place has pictures of kids in the windows. They practically scream, "Bring your family here!" On travel site, Yelp, where it asks if the restaurant is good for kids, it says 'Yes.' So you would think that if they had a rule like that, somebody should say that somewhere. But it didn't end there.

As we turned to leave, my uncle made a comment about how we wouldn't want to eat at a restaurant that had a policy like that anyway. And then things really escalated.

The guy in the chef jacket was personally offended by this comment (which was a valid comment to make) and then initiated a full-blown argument with my uncle. I (and the rest of my family) thought this guy was a complete jerk. He started talking about wanting respect and not making a scene in front of his kids (all while making a scene in front of my uncle's kids).

I found him to be possibly the most arrogant, conceited person I have ever met. You see, the Food Network has visited George's Place (they left a sign in the window stating this fact), so I'm sure this guy walks around thinking he's pretty darn cool.

It's a shame, really, when you have to encounter jerks like that- especially when they own a restaurant. I had been excited to dine there and try this place that I'd heard such good things about, but I WILL NOT support a man who treats his customers in such a disrespectful way. He should have let us walk away without picking a fight. That would have been the respectful and professional choice. But he didn't, and now I'll tell everyone I know to stay away from him, his restaurant, and his overinflated ego.

Since we didn't eat there, we still had to find a place for dinner. It was late and we were hungry. So we did a little divide-and-conquer and ended up at a restaurant we'd wanted to try for a while: A Ca Mia.

Cute, right?

Everyone in our group had passed this restaurant before and been curious about it. When Nina and I approached and asked if they might be able to seat a group of eight as soon as possible, the hostess was very accommodating. We showed the rest or our group the menu, and they quickly agreed: A Ca Mia was a go.

Upon being led inside, we were shocked at the size of the restaurant. It always looked so tiny on the outside but it was actually super spacious! There were two whole rooms inside, and most of the first one was full. 

The rolls they gave us were an interesting mix of pumpernickel and white bread. 

I had never eaten a mixed roll before, and it was great! They had some oil to dip it into as well, but I preferred it with butter. (Really, everything is better with butter, isn' it?)

As an appetizer, my uncle ordered the bruschetta- a good call at a northern Italian restaurant. 

This was beautiful and delicious! There was a nice tang of vinegar, and the balsamic had seeped into the bread a little bit so that the bread was the perfect balance between crusty and soft. 

I was pleased. So far, so good. 

Most of the table ordered the Ravioli Sampler as an entree (myself included), and the waitress highly recommended it, so I figured it would be tasty. 

There was no attractive way to photograph this dish...but yummy doesn't have to be pretty!

This was so delicious. There were three flavors: cheese, mushroom, and lobster&crab. I thought all of the flavors were great. The mushroom was a subtle, earthy flavor, while the seafood was a perfect flavor for a seaside dinner. The cheese was...cheesy (nothing particularly special about it, but I appreciated a familiar flavor amidst the new ones. And the extra grated cheese our waitress offered over our pasta was a nice touch.)

Finally, we had found a place that gives portions that are actually feasible to finish in one sitting! I couldn't have been more pleased! 

Although we were feeling a little full, we asked to see the dessert menu. The Tiramisu came highly recommended, but since Mom and I were splitting it we went for the Napoleon. Our favorite Napoleon is from the French section of Epcot in Disney World, but the one on the menu here claimed to have creme brûlée between the flaky layers of pastry. 

This picture does not do it justice. That creme brûlée filling was so good. It tasted exactly like creme brûlée, only without the burnt sugar. It was light and sweet, the perfect ending to a meal of pasta. 

The Tiramisu was also fantastic. I don't like coffee, but I love a good tiramisu. This was incredibly moist (not dry as some can be) and had just the right balance of espresso. 

I could have made a meal off of this! And everyone decided that we would go there just to get the desserts! They were that good. It was such a relief to eat a meal that I enjoyed from start to finish (and didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for, or take home piles of leftovers.)

Sometimes it takes a couple misses before you get a hit. That was definitely the case with us, but I'm so glad we found a new restaurant we would all go back to.

Although the evening started off a little rocky, we found ourselves a very tasty ending.

Cape May- The Chalfonte Hotel

When in Cape May, we always have our favorite dinner spots. But occasionally we do like to step outside of our routine and experience something different. Tonight, after much deliberation, we decided upon the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel. The Chalfonte (pronounced Shall-font) is a huge, beautiful, historic, southern-looking hotel, just blocks from the heart of Cape May. We have this joke that you must say the name with an accent- it's just the kind of name that lends itself perfectly to that sort of thing.

Years ago, we went to the Chalfonte for their Sunday brunch, and although I don't remember what I ate on that occasion, I've heard it was very memorable.

So we figured it would be a good choice to give them a try for dinner tonight. Let me just say that it was a roller coaster of tastes. There were some very high highs, but there were also some very low lows. Allow me to explain.

When we walked in, I was struck by two things: the first was the emptiness of the restaurant. Considering they had told us when we could arrive, instead of us requesting a time, as is typical of reservations, I had expected to find the place packed. Not so. There were maybe four or five tables of people. Not packed at all. The second thing was the brashness of the swanky music in the background (or really in the foreground). They had this gaudy, ostentatious dinner-music track playing for a while until one of the waitresses finally had enough and switched over to something less abrasive. But back to the food.

The reason we'd come was to get the fried chicken. Apparently this fried chicken is a pretty big deal here. But when we looked at the menu, we discovered that you could only get it as part of the pre-fix menu for $35. That seemed like a lot of money to me, and I seriously contemplated getting the vegetarian entree (some very ordinary sounding pasta with basil and mozzarella), but in the end, I was persuaded by the rest of the table to go for the fried chicken. After all, if you're only going to dine in the Chalfonte once, don't you want to be able to say you ate the chicken that everyone talks about? I did.

As part of this over-priced fixed menu, we got to choose an appetizer or soup, and salad, in addition to our entree. After trying fried oysters (and enjoying them!) the night before, I thought it would be a good choice to order them here. For my salad, I chose the salad of the day, which was a tortellini salad with crab meat.

While we waited for our food to arrive, we scarfed down what would become possibly the best part of the meal: the rolls (if only I'd known it then).

The rolls were hot when they arrived at the table, resting over cool slabs of butter. They practically asked to be pulled apart, they were so tender and flaky. And with a little bit of butter on there- mmmm....they were so good! Mom and I honestly could have made a meal out of those rolls- and that was before we knew they were made with ice cream! 

I am not kidding you. You are reading this correctly. They are made with ice cream. Apparently the famous roll lady, whose name is escaping me, makes the dough on the stove, and then instead of adding milk, she adds ice cream. Sounds like a perfect substitution to me! No wonder these babies are so special...it's not every day you eat a roll with a secret ingredient like that. :) And they're made daily, too, so you know they're going to be fresh. (As a side note, when we asked if we could have more rolls, we were denied because our waitress said they only had 15 more for the night, which kind of surprised me since it was only 6:45ish, but hey, I guess the rolls are in high demand.)

After these pillows of wonder, the meal took some strange turns. 

 The fried oysters, though very fresh (as evidenced by the juice that seeped out of them when I cut into them) had a kind of unpleasant, fishy taste. I had really liked the ones the day before. These ones made me want to gag a little, so I gave them out to others at my table (who enjoyed them). And the chicken salad (to the left side of that picture) was tasty once you pulled the chicken bones out.

The tortellini salad was good. It was a cold salad with tomatoes and crab meat on top.

There was nothing wrong with it, there was just so much food that I had to pace myself and take most of this home with me for tomorrow. The weird thing was that at this point, I already found myself quite full. It wasn't like I'd eaten more than a bite of the oysters, and I hardly had half of the salad...so, was that roll filling me up? Perhaps. But I had to save space for the moment I'd been waiting for...the chicken.

Although there were some inconsistencies around the table as to the moistness and size of the chicken, I found mine to be delicious. The skin was, by far, the best part. It was perfectly crispy- exactly what I would expect from good fried chicken.

I mean, look at it.  That's some finger lickin' chicken, isn't it?

Although the chicken was delicious, and the rolls were heavenly, I think it was a lot to pay for a dinner of fried chicken. Honestly, they suck you in with that three course thing so you have to spend more money to get their most famous dish. And that's fine. I understand the business behind it, but I was not thrilled with my appetizer or salad. (The salad was fine, but it wasn't anything I was jumping up out of my seat about.) I felt bad leaving there, knowing we'd spent basically two night's worth of money on this one dinner.

The Chalfonte was a big disappointment. I'm glad to have had to experience, after all it's a Cape May classic, but I wouldn't do it again. There's just so many more places in Cape May that I actually enjoy. But I guess that's the risk you take when you try something new. I just feel like we wasted a dinner here, ya know? And I don't like feeling like I wasted any of my meals when there's so many places I want to try.

But, oh well. I just have to chalk it up to a learning experience and move on. There's always more food waiting just around the corner.

Cape May- It's Time for Coffee Tyme!

Mom and I were up early this morning, ready for our first full day of Cape May. After walking Bee (and attempting not to wake up the rest of the house with her pre-walk whimpers), we headed out for a walk down to our favorite coffee shop.

Last year we discovered the best muffins at a coffee shop called Coffee Tyme. Conveniently located right on Beach Avenue, we would walk there every morning for our morning caffeine and muffin. This particular muffin was a chocolate vegan muffin. (Don't let the vegan-ness scare you away....if I didn't mention it, you'd never know.) It was always so moist and delicious. We were so in love with them that we had to go home and find a recipe to make them on our own. (Which we did...and ours is quite delicious. Let me know if you want the recipe.)

So all year, we've been looking forward reuniting with Coffee Tyme and our muffins. As we descended upon the shop, we were filled with excitement and anticipation of this momentous occasion!

We walked inside and stopped in our tracks. Upon scanning the case of baked goods, we were confronted with the realization that there were no chocolate vegan muffins. The horror! We didn't know what to do. That was all we had thought about! How were we going to enjoy our day without them!?!

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that  bad, but we did have to ask the owner if there would be any chocolate vegan muffins tomorrow. She said maybe. Left without any other option, we perused our choices. They had a lot of muffins to choose from. I went for the blueberry while mom went for the cranberry orange.

But the more that I gazed into the case, the more I felt drawn to the cinnamon roll. So at the last minute, I asked to switch out my muffin for the cinnamon roll. And I'm so glad I did.

The cinnamon roll was soft and the icing was sweet and gooey and delicious! You know how sometimes you can't eat all of a cinnamon roll because the edges are dry and crusty without the icing on them? It didn't even matter if there was icing on every inch of the roll or not because it was so fresh!

The Coffee Tyme shop owner suggested we eat outside since it's so pretty today, but I assumed that meant we'd sit on a bench on the boardwalk. Mom had other plans. Once outside, she led us onto the beach and sat a few feet in front of the tide. It was so fun! We'd never eaten on the beach before- and we've been coming here forever!

Look how huge that cinnamon roll was! 

There's something so relaxing about being up early at the beach. It's quiet and you can hear the rolling of the waves. It feels like your own personal paradise. So we sat and ate and sipped our morning drinks, all while planning out the rest of the day. 

Afterwards (which came much too quickly) we rented our bikes for the week and chatted with our favorite bike rental man, Joe. It was cool because we've been renting from them for years and he remembered us. It's always nice making a personal connection like that. And when you've been coming to Cape May for as long as we have, it starts to become your second home. 

When Aunt Susan, Uncle Johnny, and Jonas got up, we biked 20 minutes to the light house, hiked up 199 steps to the top of the light house (Jonas counted all the way), and then biked back to the house. After all of that exercise I'm prepared to eat pretty much whatever I want for the rest of the day! :) 

There's so many new places we want to try this week- I'm hoping we have the time (and the stomach room!)

Til then. 

 

Cape May!!! Let the Eating Begin....

I am SO EXCITED to finally be back in Cape May. It's no secret that it's my favorite beach. We've been coming here since I was little, and each year I grow fonder and fonder. Today, we arrived in enough time to get settled before going out to dinner. And our first dinner of the trip was at Aleathea's.

This is a favorite of ours. We have dinner at Aleathea's at least once, every time we visit. It's one of the must-do's of our trip...and there's a reason why.

Since we arrived a little before six o'clock, we were still eligible for the early bird seating prices. This is such a good deal. I would recommend making a reservation for 5:30, actually, so you have time to peruse your choices. We made our reservation for 6, but because we are seasoned veterans, we glanced at the menu in about 3 minutes and placed our order before the six o'clock cut-off time.

The reason the early bird seating is such a good deal is because you get the choice of a soup or salad, an entree, and dessert, for one reasonable price. When compared to the pricing of even the small portion of the regular dinner items, the early bird is the much better way to go. I think it was about $18 dollars for what I ordered. The same item would usually cost $19 dollars if ordered after the early bird special-hour, and it wouldn't include soup/salad or dessert, either. So, in short, go early.

Since this is one of our favorite places, I knew exactly what I would get. That said, I did take a few seconds to see what was on the rest of the menu. In the end opted for the black bean and corn soup for my starter and Grouper for my main.

This was delicious! It was slightly creamy with tons of black beans, corn, and possibly some red peppers. It had some heat, but wasn't necessarily spicy. I could have eaten a whole bowl of this. But I find that I have to pace myself at these restaurants or else my family will have to roll me out!

Did I mention that they give you bread with roasted garlic and olive oil?

Now you can understand why I have to move slowly through my meal. Add to that the baked brie and fried oysters for appetizers, and I was almost totally full before my fish came!

I am a BIG fan of baked brie. This was especially tasty because slathered between the brie and the bread was raspberry jelly. YUM! Restraint is a virtue. The fried oysters were surprisingly good as well. I've never eaten an oyster before, but give me anything fried and I'm good to go! This tasted a little like fried fish. It wasn't scary or slimy at all (which is how I usually envision an oyster experience) and it had this spicy white sauce drizzled over top of it that gave my bite a little kick! I felt rather adventurous while eating it: so adventurous, in fact, that I didn't get to take a picture. But, you can imagine it....

At long last came the star of the night....the grouper.

The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. You see, the fish is lightly sautéed, topped with lump crab meat, tomatoes, basil, and-get this- frizzled leaks. Basically just a fancy way of saying...fried onions! All of this is set over a mound of risotto and surrounded with some kind of white wine sauce (perhaps? Not positive, but that's what it tasted like to me). This was and is AWESOME. Since there is so much food involved in this dining experience, we always save half for lunch the next day. It's the best thing, ever. You can't go wrong. You won't be sorry. There are other things on the menu, but don't bother. This is it. 

As part of our early bird package, we also got to choose a dessert. I am a chocolate lover, but the only chocolate item on the menu was a chocolate-peanut-butter pie, and I'm not a huge peanut-butter girl, so I went with the lemon layer cake. This, my friends, is where I think I went a little wrong. 

It's cute, right? Petite and circular and everything. But the cake part was somewhat dry, and the mousse-middle part was too dense and too acidic for my taste. But we had yummy chocolate chip cookies at home, so after spending some time at the arcade with my cousin, we were not lamenting our lack of dessert at the restaurant. I love Aleathea's and if you're in Cape May, I'd highly suggest you add this to your to-do list. They have delicious food, friendly wait-staff, and beautiful views of the beach. 

I had a wonderful first evening of food and family. And now I have a delicious lunch to look forward to tomorrow. :) 

Ocean City- A Very Sweet Ending

It's officially over. After almost a week of relaxing beach-side with my friends, inhaling everything placed in front of me, and indulging in more fried food on the boardwalk than any one person should consume in a two hour time-slot, I find myself back at home. I had a wonderful time with everyone, and it went by much faster than I'd expected. But all good things must come to an end, right? Our week came to a particularly good end when we went to Bayside Skillet for our bon voyage breakfast.

When we drove into the parking lot, I was struck by the absolute pink-ness of everything. Literally everything, even the parking spots, were pink.

The inside was very quaint. Actually, when we were led to our table (past the counter where they make the fresh squeezed juices), I felt like I was walking into a sweet old-lady's tea room. The decor was very floral and classical music played in the background. And there were strawberries...everywhere! One of my friends said it was like walking into the home of beloved childhood character, Strawberry Shortcake. And she wasn't too far off.

For being commonly referred to as "the Omelette and Crepe place," I thought the menu was pretty big! I have to admit that I was torn over what to get. The omelets sounded delicious, especially since I am never satisfied with how mine turn out at home, but I am a crepe lover at heart. Once I found out that they recommend sharing the omelets, I decided to go for the crepes. It would be easier to pay that way, and I could take more time to debate the options in my head.

In the end it came down to the Apple Cinnamon crepe or the Banana Royale crepe. Ever since my banana milkshake experience, I'd been drawn to banana-filled things. (Perhaps in an attempt to rid myself of that bad memory.) The more likely reason that I ultimately opted for the banana crepe was because there's an excellent crepe place near us that does caramelized bananas in their crepes, which is divine, so I suspected I would like the Bayside Skillet version.

My jaw dropped when my plate was placed in front of me.

Heavenly, right? That's homemade whipped cream on top (which they call chantilly, just FYI) and a whole banana wrapped up in the square crepes. I knew I'd made the right choice. This. Was. Delicious. While I am used to a caramelized banana, I enjoyed the fresh flavor from the regular banana that was rolled up inside. The combination of the banana with the fluffy whipped cream was perfection. I could not have ordered anything better. I am convinced.

We ordered a side of potatoes for the table, too.

These were actually very good. Much better than the ones at General's Kitchen a few days before. The potatoes were crispy and piping hot- just the way I like them! Plus, it was a HUGE portion. It was a good choice, but they were definitely overshadowed by the Banana Royal Crepes. Oh my gosh- I am getting hungry just thinking about them! If you are in Ocean City, you need to go here and order these crepes! This was by far my favorite culinary destination of the trip, hands down. I could have eaten breakfast here every day. 

I should also mention that Bayside Skillet gives you a lot of food for your money. I think my portion of the bill was 13 dollars. Considering the size of the crepes, the amount of potatoes I was able to consume, and the fact that I didn't need to eat lunch that day, I'd say it was a good call. The staff were also very nice. The owner (or at least I think she was the owner) even came over to check on us and we actually had a decent-length conversation about my crepes. There's nothing like making a personal connection over food! 

So, with contented tummies and fond memories, we packed up into the cars and headed home. It was sad to leave everyone, to hug each other and not know whether we'd see each other in a week or in a year. As we head off to college, the reassurance we'd grown accustomed to has been pulled away. This summer there's no guarantee that we'll see each other in the fall. We can't tell what the future holds, but I'm glad that we could spend a few blissful days together before the rest of our lives begin.  

Until my next delicious destination, I wish you happy hearts and full bellies. 

Ocean City- The Last Full Day

So yesterday's culinary adventures were basically confined to the walls of our condo. When we got up we were faced with the realization that we had a TON of food we didn't want to bring back home with us. And if we wanted to have more space in the cars coming home, we'd have to eat it.

Breakfast was a hodgepodge of random things. I tried to eat some of my muffins, but they were getting old, so I had to throw the rest of them out. Four of us munched on fruit (basically grapes...did I mention that I had to throw out a slimy banana the day before? Gross....) and then I had a rice cake with provolone cheese (gotta use up that cheese!). So breakfast was basically anything you could find.

Lunch looked like this:

Look familiar? Since everyone wanted to consume our own food, we stayed home for dinner, which meant that dinner looked like this, too. Only, when I made my dinner sandwich, I put it under the broiler to melt the cheese (and make it a little toasty) and I didn't eat any chips. Thrilling day of food. I know.

Despite our lack of adventurousness for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we did make a return trip to Dumser's. As you may recall, last time I was not satisfied with my banana milkshake. I threw out half of it because I disliked it. (Ringing some bells?) So this time I came prepared with some good advice: get a sundae.

Simple enough, I thought. That is until I arrived and saw all the flavors, and then wondered if it had to be soft-serve or regular ice cream. I think I bored the girl at the counter with my questions as I hurried to select a flavor-icream combo I would enjoy. In the end I ordered a small sundae with Oreo Crunch (I think that was the name but I can't remember) ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. (I'm not much of a cherry person.)

It was good. Actually, it was darn good. It was so darn good I could have eaten a whole 'nother one the minute I finished it. I think perhaps I should have gotten a large...

Clearly, milkshakes are not the item to order from Dumser's. After eating this, I thought, "why didn't  I try this before?!?" I think I'm a fan, now. I apologize for not liking them initially. But, really, they should make better banana milkshakes.

After our ice cream stop, we played some put-put golf to round out the evening. It was a fun way to end out last day in Ocean City.

But just because we're going home today doesn't mean we won't be feasting this morning. I've been told there's a good crepe place we're going to and I'm a crepe lover, so I am definitely excited for that! Plus, we may or may not be stopping at Dumser's for some last minute treats before we hit the road.

My stomach is grumbling just thinking about it!! Let's hope everyone gets up soon so we can enjoy one last morning of food in Ocean City.

Ocean City- The Food Continues

Yesterday's weather was not good for beach-going. The slightly lower temperatures and off-and-on rain meant that any sun-seeking was pretty much impossible.

Since we weren't in a hurry to get to the beach, everyone slept late. Or, to be more accurate, everyone except me slept late. I was up at 6 o'clock....as usual. But it was kind of nice to have the place to myself for four hours. Kind of.....

By 11, we had rustled everyone out of bed, into real clothes, and down the street to a place called General's Kitchen. (For some reason whenever I see the name I want it to say General's Chicken...not sure why that is....) Regardless, we arrived around 11:30, famished and ready to eat.

Since we were a big group, we had to wait for a table. Normally, this kind of thing would have been fine, but it was cold and raining and we had to wait in the covered area outside of the door. It wasn't that bad, but when you want to eat, everything seems so much more dramatic.

Eventually we made it inside and were able to move so that our whole group could sit in the same vicinity. (They had originally split us up, but the nice people next to us felt bad and switched seats.)

The menu presented a challenge. Being that it was technically lunch time, I pondered whether to go for breakfast food or lunch food. I mean, I love breakfast, but I didn't want to throw myself off by shunning the lunch food.

In the end, breakfast prevailed.

I went for the french toast (clearly) and I was actually impressed with the amount of toast they gave me. Although it looked daunting at first, I was able to eat most of it....and not just because I was hungry! It was really good. Now, don't get me wrong, it can't hold a candle to Paper Moon's Bananas Foster french toast, but for regular ol' diner french toast, this was great!  Sweet, not too dry, just dusted with powdered sugar, perfect when dunked in the syrup... I was happy. 

With full bellies, we piled into the cars and drove to the outlets for an afternoon of shopping. I am not a huge shopper (I have to be in a shopping mood), but eventually I buckled under the sight of the pretty clothes in Ann Taylor. I couldn't help myself. :) 

Once we got back from the outlets, we went to dinner at a place called Dead Freddies. (I have a sneaky suspicion that we have one of them in Bel Air...) I was really trying to be good, but everything on the menu was either covered in a cream sauce or crab dip (I honestly didn't even know that was possible...the crab dip part) and I didn't want a salad or a sandwich. Yes, it seems like I was being rather picky, doesn't it? I just wanted someone to say "Here, eat this. You'll like it," and put a plate of delicious food in front of me. 

But that wasn't happening. So I ordered the fish and chips.

  

Fish and chips are usually a safe bet. Again, I found myself shocked at the amount of food I received. This turned out to be a good choice. The fish was quite yummy (though everything is better fried) and although I couldn't quite figure out what kind of tartar sauce they'd given me, I happily shmeared my fish with it every now and then. After I asked for some lemon to squeeze over the fish, I was content.

In the end, I couldn't finish it all. And after my experience with the fried food at the boardwalk the day before, I wasn't going to push it. It was a relief to feel pleasantly full and not like a swollen tick.

Back at the condo we settled in early for the evening so a few of my friends could watch a favorite show of theirs. Being that I knew absolutely nothing about the show, I opted to make smores instead. They were a hit and the ones I didn't burn (oops!) were pretty authentic, considering they came from the oven.

It was a nice day. Two days down, only one more full day to go. On the culinary agenda for the rest of the trip: a crepe place and a return to Dumser's (I've prepared myself for round two thanks to a suggestion from my wise  aunt). I'm looking forward to wherever my tummy takes me!

Discovering Ocean City

When it comes to northern beaches, I am a Cape May, NJ girl at heart. But this week, thanks to my very generous and enthusiastic friends, I find myself in Ocean City, MD. And, as with any new place, what better way to experience the culture than through its’ food?!

Alas, I was somewhat dismayed when I googled "places to eat in Ocean City MD" and discovered that I knew absolutely nothing about the food here. So when we arrived, all I could do was sit back and enjoy the ride as we began to eat our way through the city.

The first night, we were FAMISHED!! It had been a draining (for me, since I was driving) and often boring (for everyone else because of the monotonous farmland) three hour car-ride to the beach. It was 8 o'clock when we arrived, and almost 9 o'clock by the time the pizza arrived. For most of us that meant a good 8 or 9 hours since we'd had lunch. See that blur of a hand in the picture? We couldn't even wait long enough for me to get a decent picture before we dug in. :)

The next morning we ate the breakfast and lunch foods we brought with us. I could show you a picture of that, but I don't think it would be terribly interesting. Especially compared to what came next.

Since it was a beautiful day, we headed down to the boardwalk to experience OC first hand. It was not like anything I'd ever seen or experienced before. There's a definite culture down here that is just very, shall we say, entertaining to watch.

Two of my friends frequent this beach quite often, so they led the way to our next food experiences. The plan was as follows: eat the yummy fried stuff now, then maybe have real dinner at 9. Everyone agreed that this would be a great idea! (for the moment....)

 First stop: Thrasher's French Fries. We ordered a large for the eight of us to split. Good call.

These were good french fries, don't get me wrong. But who knew that they don't eat ketchup with them?!? I was really surprised about that. But I guess you've got to try everything like the locals, right?

We demolished the towering bucket o' fries in mere minutes. But they still left me wanting ketchup....and some water. So where better to go for some post-fry re-hydration than..... Dumser's!?

Okay, so maybe ice-cream isn't the best method for re-hydration, but it sounded good to us!! The boardwalk was really quiet so we walked right up and placed our orders. We were split between soft-serve ice-cream and milkshakes. I opted for a banana milkshake.

We have this place called Arctic Circle that we go to at home if we want a good milkshake. One of my favorite flavors there is banana because it has real banana pieces inside and is super banana-y. So I guess I had high expectations of the best ice-cream shop on the boardwalk. Unfortunately, I ended up tossing out half of my milkshake (though I did feel a little bad about wasting the food and the money). I just felt like it wasn't as obviously banana as I would have expected or desired, so why waste the calories? (Especially because of what was coming next.... Funnel Cakes!!!!)

One of my friends swears by this place. She says they always come here for funnel cakes. I'd take her word for it if I were you.

I have not had a funnel cake in years. Honestly. So I was so excited that we ordered not one, but two!! Oh it was so good. It was perfect. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself. That's how awesome it was. There is just something so heavenly about fried dough and powdered sugar. Really. What more could you ask for? I am drooling here as I think about it..... Ohmygosh..... If you haven't eaten a funnel cake in a while, you need to reacquaint yourself with this delicious boardwalk staple. It's for your own good.

After all of our boardwalk food I could not imagine stuffing another thing in my mouth. I thought I would surely pop. And I was not alone in that sentiment. So we bought some Fisher's popcorn for later and headed back to the condo.

It was a very successful day indeed.