El Mexicano, Clifton NJ

El Mexicano

Clifton, NJ

The Clifton downtown area, as with most NJ towns, has struggled to maintain its downtown businesses ever since malls and franchise restaurants dominated the shopping/entertainment/dining industry.  New restaurants especially have had a hard time getting a foothold.  I'd say things have been turning a corner in the last two years or so.  El Mexicano has been one of few with staying power, which is saying a lot. Furthermore, there has been a goodly influx of central Americanos here in the area--- putting the two together, we anticipated that this place would be above average.

And so on one fine Sunday evening, we checked it out.  It wa pretty crowded and very festive (lots of lights, music and very happy people).  The wait staff was dressed in jeans and honest-to-goodness gaucho hats.  A promising start indeed.  

House sangria.  Was not very flavorful (from a mix?) and was on the weak side, in fact.  That's ok, because sangria is more Spanish than Mexican.  I was willing to give this slide.  

The highlight of the night was the mariachi band (on Sundays)... they were singing a very rousing birthday song for one of the tables.  This was one of the several happy birthday songs we heard that evening. 

The menu itself was not too impressive, and by no means was authentic.  Which jarred with our initial assumptions about the place.  And so here's my vegetarian burrito.  I could have used more guacamole and sour cream.  It was quite meh (the filling was also from a mix?), the paltry salsa was devoid of flavor, and I think was too pricey for what it was. 

Philadelphia Flower Show

Philadelphia Flower Show
http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html

The Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual extravaganza of the showiest flora in these parts.  Part showcase, part keen competition and part smorgasboard of plants, seeds, flowers, etc., it's a huge draw for this time of the year (early March, about the time everybody's heartily sick of winter). 

This show is venued at the Philadelphia Convention Center, and this is a pretty big place.  If you want to check it our, definitely have comfy shoes and be ready to brave the crowds.  Weekdays are the better times to go, when there are less people.

And bring cash too... it seems to make the transactions (especially at the marketplace) smoother!

Hall A of the Convention Center has the big exhibits.  This year's theme was "Passport to the World"

Bamboo forest.  This was designed by a landscaping company, I think.

Live music and sexxy dancers!

This giraffe is made of knotted pieces of willow and has orchids in vases suspended all over.  Very pretty!

Hall B is the main draw, and has the prizewinning exhibitions.

Urn design.   What's nice about these collections is that the plants are labeled.  The competitions are the best place to scope out the upcoming trends and new plant varieties.  Last time we went (I think two years ago), the big-leaf begonias were all the rage and were selling at a premium.  Nowadays, you can pick some of them up in your local Home Depot!

Window box entry.  This one has a lot of tropical flair.

Front porch entry.  It even has a little front lawn!

These next few pictures are of pressed flowers and plant material.  There is also a separate category for jewelry design, with the main elements comprising only of plant material (seeds, flowers, etc).   

This grabbed the blue ribbon for its class... the judges critiqued that the sky was "too busy" and detracted from the overall picture.  I think it's perfect, though.

These next few pics are entries in the miniature setting category.  The one above is an interpretation of "Eloise at the Plaza."

I liked this one a lot; it really looks like it's an overgrown ramshackle spot in the woods. 

This one was really funny.  I like how the stated intent begins,"For sale 1967 Chevy..."

Here are pictures of some of the entries that we really liked:

This one looked as dead as it did in real life.  Or like a stealthy underwater creature. Very spooky.

This looks like something that would belong in Dr. Seuss' world.

Doesn't this one look eerie too... it looks like a naked person curled up and crying.  

This one is just so symmetrical and so beautiful!

Male (left) and female (right) forms...

The two pictures are teeny-weeny plants that were just simply perfect.

Of course orchids are well-represented. 

DJKung liked this one; it reminded him of little flies hovering about.

And if nothing else, Hall C is their awesome marketplace, where you can get lots of fresh flowers, bulbs, seeds, indoor and outdoor plants, and loads of garden and home accessories.  I must say that this is really the highlight for me, because there is just so much on sale and the prices are fantastic. 

That said, depending on your fortitude, the last day of the show is either the best day for bargains, or the worst.  Best, because everybody's trying to unload their merch (less to bring home, because the vendors here are really from all over the country).  Worst, because everyone is out to get deals and it can get a bit hairy.  I was witness to a meltdown this one lady had when told that the three-dozen-roses-for-ten-dollars sale did not appear exactly at 3:00 pm, as promised.  This lady was almost threatening bodily harm to the staff (for grocery store-type roses, mind you...). 

Xe Lua (Philadelphia)

Xe Lua
907 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 627-8883


We were in Philadelphia one fine Sunday morning for the Philadelphia Flower Show.  Philly is a manageable hour-and-a-half ride from our New Jersey burb, but it is a world away. . . it's got its own hometown vibe and flavor, with lots of soul. 

Of course, Philadelphia is one of the major historical cities of the country (Liberty Bell, Constitutional Law Center, Ben Franklin's stompin' grounds) and there is plenty of that to see.  There are plenty of different neighborhoods, each with their own personality. 

Philadelphia is known as the city of murals.  Here's one I took a shot of while we were sitting in traffic.

The Phila Flower Show is held at the Philadelphia Convention Center, right smack downtown.   Chinatown is super close by, and there are many places for noshin.'  We like going to Xe Lua for their cheap and tasty pho.

Goi cuon (shrimp rolls) with peanut sauce.  Always a great refreshing starter.

Hu Tieu Do Bien (serafood noodle soup).   This was a large bowl with a very hefty serving of assorted seafood, much more than you'd expect from most pho places.  The broth was light yet flavorful.

Pho Xe Lua Dac Biet (special Xe Lua beef rice noodle soup).  DJKung loves the pho broth here because of their well-balanced seasoning.  Also, it's not as greasy as in other places.

Muc Rang Muoi (salt baked squid). I could have sworn that this was fried, not baked.  Anyway, the squid was superfresh and perfectly fried and crispy. 

Of course, DJKung had to have his Cafe Sua (French coffee with condensed milk).  It's strong espresso-like coffee which the french press drips down into a cup with sweet and creamy condensed milk.  So it's like the concentrated coffee and concentrated milk, together. 

There are a lot more items in the menu, but we never seem to stray from the basics: pho, fried squid and some spring rolls.  They're just dang good! 

Bowling City

Bowling City

Hackensack, NJ

We were here one evening for a bowling birthday get-together for one of DJKung's coworkers.  For your money, Bowling City is an above-average bowling joint. 

But first, the food.  There is a little diner-style restaurant within the building (which I thought was pretty cool) that served your usual burgers and fries.  Of course, you can bring your food out to the bowling area as well, so the place was humming with a lot of kids having their pizza with their bowling.

Hearty minestrone soup for a cold winter night.

DJKung got a cheeseburger with fries, which he said was adequate.  We also had some nachos later on, but they were uneventful chips covered in yellow cheese.

Apart from the diner and the bowling area, there was also an enclosed bar with a couple of small pool tables, and an arcade area which was surprisingly busy with young kids.  I guess bowling can be too low-tech for the younger generation?  But no, the bowling alleys were also full of youngsters showing their skills.

The bowling itself was quite nice... the lanes were very smooth and even.  After you enter everybody's names on the scoreboard, their computers take care of the scoring and all that.  This was nice because not everybody knows the special rules that apply with strikes, and how you get that extra bonus throw with the last set. 

Let's go bowling!

DJKung and his winning leftward-curve throw.  He was the high scorer of the group that night.  Go DJKung!

At a certain time, Bowling City has disco bowling, where the lights go down and the music goes up a bit.  What's exciting about this is that you get a chance to win one free game redeemable at any time.  So say you go bowling once a year and you score and get lucky, you can show up next year and claim your free game!  All you have to do is throw a strike when the magic red pin shows up in your lane. 

This, unfortunately, was not as easy as the anouncement made it sound like.  One of the little rules was that the magic red pin had to be the lead pin, i.e., the pin closest to you.  So it did not happen all that often.  Further, before you throw that winning ball, you had to get one of the staff to personally observe you.  Which was a bit of a pain given that there were quite a lot of lanes and it was very noisy and fired up with everybody waiting for that special pin.  So alas, we missed a few chances at getting that free game, but everybody had a swell time. 

Get 'em "All the way!!!" at Hot Grill

The Hot Grill

669 Lexington Avenue

Clifton, NJ 07011

http://www.thehotgrill.com/

New Jersey is super serious about their hot dogs.  The Star Ledger, the Newark, NJ-based paper, has the weinermobile, which goes around and tries different hot dog places in the state (besides other joints).  Here in Awesome Clifton, NJ, we boast not one, but two famous hot dog joints.  We're extremely fortunate to be within barking distance of the famous Hot Grill. 

Hot Grill has been around for quite a few decades, and you can tell by the decor, which looks like it hasn't been changed since they opened.  They're known for its Texas weiners "all the way," with the hot dogs smothered in their special chili, mustard and onions.  It's cheap, tasty, and down-home gooood. 

Two dogs, all the way!

We also got fries with melted cheese.  Yum!

Hot Grill is running a special promo, where you get two dogs FREE with every purchase of two dogs.  The furs, who stayed in the car, got to have one dog each!!  Lucky dawgs!

Creative video of some furs

This is a really creative video shooting at 1000fps then slowed down of dogs eating a doggie treat. Hope you enjoy.

This is not a plug for the dog food brand nor do our dogs eat this.

djkung

2010 NYC Food Crawl VIDEO

We are trying something new.  I just picked up a Kodak zi8 digital camcorder and during our food crawl we recorded the whole evening with it. I hope you enjoy it. What better way to cure our cabin fever from being snowed in than to have an nyc food crawl (mainly around the vicinity of 3rd ave and 9th st). Any comments or feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,
djkung

mmm Mamoun's Falafel

Mamoun's Falafel

119 Macdougal Street

New York, NY 10012

http://mamouns.com/

Fast, cheap and good.  Especially when you're drunk or have the munchies.  Mamoun's is a mainstay of the NYU college scene and serves excellent falafel and shwarma.  It is in a tiny hole-in-the wall place in the Village.  Basically, just look for the line outside.

We ducked into Mamoun's during the Winter Jazz Fest last month for a quick bite.

Mamoun's counter.  There are a couple of tables, if you are lucky to snag them.  Personally, the best way to eat your falfel/shwarma is standing up, while trying not to get the yummy bits on your clothes.

Lamb shwarma.  This is what DJKung always gets.  It's flavorful and always hits the spot. 

I always get the falafel sandwich.  You get crispy falafel, crunchy veggies and smoky tahini sauce, all in a nfresh pita pocket.   The veggies more often than not are quite bland, but it's still very refreshing.