New England Foodie Tour 2017
New England! Italian bakeries, thick serious accents, toll booths, beaches, big cities, millionaire's mansions and immigrant neighborhoods! Give me all these things!! I spent six months planning out all the places I would go and all the food I would eat in Philadelphia, Rehoboth Beach, New Haven, Newport, Boston, Burlington, New York City and several stops in between. My current goal is to visit all 50 states and this trip knocked out the rest of New England. Here's what I did:
A few days after school was out I was in the South shopping and eating with my mom and after Memorial Day Mom drove me to the Memphis airport. Four hours later I was sitting in Lyndhurst, NJ with my sweet aunt and uncle who live in Rutherford, NJ. I hadn't seen them since my wedding and they hadn't changed at all! We met up at The Colonial Diner and our waitress had a perfect New Jersey accent. She told me she'd been to Nashville and Dollywood. I ordered the stuffed cabbage and garlic beets (Northern comfort food!) After catching up with them for three hours I drove to Cherry Hill, NJ to spend two days exploring Philadelphia and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
My first morning I drove in to a very crowded and foggy downtown Philadelphia. I drove straight to a parking lot I'd mapped out in advance. The Reading Terminal Market was my favorite part of Philadelphia. Many of the food stalls were run by Pennsylvania Dutch farmers and I walked up and down all the aisles taking in all the sights and smells. I finally decided on a sausage, egg and biscuit with a gluten free bun from the Smuckers stand, some coffee from Old City Coffee, a caramel apple doughnut, and a pint of bright green half-sour pickles from Beiler's Pickle Patch. I walked down the street to the Liberty Bell. It was completely surrounded by hundreds of school children so I walked to the side of the Liberty Bell center and took a picture through the window. Afterwards I crossed the street and had coffee in La Colombe. This cafe was as beautiful as I'd read it was. Then I drove to Geno's for a famous Philly cheesesteak with onions. I expected it to taste like Subway but it was beyond delicious! I was overwhelmed by how tasty the steak and onions were. I guess that's why they're still famous! I didn't feel like braving the traffic again to take a picture of the art museum's famous "Rocky steps" from the movie when Sylvester Stallone runs up them. I need an excuse to return to Philly, right?
I then drove to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I had watched YouTube videos about the boardwalk and it was just as picturesque as it looked in videos. I considered getting some famous Dolles Saltwater Taffy but decided against it. I went to the Sea Shell Shop and then had dinner at Crabby Dick's. I had garlic fries, vegetable crab soup and some scallops with bacon jam. I then drove back to Cherry Hill, NJ and prepared for the next day in beautiful New Haven.
New England! Italian bakeries, thick serious accents, toll booths, beaches, big cities, millionaire's mansions and immigrant neighborhoods! Give me all these things!! I spent six months planning out all the places I would go and all the food I would eat in Philadelphia, Rehoboth Beach, New Haven, Newport, Boston, Burlington, New York City and several stops in between. My current goal is to visit all 50 states and this trip knocked out the rest of New England. Here's what I did:
A few days after school was out I was in the South shopping and eating with my mom and after Memorial Day Mom drove me to the Memphis airport. Four hours later I was sitting in Lyndhurst, NJ with my sweet aunt and uncle who live in Rutherford, NJ. I hadn't seen them since my wedding and they hadn't changed at all! We met up at The Colonial Diner and our waitress had a perfect New Jersey accent. She told me she'd been to Nashville and Dollywood. I ordered the stuffed cabbage and garlic beets (Northern comfort food!) After catching up with them for three hours I drove to Cherry Hill, NJ to spend two days exploring Philadelphia and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
My first morning I drove in to a very crowded and foggy downtown Philadelphia. I drove straight to a parking lot I'd mapped out in advance. The Reading Terminal Market was my favorite part of Philadelphia. Many of the food stalls were run by Pennsylvania Dutch farmers and I walked up and down all the aisles taking in all the sights and smells. I finally decided on a sausage, egg and biscuit with a gluten free bun from the Smuckers stand, some coffee from Old City Coffee, a caramel apple doughnut, and a pint of bright green half-sour pickles from Beiler's Pickle Patch. I walked down the street to the Liberty Bell. It was completely surrounded by hundreds of school children so I walked to the side of the Liberty Bell center and took a picture through the window. Afterwards I crossed the street and had coffee in La Colombe. This cafe was as beautiful as I'd read it was. Then I drove to Geno's for a famous Philly cheesesteak with onions. I expected it to taste like Subway but it was beyond delicious! I was overwhelmed by how tasty the steak and onions were. I guess that's why they're still famous! I didn't feel like braving the traffic again to take a picture of the art museum's famous "Rocky steps" from the movie when Sylvester Stallone runs up them. I need an excuse to return to Philly, right?
I then drove to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I had watched YouTube videos about the boardwalk and it was just as picturesque as it looked in videos. I considered getting some famous Dolles Saltwater Taffy but decided against it. I went to the Sea Shell Shop and then had dinner at Crabby Dick's. I had garlic fries, vegetable crab soup and some scallops with bacon jam. I then drove back to Cherry Hill, NJ and prepared for the next day in beautiful New Haven.
When I drove into New Haven I walked up and down Chapel Street and explored all the cute shops like Atticus books and walked in Trinity Chapel. Then I walked to the Yale bookstore where I found some French language novels for my AP French students to use. I checked into a wonderful hotel and then drove to Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale for a late lunch. I tried fried scrod for the first time and it was great with tartar sauce and wild rice. My only previous knowledge of scrod is a dirty joke my college French professor from Hoboken, NJ used to tell: A tourist arrives in New England and gets in a taxi. He asks the cab driver, "Where can I get scrod around here?" The cab driver replies, "That's the first time I ever heard that used in the past pluperfect tense."
For dinner I had an unbelievably delicious gf pizza from Kitchen Zinc (possibly the second best pizza I've ever tasted besides Minsky's in KC). Fig, speck, goat cheese and caramelized onions. I have to make this as soon as I get home!
The next morning I drove to beautiful Mystic, CT to take pictures and grab a cup of coffee and then on to Newport, RI. Both of these towns were unbelievably charming and photogenic. I wanted to move to Mystic at first sight! Rolling hills, drawbridges, nautical themed shops along the harbor, serenity. I enjoyed the drive to Newport across the huge bridge into town with sailboats perched way below in the ocean. In Newport I bought magnets and postcards and ate lobster bisque and roast beef nachos for lunch at Brick Alley Pub and Restaurant. I found gf cupcakes and carrot cake further down on Thames street and then after a sip of Starbucks I toured The Breakers and walked along the Cliff Walk. The Breakers is a beautiful home built by the Vanderbilts. It is like the Biltmore but the rooms are stuffed with gorgeous ornate furniture and ceiling and wall designs. And of course the view from the back of the house is beautiful with ocean waves breaking on the rocks. Braving the Friday afternoon traffic I drove on to Westboro, MA to spend the night and get a good night's rest before hanging out with my best friend Amy and her daughter Eve in Boston (visiting from Nashville).
For dinner I had an unbelievably delicious gf pizza from Kitchen Zinc (possibly the second best pizza I've ever tasted besides Minsky's in KC). Fig, speck, goat cheese and caramelized onions. I have to make this as soon as I get home!
The next morning I drove to beautiful Mystic, CT to take pictures and grab a cup of coffee and then on to Newport, RI. Both of these towns were unbelievably charming and photogenic. I wanted to move to Mystic at first sight! Rolling hills, drawbridges, nautical themed shops along the harbor, serenity. I enjoyed the drive to Newport across the huge bridge into town with sailboats perched way below in the ocean. In Newport I bought magnets and postcards and ate lobster bisque and roast beef nachos for lunch at Brick Alley Pub and Restaurant. I found gf cupcakes and carrot cake further down on Thames street and then after a sip of Starbucks I toured The Breakers and walked along the Cliff Walk. The Breakers is a beautiful home built by the Vanderbilts. It is like the Biltmore but the rooms are stuffed with gorgeous ornate furniture and ceiling and wall designs. And of course the view from the back of the house is beautiful with ocean waves breaking on the rocks. Braving the Friday afternoon traffic I drove on to Westboro, MA to spend the night and get a good night's rest before hanging out with my best friend Amy and her daughter Eve in Boston (visiting from Nashville).
Boston!! I drove to The Langham Hotel in Boston and arrived at 6:30. An hour and a half later Amy, Eve and I hit the busy streets with a full agenda of fun to knock out. We started at the beautiful public library and then found a Pret a Manger for a snack (avocado and balsamic chicken sandwich) on the way to the Swan Boats. These paddle boats are big enough for maybe 16 people to ride in. The park around the small lake is beautiful. We loved it! After our ride we started walking the Freedom Trail and at the same time it started to rain. We ducked into a nearby Paul Patisserie and shared two large delicious macarons (vanilla and pistachio). I've always wanted to do Paris with Amy and this is the closest we've made it. Paul macarons are my favorite macarons in Paris! After we walked a few landmarks on the trail we headed back to the Langham Hotel for the Chocolate Bar in the Cafe Fleuri. This chocolate buffet blew my mind! There were so many desserts to try and so many sweets that I've read about but have never tasted like yuzu cream. Then we headed out again to finish the Freedom Trail and Eve wore a huge balloon hat that got lots of compliments. We took a lyft to dinner in The North End where we found a delicious Italian restaurant that wasn't too busy. I tried chicken saltimbocca for the first time and it was heavenly! Then we boarded our sunset Boston harbor tour and Amy and I enjoyed an adult beverage on the lower deck. When the tour was over we took a cab ride to Harvard Square in Cambridge and then made a mad dash attempt to see the observatory. We were five minutes too late for the last tour so we returned to the hotel and got ready for Amy and Eve's early next morning departure. The three of us piled into the huge bed and went to sleep after a perfect day of laughing and eating in Boston, Massachusetts!
The next morning we all got up at 4:30 and I drove Amy and Eve to Logan International. I then drove on to Burlington, VT stopping in Concord, NH for a quick breakfast. The drive was beautiful and lush with hills, barns and beautiful trees. The sun was shining brightly and it was 70 degrees when I drove into town and parked near the Church Street Marketplace. For lunch I ate at 5 Guys Burgers and then walked up and down the main and side streets of the Marketplace for hours. Afterwards I checked into the hotel to take a nap. When I was ready for dinner I returned to the Church Street Marketplace and ate in the super healthy and delicious chain B Good. I didn't pay attention to where I parked and lost the rental car for two hours. A Green Cab picked me up and we drove around until we found it. As usual I called my honey on the phone and told him all about it before bed.
The next day I drove back to the Church Street Marketplace determined to park in a place I'd remember. I walked to Henry's Diner for an incredible breakfast of gf French toast with fresh maple syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns. I drove around South Burlington and went in Trader Joe's for snacks and bread and then found local cheese curds and other Vermont goodies in the Cheese Traders cheese shop. I drove out to Shelburne Farms and chatted with the friendly lady who worked in the visitor center. I tasted aged cheddar and port cranberry jam. I ate at B Good again and then drove to the port of Lake Champlain to take pictures. Beside the port there was a creemie stand (people in Vermont call soft serve cones creemies) where the special flavor of the day was maple. I love maple everything and this was an intensely delicious maple flavor. Then I walked over to The Skinny Pancake and ordered a gf crepe with Nutella and strawberries. Even though soup and crepes don't necessarily go together I noticed that fiddlehead soup was on the menu and I've always wanted to try fiddleheads. The soup was good. It tasted like a marriage of mushrooms and broccoli. For the rest of the afternoon I rested at the hotel and that night I walked across the street and got a takeout fried scallop roll, seafood chowder and a pistachio creemie. Burlington was my favorite small town I visited on the trip. Beautiful, friendly and full of delicious food.
The next day I drove back to the Church Street Marketplace determined to park in a place I'd remember. I walked to Henry's Diner for an incredible breakfast of gf French toast with fresh maple syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns. I drove around South Burlington and went in Trader Joe's for snacks and bread and then found local cheese curds and other Vermont goodies in the Cheese Traders cheese shop. I drove out to Shelburne Farms and chatted with the friendly lady who worked in the visitor center. I tasted aged cheddar and port cranberry jam. I ate at B Good again and then drove to the port of Lake Champlain to take pictures. Beside the port there was a creemie stand (people in Vermont call soft serve cones creemies) where the special flavor of the day was maple. I love maple everything and this was an intensely delicious maple flavor. Then I walked over to The Skinny Pancake and ordered a gf crepe with Nutella and strawberries. Even though soup and crepes don't necessarily go together I noticed that fiddlehead soup was on the menu and I've always wanted to try fiddleheads. The soup was good. It tasted like a marriage of mushrooms and broccoli. For the rest of the afternoon I rested at the hotel and that night I walked across the street and got a takeout fried scallop roll, seafood chowder and a pistachio creemie. Burlington was my favorite small town I visited on the trip. Beautiful, friendly and full of delicious food.
NYC!! I drove out of Burlington through Vermont and blissed out on all the beautiful dairy farms along the way. I even spotted the farm that produced the whole container of cheese curds I bought and nearly finished in one hour. Upstate New York was pretty too. I truly enjoyed all the radio stations I heard all through New England. I turned in my rental car at the Newark airport and then took a cab to the Chelsea Inn in Manhattan. I hit the streets immediately and walked all the way from 14th street to 70th street. I stopped in Pret a Manger, Maison Kaiser and Zabar's which had delicious coffee, gf cinnamon and chocolate rugalach and chocolate babkas. I walked back to the hotel and then went out again and found one of my favorite new places in NYC: Big Booty Bread Co. The name alone made me want to go in but I'd read that they have gf breads, arepas and cookies. The herb muffins were unbelievably delicious! This Latin American bakery is one of the best surprises I found on the trip. I returned to the hotel for the evening and watched Shakespeare in Love.
The next morning I slept in and then went to my guided tour of the Chelsea Market. This was SUCH a good tour. For three hours we walked all around the market, then the Gansevoort Market, the High Line, learned about the history of the Meat Packing District, and ended the tour at the rooftop of the Gansevoort Hotel. We ate fried Oreos, biscuits with orange marmalade, a salami taco, steak tartar, a mortadella and provolone sandwich, ooey gooey cake ice cream, salted caramels and tasted pear cinnamon balsamic vinegar. Our tour guide was smart and funny and knew how to make everyone in the group feel special. After the tour ended I went back to the Chelsea Market to buy a tee shirt and then walked through the West Village, Little Italy and Chinatown following Bleecker Street and Mulberry Street. I finally got to try Big Gay Ice Cream and it was unbelievably delicious! I had the Salty Pimp which was a vanilla soft serve cone drizzled with caramel and dipped in chocolate. Heaven in a cone! Then I took more pictures around the neighborhoods and walked back to the hotel. I took a nap and then headed out to Hell's Kitchen to meet up with David Christie, one of my favorite friends who once lived in Memphis but has lived in NYC for 16 years. We met up at Bali Nusa Indonesian where we have met up twice before. I never get to eat Indonesian and it's the only place I ever HAVE eaten Indonesian food! I can only assume that all Indonesian food is delicious! We talked and laughed for hours!
The last day in NYC I walked to Big Booty Bread company again and bought a box of assorted gf muffins, doughnuts and cheese breads. Then I walked to Greenwich Village to meet up with the Food Tour of Brooklyn that I had booked months before. This was a perfect tour! I was relieved that it was a small air conditioned bus tour rather than walking around for 5 hours. We drove all over Brooklyn and learned the history of the immigrants who moved there and how each neighborhood has changed over the decades. I loved all the food and also just getting the lay of the land. I thought Brooklyn was much smaller than it actually is. We had a gigantic meatball and a falafel patty in Williamsburg, Polish food in Green Point, margherita pizza in Park Slope, Jacques Torres chocolate in Dumbo and cannoli in Carroll Gardens at a bakery called Monteleone's that has been around since 1926. Everything was delicious but my two favorites were the sampler plate of Polish food: pirogues, kielbasa, sauerkraut, carrot salad, mashed potatoes and apple dumplings and the visit to the bakery in Carroll Gardens. This bakery had the most amazing desserts and I imagined my husband's grandfather going to this bakery as a child. He grew up down the street from it. I also enjoyed talking to the other people in the group from Detroit, Australia and Connecticut. Our tour leader really loved Brooklyn and he convinced me that Brooklyn does indeed have everything. After the tour I walked back to the hotel and brushed my hair, drank half a Starbucks iced coffee and then walked down the street to meet up with my Aunt Eileen at Cafeteria. I've always wanted to eat here because it was featured in the show Sex and the City. We sat outside and caught up for three hours with the subway purring under the sidewalk. People and dogs walked by while we ate grilled salmon, fried calamari and caramelized onion dip with potato chips. I also had a celebratory cocktail called a Morning Glory with prosecco, St Germaine and grapefruit juice. I was happy to celebrate the final meal of my ambitious and successful food tour around New England. What a dream of a trip! All the planning paid off.
The next morning I slept in and then went to my guided tour of the Chelsea Market. This was SUCH a good tour. For three hours we walked all around the market, then the Gansevoort Market, the High Line, learned about the history of the Meat Packing District, and ended the tour at the rooftop of the Gansevoort Hotel. We ate fried Oreos, biscuits with orange marmalade, a salami taco, steak tartar, a mortadella and provolone sandwich, ooey gooey cake ice cream, salted caramels and tasted pear cinnamon balsamic vinegar. Our tour guide was smart and funny and knew how to make everyone in the group feel special. After the tour ended I went back to the Chelsea Market to buy a tee shirt and then walked through the West Village, Little Italy and Chinatown following Bleecker Street and Mulberry Street. I finally got to try Big Gay Ice Cream and it was unbelievably delicious! I had the Salty Pimp which was a vanilla soft serve cone drizzled with caramel and dipped in chocolate. Heaven in a cone! Then I took more pictures around the neighborhoods and walked back to the hotel. I took a nap and then headed out to Hell's Kitchen to meet up with David Christie, one of my favorite friends who once lived in Memphis but has lived in NYC for 16 years. We met up at Bali Nusa Indonesian where we have met up twice before. I never get to eat Indonesian and it's the only place I ever HAVE eaten Indonesian food! I can only assume that all Indonesian food is delicious! We talked and laughed for hours!
The last day in NYC I walked to Big Booty Bread company again and bought a box of assorted gf muffins, doughnuts and cheese breads. Then I walked to Greenwich Village to meet up with the Food Tour of Brooklyn that I had booked months before. This was a perfect tour! I was relieved that it was a small air conditioned bus tour rather than walking around for 5 hours. We drove all over Brooklyn and learned the history of the immigrants who moved there and how each neighborhood has changed over the decades. I loved all the food and also just getting the lay of the land. I thought Brooklyn was much smaller than it actually is. We had a gigantic meatball and a falafel patty in Williamsburg, Polish food in Green Point, margherita pizza in Park Slope, Jacques Torres chocolate in Dumbo and cannoli in Carroll Gardens at a bakery called Monteleone's that has been around since 1926. Everything was delicious but my two favorites were the sampler plate of Polish food: pirogues, kielbasa, sauerkraut, carrot salad, mashed potatoes and apple dumplings and the visit to the bakery in Carroll Gardens. This bakery had the most amazing desserts and I imagined my husband's grandfather going to this bakery as a child. He grew up down the street from it. I also enjoyed talking to the other people in the group from Detroit, Australia and Connecticut. Our tour leader really loved Brooklyn and he convinced me that Brooklyn does indeed have everything. After the tour I walked back to the hotel and brushed my hair, drank half a Starbucks iced coffee and then walked down the street to meet up with my Aunt Eileen at Cafeteria. I've always wanted to eat here because it was featured in the show Sex and the City. We sat outside and caught up for three hours with the subway purring under the sidewalk. People and dogs walked by while we ate grilled salmon, fried calamari and caramelized onion dip with potato chips. I also had a celebratory cocktail called a Morning Glory with prosecco, St Germaine and grapefruit juice. I was happy to celebrate the final meal of my ambitious and successful food tour around New England. What a dream of a trip! All the planning paid off.
I flew back to Memphis to pick up our dog and have a little more shopping and eating time with my mom. She was happy to hear all about my adventures. You can take the girl out of the South but you can't take the South out of the girl. Mom and I had lunch at Abbay's in Southaven, Mississippi. Abbay's has all the Southern food favorites. Southern food will probably always be my favorite food. I'm completely relaxed and happy when I'm eating it. As Morgan Freeman once said in an interview in Southern Living, "I've lived in many places but my home in Mississippi is home. I just can't relax until I get there." The next day I packed up all my treasures and started driving toward Kansas. My husband and I met up in Oklahoma City to eat whiskey cake at Whiskey Cake, buy some Elemental Coffee and go record shopping in Guestroom Records before settling back into our happy routine in Dodge City, Kansas. Our dog was elated to have the three of us back together again and so was I!