Port Royale Grill - Man v. Food

TIME TO STEP IT UP!  Although this happened a few days ago, I obviously didn't blog about this until now.  Once I saw the episode of Man v. Food where Adam Richman went to Long Island and took on the Davey Jones' Locker Challenge, I knew I had to make a stop here and give it a shot too.

So I sit down, grab a menu, and am ready to open that locker door and attack all the delicious seafood that's inside.  But then I see the price...  Probably not the best idea to charge a $95 meal on my company card.  In theory, if I beat the challenge it would have been free, but if there's one thing I hate more than failing an eating challenge it's failing an eating challenge and having to pay for that meal with my own money.  Instead, I decided to act like a normal person and I ordered the crab cake burger.

Again, my stomach got the best of me because I had a nice cup of shrimp/corn soup (actually called shrimp/corn soup because our waitress didn't know the proper name of it) and Ant ordered some great tasting buffalo wings that I politely helped him with, but they are not pictured.  Overall this was a pretty decent meal.  The crab cake was fantastic, the side red mayo spread was ok, and I went with regular fries because Jenn ordered sweet potato ones ahead of me.  The secret part about this meal was the maple mustard crazy hybrid dipping sauce that I got on the side.  Holy hell was that a good call.  It literally made everything taste 3x as good.  I would equate that to ordering buffalo wings and then getting ranch to dip them in.  Instant upgrade to the meal.

Mamma Mia!

Here we go again!  And no I'm not referencing that classic gem of a song by Abba, but rather the final family style dinner I had at Mama Sbarro's on Long Island for this travel season.  Just thinking about it brings a tear to my eye for a variety of reasons.  It was great food, even better service, I laughed uncontrollably several times during the meal for no reason, and because this was the birthplace of Jeeves Got Iced aka ALC Long Island.

This time around it was Ant, Jenn, Sam, and myself and we again went with the family style option of each person ordering a meal and us all sharing.  I would have pictures of the appetizers, but one thing led to another and when the food (mozzarella and corazza and fried calamari) was put in front of us, my mind went elsewhere.  As for our main course, it was more or less a Murderer's Row rather than a normal order.

Jenn led off with Penne a la Vodka which was a fantastic choice.  No words needed to describe it because it was just a solid dish.  Next up was Ant with a familiar favorite (I actually just order Chicken Marsala for lunch - it's 2:50 so it's a late lunch...) but with a twist.  Instead of going chicken because of what I ordered, he went Veal Marsala.  The only thing that comes to mind when thinking back on this meal is the word tender.  The veal literally melted in your mouth.  We'll throw my meal up next which was the always reliable, battle tested Chicken Parm.  What's awesome about Mama Sbarro's Chicken Parm was that I got a massive plate with two huge chicken cutlets covered in cheese and sauce.  A bonus was it came with a side of pasta and instead of going with a normal order or ziti or spaghetti, I threw a curveball and asked for my favorite pasta which is gnocchi.  Our waitress say it coming a mile away and told me it would be extra, but then came back and said no charge for the substitute... too bad that can't happen all the time, but it was well worth it!  And batting cleanup was Sam with a clam over pasta dish.  Do I remember the name of it?  Nope, but I do know when you bat cleanup you need to be ready to knock it out of the park and that's just what this dish did.  Mix in a glass of red wine and it was just a great way to close out Long Island travel.

EXTRA INNINGS!!!  I'm actually gonna take a moment here to apologize for all the awful baseball references.  I'm kind of stuck in my hotel for today and tomorrow and I've seen Sportscenter like 7 times and they keep showing the same highlights of the Giants winning the World Series last night.  Nothing I can do but watch that so yea....

Anyways, we go to the pen and hopefully close out this blog with a bang!  Ant ordered an espresso truffle that came with ice cream, I stuck to ordering classic Italian food and went with a canoli (not as good as Avventura's in Waterbury, but I'm biased), and Jenn and Sam split a little pastry/cake/thingy.  I feel like I always forget what other people order when I go out and eat with them and try and blog about it later, but I do remember trying a few bites and it was quite tasty.  In fact, all of those desserts were non-fat just like the frozen yogurt I had today.  Obviously that's a lie, but another round of strawberry for me and my friends!

Pumpkin Bread

I love it, i need it, and cant live without pumpkin bread. But, the pumpkin bread at Starbucks is sub par at best. There I was, trying to experience a nice supplement to my pumpkin spiced latte, and I got a mediocre slice of pumpkin bread. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I was hoping for a nice, moist, delicious piece of pumpkin bread, but received a dry, almost brittle slice of grossness. Looks like I need to stick to the coffee...

A Nice Formal Dinner

I wish I read the title of this post before actually going to Baci, the restaurant that this post is about, because I might have classed things up a bit.  While staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Westbury, NY, I felt the need to go have a "nicer" dinner than the usual room service or Subway and Baci was suggested by the concierge.  Since this was a Friday night, all of my fellow road warriors from the field of Admissions had left for the weekend except for Rachel McAdams Sam, so we got together and walked down and around the corner to Baci.

We figured it was a "nice" restaurant, but when we walked in, we quickly realized that jeans and a T-Shirt didn't cut it.  Everyone looked a lot nicer than us and by comparison, it looked like we were members of the lower class who just declared bankruptcy.  Good thing neither of us cared and we walked right in and got a table.  Overall it was a really nice place and the food wasn't bad either.

Sam ordered something and I kind of forget what it was, but I'm thinking it was calamari over linguini with white sauce and a glass of red wine on the side.  Some would say that dish looks really boss, but that's because you haven't seen what I ordered!

BOOM.  Spinach and cheese raviolis.  I was hesitant to pull the trigger on this one, but I decided to switch things up from my favorite Italian dish of chicken parm and I'm happy I did.  I'll be honest, when my dish was placed in front of me all I could think of to say was "yeash" which was somewhat of a happy yes mixed with a simple acknowledgement of the food arriving.  I very rarely have pasta with a green sauce of any kind, but it smelt delicious, so I went for it.

All in all it was a pretty delicious meal.  If you're ever in the Westbury, NY area on Long Island, be sure to check this place out if you're interested in a "nicer" dinner than usual.  Just remember to stay in work clothes (if you dress business casual for work) and if you bring an umbrella, don't forget it in the restaurant.  To close this post out, I feel like ending with a nice homage to The Office and therefore bring you Lazy Sunday.  I'm hoping that this post is an A or an A+... but I completely forgot that there is an A++.  Enjoy!

Evolution - Admissions Style

Not gonna lie, I'm shaking uncontrollably while typing this blog. I do shake on a consistent basis (minor tremors in my arms... Thanks doctor for telling me yet not fixing the problem), but it's because I'm addicted to coffee now. I never liked coffee growing up and I still don't love it, but I find myself slugging down cup after cup of this stuff. Why? Because I'm an Admissions Counselor. Early mornings, late nights, long drives, and awkward gaps throughout the days force me to either sleep in my car or hang out at a Starbucks, Panera, or Dunkin. I don't know about any of you, but I feel guilty going to one of these places and just hangin out and mooching off their wi-fi so I always grab a coffee.

What's really funny for me is the fact my career and my addiction to coffee has evolved hand in hand over time. I started in this field as an Admissions Rep who knew little about the industry, but was willing and eager to learn and grow. I then was hired full time and evolved to the next level and became a full fledged Admissions Counselor. After 2 years I evolved again and became an Assistant Director of Admissions (not to be confused with an Assistant to the Director of Admissions). With each step up professionally I also stepped up my coffee intake. I'm not sure if there's a level beyond my current state and frankly, I'm scared to find out. See where you fall on the evolution chain for coffee addicts:

There Are No Words For This

Well, I have to use a few words. I went downstairs for breakfast in my hotel this morning and opened up the cover to see a magical sight. Normally it's eggs and homefries or some other combo, but this morning they had a full tray of bacon. No lie, I had a nice lil moment.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte for Halloween!

My apologies for not being as active on my blog as I should be! It's a lot tougher than I thought to keep up with this bad boy...

Anyways, I'm up early this morning and really don't feel like going to the gym so instead, I'm going to reflect on my pumpkin spiced latte and jack-o-lantern iced sugar cookie. Hopefully everyone is aware of Panera (I know Brian Baum is...) and how good some of their stuff is, but their seasonal pumpkin spiced latte rivals that of Starbucks. Was it better? Tough to say, but it was damm good.

What made this experience so great was the fact that the lady at the counter (Betsie Sue) thought I looked handsome and complimented me on being so polite. That made my day and then sitting down to drink and eat this really made my day. If you're bored and have time to kill, stop by a Panera and grab a pumpkin spiced latte and a cookie! It's worth it!