‘Restaurant’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Visit: Bahr’s Landing {Highlands, New Jersey}

May 3, 2019 · Narrative, Restaurant Review

A landmark restaurant on the waters of the Jersey shore, let’s visit the historic Bahr’s Landing in Highlands.

My kids and I were down the shore last week for a few days, and we spent one of those days poking around Sandy Hook. On the way back, we were looking for a place to eat lunch on the water and we stumbled upon Bahr’s Landing in Highlands. I had read about it recently, but, surprisingly, despite the fact that it’s been around for ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE YEARS, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it until just a few weeks ago.

We popped in on a weekday for a late lunch, and there was no wait for a non-water-view table, but of course we wanted that precious water view! After just about fifteen minutes, we were seated and greeted by our waitress.

Being we were down the shore, I was focused on eating seafood. Since my kids don’t like any kind of fish whatsoever, I take advantage when we’re out and how could I not when we’re eating right on the water? I really debated about what to get because so many things were calling my name, like the whole belly clam sandwiches and the lobster roll, but I ended up going with the Oyster Po’ Boy Sandwich. Instead of a side of fries, I opted for vegetables, which were roasted sliced carrots that day (and a tad heavy on the butter). My daughter went with chicken fingers (natch!), and my son chose a Caesar Salad with Chicken. The food came relatively quickly and although our waitress was more than a little forgetful, the service was reasonable.

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Review: The Skrimp Shack {Williamsburg, Virginia}

August 18, 2018 · Narrative

Looking for an authentic food experience while visiting the South? Look no further than The Skrimp Shack in Williamsburg, Virginia.

One of my best and fail-safe tips of finding solid places to eat while traveling is to ask the locals where THEY eat, NOT where they send tourists. We’ve used this successfully while in Nashville, Wilmington, Canada, Massachusetts, and countless other places and it’s the best way to find good local food at reasonable prices without the bonus of tourist crowds.

And that’s exactly how we discovered The Skrimp Shack. I was talking with a hotel front desk clerk (and, surprisingly, not from the hotel where we were actually staying), and she gave me several excellent restaurant recommendations during our Spring trip to Virginia. She introduced us to Craft 31, and also The Skrimp Shack.

Before we left the area, I wanted to make sure we had a chance to chow down on some authentic Southern food, namely hush puppies and collard greens, and this place fit the bill.

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Visit: Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls, Canada

March 10, 2018 · Narrative

A chance to dine up in the clouds? There was no way I would miss making a reservation at a restaurant that promised that! Come join me as we visit Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls, Canada.

Any time we are visiting a new area, I always make a list of “things to do, places to visit, food to eat,” and I compile this list by doing two things:

1. Googling the “top ten things to do in xyz,” and changing the google search to cover food and things to eat that the area is known for.

2. Ask locals! They are your best resource, particularly for food suggestions, and have led us to some of our favorite stops when we travel, and when asking locals, I ask where THEY GO, not where they send the hordes of tourists.

These two exercises never fail to leave me with a pretty good list of things to do, and we, of course, leave a little wiggle room to go where the wind takes us as well. I don’t want to be so regimented with an itinerary that we forget to have fun too!

And so, I, of course, did the above when we visited Niagara Falls in Canada for Spring Break last year, and through my searches, I discovered the Skylon Tower.

Billed as a revolving dining room in the sky, how could you not immediately put it on your list??

A fine dining experience, reservations are strongly suggested. The restaurant seats just under 300 guests for their dinner service, and 165 for their buffet (check their site for details because the buffet is not every day). Luckily when we were there during Spring Break, it’s not really a busy season for them, so we had no problems getting the reservation we wanted for our large group.

To be honest, what they were serving for dinner didn’t really matter, because you know I was just there for the view! Despite it being rainy and quite foggy when we were there, it did nothing to dampen the experience.

The outer rim of the tower, where the dining guests sit is a little over 13 feet wide, and that’s the part that rotates. So, when you enter the restaurant, the hostess stand, bar area, and kitchen don’t rotate (that’s the center core of the restaurant), and then you step onto the dining track that rotates. It rotates so slowly that unless you’re paying attention to the changing view, you might not even notice, but it completes one full rotation every hour.

The Falls from 775 feet in the air!

It was seriously so cool.

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Review: Taco Bao {Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey}

November 9, 2017 · Narrative

A new restaurant with Spanish Asian fusion street food and a casual vibe opened up nearby … one mention of Pork Belly Fries and I was there.

The kids are at this new stage in their life (read: growing up) where they can do fun things like offer to take me out for dinner for my birthday.

While them growing up is equal parts awesome and bittersweet, they’ll always be my babies.

When they let ME choose where we can go for a meal, I usually choose some place new and some place where they might possibly not like the food.

Because all the OTHER TIMES we go out, it’s to their favorite places.

If I can’t choose what I want on my birthday, there’s no hope!

A friend had mentioned a new restaurant, Taco Bao, had opened up nearby and that she and her family loved it. Once I heard her mention Pork Belly Fries, it was a done deal, so when the kids offered to treat me to dinner for my birthday at the end of the summer, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.

Being a good mom, I did scan the menu ahead of time, just to make sure they could find something they liked, because, after all, I wanted them to enjoy the meal just as much as I planned to.

Located in the quiet little suburb of Lake Hiawatha, the restaurant was easy to find, along with on-street parking. We grabbed a space right in front, but it was also a weeknight when we went, so on a busier weekend night, you might have to circle the block once or twice.

It’s a small, casual restaurant with just a few tables, and a steady take-out business. Any time you go to a new restaurant, the menu can be a little overwhelming, and this was no exception. The best way to alleviate that? Ask them what customers LOVE to order, and order that.

And so I did.

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Review: Delaware’s Big Fish Grill {Wilmington, DE}

October 18, 2017 · Narrative

Looking for casual dining in Delaware? Let’s visit Delaware’s Big Fish Grill in Wilmington.

Although we only planned to visit Delaware for a whirlwind day trip in August, I wanted to make sure to squeeze in a meal at a local restaurant, and my requirements were simple. I wanted the place to be on the water (or at least super close to it) and to have seafood on the menu.

I did a quick search on a few different sites, scanned some reviews, and found Delaware’s Big Fish Grill. It was only a few miles away from the DuPont Environmental Center that we had visited, which was perfect because we arrived for lunch a little after 3 pm and our crew was STARVING.

The restaurant was very easy to find, and it has an ample parking lot. Because I had pored over the menu already at home, I knew exactly what I wanted to order.

The Chesapeake Bay Fried Oyster Sandwich.

The kids settled into our booth, and figured out what they wanted and our waitress came over.

Which is exactly when we found out that the lunch menu selections stop being available at 3 pm (it was currently 3:10 pm). It doesn’t note it on the menu or on their web site, and had I not already scoped out the menu, I might not have even noticed the differences between what I had seen online and the menu the waitress had handed us. The lunch and dinner menus are reasonably similar, except there are less sandwich options on the dinner version, and, most notably, no fried oyster sandwich.

She offered to get the manager for me, and he came over. I explained that the hours for the lunch menu weren’t noted online (and 3 seems awfully early to think about dinner), and it was only ten minutes past 3 … could he help us out and rustle up some fried oysters? He was completely amenable and agreed right away.

The kids menu has a good variety, is reasonably priced and, perhaps just as important, it had non-seafood selections for my fish haters.

While we were waiting for our food, the kids kept busy with the puzzles on the placemat and checking out the decor. It’s a pretty large restaurant and bright and airy, with a full bar and music playing in the background

Our food arrived within about twenty minutes or so, which gave the kids exactly enough time to visit the nearby restroom some 23 times.

My sandwich came with a choice of a side item, and I went with Neva’s Potatoes. I honestly didn’t even ask what they were; I just saw potatoes and was looking for something different. The next day, a friend up the street told me she dreams about those potatoes, so I clearly made the right call. They were kind of like a mashed potato casserole with a slightly crispy topping. So good, and my mouth is totally watering now just thinking about them again. Apparently the Neva’s Potatoes are a pretty hot item – just look at what a quick google search turns up (and now I’ve added “make a copycat recipe” to my list of things to do).

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Visit: The Habit Burger Grill

January 30, 2017 · Narrative

I’m always up for a burger … and a visit to the newest location of The Habit Burger Grill.

Although I love animals and would do almost anything to protect them, I could never become a vegetarian. Because I just love burgers too much (and I’m convinced that sometimes red meat is exactly what my body needs).

So when a new burger place opened up near us and we were invited to check them out, I was on it like white on rice. And now that we’ve visited them several times and had a chance to check out many of their menu items, it’s time to share.

What I love most about Habit Burger is their menu. It is simple, not overwhelming, and totally customizable. Which means you can order something delicious and perfect for YOU. And everyone is definitely climbing on THIS bandwagon as Habit Burger was voted on the top of the charts for the most delicious burger around from a survey that the folks at Consumer Reports did.

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Review: Black Tap Burger {New York City}

February 25, 2016 · Narrative, Restaurant Review

A burger and shake joint in the city that has an average of a two hour wait to get in … is it worth it?

When Madeline started talking about how she wanted to celebrate her birthday some six months ago, she was very clear about her ideas.

She wanted to go into the city with her two best friends and spend the day. She asked if we could, and I agreed, and then we didn’t discuss it much after that.

We planned a low key party at home to celebrate with her friends, and I think she figured I had just decided against taking her into the city.

Which is exactly what I wanted her to think.

Because it was far MORE fun to surprise her.

I had made arrangements with her friends’ mom, decided on the day, and didn’t tell Madeline until we were on her way.

A boring Saturday of just “doing some errands” turned into a giant surprise for her, and she couldn’t have been more happy.

When I was planning what we would do, I wanted to stay away from the general area of Times Square.
Although it is heaps of fun, and there would be plenty to do there, I was going to be the only adult with four kids, and I don’t trust my NYC geography nor crowds quite that much. So I kept my focus on the Meatpacking district and built our day trip around lunch at Black Tap.

If you’re on Instagram or follow Buzz Feed, and, well, countless other social media channels, you have likely heard of Black Tap before.

Or perhaps seen their crazy, over-the-top milkshakes.

Which I thought the kids would be thrilled with.

They have two locations (the other in Soho), but I went with this one because I figured we could also visit the Chelsea Marketplace, the High Line, and the four-story Apple store (for Nick) while we were there.

Keeping everything in the same general area, and easy walking distance.

I also thought this location of Black Tap might be the least busy of the two.

Well…

Since they have generated quite the buzz on the internet over the last few months, it wasn’t exactly empty.

They open at 12, and we arrived around 11:45, and the lines were already three rows deep.

It took just under two hours to get in.

Craziness.

Luckily the weather was gorgeous, and the kids kept themselves busy most of the time. They only started getting antsy towards the last half hour, but luckily we saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

When we were next in line to enter, I asked the guy manning the door about the crowd. He said that was his first day working there and he was a little astounded. I’m not surprised. (*Just a side note, after we had our meal, we did the rest of our sightseeing and had to pass by the restaurant around dinner time. By then, the lines had doubled, so those folks had a good 3-4 hour wait to get in.)

Once inside, the restaurant is actually quite small. A long bar on the right with bar stools, a few community tables, a bunch of booths, and a back room. (The Soho location is actually smaller, seating just 18 people and many reviewers warn against going if you’re claustrophobic because of the tight quarters).

The tables are wooden and patrons have been doing their own form of decorating on them (bring a marker!). Each table is set with condiments, and a serving tray with silverware and menus.

Very no frills.

Our waiter came by with a jug of water and jelly glasses.

As Nick said, “mmmm, New York City tap water.”

You start by ordering your shakes first, and then your meal, and that’s how everything comes out. They are three of their “fancy” shakes on the menu, and when we got there, the cotton candy version was already sold out (even though they had only been open for an hour).

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Visit: Oyster House {Philadelphia, PA}

September 30, 2014 · Narrative

Looking for a slightly casual, but slightly fancy restaurant in Philadelphia? The Oyster House is a not-to-miss visit.

A friend and I took a weekend girls trip to Philadelphia last month, with pretty much one thing in mind.

To eat our way through the city.

And I’m pretty sure we managed to accomplish that.

Although we were only there for one night, we made the most of our time, which pretty much means our weekend was packed with epic proportions of food deliciousness.

Say oysters and I’m there.

No questions asked.

Our hotel was pretty centrally located, and within walking distance to Reading Terminal, the famous LOVE sign, and the Oyster House restaurant, which we planned to visit for our starters that Saturday night.

Because, you know, oysters.

The restaurant is slightly on the small side, so if you’re going during the height of dinner time, and especially on the weekend, call ahead for reservations. Luckily we were there early and managed to snag a small table, but it was crowded at 5 pm, and packed when we left.

Dimly lit, and simply decorated, I could not love the décor more. Rustic and brick throughout, the walls were focused on one theme: oyster plates. Modern ones. Colorful ones. Sparkly ones. There are over 100 of the vintage plates throughout the restaurant, and they are part of the owner’s collection. Each one more beautiful than the next, I loved this out-of-the-box idea for decorating, and it was, obviously, perfect for the restaurant.

I can’t post the photo here because of its width, but this shot gives a great view to the place. …

Review: Jack’s Bar-B-Que {Nashville, Tennessee}

April 30, 2014 · Narrative

Need to know the best eats in Nashville? Jack’s Bar-B-Que. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

As soon as we pulled up to our Nashville hotel for our first night in Tennessee, I asked the valet for a dinner recommendation.

Want to know the best place to eat in town?

Ask a local.

But I gave him very specific criteria.

Kid-friendly. Reasonably priced. Not a huge wait. A place that screams Nashville.

And the place where he would go to if he could only go to one place in all his time in Nashville.

And Jack’s Bar-B-Que it was.

Originally started as a catering company in 1976, the restaurant was about four blocks from the hotel, and since the weather was pretty clear, and I am intent on keeping up with my Fitbit friends, we decided to leave the car and walk to dinner.

Which totally would have been awesome had the skies not opened up during dinner to welcome us with a torrential downpour.

Yep, yep.

Nothing that a six dollar cab ride can’t fix.

So we walked into the lively Jack’s and I dispatched Nick to grab a table. There are a handful of tables in the front of the restaurant, and more on the second floor (seating that you can view from a tv screen while you’re in line).

Luckily we were a bit early for dinner, and there were just a few people in line. I queued up and started scanning the menu so I would be ready. The menu is short and direct.

Meat.

BBQ.

Vegetables.

They are focusing on what they’re good at.

Which is pretty much the way to go.

Restaurants that have pages and pages and pages of menu offerings always are off-putting to me. Lack of focus.

During our Tennessee adventure, I wanted to be sure to hone in and enjoy local Tennessee specialties. Really chow down on the best the state has to offer.

And BBQ is definitely a sure-fire way to go.

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Review: Kebab Fusion {Morristown, New Jersey}

March 27, 2013 · Narrative

When Madeline and I first walked by Kebab Fusion, on our way to Taro for frozen yogurt, we decided it looked like a fun restaurant to try one night and made a point to remember to come back.

And we did several weeks later. After we got a few back-to-back sushi nights out of our my system.

When we first walked in, I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to order at the counter (where there is a big menu displayed on the wall), or if we were to sit down first.

Turns out, if you’re staying in, you sit down.

The waiter brought over the menu right away and took our drink order. The restaurant is small, just a handful of tables, and it seems a little confused about whether it wants to be totally casual or a little more upscale. Glasses for our drinks, and tvs on the wall. Pretty formal waiter, but casual seating.

I asked about a few menu items and if they have a children’s menu (they do not). The friendly waiter suggested a kebab sandwich for Madeline, thinking it might be easier for her to eat, and I asked if it came with the meat on the stick like a regular kebab.

And it didn’t. And it turned out that the regular chicken (and other assorted) kebabs don’t come on a stick either.

Is it me or is that a little … odd?

I went with a falafel stickless kebab, because I have been sorely craving falafel since a favorite local place shut down without warning.

The nerve.

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Review: The Brick Oven of Morristown {New Jersey}

March 22, 2013 · Narrative

We knew we didn’t want sushi that night.

First, Madeline said pizza.

And then she wavered to hot dogs.

And then she went back to pizza.

And I hoped she wouldn’t change her mind as we were sitting down.

And, of course, she did.

“Do they have chicken fingers?”

Thankfully, although that’s not what we went there for, The Brick Oven of Morristown did, in fact, have chicken fingers.

Of the frozen nugget variety.

Which didn’t thrill me, but she was happy.

We have been to The Brick Oven several times over the last few years, mostly because it’s right next door to the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, so it’s easy.

A few years ago after Nick’s friend celebrated her birthday at the Pippi Longstocking show, followed by pizza here.

Earlier this year after we saw Jack Hanna.

And a few other times just for a quick meal.

Located on the busy South Street, it is easy to locate, within walking distance of many froyo places we like, and if you don’t mind a few trips around the block, on-street parking is plentiful.

You are always greeted by a hostess as soon as you walk in. Normal weeknights, you can usually get seated right away. Weekends tend to be considerably busier. They do take reservations (and are BYOB), so definitely call ahead if you have a big group.

The decor is very Trattoria-style for sure. Warm, mood lighting, soft music … and a wall-mounted tv with the sports channel on. I know, odd, right? Madeline was thrilled, however, since they were broadcasting horse races while we were there last week.

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Review: Millie’s Old World Meatballs & Pizza {Morristown, New Jersey}

March 11, 2013 · Narrative

As soon as we walked in the door, I could tell they hadn’t been opened for long. In fact, for a moment, I wasn’t even sure if they were open. And I wondered how our meal was going to go from there.

Luckily, I needn’t have worried. Although they’ve only been open for a few weeks, after that first few minutes, I couldn’t tell.

With Nick’s weekly workshop in Morristown, it’s given Madeline and I a great opportunity to try out new restaurants in the area. We alternate between one particular sushi restaurant and trying a new restaurant. This particular evening, Madeline asked for pizza, and Millie’s it was.

Huge doors made way to a gorgeous restaurant. From the wood, glass tiles, and lighting fixtures to the upholstered booths, gleaming tin ceiling, and shiny kitchen area, it was really pleasing to the eye. We were seated right away and, at that time, were the only patrons there. By the time we left, the restaurant was more than half full.

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