Category Archives: Good Eats

05Jul/11

America’s Birthday

As we celebrated not only our first July 4th outside of California, we celebrated our first with our little Tiger. Seeing we were still new to the area, we didn’t want to get trapped in the traffic mess that is the Jersey Shore, the Hudson River, or anywhere else that involved a ton of tourists or a ton of driving. Instead, we focused this weekend (a 4-day weekend) on getting to know areas surrounding Parsippany and finding as many good eats we possibly could in a few days.

For the fireworks show, we decided to go Summit, which is the town that I work in. When we arrived at the park (around 6pm-ish), we weren’t sure if we came to the right place, as the place was pretty empty. Besides the millions of bugs (gnats, flying ants, etc.), there were only a few of us claiming our spots on the wet-grassed, park grounds. After a quick run to the local Walgreens to get bug spray (yes, it was that bad), the park filled up considerably and we were entertained by a local oldies band (damn, how old are we?). The rest is in the pictures…

Um, is the festival today, or did it already happen a couple of days ago and nobody updated the flyer?

I’m smiling right now because I don’t feel the bugs yet…~Tiger

Okay, I need more than a hat and a long sleeve shirt to get these bugs from attacking me…Dada, go get me some bug spray! ~Tiger

Now, this is more like it.

Let the show begin!

Are you really watching this dada? ~Tiger

You guys kept me awake for this? A lot of loud noises and some bright lights? I’m still mad about the bugs. ~Tiger

24Jun/11

Quite Fair, By Jersey Standards

Nothing beats a Friday, especially on a week where you started work at a new job, and just a week after your family moves cross-country. The NJ State Fair opened today and was advertised as $1 parking, $2 entrance fees, $1 games, and some $1 foods. With that in mind and a weekend to look forward to, we figured the 30-minute drive would be well worth it.

The fair was held near the New Meadowlands Stadium where the NY Jets and the NY Football Giants play there games, so it was cool to see what a new stadium looks like (ahem Qualcomm). Time flew by as we ate sausages, $1 hot dogs, $1 roasted corn with cheese, mayo, and chili powder, and even got a few prizes after Keante played a few games.

I don’t think we’ll ever fully get used to NJ, but this is a good start.

24Jun/11

National Mall to National Treasure

After picking up Angie and Em from Dulles, we planned out part of our East Coast trip, which included trips to Washington DC and Philadelphia.

The first stop was the Nation’s capitol, as we walked for 6+ hours in hot and humid conditions. We checked out most of the main tourist attractions (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial). Through all of that, we even made it to the Holocaust Museum (which is a must-visit in DC). Although the heat took it’s toll on us, we managed to get through it all and even managed to find some good eats in the way of Rita’s, Ben’s Chilli, and other food establishments that I can’t remember right now. I don’t have many pictures, as Angie is a much better photographer, so we deferred to her, but her’s what I have of DC.


I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long, long day…~Tiger


I Guess this is what my tax money is paying for…


My dada says that this is an important picture because I can use it to remind Mama that we’ve been here before (because she won’t remember)…~Tiger

Philadelphia was our next stop on the trip (although we made a quick detour back to NJ for a day). Philly was Philly. Good, unhealthy food, and plenty of historical sites to checkout. Although I don’t have any of the Philly pictures on my camera, we did check out the must-sees from the eatery world (Geno’s and Pat’s….Pat’s is better for the record). In Philly, we also had the most expensive take-out Vietnamese food ever, stayed in a sub-par Sheraton Hotel, visited the Liberty Bell, took the Independence Hall tour to view where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were formed and signed, visited Ben Franklin’s grave, partially visited Love Park (the girls didn’t want to get dropped off because somebody told them they might get mugged) and finished the afternoon off with a Philly Hoagie. All in a day and a half’s work…not bad even by Benjamin Gates’ standards.

24Jun/11

Not Exactly Santa Monica, But It’ll Do

Our first outing in New Jersey took us to Jenkinsons (Jenks as the locals call it). Not a bad boardwalk if you like games, expensive carnival food, and watching people pretend like they’re on the cast of Jersey Shore.

We did have a great time, although driving there was a bit of a challenge (imagine me doing a few loops around the same roundabout and not knowing which exit to take).

01Jun/11

Caught in the Act

“Uh oh, I think I’ve just been spotted eating my toy”

“Oh well, I’m still gonna eat it”

“If he’s gonna keep staring at me, I’m gonna bite down even harder”

“I think I’m in trouble”