Jozanna's

My whole family loves Jozanna's. My sons (4 and 7) love love love the pasta e fagioli soup and share a grown up spaghetti and meatballs. My husband and I have been thrilled with our meals, having tried both specials and the regular menu. We've also gotten pizza to go and it's a standout in an area filled with varying quality of pie. We really like this one, but pizza is one of those personal preference kind of dishes. Service is always phenomenal, and despite having months between our first and second visit, we were remembered. Amazing.

Oh, and on our last visit, we tried the desserts. Outstanding and delicious and rich...save room.

Al Dente

The food here is amazing. The service is fast and friendly, and the place is really cute, but oh wow, the food.

I could not get their burrata out of my head the first time a photo was posted on facebook, and it does not disappoint. It is creamy and smooth and has such great flavor. It is the star of the Taglieri course options, but the other favorite of mine is the eggplant rollatini appetizer. The eggplant is so soft and delicious that you'll forget it's that purple fruit from your garden.

My husband had something from the specials menu, Lobster Ravioli Fantasia. He made our sons try it, saying "your face is going to explode because this is so good."

Finally, my sons  (ages 5 and 7) shared a pasta e fagioli soup and a gnocchi dinner. They loved both and said they were full when they finished the plate.

We love that Al Dente is BYOB, but I really love that burrata!

Mockingbird Cafe

We took a Good Friday hike up to Basking Ridge to try this joint. When my husband worked in Basking Ridge, he had heard people will wait for an hour on the weekends.

Our breakfast was great. Service was good, the place is cozy, and the food was interesting and tasty.

My husband and I shared a Dutch Baby and Ricotta Lemon pancakes while the boys shared Bananas Foster french toast. All super tasty, though the Dutch baby wasn't really filling.

Worth the drive!

Paragon Tap and Table

Coworkers of mine visited this one Friday for happy hour and just raved, so when my husband and I had a rare date night, we trekked out to Clark.

The vibe of the place is very nice; you certainly forget that you are sitting inside a suburban strip mall with exposed brick, fireplaces, and lots of chalkboards around.

We both chose flights, and neither one of us really hit the mark on our choices. My coworkers probably sat at the bar, and if I'd done that I would have tried samples until I nailed the right one and then ordering a pint; this was a disappointment but not at all the restaurant's fault.

We each had ravioli, but different types. I chose to go outside of my comfort zone by choosing Butternut Squash ravioli, and they were outstanding. My husband chose Pear and Pork Ravioli and he was pretty excited about them.

Since we visited on Valentine's Day weekend, we also opted for a special dessert option. It involved three different treats, and all were fantastic.

A super nice touch was the chef walking around and checking in on everyone as they ate. I know he has several locations, so the kitchen probably runs itself, so this was a really nice touch for him.

In short, we had a very good meal and a nice time, but we probably wouldn't make the trek to Clark if it's just the two of us. But for those in the Clark area, this is like living close to New Brunswick.

We did not have our children this time, but there were many families there, so I'd have to give it a kid friendly rating!

 photo posted by @smallbutfeisty78 on Feb 13, 2015 at 4:48pm PST

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Hailey's Harp and Pub

I have not blogged in forever, possibly the result of having too many blogs. So it's time to just start writing.

My family paid our second visit to Hailey's Harp and Pub in Metuchen the other night. My kids LOVE this place, simply because of the shuffleboard table. Yes, my children love bar games.

My husband and I though, love the food. The first time we visited, they had a special Oktoberfest menu and the food was great, and this time we both ordered from the regular menu.  He chose and entree I was eyeing, "Hailey's Hooley," which was tasty but out of season tomatoes really brought it down a smidge. My husband raved about the eggplant in the dish, though. I tried the Guinness Stew. Despite not being a fan of the beer, this stew was so good. My 4 year old tried it, and he did a "watch me fall out of my seat to show you how much I love this!" I had leftovers the next day and the meat was still incredibly flavorful and tender.

As of this post, Hailey's is on restaurant.com; stop at ebates first to get up to to 10% cash back on your shopping there!