Schwartz Tour de Food

One of the top things I love about my in-laws, other than giving me their son and just being lovely people, is that they like food. Good food.

And family visits usually involve a lot of it. This time around, we really hit it out of the park. We dined at several locally owned, very fine establishments. And we weren't disappointed.

There was a bit of home cooking that is now packaged and stored in our freezer. Jack was content going shopping with Mema, and he was content eating out. As of yet, we haven't had one restaurant meltdown and I thank Jack after every meal for his excellent behavior.
Trips home are usually another story. He hates the car seat and just isn't happy being there.



Besides shopping with Mema, he had storytime with Pop pop. Only one book was destroyed in this endeavor.






















Here's a quick recap:

Cuzzy's: Several restaurants headline downtown but also entertain the 'burbs. We like Cuzzy's, particularly the pepperoni soup. Yum.

Santorini: Excellent Greek fare. I had Shrimp wrapped in chicken. Yes, you heard that right. It was interesting and delicious. Next time though, I do have to try the flaming Brie cheese that they light at the table and yell 'opa!"

Stella's Fish Cafe: This is my new favorite place to eat. Fresh oysters, and you even get to pick what water they come out of before sampling. My grouper was just amazing. We also shared calamari. This uptown cafe' has a rooftop terrace that is a summer hot spot, as if this cute place needed any other reason to attract folks other than the tasty, fresh seafood. Plus, we topped the meal off with Red Velvet Cake. And they know how to make iced tea, which always gets extra points in my book.

Original Pancake House: We visited the OPH during the ice storm that blew in early. As a result, we didn't have to wait to get in this place for a change. In an ironic twist, the food wasn't nearly as good this time around either. The management and wait staff know us by name here and it's the time of year for Pumpkin pancakes....so we will be back soon.

Manny's: This was the spot where Dave spotted Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada a few weeks ago, but he didn't kick them in the shins. Dave and his dad had a father-son cocktail at the top of the W and then had a delicious dinner here while I dined with the Sheil and Jack at home. Both meals were good.

Salut Bar Americain: It's always a favorite spot, and this time did not disappoint. Plus, I got a sparkler on top of a red velvet cupcake, which Jack thought was really cool.

Who said Thanksgiving was the only time for overeating? We reserve that for when the Schwartz come to visit.