Food Truck Feast

Last Friday the cousins, along with Roy and I, hit up Food Truck Feast in Midtown Harrisburg. This gathering was much smaller than the FoodStruck event we went to the week before, but it was a lot closer to where we live.  Roy's buddy Tyler runs the Grills Goin' Wild food truck based in Lancaster and he was at both events. We love the food Tyler makes so we try to make it to his truck whenever we can. We love the pulled pork sandwich and NOLA fries.

This event occurs every third Friday of the month until October. Here are some photos:



Monumental in MD

Images from our trip to Maryland this past weekend.

 

Kicked it off Friday night at The Capital Grille for our anniversary dindin.  I got a Stoli Doli and Roy got a Loose Cannon IPA (several actually). We got the lobster crab cakes for an appetizer. He got the porterhouse oscar (with crab meat and asparagus) and I got the filet with porcini rub and a glass of Markham Pinot. Strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I love this place and I think it's worth every penny. Roy kept saying "mmm' after every bite. I carried my leftovers with me from hotel to hotel but then forgot to bring them home.



On Saturday we met up with our friends in Gaithersburg and headed to VA in a mini van for a brew tour. Mad Fox Brewing Co. tours were full so we went to Port City Brewing Co. It was a pretty good time. Especially since we skipped lunch.  $9.00 for 6 pints and the tour.

Our favorite was the Monumental IPA. I'm not much of a beer drinker but this turned out to be quite fun tasting all the beers.

Holds lots of beer.

No idea what this is. We couldn't really hear what the guide was saying and we were pretty buzzed. You could tell who the home brewers were and who weren't. They were all serious and listening intently while we were trying not to laugh.



The girls.



The guys.



After Port City we went back to Mad Fox for a later tour but it wasn't as fun. It was more talking and less drinking.  Later that night after stuffing our faces with all you can eat Korean BBQ at Iron Age and taking a short break/nap back at the hotel, we all headed to Dave & Busters. This 4-way air hockey was lots of fun.

Adam hit 1000 on this wheel and got 1000 tickets. Dave & Busters was packed and it smelled like fart. Other than that it was good times.

Ate Pho on Sunday then headed back home to prep for the snowstorm that never really came, but that's okay because I'm so ready for Spring!

An Affair to Remember

Merry Christmas! Here are some pics from our trip to NYC last weekend. It was only a one-nighter but it was plenty of city time for us country bumpkins. I love NYC (especially during Christmastime) and the weather was favorable but the cost of visiting Manhattan had us hightailing it out of there by Sunday afternoon.

First stop: Bon Chon Chicken for lunch. Always wanted to try this place but never got a chance. There's one in Annandale, VA and now one in Rockville, MD also. They specialize in wings. This one is on 5th Ave. between 32nd and 33rd.

The Empire State Building is right across the street from Bon Chon. Two people in our group of four had never been up to the top (I went up many years ago) so we decided to go for it.

After about 90 minutes or so of waiting in line and $27 per person later, we made it to the 86th floor observatory just before 4pm.

East / Queens

Chrysler Building

North / Central Park to the right

The sun was setting so I couldn't get any good shots of downtown or the west side. I think nighttime views on the ESB would have been better. The weather was so nice but it was kind of a drag waiting in line. I'm probably good with never doing that again. Although, you can purchase cut the line passes for $50/person. Money talks, babykins.

 

After that we checked into our hotel at 37th and 8th (Times Square West), relaxed for a bit and then walked to K-Town for some Korean BBQ.

 

Korean BBQ at Kang Suh.

Empire State Building looking festive from 32nd St (K-Town). Cabbed it from here to Bryant Park.

Bryant Park Winter Village and Rink during an ice cut.

Everyone back on the ice. We wanted to skate but after seeing this we changed our minds.

Tree at Bryant Park

Inside the tree. Looks like they beef up the branches to make it look fuller.

The ornaments are huge!

Rockefeller Center. It was jammed packed in there. We skimmed the edge and decided to reroute toward Times Square.

30 Rock

New Yorkers LOVE Times Square. NOT. We hung out at a tiny bar at TSQ. Did some shopping at MAC and missed a girl fight in the McDonald's bathroom.  

 

Cabbed it home and Roy and I passed out. We missed out on $1 late night pizza slices down the block. Sad face.

 

The next day we went down to Little Italy and ate at Benito One for lunch. So good. Walked around Chinatown where random people kept whispering "watches, handbags" in your ear. Drove back up to Midtown via FDR and did a short driving tour of the upper East side and Central Park. Roy was enjoying himself as he drove like a cab and honked back at everyone. He hates the city. We thought about walking around Central Park but the thought of parking the car for another $30 somewhere had us heading toward Lincoln Tunnel.  Until next time, I heart you, NYC!

 





Stick to the Rivers and Lakes

Roy and I had a good time this past holiday. Spent a lot of time outdoors, doing outdoorsy stuff, you know? Here's some photographs for your viewing pleasure:

Went biking on the 4th of July along the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg. Saw two baby groundhogs chomping away (one is on the far left by the day lilies).

Intrigued, but not impressed.

Later that evening we went to Duke's on the river to watch fireworks. There were two shows this year, the first from Metro Bank Park after the baseball game then the regular show immediately following - both from City Island. They should have done them simultaneously.

On Saturday we headed down to Lake Needwood in Maryland to BBQ with my BFF's. Sang, the grill master, cooked us some lamb...

 

... and these yummy pork ribs. He got there early to get these babies on the grill so they can cook for a few hours. They were so good. We also had salmon, steak, and Italian sausages. We can sure put some food away.

Here's a panorama view of our grill and shelter area. It was nice because this picnic area was tucked away and we didn't have a crowd like the other two areas. Plus it was nice and shady.

  Here's Kathy with some archery action. There was an archery range by our shelter which was pretty cool and Sang and his brother have their own bows and arrows. The bow string tension was 55 lbs. so it was hard for us ladies to pull it all the way back. Kathy is hooked! Must be a Korean thing - Koreans seem to dominate in this sport.


After archery, Roy and I went kayaking and my friends rented a row boat. Roy and I used our kayaks for the first time and I loved it! He got me one for Xmas but he ended up using that one and I got a smaller one. It works out better because I can carry it around on my own.

 

Lake Needwood. The last time we were here the lake was being dredged so we didn't get to go out on it. After kayaking we went back to our shelter and ate some more. Later that night we hit up Rockville Towne Center for more eating and drinking. PURE GLUTTONY.

 

We didn't go out on the pontoon boat for fireworks because the river rose up to 9.5 feet over the holiday. All the rain and flash flooding up north was to blame. We actually took the boat out of the river just to be safe (the flooded river tends to pick up fallen trees and other debris which can damage boats that are docked).  Some boats were out but we witnessed one that lost engine power and had to be towed back to dock. It's not unusual for that to happen but it's hard to anchor in deep, fast-moving water so in this case that would have been especially sucky. Fortunately the river is already on its way down to normal levels so the boat will be back in soon.

 

On Friday night we went to the movies and saw "This Is The End" with Seth Rogan. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. It was pretty high-larious. "Really, Jay? Does the power of Christ compel me?" LOL.

 

And that brings us back to... Monday. Ugh. Hope you had a great holiday and I'm jelly if you are off today!

 

Marylanders

Back in December, my friends got together to hang out at Kathy and Jong's house in Columbia. Kathy is one of my besties. Over the course of nine years when I lived in Maryland, I grew really close to a select few people, whom I love dearly.  It's with these friends where I can be 100% myself and it's like a breath of fresh air whenever I'm around them.

This is Daeho and Irene - engaged now for quite awhile. I met Daeho when I was 16 y.o. back in PA. He moved down to MD for college and helped me a great deal to transition from "living at home" to "mooching off my friends" to "living on my own."  I don't know how Irene puts up with him, but she is probably one of the strongest women I know so if anyone can, she can.

Kathy and Jong - married - and our lovely hosts for the night. Kathy is one of a kind, she is kind and compassionate but can be direct and opinionated just as well. She's a hardcore Republican and she and Daeho go at it at times - actually a lot of times! But in the end there's nothing but love. Jong is very laid back and he's funny. They are a great couple.

This is Brandon and Sang. Brandon currently lives in S. Korea right now for work (so lucky!). Sang and Brandon are partners in crime. They have the kind of relationship where they will draw on each other if one passes out first. All night Sang had that big Band-Aid on his face and I was determined to find out what was underneath it.

Sung Min and Roy. Sung Min is a new father to baby Eleanor.  She is adorbs.

This is me after I ate one of those small green Thai chili peppers. Kathy had them in this salad she made and I just decided to eat one. I had no idea it would burn my face off! NEVER doing that again. Luckily the burning sensation went away after 15 minutes. But those 15 minutes were pretty tortuous.

Here's a group shot. There is a couple missing in this picture, Liz and Steve. They live out in California. Liz was supposed to come but had an emergency with her dog, Juno, so she had to fly back. Liz was my roommate for 3 years. We miss her so much. She is a free spirit and a true foodie so San Francisco suits her well, I think. (Side note: Daeho and Irene made those red/green macarons and the yellow jello shots. They were soooo good. In fact, all the food was sooo good that night).

We all played some poker too. As you can see, I ate a lot of the jello shots.

Look at my poker face. You can't tell at all what I have, can you? I should be a pro. And that Band-Aid did come off that night. There was barely anything under it!!!!!! Sang, you so crazy.