La Mexicana Grocery

Location: Schenectady, NY                                            Type of food: Mexican

So I'm branching out even further than New Jersey and New York City/Long Island. This time, I've moved up north. No wisecracks about the weather please. Yes, I've gone completely the other way from Los Angeles to Upstate New York. And of course, coming from Los Angeles, I will always crave good Mexican. Now, considering there is a term "grocery" attached to this place, one would wonder what am I recommending. Well, if you want to buy some groceries, you can certainly do that too. They have Inca Kola, which is always great. BUT, I digress. Attached to the grocery store is a dine-in restaurant; you don't have to walk through the grocery store to get there either - they have their own door. Tacos are the authentic small corn tortilla ones at $2.50 a pop. I absolutely love their tostadas and my husband has tried their menudo too! If you are craving Mexican food, this is the place to go! Though I'm no expert, I have eaten tacos in Los Cabos, Ensenada, and of course, Los Angeles, so I'm always craving real tacos - not those flour tortilla shredded lettuce and cheese tacos. This place is pretty fast, ALWAYS satisfies, and they make one awesome margarita (it's really huge for lightweights like me; I have to share.....don't laugh). As a bonus, they have lots of different flavored Jarritos and usually at least one great agua fresca!!! I'm salivating.... I'll see you there. ;) Rating: 4.5 loaves

PJ Sushi

Location: Fort Lee, NJ                                              Type of food: Sushi

So I'm branching out, now that I'm no longer based on Long Island. This sushi place has been one of our favorite places to go even when we were living on Long Island; we discovered it on Yelp one day craving sushi on the way to New Jersey.  It had good reviews so we checked it out. We've been fans ever since. It's a low-key sushi place with no table service. You order at the counter and sit down; they'll bring it to you but everything is in disposable containers. No matter. The price is great and so is the taste. My husband and I order extra miso soup, a soda or something else, and we always come away spending about $20 for the both of us. And we're always full and satisfied! Their lunch specials are great but even if you miss those, no worries. Prices are always reasonable. We went with my brother-in-law and his wife one evening and ordered one of those huge platters with sushi and sashimi; it was plenty for the four of us. I'm looking forward to going again soon. Rating: 4.5 loaves

Pollo Rico Latin Bistro

Location: Centereach, NY                  Type of food: Latin

If you're looking for some good latin food in the middle of Long Island, this is the place to go. Their portions are always generous and their food always good. They have a large selection of dishes and we haven't gone often enough to try a lot of things (plus when my husband goes, he generally gets the same thing). :) But everything we've had there has been good, including their salads. Of course, having a caipirina doesn't hurt either. :) Out of all the latin food we've tried in the area, as far as restaurants go, this place is the best. Rating: 4 loaves.

Cha Cha Chicken

Location: Santa Monica, California.        Type of food: Caribbean

I can't believe I don't have an entry for Cha Cha Chicken on my blog!! It's one of my favorite places to eat when I'm in L.A. One time my friend picked me up at the airport and we headed straight here for dinner before she dropped me off at my folks' house. Crazy, I know, but I gotta get my Cha Cha Chicken fix! And I have tried pretty much every entree on the menu here and I love all of it, except for the spicy black pepper shrimp dish - so unless they've changed how they do that in the last few years, I would recommend everything else but that. Oh, and not everything is chicken. ;) They have a couple of great pork and beef dishes, but most of the other entrees are indeed chicken. And  the agua fresca is a must-get! On summer days on Long Island, I dream about their agua fresca. There is also a Cha Cha Chicken in Northridge (which incidentally I didn't know till very recently). I don't know if they are actually affiliated with the Cha Cha Cha restaurants in Los Angeles.   Rating: 5 out of 5 loaves! 

Ropa Nueva

Skinny Pizza

Location: Roslyn Heights, New York                    Type of food: Pizza and Pasta

 Now New York pizza we know is great, and who can get enough of it? Skinny Pizza is a great healthy version, if you can imagine that, with a thin crispy wheat crust and a variety of toppings. They also sell pasta where you can choose the type of pasta and the sauce. And you can also order online! A bonus for me is their sustainable pizza containers. Of course their pizza is delicious too! Rating: 4 out of 5 loaves

Salsa Salsa

Location: Port Jefferson Village, New York.     Type of Food: Mexican


If you're craving a carnitas burrito or some other Mexican fare, and you can't get to Mexico pronto, you can go here to satisfy those cravings without wishing you could transport yourself instantly to Mexico. Nor will you be thinking you'll never come here again. It's pretty good for Mexican fare on Long Island and definitely better than anything you can eat at places like Baja Fresh. So give it a shot, and don't get hooked on the hot sauce (I always ask for extra!).

Rating: 4 out of 5 loaves. 

Baoguette

Location: West Village, Manhattan, New York. Type of food? Vietnamese

The menu is not that extensive but it has a bit of everything. Been here twice and it's not bad when I'm craving Vietnamese Pho. They also have banh mis (Vietnamese sandwiches) but I haven't had that. I read some reviews on Yelp and some people seem to think they're pretty good. I'll have to try them next time. Although I'm still looking for a wider spread of Vietnamese food, this will do for now. And the prices are reasonable (Pho is under $10). But bring cash as they don't accept anything else.

Rating? 3 out of 5 loaves.

Don Quijote

Location: Miller Place, NY.      Type of food: Mexican/Spanish/Latin

The salsa here is reminiscent of Meson Ole's salsa -- not good salsa at all. I start with this because there's another restaurant where my friends and I get together for a half-pitcher of sangria and discuss how dismal the salsa really is. I didn't take any photos (I forgot) but the two dishes that were ordered were the pork and the seafood enchilada/tostada combination. The combination was satisfactory but the pork a bit dry. It's okay if you want some sort of Mexican/Spanish/Latin food but I can't say that it was really good. There are other places within a 20-mile radius that I'd rather go to. I'll try to post all of them. Rating: 2 loaves

Robinsons Tea Room

Location: Stony Brook, NY. Amazing scones and lovely tea. Don't like their cucumber sandwiches though. :-D Be prepared for a wait when going around lunch time. Rating? 4 out of 5 loaves.

Z-Pita

Location: Port Jefferson Village, NY.

Usual lunch and dinner fare are Mediterranean but they have fondue nights and great breakfast too. Here's a picture of my Eggs Florentine. Yum!! Rating? 4.5 out of 5 loaves.