Newark Area Restaurants

In the last few months, we have been cutting back on eating out, but do have a few places to recommend, all of them on the ever changing Main Street of Newark.

Ali Baba- We went here during restaurant week a few months ago. We've always wanted to go here, but their hours have made it hard for us to make it in here. The outside of the restaurant is not very appealing, but inside you forget you are on Main Street with the low tables, couches, and Middle Eastern decor. We had lots of spicy food, and Theodore even joined in eating the rice, pitas, and Moroccan carrot salad (Carrots, garlic, onion, parsley, white vinegar, olive oil, & special spices). I had a delicious kabob, and Brian enjoyed their specialty, the Moroccan chicken.

Catherine Rooney's- I was very excited when we saw signs go up for a new Irish place in town. The food was about average for an Irish place, but the atmosphere was a lot more family friendly than the other Irish place in town, so we had a really nice time. The owner even seated us in a private booth area, and Theodore stayed asleep for a majority of the night, but woke up for dessert.


Peace a Pizza- We finally tried this pizza place in February when Brian's parents were out here for Theodore's birthday. The slices were pretty tasty, and we found the music played to be humorous, so we had a pretty good time. The tiny restaurant is a little cramped, but for a date night sans Theo it was fine!

Cheeburger Cheeburger- This place has been under construction FOREVER, and was supposed to open last summer and just now opened this spring. We tried it, and it was a pretty good burger place. Their onion rings, were much better than their fries, and they had a pretty nice atmosphere. Their menu was full of all their "options" for sandwiches, dips, salads, and shakes. It makes a math teacher like me a little excited to think about all the combinations and permutations.

Finally, Chipotle also opened out of the blue. I didn't even know they were coming, and all the sudden they were open. We loved eating there in Arizona, so now we've got another quick, cheap place to grab a bite in Newark.


ALSO: OFF MAIN STREET
Middletown- I have enjoyed a few lunch time meals from Caruso's in Middletown, and finally dragged Brian down here one night for dinner. I love their Penne with Vodka sauce!

Spring!!! (And St. Patrick's Day)

It was the most beautiful day of the year Saturday, a great start to spring.

We started it with a trip to Babies R Us.  They were having a promotion for a new type of diapers. We got a bunch of the new Pampers with Dry Max feature. And an outfit for baby to wear to his daddy's softball games this fall, a picture will come eventually of that. We also got him some new shades to protect his eyes.

Then we headed to Main Street to stroll, eat, and watch basketball.

We had lunch at Grotto Pizza, and watched Villanova lose.

We then finished walking along Main Street, with lots of people commenting on how cute Theodore looked in his stroller with his shades on.

And then we participated in a 20 year Newark tradition. Apparently, Rita's gives out free water ices on the first day of spring. We stumbled upon the line that stretched at least 200 feet from the counter. I've been wanting to try water ice for a long time, and we liked it, and will need to return this summer. It's one of area's claims to fame, along with pretzels and Philly cheesesteaks.

Earlier in the week, we also made a big deal out of Theodore's first official holiday:  St. Patrick's Day! He wasn't at all excited though :(

Memorial Day Weekend 2009 (including book recommendations)

I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. We ended up not going camping, and decided to avoid the crowds that are descending upon the East Coast beaches at this moment. We basically stayed around home, and just decided things on the spur of the moment. Nothing was planned.

Friday night we continued our hunt for a good pizza place in DE. We tried Ciao's Trolley Pizza &  Grill based on good reviews I had found. It turned out to be a little more casual restaurant than we were expecting. It reminded us of Slices in Tempe. We ordered slices at the counter (though you can order a whole pizza) and ate outside on the patio in the beautiful weather. It was pretty good pizza to try if you are in the area, which was a quaint beautiful little part of Wilmington. Just be careful what you sprinkle on your pizza. Brian ended up seasoning his with garlic powder that he thought was Parmesan.

We then headed to the nearest theater to see the new Night at the Museum movie. As D.C. and the Smithsonians has quickly became my favorite DE getaway, I enjoyed seeing the familiar sights in the movie. It wasn't quite as entertaining as the first, but definitely worth the time to see.

On Saturday morning we went for a 2 mile walk in the warm weather, during which we tried Fresh Hot Bagel. The bagels were good, and not too big, but the service needed work (they were out of my desired spread and gave Brian a regular bagel when he ordered an everything bagel). We'd rather stick with one of the Main Street places.

Brian made a great lunch for us-Pasta Carbinara from the Rachel Ray Summer 2009 issue (he suggests adding balsamic vinegar).

We also finished off some cupcakes from Sassy Cupcakes in Newark. Though overpriced, the boutique offers different flavors daily and are good enough to merit a return trip. My favorite is the red velvet variety, while Brian has really liked the Baily's and triple chocolate flavors.

The rest of the weekend has been spent napping and reading and enjoying our time off. I've finished the following books:

"Mrs. Kimble" -is a book about a man told through his three wives. Each wife comes from a unique background and time, with very different expectations for their husband/children's father. ****.5

"American Girl" -a book set in the radical times of the 70s-it took a while for me to even understand the main plot of this book, but it ended up being interesting. It prompted me to wonder about the teaching of the Japanese-Americans internment during WWII in the US (CA and AZ mostly). I found out about this while in AZ-and I wonder how many people remember learning this in school-whether it's found it's way into the history books yet? *** Susan Choi's book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and after describing it to my husband he informed me it was loosely based on the Patty Hearst story.

"The Devil in Massachusetts" -this was one of the books I was assigned back in my Human Event class freshman year of college. I finally finished reading through this non-fiction book, and enjoyed the historical understanding I gained. ****

Anniversary Homemade Pizza

On Dec. 2, 2000, Brian and I enjoyed our first date (pizza and a movie). For years we have acknowledged this anniversary, but that has waned somewhat since we have a new wedding anniversary. However, we normally still remember it.  This year, for the first time, I actually missed it, while Brian remembered it. Once I realized it was our anniversary, we decided to recreate part of our first date. We made a homemade pizza-one of our hobbies of late. So far, Brian has put the following things on various pizzas (though not all at the same time): artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, carrots, corn, onions, and black olives, along with various meats.

Day Trip: Lancaster, PA

The hubby and I had a lovely drive Saturday. Our destination was Lancaster, PA, specifically for a friend's husband's art sale.

After a few errands, our first stop was at Bravo Pizza. There are only two locations of this restaurant, both in Pennsylvania. We were looking for a quick place, and this was perfect for that. You can simply pick a slice from a large variety of pizzas, and they will put it in the brick oven and have it to you within minutes. It reminded me of a place in Tempe called Slices. Definetly a nice little pizzeria.

Next, driving through a lot of little towns, we stopped at one called Gap. Here we entered  The Town Clock Cheese Shoppe, a surprisingly charming destination.  By simply "putting your hand in," you get a taste of whatever cheese any customer is trying. We tried Havarti, Swiss, cheddar, and mango cheeses. We came away with a Swiss and cheddar, as well as some cheese curds-which reminded me of squeaky cheese. It will definitely get our repeat business.

We then finally arrived at Josh Heim's pottery sale. He had lots of beautiful pieces, and we bought a few, most notably the platter below. He is also making a cylindrical vase for us in the same style as this one (for dips).