That’s so Jenn!

Today’s blog post is about another blog! Blogging about blogging, I like it.

That’s So Jenn, is a blog that blogs about foodies, who like to cook, unlike MY blog which is just about foodies who like to eat! Here you can find great and amazing recipe’s, along with a fabulous sense of humor that will have you rolling in your seat. That’s So Jenn – Confessions of a Foodie has great allergy options as well. Tonight, go home and make Jenn’s healthy and delicious Homemade Veggie Pizza!

Note* Gluten free friends, replace flour with gluten free flour for the same great recipe!
http://thatssojenn.com/2012/07/24/thats-so-jenn-ingredient-challenge-night-1-homemade-veggie-pizza/

Allergy Info:
Veggie Pizza is great for gluten free and vegetarians, nut free, seafood free and meat free!

Foodie Rundown:
Ooops – I made something delicious post! This is my favorite, and as I was a taste tester of the ooops ice cream that was created, I have to say, it was delicious! Here’s an except to get any idea:
“I continued this innovative mindset when I once forgot the egg in my potato latkes turning them into what we called ‘Chanukah hashbrowns’…or the time I left out the butter in my oatmeal, chocolate peanut butter cookies and wound up with the perfect snack for my vegan mother…or how my crumbled layer cake became a beautiful trifle. And the list goes on.” – That’s So Jenn!
http://thatssojenn.com/2011/11/12/oops-i-made-something-delicious/

Location:
Instead of giving you Jenn’s address which would be highly inappropriate, I will point you to her website!
www.thatssojenn.com

Now if you like what you see and you think this blog is great, LIKE it on FACEBOOK! And don’t forget to vote for Jenn to be named Taste of Home's Mrs. Holiday! You can vote up to once a day through Sept 7th, vote and share, spread the word! - http://www.facebook.com/tasteofhome/app_308553629224079

Travel Thursday! – Roxanne’s

Today we’re traveling to the beautiful, Bergen County, NJ to review Roxanne’s Brick Oven Pizzeria Bar and Grill, a family style Italian restaurant. If you can’t make it to one of the big name family style Italian restaurants in NYC like Carmines or Tony Di Napoli’s, check out Roxanne’s. It is located in Mahwah, NJ, just minutes from rt 17 and many northern NJ towns.

They do not have gluten free pasta, but their food is so great, fresh and their service is always wonderful. I would say that Roxanne’s is allergy conscious. They do fry their food in the same oil as the fried calamari so seafood allergies must be careful with the fried foods. Other than that, gluten friendly people can go for the meat, seafood of chicken dishes, while the nut allergic just need to stay away from the pesto tortellini!

Allergy Info:
Allergy Friendly!

Foodie Rundown will be provided based on multiple visits with many people:
To Start:
Sausage Pizza
Garlic Bread (pictured)
Roxanne's Chips - these are amazing! (be careful, they are fried!)
Arugala Salad with sundried tomatoes, honey balsamic and shaved parmesan is always a family favorite (family style is definitely recommended) - (pictured)

To stuff after you’ve started:
Rigatoni alla Vodka
Gemelli Arugula e Pollo – fam favorite! (pictured)
Pasta Bolognese
Cheese Ravioli

To finish:
Unfortunately you won’t have any more room in your stomach for dessert. Take a break, maybe a lap? And you’ll feel better in the morning!

Address:
150 Franklin Tpke Mahwah, NJ 07430

http://www.roxannesrestaurant.com/

Don't forget to vote for Jenn Arata for Mrs Holiday! http://www.facebook.com/tasteofhome/app_308553629224079

Ruby-Foodies!

At Ruby Foos in Times Square you may feel like a tourist, but in this case, it's ok! Without going to Tao or Buddaken for some Pan-Asian fusian, this place has a great menu, great service and they are allergy friendly! Did you say, allergy friendly? Because last I checked, pan-asian and allergies definitely didn't go together.

Well, the waiters keep (on hand) the ingredients in every single dish on their menu. Any questions, allergies or preferences that you may have, they will be able to answer and/or modify per your request. This is so important to all food allergies and is so comforting for parents.

Come here for dinner (pre or post theater) or whenever you're in the area. I know New Yorkers try to stay away from Times Square, but if you ever feel like venturing out, head over to Ruby Foos!

Allergy Info:
Allergy friendly - ingredients are available by the waiter/waitress at the table

Foodie Rundown:
Dim Sum Sampler
Roasted Peking Duck
Coconut sticky rice (this will change your life)

Address:
Times Square (1626 Broadway and 49th)

And best of all? If you live in the area, Ruby Foos delivers! (5th to 9th ave between 42nd and 59th st.)

http://www.rubyfoos.com/

Alta-nate menu!?

At Alta in the W. Village, they cater to making sure that people with nut allergies and those that are gluten free can enjoy their dinner as much as anyone else. For those chefs that like to use nuts in their food and not tell you, is scary. For those of you who can’t eat gluten, it’s hard for you to go out to eat. But Alta – proves this theory wrong.

For example, at Alta for dinner one night, I mentioned that I had a nut allergy. Out comes this “nut free” menu! Talk about a VIP feel!!! I started to notice that some of the items were not on the menu. But when I realized that the lamb meatballs weren’t on there, I asked the waiter why. Turns out the chef likes to use a type of walnut or pine nut in the chopped meat for the meatballs. Something that is not stated on their regular menu.

So for the nut allergic and the gluten free, this place is great! (well, let’s be honest, for everyone this place is great!). The regular menu has over 40 items of small plates! Go with a large group and get every small plate on the menu for $480 bucks. Sounds like a lot, but you’ll get over 40 plates of food.

Try the sangria – it’s fabulous.

Note: Alta only takes cash and American Express. So bring your boyfriend and a wad of cash!

Allergy Info:
This place has a nut free and gluten free menu! What could be better?

Foodie Rundown:
Although I haven’t tried every dish, due to allergies and or lack of stomach space, here are some favs:
Pulled Pork Empanadas
Brussel Sprouts (can you tell this is a theme of mine?)
Pastrami Ravioli
Fried Goat Cheese
Grilled shrimp and chorizo skewer

Address:
West Village (64 w. 10th st)

http://altarestaurant.com/

Mr and Mrs Smith

If you guessed that the tomato soup was from The Smith, you were right!

Trendy, great drinks and in the heart of the east village. Full of youngsters, hipsters and students alike. The food, never disappoints, the prices are a little high, and you can’t sit unless you’re entire party is the there (sounds great, right?). Sit near the open window to enjoy some interesting people watching. You’ll see everything in the E. Vilalge. Make sure you get a drink (or 2) as the drink creations, muddlers and somewhat tastey whiskey flavored drinks are all worth dinner at the Smith.

Note: Bring your loud voice, screaming to your friends across the table will be necessary, as the acoustics aren’t great.

Allergy Info:
Allergy friendly! On the menu, The Smith states: “ Please alert your server of any food allergies, as not all ingredients are listed on the menu. Eating raw or undercooked fish, shellfish, eggs or meat increases the risk of foodborne illnesses.”
Also on their menu – The Smith supports local, natural, sustainable and organic practices whenever possible.

Foodie Rundown:
Tomato Soup – best in the city? My 3 friends during dinner thought so! For someone who doesn’t love tomato soup, no offense, I just think it tastes like tomato sauce, but this tomato soup was pretty amazing. Thick, with cheese and some croutons in it, it’s like French onion soup gone tomato, definitely a must try! (pictured)
Brussel Sprouts – now these are up my alley, if you think Crispo’s Brussel sprouts are good? Make sure you try there, because they are outrageous. (pictured)
Special: Thursday night – Sticky Ribs Special
Mussels with Fries (not quite flex mussels, but definitely great)
Ricotta Gnocchi with truffle creak sauce – a fan favorite at the table - when in doubt? Truffle it out! (pictured)

Locations:
E. Village (11th and 3rd)
Midtown (51st and 2nd)

Diamonds are Forever…So are Foie Gras Burgers

THE ORIGINAL db BURGER at Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne is the most decadent of burgers. This $32 burger ($34 in Miami, $38 in Singapore), comes with all the fancy trimmings. A sirloin burger filled with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffle, served on a parmesan bun. Comes with pommes frites or pommes soufflées (for those of you who don’t speak French, that’s fancy for fries). Go here before a Broadway Show for a 3-course $45 pre-theater menu (note the burger is not on the pre-theater menu)

Now although it’s burger week (on foodergie), it’s also restaurant week from July 16th -August 10th. (Please go to the official website for an all inclusive list of restaurants that are participating http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek/). DB Bistro Modern offers a great menu! Note again that the burger is NOT on their $35/meal restaurant week menu, but don’t pass up on any of their other meals, as the restaurant is delicious, gorgeous and would be a great date spot if you’re really trying to impress someone!

Allergy Info:
For those who don’t have allergies ;)

Foodie Rundown:
The Original db Burger

Locations:
NYC - 55 W. 44th St (44th between 5th and 6th)
Miami – 255 Biscayne Boulevard Way
Singapore - 2 Bayfront Ave

http://www.danielnyc.com/dbbistro.html

Bareburger – Spare it all, but the Bun!

For those of you gluten free friends out there, don’t let your burger be bare at Bareburger! Eat the burger WITH the bun! Popping up all over the place in NYC, Brooklyn and Queens, this organic, all natural, free range, grass fed burger sensation will be sure to delight all family members.

Whether you are looking to stay lean with a multi-grain roll, wheat or lettuce wrap, looking to keep your cholesterol down with a turkey burger, veggie burger, or chicken patty, or just trying to make up any excuse to eat a beef, elk, bison, or ossie burger, go to Bareburger!

Foodie Rundown:
Start with some pickles for the table, don’t want to fill yourself up before the big meal
Fries…or Onion Rings? Can’t decide? Get the basket combo with both!
The Western (This was the burger I had, with a gluten free bun, out of this world!)
Maple Bacon Chesesebarburger (This was the burger my friend Tara had, on multi-grain, that was described as the “best burger ever”)
The Roadhouse (Turkey burger, on a wrap, the healthy version that my friend Jolene tried)

Allergy Info:
Not Nut Friendly (100% peanut oil is used for all the fried items)
BUT
Veggie Friendly
Gluten Friendly
Cholesterol Friendly
Organic Friendly
Beef Friendly
Chicken Friendly

Locations:
Manhattan
Laguardia Place, NY, NY - Washington Square Park
3rd Ave - Murray Hill
8th Ave, - Chelsea
2nd Ave – East Village
1st Ave – Upper East Side

Queens
31st Ave – Astoria
31st St. – Astoria
Austin St. – Astoria
Bell Boulevard – Bayside, NY

Brooklyn
7th Ave – Brooklyn, NY