Saigon Pho

Contrary to what people may think, Vietnamese food has much more to offer then just banh mi sandwiches, spring rolls, and pho. Don't get me wrong, I can get all up on a banh mi, but sometimes you just need to switch it up. My family and I came across Saigon Pho in Parsippany, NJ and we're like really happy about it! Everything was delicious! Portions perfect for sharing, big flavor, and some serious marination going on with the meats...

Banh Mi Sandwich

Pho Toppings

Rare Beef Pho

Short Rib w/ Rice

Lemongrass Rolled Beef Bun

Grilled Pork Chop Bun

And for those who don't know Bun is vermicelli noodles served at room temperature topped with meat on a bed of crunchy bean sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, basil and mint, drizzled with peanuts and nuoc mam [Vietnamese vinaigrette]. It's not too heavy and it's a perfect meal in a bowl.

Saigon Pho

744 Route 46 W

Parsippany, NJ 07054

973.794.4632

melt bakery

Noticed them on the highline, walked passed their store @ 132 Orchard st, even saw them at the Vendy Awards last weekend, but I still never had myself a Melt Bakery ice cream sandwich! Shameful, I know... 

Well lucky me, last night I had the honor of working alongside Julian of Melt Bakery at a GQxGap event. Yes, the picture above is shitty and doesn't do these mini bites of goodness any justice, but take it from me...they're so so so good! On the left is a ginger cookie with green tea ice cream and the right is my new favorite: brown sugar cookie with peach ice cream! 

Julian & I

Quality ingredients, incredible flavors, and perfect combinations, Melt Bakery showed up the classic Chipwich and proved the original isn't always better. They also won "Best Dessert" at the Vendy Awards last weekend. How much more convincing do you need? Get yourself over to Melt Bakery asap!

Layered Chocolate Pudding "Pie"

Forget apples & honey...this year's Rosh Hashanah is going to be filled with pudding! Yes kids, that's right, pudding. NY Daily News recently declared pudding to be the "next big thing," but for me, pudding was always the thing. Two words: Kozy Shack 

My sweet new year is going to be filled with lots and lots of these LCPPs. I was eager to test out the recipe purely as an excuse to be able to eat it afterwards. One stop shopping at Trader Joes, all you need is heavy cream, powdered sugar, chocolate pudding, and graham crackers. 

Layering is key here. First put down the graham crackers then proceed to lay down a fat layer of pudding...

After you spread out your first layer, place down some more graham crackers. These crackers will also be smothered by a layer chocolate pudding. One layer just isn't enough...

Honestly, you can put as many damn layers into this thing as you want, but I could only fit two. To top it off, you're going to want to make some homemade whipped cream. Lets be real, canned sucks. 

Heavy cream & powdered sugar is all you need. Whip on high for a few seconds and there you have it. Fresh, homemade, and light whipped cream. 

Artistically smooth the whipped cream over the pudding, refrigerate for a few hours and then EAT IT ALL UP! The best part is that it keeps on getting better with each day. #Addicted

The Village Virgin

In honor of The Rocky Mountain Showdown today, I thought I would dedicate a blog post to Boulder, CO. A long night of partying after a game day only leads to one thing...a bunch of hungover undergrads at The Village the following morning. 

Walking down the sidewalk to campus, sitting in class, even out at the bars at night...people were shooting me these looks. Looks of disgust, looks of disappointment, looks of discouragement. The rumor must have been out. Everyone knew I was a virgin...

A VILLAGE VIRGIN! A second semester senior in college, 22 years old, and I had never been to The Village. The employees here make sure to embarrass the hell out of you, silencing the diner, and shouting out to everyone that, "there is a virgin in the house!" Of course my friends did not spare me... they told our waitress the I'd never had been and soon enough all eyes were on me. 

#3: two eggs, hash browns, bacon & wheat toast

#2: two eggs, hash browns, sausage links & wheat toast

Blueberry Pancake

No, the food isn't out of this world and you're not going to be dying to go back the next day for round 2, but The Village is the perfect place to go to soak up the leftover alcohol from the night before. Plus, you can show up looking like shit in your pajamas and nobody will care! 

The Village Coffee Shop

1605 Folsom st.

Boulder, CO