Enjoy the Delicious

I love summer and I love a BBQ.  Well, truth be told, I love winter, too, and I love all kinds of food, but I digress...

This past Saturday I travelled deep into Jersey with my dear friend Ali, her husband, Mike and Jon who was visiting from L.A.  We braved the open road and headed into a world that was altogether fascinating to us city dwellers!

A huge house, gigantic deck and a pool!!!!!!!  Ali and Mike's work colleagues, Marc and Lisa generously invited a ton of people out to celebrate summer and indulge in some excellent food and company.

We spent the afternoon chatting non-stop and indulging in food that left us so full and happy, we didn't need to eat again for days!

The highlight was the Michael Jackson soundtrack that filled the afternoon.  Altogether, a perfect summer day!

Nothing beats a summer day with nothing to do.  It's perfect in New York City today: 75F, sunny and warm with a gentle breeze.

After a lazy morning, I met Jake, my favorite dining companion, for lunch at Westville East.  The weather dictated salads so we indulged in their huge bowls of greens and bowls of spicy, tart gazpacho.

Club salad for me, Arugula and Parmesan salad for him. The only thing I regret about this meal is not indulging in their frozen mint lemonade.  Next time, for sure.

We headed over to Porchetta for lunch and indulged in the most delicious sandwich!  Herb stuffed pork loin wrapped with pork belly and crackling, slow cooked until it's reached gastronomic perfection.  The bread was light and airy, the meat moist and divine.

Bacon wrapped dates at Barmarche.

The BLT is the quintessential American sandwich and on what better a day to devour one than the 4th of July?

All the usual suspects are here: fresh, ripe tomatoes, crispy bacon, leafy green lettuce and toasted bread slathered with mayonnaise.  We even have a guest star: slices of luscious, creamy avocado.

Assemble it all together, grab a bottle of beer and dig in.