An Urban Oasis

Holiday Melodies + A Mediterranean Medley

Sahara-Restaurant-Joseph-Dreamcoat

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and Sahara Restaurant

May I return to the beginning
Last April, I wrote my second post on this blog Monster Pizza + The Man Who Sold the World after attending a concert at the NJ State Theatre. And so why not end 2016 back at the theater for a musical and Mediterranean food?

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” but it still remains one of my favorite musicals. The show might not be particularly long or dialogue-heavy but the songs are just so catchy! (The first time my parents saw JATD, they drove right to the record store to buy the soundtrack.)

And to complete our Christmas outing, we decided to go to Sahara Restaurant.

It was our second time eating at Sahara Restaurant and the food did not disappoint. The interior was just as cozy as before with candles and burgundy drapes but my favorite design element is the hot air balloon light fixture.

Sahara-Hot-Air-Balloon-Chandelier

Adorable.

We started with the Vegetarian Combination appetizer— a delicious platter of hummus, eggplant salad, spiced ezme (mashed vegetables with walnuts and herbs) labhne (homemade sour cream with walnuts and herbs) and cauliflower dip.  Apparently it’s a very popular choice because while we were there, every table ordered one.

Sahara-Restaurant-Vegetarian-Combination

Served with warm pita bread, it’s a fantastic starter but at $22, it is definitely a splurge even considering the endless refills on bread.  The good news is that after sharing the combination platter with two or three other people and eating the red lentil soup that comes with most meals, you might be too full to eat your entrée.

Prepare for leftovers!

Sahara-Restaurant-Vegetarian-Combination

The first time I ate at Sahara, I ordered the Nile Chicken— a delicious concoction of chicken, eggplant, roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella in a pink sauce. Unlike some restaurants, Sahara cooked the eggplant perfectly without a hint of bitterness. It was a melt-in-your-mouth kind of eggplant that I still daydream about once in awhile.

Sahara-Restaurant-Nile-Chicken

As tempted as I was to get the Nile Chicken again, I decided to explore the menu. After all, the Sahara Desert is about the size of the U.S. so why not be a little more of an adventurous during this culinary expedition?

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Ride Ride Ride & Rai Rai Ramen

IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR RAMENDuke Farms and Rai Rai Ramen

At Duke Farms and Rai Rai Ramen

So to continue celebrating my father’s birthday, we went for a bike ride, ate peanut butter cake and went out for ramen. It was a three day weekend of fun and food.

If you like bike riding, Duke Farms in Hillsborough has a couple nice trails that are worth checking out. We went a little earlier in the morning before it got too crowded. If riding behind young children isn’t your thing, try to get there before noon.

Duke Farms Bike Ride

Although I’ve been to Duke Farms a few times over the years, I’d never taken my bike there. Unfortunately Duke Farms has undergone major downgrades since I last visited, namely the demolition of the iconic Doris Duke Mansion. Learning that the Duke Foundation made this decision, well, it’s quite a loss for New Jersey. I’ll leave it at that.

At least the picturesque waterfalls and small orchid greenhouse remain. And of course, my favorite orchid was the one that smelled like chocolate. Yum.
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Classic Cars & Costa Rican Cuisine

SCOOBY DOO CHEATS ON THE MYSTERY MACHINE + PAN FRIED CHEESE

Somerville Cruise Nights
At Division Café and Somerville Cruise Nights

If you had the choice between having a personal chef, housekeeper, butler or driver, which would you pick?

I’d have to go with the driver. I love riding in cars— especially with the windows down. (One thing I have in common with dogs is we both enjoy sticking our faces out car windows )

I also love looking at classic cars but I don’t know what I’d do if I actually owned one.  Unless there is no one else on the road, I’m not usually comfortable driving and that’s with an automatic transmission. Forget about stick.

Speaking of cars, I finally made it out to Somerville Cruise Nights last week.  Every Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day for the past 27 years, Somerville NJ has run a classic car show.  Now 100+ classic cars regularly line Main Street on Friday evenings turning the event series into a nationally acclaimed classic car show.

Somerville Cruise NIghts Division Street
If you’re not in the mood for Costa Rican food, check out Origins, a French-Thai restaurant also on Division Street.

To celebrate my father’s birthday, my family ate in Downtown Somerville and then leisurely walked along Main Street enjoying all the cars.  There are a couple restaurants in Somerville that we enjoy but we decided to try Division Café, a small Costa Rican joint on a pedestrian-only side street.

Sliders from Division Cafe in Somerville

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Ice Cream So Good It’s Illegal?

THE SUMMER SIBLING MIGRATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Maryland Dairy at University of Maryland

Earlier this week, my dad and I drove down to the University of Maryland in College Park to pick up my brother for the summer. It probably took a half hour to checkout from his dorm and pack his things in the car— much shorter than any time I moved out for summer break.

Since we had time to spare, we walked around campus a little.

Did we walk around sightseeing for the health benefits?  Not so much.

Our real destination was Maryland Dairy, an ice cream parlor in the UMD student union. Although the shop has only been located in the student union since 2014, it got its start back in 1924 when it was called the Dairy Salesroom.

Any place making ice cream for over 90 years, I’ve got to try!

Besides its long history, what makes Maryland Dairy special are its creative handcrafted flavors. While folks with vanilla personalities can stick to their titular flavor, the more adventurous patrons can grab a scoop of Cafe Norita (coffee ice cream with Kahula, salted pecans and caramel) or Fear the Turtle (vanilla ice cream with triple sec salted, pecans, caramel swirl and a white chocolate truffle ribbon.)

As if that wasn’t good enough, Maryland Dairy introduces a new flavor every so often named after a member of the University’s faculty or staff.

Recent releases include Terpin Durkin Crunch (Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream with shaved bittersweet chocolate, dark chocolate covered pretzels and a caramel swirl) named for football coach D.J. Durkin and IT Delicious (orange ice cream with triple sec, orange zest, chocolate chips and a raspberry Melba swirl) in honor of Dr. Catherine Carr.

(In case you were wondering, Dr. Carr is a biology professor who studies interaural time difference. I originally guessed the flavor’s name was a play on the information technology field, which would have been cute too.)

The flavor I ordered was mislabeled but I think it was Brenda’s Peanut Butter Frese (brownie batter ice cream, crushed peanut butter cups, brownie dough, chocolate liquor and peanut butter fluff swirl) named after UMD’s women’s basketball coach. Mine had crushed Reece’s Pieces and was light on the fluff swirl but whatever flavor it was, it was pretty good.

What does swirl around this ice cream though are rumors that the fat content is too high for the FDA to approve for sale outside the campus. Read more

The Mother’s Day Mission

NJ DINER MUSEUM EXHIBIT + THE PRETTIEST CUBAN FOOD

Cornelius Low House and Esquina Latina Outing
At the Cornelius Low House and Esquina Latina

It’s been almost a year since my mom first mentioned the “History of New Jersey Diners” exhibit at the Cornelius Low House.  Even though the museum is right around the corner from us, we only just took her there last Sunday for Mother’s Day.  Better late than never!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Cornelius Low House, it is the Middlesex County Museum, which holds rotating exhibits free of charge.  It’s actually down the street from the Metlar-Bodine House Museum where I interned back in 2014.

(Fun Fact: The Metlar family actually bought the Low home in 1870 and it became known as “Ivy Manor” after George and Catherine Metlar planted ivy around it.)

This two-story Gregorian-style stone house was built back in 1741 for wealthy Dutch merchant Cornelius Low.  As one of only two surviving 18th century structures from the Colonial port community of Raritan Landing, it has been cited in the Historic American Building Survey of the Library of Congress.

 

History of NJ Diners Museum Exhibit Read more

Monster Pizza + The Man Who Sold The World

Holy Holy at the NJ State Theater

I’ve gone to the NJ State Theater more times in the past three months than I do during most years.  We couldn’t pass up $10 tickets so my parents and I saw Holy Holy perform last night.  I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to call the group a David Bowie tribute band because it was formed by Woody Woodmansey and Tony Visconti (original Bowie bandmates).  Maybe just a tribute to David Bowie? Read more