PORTA

Porta means door in Italian, and at Porta Pizzeria in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the restaurant's front door is one you'll want to walk through again and again!  Porta opened a couple of years ago, and we've been there many times (for dinner, lunch, and for the first time this weekend for jazz brunch), but yet I realized I hadn't blogged about it yet, and boy is it blog worthy!  The food here is AMAZING!  Everything from the pizza (cooked in ovens imported all the way from Naples, Italy), to the pasta and salads is incredibly delicious and at good prices!  The menu changes from brunch to dinner, and also changes with the seasonal ingredients available different times of the year.  That being said, so far in all the times I have been there, they have always delivered and never disappointed.

 The space itself is also very worthy of a mention because it is so cool!  It's a huge loft space inside (feels like something you would find in Williamsburg, Brooklyn), with a bar area, and big communal picnic tables where you sit to eat.  In the nicer weather, there is an outside area as well with more picnic tables, and there's also a bocce ball court.  They don't accept reservations, only walk-ins, but other than a Friday or Saturday night, I have never had to wait that long or wait at all- which is much appreciated with you go out to eat with two kids under the age of three.  And speaking of kids, this place is totally kid friendly.  It's loud, they have highchairs, and a menu pretty much any kid would be happy ordering from.

 They have a great wine menu too that has very affordable options.  Pretty much every time we've eaten at Porta, we've had this bottle of Lambrusca which goes for $20!

We were served bread with olive oil and seasonings while we sipped our wine and waited for our food.

 This time we started out with their Bibb Salad (we've had this salad almost every time we've been there because it's that good).  It has bibb lettuce, gorgonzola, roasted walnuts and comes dressed with an apricot vinaigrette- not too sweet, but just the perfect amount to cut through the tanginess of the blue cheese.  

For pies we had their Margherita with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, and is drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.  These simple flavors are classic and delicious, and the kids love it too!

We also had a new one we've never had before- the Winter Betty which has goat cheese, homemade ricotta, broccoli rabe pesto, roasted garlic, thyme, chile flakes, and extra virgin olive oil.  This was AWESOME!  Rich is not much of a goat cheese person and even he loved it!  The taste of the goat cheese is very mild, and the chile flakes give it a nice kick.  This pie is one of my new favorites!  (Along with one not on the brunch menu, only on the dinner menu and not pictured here  known as the 14 and 1/2 which I highly recommend too which has spicy Calabrian chiles and soppressata).

We also tried an order of their Lasagna which has San Marzano tomatoes, ricotta, fresh mozzarella and basil.  I prefer some meat in my lasagna which this obviously doesn't have- so it wasn't my favorite, but it was still good, and the boys loved it!

For dessert we just could't help ourselves, and decided to order one of their Nutella pies.  Need I say more?  AMAZING!!!

So again, one walk through Porta's door, and you'll be hooked.  It's a great spot if you live near the Jersey Shore, but it's even worth the 1 hour and 15 minute drive down the parkway from New York City!

BEST OF BROOKLYN

When you need a break from Manhattan, just cross the Brooklyn Bridge and check out some of the best Brooklyn has to offer. We decided to go for Sunday brunch to Egg in Williamsburg. We met up with Becca and Saleem's friends Bryan and Claire for a yummy breakfast complete with lots of eggs!This is what I would recommend you order off their menu when you go:
Biscuits & Gravy . . . $8
Homemade buttermilk biscuits in sawmill gravy made with pork sausage or pan-seared mushrooms
Grafton Cheddar Omelet with broiled tomatoes . . . $9
3-egg omelet served with broiled tomatoes and hashbrowns
Eggs Rothko . . . $8.50
Easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy's brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables
Country Ham Biscuit . . . $8
Country ham from Col. Bill Newsom's Hams in Princeton, KentuckyServed on a biscuit with homemade fig jam, Grafton cheddar, and a side of grits
French Toast . . . $8
2 slices of Amy's brioche with Vermont maple syrup
Meats:
Homemade pork sausage (or seasonal vegetables) . . . $3
Bacon . . . $3
Candied bacon . . . $3.50
High Hope Farms scrapple . . . $3
Col. Bill Newsom's country ham . . . $3.50
We then walked around Williamsburg and checked out a bunch of their cool boutiques. At this point, we were going to suggest doing a Brooklyn Pizza Tour, but since we were still stuffed from brunch, we opted to take pictures by the Brooklyn Bridge instead.
It was so cold, that we headed to Jacques Torres Chocolate to warm ourselves up with some hot cocoa.

We went back into the city and walked around the High Line Park in the Meatpacking District.The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. Now, it's been redone as a public park with beautiful wildflowers. Since we were in this part of the city, for dinner that night we went to Scarpetta. What's better than a hearty pasta dinner on a Sunday night? This restaurant is beautiful and the food is really good. I would say it's a nice date place or a great restaurant to go to with friends. Their most popular dish is their Spaghetti with tomato and basil.

What a great day both in Brooklyn and the city!

YOU WILL LOVE WILLIAMSBURG

Yes Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia is historic and amazing, but I'm talking about a Williamsburg that's much closer for my New York readers...Williamsburg, Brooklyn!
For a change of pace from walking around the city, my family and I decided to head over to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the day over the weekend and I was impressed by what a hip and trendy little spot this area is becoming. Yes, it's a far cry from your Soho or West Village shops and restaurants, but let me tell you Jet Setters...this place is worth checking out.

Right over the Williamsburg Bridge from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Williamsburg is next to Greenpoint, Bed-Stuy and Bushwick. You can get there by car or by either the L, J, M, Z, or G train. Along Driggs & Bedford Avenues and Grand Street you will find a lot of cute trendy boutiques and some great restaurants. Now, don't expect to head over there and the place will look like a mini Park Slope...far from it; there are many blocks that have just one boutique, or one hip eatery, and some blocks that just have some small walk-ups and some run-down buildings.

My sisters and I found a great store on Grand Street called Charlie and Sam.

It's an awesome boutique that has women's clothing, jewelry, scarves, accessories, shoes (even clothing for the men too!) from Italy, England, France and Austrailia...plus it's dog friendly! After all the store is named after the owner's dogs (Charlie & Sam) who hang out there all day! How cute is that? I picked up a great pair of black suede sandals and a funky pink scarf.

From there we re-fueled with a great lunch at Fratelli Brick Oven Pizza. Also, located on Grand Street, this unassuming pizza shop has incredible pies (we had a Margherita and a Sausage & Pepperoni), a terrific house salad with one of the best balsamic vinagrette dressings I've ever had and Rigatoni Bolognese- so good that you'll want second helpings! :-) It's BYOB so we grabbed a couple of bottles of wine from a store on the corner and had a great meal.

There are so many other wonderful and well established restaurants like Peter Luger's Steakhouse and the Brooklyn Brewery. For shopping, Buffalo Exchange is a thrift store where you can find some great stuff, Jumelle and Noisette are some other great boutiques, and so much more that I haven't mentioned here. All I can say is that I will definitely be back to this great up and coming neighborhood, and that if you head over too you will quickly find out why I say You Will Love Williamsburg.

{photos: wikipedia, Charlie & Sam}