Hoffman's Ice Cream-NJ

Hoffman's Icecream

800 Richmond Ave

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742

As seen on

-Man Vs Food

Since 1955, Hoffman's has been a Jersey Shore institution.  So many deliscious, made in house, flavors to choose from it's plain crazy. Also famous for an icecream sundae called "the octopus" which includes 8 scoops and 8 toppings.  Fudge mint cookie, peanut butter crunch, chocolate brownie cookie dough, toasted coconut just to name a few.

I thought the ice cream was average. Kinda icy unfortunately.  They did have a nice clean place with a great selection of flavors. If you are on the shore it's worth a stop.

Jersey Mike's Subs-NJ

Jersey Mike's Subs

2600 Bridge Avenue 

Point Pleasant, NJ 08742

As Seen On

-Sandwich Paradise

Jersey Mike's has been slicing up submarines since 1956. A Jersey Shore institution, located in Pt. Pleasant NJ. I had heard about this place a few years back and during a recent trip to the shore this was the first place we stopped.  Jersey Mike's has several hundred locations nation wide but Pt. Pleasant was the original.  Place was clean and had definitely been updated. Like an upscale Subway. The sandwiches were very pricy and nothing special. Somewhere around $8-9 for a 9in and $12ish for a foot long.  My wife and I both agreed, they have the mayo/oil/vinegar/herb ratio dialed in just right. Good flavors kinda thin. We won't be stopping back.

Raven & Boar-NY

RAVEN & BOAR

111 CTY RTE 34

EAST CHATHAM, NY 12060

As seen on

-Extra Virgin

Just ran into this place by chance, at the Rhinebeck Farmers Market, and realized I saw them on tv. They had bacon, ribs, and your typical pork for sale by the lb raw and were grilling some sausages. The women was very pleasant and I spoke to her for awhile about Smorgasburg and NYC. Raven & Boar is not your typical pig farm. We are talking open pasture foraging heritage small herd Berkshire piggies. for $6 they had sweet or spicy sausage on a stick with a piece of baguette.  I got one of each and wasn't expecting to much, but was totally blown away. I mean these were the best sausages I have ever had. Homemade smokey from the grill sizzling hot and juicy. Really worth the trip to Rhinebeck.  Next time we are going to get a lb of bacon and more hot sausages of course. 

BaoHaus-NYC

BaoHaus

238 E 14th St
New York, NY 10003

As seen on

-Cheap Eats

-The Layover

Pork Belly+ Wutang= Heaven

So I had to do the Momofuku vs BauHaus challange and see who really has the better pork buns (or Baos). For those who don't know, a traditional Bao is a steamed bun filled with marinated pork. BaoHaus is far from traditional. I marched straight from Momofuku Noodle Bar north, only like 4 blocks, and placed my order. First impressions. This place is cool. Laid back, covered in graffiti, playing some hiphop and chill. My kind of hole in the wall. I ordered the Chairman Bao (pork belly) and the BirdHaus (fried chicken). These were so freaking good. Almost like stoner food but elevated. The pork belly was all fat which was a little disappointing, but still good. The fried chicken Bao was my favorite. They have tons of different kinds of Baos for $3-5 a piece. They are kinda small but 2 and some Taro fries will fill you up. Although these weren't as good as Momofuku, i'm not going back to give David Chang my $14 when the same thing is $6 here and I don't have to wait inline. Just writing this and looking at the pictures is getting me salivating to go back. I recommend this place to anyone. I cant say the same for Momofuku. This fine spot is owned by celebrity chef Eddie Haung. He is known for being the trendy dressed, pot smoking, korean wise ass in the NYC scene and can be seen on cookingchannel/foodnetwork/travelchannel etc. He also does an online travel show on Vice.com. He claims to have been the first to bring the Bao to the USA but nobody really believes him. 

Momofuku Noodle Bar-NYC

Momofuku Noodle Bar

171 1st Ave
New York, NY 10003

As seen on

-The Mind of a Chef

-No Reservations

The Momofuku name has quite a reputation in New York. Celebrity chef David Chang has propelled all of the Momofuku restaurants into the spotlight of NYC dinning. Maybe the most innovative and trendy chefs in America right now.

Being a fan i wanted to try his world famous pork buns and his ramen is suppose to be top notch. The ramen was fine, a bit on the salty side. At $16 a bowl, I'd expect better though. Pork belly buns are delicious too, but for $5 each, a pure luxury. You better savor that meat, because it disappears quite quickly, and they don't really give you much of it. Def the best steam buns ive ever had but I can get ones almost as good for 1/3 the price so its a tuff call.

They do some spicy fried chicken family style that you need reservations for. I've never actually been able to try the large format fried chicken dinner, the whole reservation system stinks. I've tried to reserve before, but the reservation system kept failing, and when I called, they told me that it was fixed and I should try again. Well, it wasn't fixed, and I called again, but to no avail. They also only allow certain times for reservations, and given the hassle, I gave up. It seems like an interesting concept though, a tad confusing that they serve southern style fried chicken at a ramen bar.

There's a reason why people flock to the Momofuku establishments, and I think it's because they've bought into the vision that David Chang set out for his restaurants. And I think if you've gotten people to buy in, you've done a good job with keeping up the brand. However, there are different places to get good ramen and pork buns, at about the same quality, but for cheaper (Baohaus). I will say that while the food and the ambiance is pretty good here, due to the high prices and the long, long waits, this is definitely one of those "try it once, only so you know how it is" type places. Good stuff and worth checking out all of David Changs establishments. Don't forget  Momofuku Milk Bar for dessert.

Thrasher's French Fries-MD

Thrasher's French Fries

401 S Boardwalk
Ocean City, MD 21842

As seen on

-Bikinis and Boardwalks

This is boardwalk dining at it's best. Get a bucket of Thrasher's French Fries. There's a long line for this stuff, at least 15 people deep. The line always scared me away but it went alot faster then it looked. You might say to yourself, why wait in line when you can get the next best thing a couple of stands down? Well you gotta find out for yourself. If you're ever in Ocean City, MD and find yourself on the OC boardwalk, then make a pit stop here to get your fried food craving satisfied and then some.

If you're a ketchup fan you will be saddened because there is none here. The seasonings you get are apple cider vinegar and salt. You literally have to drench your fries in the vinegar. Tastes way better. For some reason, it's still crunchy and doesn't get soggy in the cup. Love how these fries have the peel on. My favorite ones are the small super crispy pieces that are kinda scattered throughout.

When you need some food after swimming out in the ocean, playing games in the amusement park, or need a break from the great seafood in OCMD, stop by Thrasher's to try out some really delectable french fries

Num Pang-NYC

Num Pang
1129 Broadway
(between 26th St & 25th St)
New York, NY 10010
Neighborhood: Flatiron

As seen on
-Unique Eats

One can never really get enough Num Pang sandwiches. This would be the second location I've hit up, the first being the one by Grand Central. I have to say that the Flatiron location is decidedly better and nicer provided there is a lot more space plus the addition of actual seats and tables. The food and service is otherwise all the same.

Num Pang makes Cambodian sandwiches. I went with the tiger shrimp and the 5spice pork belly. Their number one would be Five Spiced Glazed Pork Belly. I actually preferred the shrimp. These Cambodian sandwiches reminded me of bahn mi's.  Everything was delicious, the pork was substantial in size, and it was moist and so much flavor everything attacking your mouth. The bread is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The seasoned shrimp is sandwiched in layers of pickled, shredded vegtables, topped with cilantro. Delightful, to say the least. Top that off with fresh watermelon juice and your good to go. I seriously daydream about these flavors all the time. Total explosion in my mouth. Flavor bomb. Nonetheless, you can't go wrong with the sandwiches here. Num Pang is undoubtedly my number one sandwich spot in Manhattan at the moment.