Nick's Travel & Food Blog

Roam Artisan Burgers – San Francisco, CA

I really have tried so many burgers to the point that my wife always say why do you keep getting burgers. I respond that you just never know when you’re going come across another good one. Thankfully this one turned out pretty good to be in San Fran. You can’t look at the picture and say it don’t look good. Above is the BBQ that has the beef burger, aged white cheddar, bbq sauce, caramelized onions, jalapeño relish, oil, and vinegar slaw. I know that’s a lot to have in a burger but the slaw along with the toasted buttery bun on the inside mixed with everything was pretty well made. I think I even added a few house made pickles to the burger. The burger was made to order the way I liked it – medium well. Don’t cringe too much and they brought you the food once you grabbed an assigned number. I would definitely come back as they had tons of seating outside and inside and their service was phenomenal.

Jacob’s Pickles – New York, NY

You know the videos you see of Guy Fieri eating this big sandwich with his hands just being too small to grab the sandwich entirely? That was me trying to eat this sandwich right here. I know what you’re thinking, it doesn’t even look all that big. I wish I could say you would be telling the truth. This sandwich is ridiculously huge. I mean that in a positive light because of how good it is. As soon as I grabbed it, I’m like this is going to be messy. I wish I ate this in person so I record a video of it. This sandwich is called the Honey Chicken and Pickles and drum roll please – it’s on a biscuit. Now when I see a southern place that says they serve really good biscuits I’m always skeptical but this right here is quite good. You got the buttermilk fried chicken which is juicy, two pieces, maybe three pieces of chicken, along with the hot sours, it’s just truly splendid. The item that tops it off is the honey which makes it all settle in. I think this has to be one of my favorite foods that I’ve had in a while. Who am I kidding, I usually try some good places. This sandwich is just really good, I like the biscuit as it’s soft, and the hot sours do pack a little heat but the honey doesn’t make it unbearable at all. I can say, that’s it’s also not dry either. I’ll definitely have to go back and create a video. All the best when you head there and do make a reservation. There’s another place around the corner that hopefully I get to soon. Until next time.

Pequods Pizza – Chicago, IL

After seeing Pequods in so many different restaurant review for best pizzas, I had to finally try it. I can say that I don’t think I’m a deep dish fan as I thought I would be. Maybe there is still some hope as I have to come back to Chi Town to try the other pizza restaurant known for good deep dish. I think what didn’t help was waiting over an hour for the pizza only to bite it and realize it’s okay. The above is the deep dish pizza with plain cheese and spinach. Unfortunately you can’t see the spinach because it’s covered by the sauce and cheese. I can say that the pizza was good. I throughly enjoyed the taste of the pizza sauce. It had a sweet taste and the cheese was easily pretty good as well. The crust was a little too plain for my liking. I felt like it needed a little more crunch to make it pretty good. Despite my review, this is a place you must try because it is good, I’m just not a fan of the amount of cheese and sauce. I think it took away from the pizza. Next time I’ll have to try their thin crust as it might be better. When you go, book a reservation online and be prepared to wait over an hour for your pie.

Skillet – Seattle, WA

Russel Wilson to the Broncos? One of the reasons why I visited Seattle was to see him play I guess that dream sailed. 🤷🏾‍♂️ I can say though that Denver is next on the list though so we’ll see. Above is the fried chicken and waffle. I know what you’re thinking, there are so many chicken and waffle choices and you would be right (even my favorite has been Sweet Chick) but this is slightly different. You can tell by looking at it that they use a boneless chicken thigh which you normally don’t find many times so I have to give them a nod for trying something new. Now to the waffle, the interesting part here about the waffle is that they use a cornmeal which is like a cornbread taste and I have to say it was on point. I liked the taste of it and it combined very well with the fried chicken. The seasoning on the chicken was really good as in it was seasoned well and guess what, maple syrup was standard. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Anyway, the size of this was also pretty good as I couldn’t even eat the entire thing because of how big it was. If you’re in Capitol Hill this place is a must try. The service was also good as well. Sit by the window and if you go early, you can catch a good picture.

Levain Bakery – New York, NY

Whew, I’m back like I never left. It’s crazy to know that I’ve been here so many times that I forgot to upload a photo and write about it. This cookie in one word = Amazing! I want you to stop what you are doing right now and just head to NYC to grab this cookie and you’ll see what I’m about to talk about. It’s that good. They have several kinds of cookies (it’s okay to get two) but the one that I like is the original Chocolate Chip Walnut. If you’re allergic to nuts then I would say to try the Two Chip Chocolate Chip. The Chocolate Chip Walnut is really good as you can break the cookie into two and see the chocolate chips just oozing out. It’s quite moist and once you have one bite, you don’t want to put it down. It has a slight buttery crunch on the outside and the walnuts add a little salt to it which makes it really come together. Compared to my favorite cookie place Schmackary’s, this is my number two. Some people might say that it looks more so like a scone which might be true but let’s just call it a big cookie that someone scooped just a little too much. This could easily be shared between two people for sure but you may be mad when you’re finished and want more. Don’t be afraid of the line if there is one as it goes quick.

Talula’s Garden – Philadelphia, PA

You know those photos of food that you look at from others and then you make your way out to the restaurant, to only finish and be let down? That’s how I felt right after eating this. Now don’t get me wrong, the service and place is utterly spectacular. I will say that we did sit outside in the cold and the spaces that they set up were cute and it brought something magical to dinner. If you are able to sit in the section where they have makeshift doors as dividers between guests, you’re sitting in a special place. It’s nice because they also have individual heaters for tables along with a candle. Now to the food. Sigh. The picture above is the buttermilk fried chicken with collard greens and cornbread. I’m not sure why but they no longer serve the cornbread or fried chicken any longer for dinner. I’m assuming it wasn’t popular which is why they removed it. The cornbread with the salted honey black pepper butter spread was really good. I’ve never had a black pepper butter spread but it was quite good. It was sweet but had a little salt to it which turned out to be a good combination. It didn’t have any spice to it because the honey helped mellow it out. If you do see it on the menu when you go, it’s a must. In terms of the fried chicken and collard greens, it wasn’t anything to rave about. It was okay but I’ve had better. I wish I didn’t have to say it because I really like this place. I do think it’s a place to try if you want a scenic date but other than that it’s nothing special. I guess the price for what I received was disappointing. I’ll have to get it another try when I’m back in the area though for sure.

K Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot – Multiple Locations

It took me a bit to get here for some reason to see what the hype is all about. What I can say is that is an experience that is a must for friends, family, partners, colleagues and so on. It’s one of those experiences where you can chat with people, cook with people and share the same experience that can bring about good memories. First, when you get in there, depending on the day, it can be quite some time for sit down since I’ve noticed the wait time is about an hour, sometimes longer, on the weekends. The sad part about it is that they don’t take reservations no matter the amount of people. Once you sit down, they ask for your food items. I would definitely suggest doing the bbq since you can cook the food in the pot. They will set up the pot for you (desired temperature) and then you can add butter and then begin cooking the food. I don’t mind cooking the food since again it’s a memorable experience to do it with someone. You have tons of meat options that you can select from and they will give it to you at one time. My favorite is the short rib and garlic shrimp as they are really good. I would suggest going to lunch as well since dinner can be quite expensive depending on how many people. Trust me, this place is really good and you can tell as mentioned from the long wait time to the food smells emanating from outside as well.

Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza – Elizabeth, NJ

I did say I would be posting more pizza this week. This right here is a Sicilian large pepperoni, and sausage pie. I can say that when you pick this up, it’s quite heavy or heavier than usual. This can be contributed to the amount of sauce, cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and the weight of the bread. The nice thing about the place is that they cook the pie to your desired liking such as light, medium, dark and so on for the crust. I can tell you that I haven’t been to a pizza place that provides that option. Now I can say I did ask for the light crust and as you can see that didn’t happen. Lol. However, I did enjoy the pizza in terms of the sauce. The sauce was sweet but I did find that the crust was a little too thick for my liking. The chew was there for sure but I found it to be a little hard to chew because of so much going on. The pizza is definitely a try if you are in the area for sure despite my feedback. It’s a local business and it’s one of the best in the area and was ranked pretty high. One thing I must say is that I think they only take phone orders and cash only. I remember heading to the bank to get cash out and it was a little pricey for a large pizza. The walkway to get the pizza can also be intimidating but just know you’re in the right place for sure when you see others standing in line.

Ruth Chris Steakhouse – Multiple Locations

I don’t eat many steaks but I have to give a shout-out to Nicole on this one for sure. The location in JC was on point and this is easily by far my top second restaurant for steaks with Peter Lugar’s still being number one. I’m comparing this to Wolfgang’s and it’s not even close. Keens is next on my list so it’ll happen this year for sure. However, this tomahawk steak from Ruth Chris is ridiculously good. I really do think it’s the butter that makes this really good but if it is, I don’t even care. The steak is crispy on the outside but juicy inside. It’s tender and they cooked it exactly how I wanted it – medium well. I know for those who eat steak regularly you’re cringing but I haven’t graduated yet to medium let alone medium rare. Look, for me to say medium well was juicy, you just know they know what they are doing. When you bite into this, the juices just flow out of this thing and every bite is like can I have another. That’s just the steak but the sides are just as good. You have to try the sweet potato casserole and you‘ll thank me later for it. It’s sweet and the pecans just add a nice subtle balance. As I’m writing this im like I have to head back there soon. It’s that good. It’s really that good. Other than the food, the service is really good and it’s an experience for sure.

Razza – Jersey City, NJ

I did say the Rams all the way right? This week, I’m breaking down, you guessed it, more pizza. Lol. Anyway, this is another one for NG letting me know about this place. I don’t even know why it took me so long to get here but all I can say this is a light pizza but it’s pretty good. The only downside is that I wish it wasn’t so expensive for a small pie which is the only size they have. There’s just so many things about this pizza that is good. For one, the crust is so light that you wouldn’t even think it’s actually crust. It has a char but crispy and airy feel to it. I’ve had only one other pizza in Brooklyn that comes close to this. Next, the ingredients are fresh. As you can see in the picture which is the Burrata, it contains tomato sauce, burrata, garlic, basil and olive oil. Every bite that you take is quite delicious and the cheese is quite fresh. There’s no mistake why this place has so many reviews for their artisan pizza’s on google. I have to give this place props because they know what they are doing and they are consistent – my favorite word to say. When you find a consistent place, it’s hard to go anywhere else. If you’re in JC, this is a must. Right now, they are only doing takeout but soon they will have guest back in but I probably wouldn’t though because the wait is going to be a very, very long time. Order it online and don’t even think about finding street parking especially on Friday or Saturday night. You may have to park a little further down from the place.