Morning...well, AFTERNOON, all! Hope you guys had a great weekend. Happy to say ours is extended by one more day, thanks to ye ole PresidentsJ But before the day gets away with me, I thought I'd give you an update on our Valentines Weekend: 2015.
Which started off with red pancakes (which Katie is STILL requesting to be 'shaped' like Rudolph...which may or may not have anything to do with the use of whipped cream and M&M'sJ...)
...and learning about the beauty of candy jewelry, courtesy of a little Valentine's exchange at dancing school...
...and then it was off to our "road trip"...aka.-40 minutes south of usJ We've had our eye on "The Kibitz Room" menu since mid-January and KNEW it was going to be our "Valentines destination du jour." Cause what else says "I love you" rather than a Jewish deli???...
(photo source...since I didn't get a photo in the snowJ)
I'd suggest perusing their menu before heading in, since you have to order at the counter and your head is likely to spin from all of the options if you aren't well prepared...
Thankfully, we knew just what we wanted when we headed in and hit up the pickle bar while we waited for our order to be brought to the table (by Peggy, the awesome waitress)...
Not that it was even in the SLIGHTEST sense of the word 'necessary,' but we just HAD to start with the brisket fries since I'm deeming Scott & I the 'somewhat connoisseurs' of meat-topped fries. I know. Don't be jealous by my self-given honors....
Tender brisket + melted American cheese + caramelized onions + crispy fries. Can this even be bad??
And next it was time for the big guns. And OK, I lied a bit. I was TOTALLY torn between 2 options for a main course, but given that THIS selection of stuffed cabbage came with a choice of TWO sides, I had to go with this pick...
I'm not sure how this became part of my Italian Grandmother's repertoire, but stuffed cabbage is and has always been one of my ALL-TIME favorite foods since she used to make them for me as a kid. This variation was a bit on the sweeter side, but STUFFED with meat, rice & spices. FAB!
And as for those sides, they did NOT disappoint! Potato pancakes was a no-brainer. These were SO crisp and heavenly. As good as I had hoped...
And my second side pick was one I was just DYING to try: Kugel. I went with the cheese variety (rather than the fruit) and was surprised to find that it was still sweet and..
...COMPLETELY out of this world DELICIOUS! I was OBSESSED. Truth by told, I only ate 1 of the stuffed cabbages so I could throughout enjoy both sidesJ
Kugel was tasted just like our Italian Easter tradition of Pastia/aka. noodle pie. It's so interesting that cultures & nationalities all sorta have the same traditions, but with different names. Pastia is to Kugel, as Dumplings are to raviolis and to pierogies. It's as interesting as it is delicious.
And Scott went the traditional deli route with their corned beef sandwich...
I stole a couple bites and it was just DROP DEAD DELICIOUS, as the bites just kept getting better & better as you got more & more flavor. We both agreed that it's something neither of us would rarely select (except when in MontrealJ), but definitely worth going out of the comfort zone. DI-VINE.
And after lunch, it was time for even BIGGER guns, given the fact that The Kibitz Room's dessert cases were OUT OF CONTROL...
We all made our selections, Katie's being the MOST clearJ...
...and when the (very nice and helpful!) guy handed me the cake prepped in a take-out container, I could barely believe the WEIGHT! And once I opened the package, here's what we were met with...
I mean...clap it up for great parenting, AMIRIGHT?? Everyone that stopped in after couldn't stop cracking up over the little pigtailed girl with the HUGE slice of cake! It was enough cake for about 19 people.
And despite it's INSANE proportion, it was actually REALLY delicious. I sometimes think LARGE desserts are more novelty, without any attention to taste, but not here. The vanilla cake really had great flavor, while still staying moist with allllll those layers of frosting, so ya really got a great cake/frosting ratio....which is really the most important thing on the planet, no???J
I was also surprised to find out all of the cakes (except for one) were baked in house, giving this deli even MORE of a home-y feel knowing all of their recipes were classic and traditional.
And because we're idiots lovers of 'samples', we still each got our own slices cause we're ridiculous curious...
Scott's carrot cake was absolutely beyond. The cream cheese frosting helped balance out the sweetness of the cake...which was packed full of carrot shavings, raisins & walnuts...
...but I must say my choice of German Chocolate Cake was slightly a bit of a flop, only because it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sweet. Like, WAY too sweet. As of my typing this post, I think I've still only managed about 4-5 forkfuls. It might have to be divided and shared with some friends, cause it's seriously just a bit TOO much. (says the girl who ordered her own GIANT slice...so I think that's saying a lot!)
Probably also didn't help that Scott thought that German Chocolate would have been my LAST choice, given all the cake options, since I'm not normally much of a chocolate cake person. What can I say? That coconut frosting was calling at the timeJ
But we both gave The Kibitz Room thumbs up as big as those slices. The home cooked food combined with the friendly (and a few classic 'rough around the edges' characters) service made this places feel so warm & welcoming, along with being traditional and delicious. Definitely give it a chance if you're in the market for CLASSIC deli fare...in epic portionsJ
And in Valentines day, Part 2 on Sunday night- our other tradition of me cooking a dinner with some sort of memory had to take a backseat this year to something that my stomach could tolerate. And in bucking tradition, part 2- Scott had to make this one since I was just too queasy to stand over the stove last night to make dinner. BLEH.
Thankfully this dinner of chicken parm and Parmesan polenta hit the spot...especially since I got to lounge on the couch while it was being madeJ Now THAT says L-O-V-EJ
Alright...that was a LOT for one dayJ Hope you guys liked our weekend recap. The goal for today was to go quite a bit LESS, but we'll see what today brings since it's sort of a weekend extension. I know ONE thing it will NOT include: CAKE! And one thing it definitely WILL: THE GYMJ
Have a great Monday!
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