Food, food, and more food!

Today I went to New Jersey with my grandparents and two of of neighbors to buy lots of yummy treats. Our first stop was the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ. I was nom-noming on free samples from practically every spotless and well-organized aisle in the market. I picked up some of my childhood favorites like Yakult and Japanese butterscotch along with some miso soup ($2) that will be easy to make at school. I also bought a fat piece of green tea red-bean mochi ($1) and a strawberry dessert that comes with Japanese instructions ($2).

Afterward we stopped at Balthazar's wholesale bakery in Englewood, it is the factory where they make the goods for Balthazar's in Soho, NYC. However the place in New Jersey is probably three times cheaper than the NYC franchise. At Balthazar's we picked up a whole slew of goodies including cinnamon buns, strudels, foccacia bread, cookies, and butter scones that are to DIE for. We probably ordered 15 pieces and it came out to around $30- not bad for top quality baked goods.

Next door to Balthazar's is an amazing Italian gourmet grocery called Jerry's Homemade. My grandparents have been coming here for years for their delicious cooked pasta, quiches, chicken fillets, and crab cakes. They also love to pick up Jerry's homemade tomato sauce for pastas and the like. The store is well stocked with all sorts of goodies from Italy like biscuits, chocolates, sauces, cheeses, salamis and there is an entire back section for wines. Jerry's is an absolute destination for the ultimate foodie and Italian cook!