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Balthazar Bakery in Englewood

I was driving along down a nondescript side street in Englewood the other day when I stumbled upon a little buttery slice of France. Tucked away between drab office buildings and broken-down factories, a pale yellow awning with familiar lettering caught my eye. In the .com heyday when I worked in Soho, I enjoyed many breakfast croissants and intoxicating cafes au lait from the Balthazar Bakery around the corner from my office. Occasionally I would even splurge to sit inside and have a real sit down breakfast to try and spot disguised movie stars in nearby booths. (once the bubble burst, we had a lot of time to kill before the layoffs.)

As I was born and raised in France, I’m a really tough critic when it comes to croissants and baguettes. I haven’t found many in the States that I would even call a croissant. But the Balthazar croissants definitely qualify. I would even venture to say that they are the best croissants I’ve had here. They’re crispy on the outside, revealing flaky inside that taste buttery without being greasy.

»» Balthazar Bakery in Englewood

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Taka in Asbury Park

Last night, a group of friends and I had a great time at Taka in Asbury Park. I had heard about Taka from my boxing buddy, Deborah, and some of my other friends had also heard about it through friends, so obviously people are talking about this new hot spot.

»» Taka in Asbury Park

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Filed under: Cookbook Reviews, Restaurants | Asbury Park|4 Comments

Cooking with a Jersey Girl, Book Review and Recipe

Yesterday was my favorite kind of day. I spent most of it in my kitchen cooking up a pot of marinara sauce and then putting together this scrumptious Eggplant Parmesan from Cooking with a Jersey Girl by Joyce Ann Staples. Now, you know the minute I saw the title I would be asking the Author to let me review her book. How could I resist?