#164 He Still Dates Me

I could have rushed this post out last night, I could have even rushed it out a few hours ago, but I wanted to make sure I took time and care for this post.

It's that awesome.

It's that important.

It's that life changing.

Naturally, the topic is food.

I'm sure you're wondering, Why not write about that over at The Orange Strainer.  You know, your FOOD blog? 

Well, ordinarily that would make sense.  Although when consideration is taken, one would realize that would mean taking a pause from my recipe challenge.  Also, this was the highlight of my weekend, therefore, it falls predominantly under Weekend I'd Forget.

On Saturday night, life didn't go as planned.  Since life didn't go as planned it meant that I didn't cook dinner.  Since I didn't cook dinner it meant we needed to find somewhere to eat our dinner.  Since we don't like to go to just any old chain restaurant, Hubby suggested going to Buen Provecho.  We've known about Buen Provecho for sometime now and had it on 'the list' of places we want to go to eat.

It's easy to get stuck in a rut.

We were stuck in a rut.

Here's to not being stuck in a rut in 2015!

Although, after going to Buen Provecho, we might possibly have been convinced to become stuck in a rut with them.

Hubby felt the need to include me in his Snapchats.

I'm going to be a little nontraditional here and start with dessert.

If I could survive souly on desserts, I absolutely, positively, would.  I get upset that bakeries typically close in the early afternoon, and dream of opening a line of bakeries that don't open until late afternoon and stay open until 2 am--at least.  Then, life would be positively divine.

The coffee alone is a reason to make Buen Provecho part of your world.  The espresso beans they use come from Puerto Rico and it didn't take much to convince me to buy one of the remaining bags they had for sale.  It isn't overly bitter, and though they gave us sugar and an adorable teeny spoon for stirring, I didn't need it.  For dessert they have a few homemade offerings.  Hubby and I heard "fried cheesecake" and knew that was the dessert for us.  Hubby ordered the guava fried cheesecake and I got the oreo one (the third option was apple--that will be for next time!).

Guava Fried Cheesecake--yum.

My greatest regret is that I was so full from dinner I couldn't lick my plate clean.

If you are anything like me, you are still trying to wrap your brain around 'fried cheesecake'.  This isn't your boardwalk fried cheesecake that is frozen, dipped in batter, and thrown in oil (still delicious, for sure!).  Think fancy churros, rolled with cheesecake filling, and served with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For dinner I had an extremely difficult time making a decision on what to order.

This, however, is normal for me.

Hubby ordered my first choice, "El Jibaro" Churrasco: angus beef skirt steak grilled with white rice and beans.  I knew this was going to be great, but certainly couldn't order the same meal.  Hubby was impressed with the tenderness of the meat and the flavors that lasted through each and every bite.

I ended up ordering, "El Cialeno": mashed plantains stuffed with chicken.  Ordinarily, plantains don't do anything for me.  They're okay, but not something I need in my life.  The mashed plantains are formed into a bowl and laced with crispy delight.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the flavors of not only the chicken that filled my plantain bowl but also of the mashed plantains.

The problem?  I only could eat about a quarter of my meal.  Our appetizer had been so fantastic, that I forgot to pace myself for the main attraction.  

I foresee ordering this appetizer as my meal on a future visit to Buen Provecho.  I snapped a picture of it after Hubby and I had already taken a helping of a few of the samplings.  "Sortido Boricua" is their sampler of fried native cheese, stuffed plantain crisps, codfish fritters, and empanadas.

Our appetizer, after we devoured half of it!

Do you ever go to a restaurant and order the sampler knowing that one of the items you won't touch, but you love everything else so you imagine that overall it must be worth the price?  That's not the case here.  I wish I could pick a favorite, but I simply can't.  I will say this though, the cheese amazed me and I love that the empanada includes three different meats instead of only one.

If you live in NJ, make Buen Provecho a part of your Weekend You'd Forget.  You won't regret it.

Remember, save room for dessert!