Hiking in the USA

With over 2 billion acres of contiguous land mass, there is a lot of ground to cover in mainland USA for any avid travelers worth their salt!

The link here highlights some of the most favorite hiking destinations in the USA. Go conquer a few trails, camp under the open skies and unite with nature!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/14/favorite.hiking.camping.spots/index.html

Food (and some beer!) in Flushing, Queens, NY

Mingle Beer House
37-04 Prince St.
Queens, NY 11354
718.939.3808

It's not just beer that's served here but also tasty food in a karaoke environment - Perfect!
I hear they have at least 6 varieties of beer on tap including a pricey Chimay($11). The Taiwanese appetizers and stir-fried foods add a spicy twirl to an evening of beer drinking and mingling :)

Review of other popular food joints NY Timeout

I am also reading this other blog by a foodie on a 'shoe-string' budget .. quite an apt source of inspiration for me !

40 days of meatlessness..

The transition from hearty, beefy foods to seemingly lackluster vegetarian chow can be challenging and almost cruel to our hungry palates :)
But let's not fret this season of Lent - because when you venture into the NYC outdoors, a satisfying vegetarian meal is anything but a challenge to find. And NO, I am not saying that we enter into those mainly meat-based restaurants and sit down for a meal made up of slimy salad juices and silly-looking sides!

There are many fantastic places that will serve a generous vegetarian meal that consists of almost all the flavors that one's gastric senses would crave for. And yeah while they are not abundant, fortunately I have been able to discover a bunch of what's not only the best but also the super affordable ones :)

(In the Village):
Counter
Sacred Chow
Café Himalaya
Red Bamboo
Gobo
Hummus Place

(Uptown):
Candle 79
Josie's
Peacefood Café
Maoz

(New places still to be tried):
Quartino (Roman Trattoria - Noho)
Taim (Middle Eastern - West Village)

Mundo Café (Turkish - Astoria)

And as I'd like to think, a touch of velvety fish here and a spattering of meaty broth there won't hurt our abstinence routine much :)

Mitsuwa ..

The largest Japanese marketplace in the US - that's what Mitsuwa is in a nutshell! This place is a wonderland for lovers of Japanese food, groceries, household stuff, electric appliances, and the culture.

And I am part Japanese at heart :) So I have always been in awe of Mitsuwa, and that it's east coast location is less than a few miles from where I live, makes things all the more exciting!

Situated along the Hudson river in Edgewater, New Jersey, this Mitsuwa center is more of a mini-mall than a traditional supermarket. From Japanese tea/mochi selling kiosks to book/video stores to restaurants/sushi bars, this gigantic location will meet many demands.
And of course, the supermarket section sells everything from packaged snacks to grade-certified Angus beef.

So here's presenting to you .. Mitsuwa
Oh, and here's the English version of the site

Enjoy... Tanoshimo :)