Tailgating At The Battle For NY

Wait for it, wait for it...FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE!

So last Sunday was obviously a huge game for both the Jets and the Giants.  Not only was it the battle for NY, but there were huge playoff implications.  So it only seemed fitting that we set up a big tailgate for the pre-party.  Check out the rest of the tailgate and pictures after the jump.

Bolo Pretu - Caribbean Black "Christmas" Cake

Bolo Pretu - a moist and dense, labor intensive cake, made for very special occasions in the Caribbean

Last week a couple of friends had us over for dinner, which we scarfed down like starving hyenas, and a little bit of dessert.  One of these said friends happens to be a native of Curacao (for the geographically uniformed, it's a small island off the northern coast of Venezuela) and was toting along what she called Bolo Pretu or Black Cake.  This a popular cake around this time of year all across the Caribbean and it makes appearances at other special occasions.  Black Cake is deeply flavorful and emanating alcohol at every bite.  Essentially, dried fruit is soaked in various liquors for up to a year, and it is then combined with nuts, flour, sweet and savory spices, and the ingredient responsible for the namesake, burnt sugar syrup.  Once the batter is formed, the cake is baked for a couple of hours, only to be brushed with more liquor after it has cooled.  The final product is nutty, plumby. subtly sweet, mildly savory, and a little buzz-inducing.     

Zafra: Authentic Pan-Latin Cusine in Hoboken

The small space, tucked in at the corner of 3rd & Willow in Hoboken, offers a vibrant atmosphere away from the commotion of Washington Street.

Over the years, my little sister's bedroom has been the place where small rodents go to die.  Countless hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs have called a small corner in her room home, only to realize their final resting place would be a small corner of the back yard, next to their ill fated brethren.  Luckily for Latika (I know, what a name for a rodent), my sister's latest and hopefully final guinea pig, was spared a similar finale because my mom was sick of the house smelling like a petting zoo.  Fast forward a week and my parents found a willing new owner by way of a Hoboken cop.  Since they were in town, they might as well take me out to lunch right?  The venue - Zafra, a Cuban/Pan-Latino restaurant that I've been to about 3 or 4 times in the past year.  Check out what we ate after the jump.