Puerto Rico By Way of The Holland Tunnel

Okay, so we're not blood-related, but I consider myself so close to my friend Ari that we're practically sisters. Four years ago, Ari and I hit it off after I introduced her and her daughters Damia and Laria to dim sum in Philadelphia. After that, we became inseparable as we continued our food adventures across Delaware and Pennsylvania. Yes, that's right. We became family over food. Isn't that the best kind of family?

Anyway, my friend/sister Ari and her girls made a day trip to visit me in Jersey City earlier this month. The agenda that Ari had in mind mainly consisted of finding some food spots that could satisfy their craving for Puerto Rican food. Surprisingly, Delaware seemed to lack that. (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice.)

We were lucky enough that Ari brought her car AND was willing to drive around NYC and Jersey City for the day. (She's a brave girl, folks.) So, we crossed the Holland Tunnel and eventually made it to Brooklyn, heading to our first stop: Moore Street Market, one of Brooklyn's oldest indoor markets and supposedly "the place to be for everything Puerto Rico w/o leaving New York" (as quoted by the ever reliable Yelp). We ate delicious fried foods that I never had before:


Before passing out in a food coma, we got a couple food staples, like a bottle of Mayoketchup and a couple cases of Malta India. (You know I love food souvenirs, right?) We took a walk down Graham Avenue (also known as "Avenue of Puerto Rico") where we stopped by a bakery for some pastries and made a pit stop for Damia and Laria to enjoy piragua, which is shaved ice but better because one of the flavors tastes like ice cream. Genius.

We headed back to  Jersey City and made a pit stop at Supremo Supermarket where we grabbed more items that Ari couldn't get back in Delaware. Then, exhausted from all the walking and eating (It's hard work, people.), we took an afternoon break at my apartment to watch episodes of Criminal Minds and make these delicious grilled cheese sandwiches with the bread and cheese we bought at Supremo:


Miraculously, we somehow found room for dinner and decided to check out a Puerto Rican restaurant  in Jersey City called Restaurante Delicias de Puerto Rico. I'm drooling just reminiscing about this meal: