A memorable Meal at Juniors

My dad commuted from Eastern Long Island to Brooklyn for 15 years. He used to bring me a cheesecake from Junior’s original location every year for my birthday.

I was about 12 when he started and it continued until he retired. He would then still make the trip to get me my favorite cake.

After my dad passed away and I moved to the Champaign, my mom started sending one for my birthday, as well as any time I needed cheering-up (like when I had surgery).

It’s now come full circle with over 40 years of Junior’s sharing my life.

I was in Florida for the newly opened of Junior’s in Boca Raton.  Mom and I will shared Junior’s in a third state, with another milestone -- she’s leaving Florida and moving to Illinois, so we can once again live in the same place.

Junior’s in Boca Raton looked just like the ones I was used to, with cheesecakes lining the shelves of the bakery area, red and white stripes everywhere, and walls full of nostalgia.

Photos of famous Brooklyn natives, including Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Kimmel, Neil Diamond, and members of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, were also all over the walls.

The only thing that made this location unusual was the year-round tables out on the patio.

I have to confess that we overdid it when confronted with the Junior’s menu we hadn’t seen in a long time, as well as few extras at this location.

We started with one of their Spiked Shakes, a concoction of a chocolate milkshake and Tito’s Vodka.

With those, the waiter brought us Junior’s complimentary starters, sliced beets and pickles, to eat while we were trying to decide what to get.

The Junior’s menu is a bit overwhelming as it’s filled with comfort food you’ll especially appreciate if you are a New Yorker.

We were guests of the restaurant and they were happy to bring us a selection of their best: a corned beef sandwich with steak fries, potato pancakes with apple sauce, and a turkey Rueben with Cole slaw.

Mom also had a shrimp cocktail. Everything was as good as we remembered from New York.

The hardest part, of course, was deciding which cheesecake to get. 

As a kid, the strawberry (with a delectable almond crust) was my favorite. I had since developed a strawberry allergy so that one was replaced by the Devils Food Cheesecake.

Devils Food Cheesecake puts all of my favorites together: chocolate cake and cheesecake, layered with fudge frosting and topped with chocolate shavings!

Our waiter encouraged us to try a second and we went with the plain cheesecake, topped with cherries.

Needless to say, we were stuffed when we walked out of Junior’s, but felt like we had just left a big meal “at home.”

Unfortunately, the Junior’s in Boca Raton closed soon after I was there. I guess it’s just not understood outside of New York.

If you can’t get to one of the New York locations (which I strongly recommend if you are ever in the area), I am happy to say that they still have cheesecake for sale online -- or you can try to make it yourself. 

Lincoln Park Zoo and Patio at Café Brauer

I’ve never been to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. I confess I’m always the one that goes far away before near to see things. 

I lived in New York over 40 years and I never went to the Statue of Liberty (I did take the Circle Line boat ride around it a few times).

Two things brought me to finally plan a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo: the opening of the Patio at Café Brauer for the season, and a toddler who I knew would be mesmerized by her first experience with the animals.

The drive to Chicago with a toddler was definitely different. 

It had been a while since I had a little one on a long car drive and it was her first long car ride, but Brittany and Jessie, Andrea’s mom, helped keep her occupied from the front seat while I entertained her with phone videos. 

We also put a few extra stops into the ride that was usually two hours straight.

When we arrived at the zoo, I think I was the most excited. I love zoos and couldn’t believe I hadn’t been to this one before. 

A free zoo on the lake of the Chicago skyline? It should be on the list of everyone within a few hours.

The zoo did not disappoint inside either. They had a great selection of animals and we were sure to check out all of them.

Andrea seemed to love anything in the water, especially the turtles.

I was enthralled in the penguins, seemingly performing on demand for us, and the Polar Bears in the Arctic Tundra.

Then, of course, the faithful Leo in me always gravitates toward Lions, as well as tigers and leopards.

I also thought the dwarf mongoose were adorable as they huddled together.

We also spent a little time in the Goat Yard, the Small Mammal-Reptile House, and the Regenstein Center for African Apes, all of which have personnel on hand during the day for talks and public feedings (you can check the schedule on the website).

Café Brauer is on the edge of the Lincoln Park Zoo. From their patio, which has music on certain nights during the warm months, you have a great view of the Chicago skyline.

We were quite hungry by the time we got to Café Brauer and started with two of their most popular appetizers, the Mini Beef Tacos and the Tomato Mozzarella Twists.

I was partial to the tacos, but both were quite good.

For a main course, I’d highly recommend the Cuban Sandwich and the Buttermilk Fried Chicken sandwich. Both were favorites at our table.

We also had a little room left for dessert and the Cookie Skillet, served with ice cream, was the perfect choice and big enough to share.

I will definitely be back to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is open 365 days a year, as well as Café Brauer, open most of those days and evenings, with specials on holidays.

Check for the best hotel prices in Chicago now at TripAdvisor. 

Living the Disney World VIP Life

It's hard to wake up anything but happy when you are at Disney World and the first view out your windows are the giraffes walking around Animal Kingdom. I was on a trip with a group of journalists to check out Disney's Golden Oak mansions, as well as what was new at the Magic Kingdom.

Breakfast was at Jiko and it was a buffet like I had never seen. There was an omelet station that included treats like lobster and prepared dishes with delicacies such as ostrich eggs. The desserts were also delectable and we had a surprise guest – the big mouse himself came to greet us.

After breakfast we headed to Disney’s Golden Oak community. This is the first opportunity for people to live right on the Disney property, something your family could certainly treasure. The mansions come in a variety of models. They are all truly luxurious and are priced at $1.6 to $8 million. 

While the properties aren’t large (who wants to spend their time worrying about their lawns when living at Disney?), the houses are custom-made with amenities such as in-ground pools, courtyards, backyard kitchens and magnificent bathrooms. I was especially impressed with the master bath that had two toilets!

You will also find the presence of Mickey Mouse in places you wouldn’t expect (maybe in a wall tile or light switch).  Everyone who buys a home at Golden Oak also receives a plaque in front of their house that shows that they are a homeowner of Walt Disney World.

A clubhouse with a pool, gym and restaurant is available to Golden Oak residents. As the community fills up, they plan to increase the calendar of activities and clubhouse amenities.

The perks of being a Golden Oak homeowner does not end on the property. Homeowners will receive four passes that can be used at any of the Disney World parks – as much as they want, for whomever they want. They also have access to VIP service, something we had the chance to check out.

VIP guides at Disney can take you behind the scenes. You don’t have to worry about lines, parking worries or transportation to the park – you pull up right to the park of your choosing. The guides also take you wherever you want to go and can even get you into some areas that aren’t open to general guests.

Our guides took us right to a small parking lot behind Disney Studios and walked us right inside. We had lunch at The Brown Derby. (Be sure to leave yourself a ton of time if you decide to eat here as service was extremely slow and cut into our VIP park experience.)

Our first stop in the new Fantasyland was at the interactive “Enchanted Tales with Belle.” Players in Belle’s story came from the visitors (mostly kids) and all of the Beauty and the Beast characters were around to make sure it was done correctly.

Prince Eric now has a castle and just below it is Little Mermaid Ariel in the new “Under the Sea” ride. I thought it was a lot of fun and had plenty of moving, musical and bright characters to keep kids of all ages involved.

In the new Fantasyland there is also a new castle for Gaston and it contains the only restaurant in Fantasyland that serves alcohol. It is also booked for dinner months in advance so be sure you get your reservations in if you want to eat here.

I remember taking my then four year old to Disney World alone. She wanted to go straight onto the Dumbo ride, one of the most popular in the park. We waited an hour and a half and that was about it for both of us for the day! Disney has evidently heard this from more parents because Dumbo now has his own pavilion, with a second ride and a circus tent (in a whole Storybook Circus section) to hang out in while waiting for the time to head on the ride. Brilliant play, Disney.

After the Fantasyland exploration we got to spend some time in one of my favorite shopping places, Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. It was fun picking up a few surprises for my (now grown) daughter from the “happiest place on earth.”

We spent the evening at the Disney's Contemporary Resort where we enjoyed more of the Disney VIP experiences. We started with a Chef’s Table Dinner that was just amazing. Everything, including the soup and salad, was creative and paired with wine. Even the Surf and Turf included a large lobster tail for each person.

After dinner, we headed outside, where there was a scrumptious dessert buffet waiting for us to enjoy while we watched the fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle. It was a bit chilly, so I settled in with some pumpkin coffee with amaretto and did some sampling of Pumpkin Pecan Pie with Jack Daniels Panna Cotta, S’mores Macaroons, Carmel Corn Truffles and Deep Fried Brownie Pops.

It had been a trip unlike my others, but it was certainly a lot of fun. My only disappointment was that I never made it to the African Safari and a few other “grown-up” experiences I was hoping to catch. Then again, that gives me another reason to head back to Disney World soon.