Where have I been? After Durham, Charlotte.

I drove down to Mike's on Thursday afternoon. My college roommate Kat is in Charlotte right now, helping her sis out, who just had her third child. Brave girl! Kat, Mike, and I met up on Thursday night, and went to a place called Arpa for dinner.

Mike said it all pretty succinctly in his Yelp post, but in my own words, it was good food, and the prices were reasonable. What went wrong was the portion size. Like, I thought the tuna I ordered was good. And I didn't even mind that it was $14. But for $14, I expect to have at least three pieces of it! Two little tuna nuggets for that price point didn't match up. I guess the way I feel about it is, I think I should have been a hell of a lot fuller having paid the bill that I did. But the food itself was decent enough. The drinks were very good. Maybe this should be a drinking place from now on.

After dinner, we stepped over to an Irish bar called Ri Ra. This place was fun! It definitely looked the part of the pub. The live music was awesome! As in, would come back just to hear them. They were able to get the entire bar revved up, with promises of various music, from 80s to bluegrass...to "80s bluegrass"!

I was pleasantly tipsy -- see incriminating photo -- as was Kat. Or I guessed she was, since she was compelled to get up and grace the bar with a slightly modified River Dance knockoff. Priceless.

Where have I been? Durham, for starters.

So...I'm a little bit behind on my blogging, but I haven't disappeared. It's more of a hiatus. I just returned from a week in North Carolina. The first part of the week was visiting my sister and her family. The second half was visiting Mike.

Because I'm behind in blogging about my food explorations, I will attempt to describe each experience concisely. We begin with:

Tuesday, March 25:
Kate and I went to eat burritos for lunch at a restaurant called Cosmic Cantina, in downtown Durham. To eliminate the risk of being redundant, I will link to my review on Yelp. In a nutshell, I thought it was good, but nothing spectacular. A cool hangout, I'll give you that.

For dinner, I was coerced to try borscht. It was surprisingly good, considering I find beets to be one of the most repellent foods there are. I'm not sure if it's a Polish thing to add various other stuff to the soup to make it hearty, but that's what we did: sausage, ham, hard boiled eggs, potatoes. I didn't like the actual beets, but the broth was tasty. And pink.

Wednesday, March 26:
Kate and I had sushi for lunch at a place, again in downtown Durham, called Mount Fuji. Again, here is my review on Yelp. The sushi was fresh, but nothing to rave about. Would've been just as happy with RuSan's. The service was nice.

We did dinner at a bar & grill called Federal. Here's the Yelp review. We brought the kids here, although I'm not sure I would suggest this place for kids normally. It's a bar, I think, first and foremost. But they were well-behaved for the most part. The patio is nice.

Thursday, March 27:
Kate and I went to Elmo's for lunch. I had asked to go here because I had a fantastic breakfast here on a prior visit, and was looking forward to trying it again. But, since we went for lunch, there weren't any breakfast specials, and nothing was really calling out to me. So I got a hummus sandwich.

The sandwich wasn't my favorite, but my opinion of this restaurant is still very high. The breakfast I had during my first visit was delicious. I can't recall exactly what it was, but I think I got a waffle with some sort of fruit in it. Not typically my thing, and it was awesome.

My salad dressing is as good as this

Last night, I got kind of lazy, so I decided to make a basic salad with a side of polenta. This is actually a dish I had one year at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. One of the vendors made polenta, which they put in one of those flat gyro containers, and topped a basic salad on top. Sounds weird with the hot/cold combo, but it was actually quite good.

But I did consult my ATK cookbook to make their basic vinaigrette. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tastes every bit as good as mine! Well, I can't really say "mine", since it's really Mike's original concoction. But it's mine now! I took it! Mwahahaha.

Sorry.

So anyway, their recipe calls for all the same ingredients that I have used before -- oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, shallots, dijon -- but I did use my chardonnay vinegar, rather than the types they suggested. And their recipe called for garlic and fresh herbs, such as basil, which I had on hand. That gave it a fresh flavor.

Salad was topped with fresh strawberries and feta. Yum.

I had a pre-made package of polenta, which was good. But next time I'll make my own. It's pretty simple.

Pappasito's is great for groups

So, Heather finally got a new job! So, in honor of this event, I got a group of people together to celebrate. We decided on Pappasito's because it is Mexican and because it was a good location for various people coming from Atlanta or from Kennesaw.

And it's good for groups! I called ahead to reserve a table for 8, which they were happy to do. I also said that we wanted to sit on the patio, since it was so nice out. They said that was not guaranteed, but they would do their best. Fine.

We got there, and after a minor glitch of them sitting another large party at our patio table, they were able to still put us out there with just a small wait. No biggie, since people hadn't all arrived.

The food was good! Margaritas were good! And strong! I got my nachos with no meat, as usual. They don't do half orders anymore, so that's a bummer. I just can't do the whole order with all the chips I eat!

We ordered guacamole and yellow cheese dip, which was delish. Overall, a nice time!

Supper club!

We had our second installment of supper club last night. It was at Laura's house and she chose Mexican as the theme. There were nine people there: Laura/Gary, Heather/Chris, me/Jenny, Amanda/no guest, and Neely and her husband as the guests).

I thought it was a lot of fun! I wasn't sure exactly how it was going to work since her place is so small, but it did. In fact, it was probably more successful than mine since the dining room table was in the living room, rather than being separate. She also had two less people, which helps.

I made Tortilla Soup from the ATK cookbook. I thought it was a total success, and everyone seemed to like it. I did the prep at home, and then the assembly at Laura's. It was difficult because of the limited space, since there is a fair amount to assemble. But it worked out.

Laura made chicken quesadillas, Amanda "made" guacamole, cheese dip, and salsa (thanks, La Paz!), and Heather made a dessert called "chocolate goo pie". Despite the horrendous name, the dessert was good! She said it wasn't particularly Mexican, so she added toasted cinammon-sugar tortillas to make it more so. I would have liked to have more of that. Yum!

Planet Bombay

I ordered from Planet Bombay last night, and it wasn't as good as the first time I ordered from there. I just don't know what went wrong. I got the same things: order of nan, order of Chana Masala, and an order of Chicken Saag. I mean, it was good. It just wasn't great.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was ordering on a Friday night instead of a weeknight. The Chana Masala was runny and not spicy. The Chicken Saag was bland. Oh! And they put my Chana Masala in a broken plastic container. I got that sauce EVERYWHERE.

This is after a weird interaction in the restaurant too. The first frustrating thing about this restaurant is that the only parking they have is a paid parking lot. So you have to explain that you are just picking up food and will be right back, and the parking attendant looks at you like you are probably lying. That sucks.

When you get inside the restaurant, there's an overwhelming smell of curry. It's on you when you leave. Which is why I want to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. You have to walk to the back to get your order. So I do, and they ask me to sit. Fine, but I'm hoping they'll hurry since they already told me it would take 25 minutes, and I've given them 40 by the time I get there.

And I sit. And sit. And I'm trying to make contact with a server, but they are ignoring me. Then, a guy comes in to put covers over the fish aquarium in the restaurant. So I have to get up to get out of his way. A server stops to ask me to sit. All the available seats are taken at this point, so I tell him so, and said that I would be happy to just settle so I can clear out. No love.

Finally, I get my food. But I mean, come on! If it's going to take an hour, tell me it's going to take an hour!

I will go back, since that's not the experience I had the first time. But I'm hoping it doesn't happen again...

Sushi with Al

Al and I had lunch at MF Sushi today. He had never been, I always crave sushi, and I owed him lunch.

It was good! Mike and I went there on our first date, and it was very romantic. And expensive! Be prepared for the prices if you go for dinner. For lunch, however, it's quite reasonable. Al and I concluded that that's how they rope you in. You go once for lunch, and when you find out how good it is, you go for dinner, and then they get you!

I digress.

They have sushi lunch specials that range from $10-20. And each one comes with a bowl of miso soup and a generously-sized ginger salad. I loved the salad -- the ginger dressing is very salty and yummy. The miso soup was typical.

The fish itself it very fresh. No complaints. I will definitely come back here for lunch.

Oh, one other thought: I tried, at an earlier date, to order takeout from here, and was unsuccessful. I called their number twice, and both times, was disconnected. Strange.

OK Cafe's mac and cheese and squash casserole is out of this world!

Yesterday, Mom met me out at Lenox to go shopping. Afterward, we went to OK Cafe, one of our favorites. It's so freaking good. It's over in Vinings, but since it's on the way home for Mom, it makes a good stop for her.

The decor inside is fun and kitschy. There's a money tree inside, for example. You know, it's just fun. Interesting artwork. Total diner feel. And hella good food.

OK, OK, I have fallen victim, once again, to ordering only one thing on the menu. But once you know something is good, why would you stray? It's the veggie plate. You get to choose from four of the items on their veggies list, and the options that I always go for are: green beans, steamed cabbage, mac and cheese, and squash casserole.

OK, the green beans and cabbage are your basic run of the mill. But the mac and cheese and the squash casserole is so good, it'll make you cry. The mac is made with several cheeses, not sure which ones, and the squash casserole is also made with cheesy goodness. It's southern cooking like southern cooking should be.

Sunday grub

On my last day in Charlotte, Mike and I finally went over to Mac's Speed Shop to try out their BBQ. It was good! I'd definitely go back there. We each got a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, which comes with slaw and a side. Then we decided to split a veggie plate so we could try out additional sides. So, the sides we had were:

• Mac and cheese: Good, but nothing exceptional.
• Onion rings: Greasy goodness.
• Hush puppies: Heavenly, but they only gave us three! WTF! Don't be stingy!
• Collard greens: That was all Mike. But he seemed to enjoy them.
• Green bean casserole: I wanted to like it more than I did. It was good with the cheese that was baked on the top of it, but not really without it.
• Slaw: OK. Your basic slaw.
• BBQ: Yum!
  

They also have a HUGE beer selection. I was a tad hungover, so no beer for me. Could be a good place to grab a beer or two on the weekend, even if it is a restaurant first and foremost.

I'd definitely go back here.

For dinner, we were not very hungry since we snacked at the mall, so we just got the Insalata Carrabba from Carabba's, as well as a bowl of a lentil soup that we split. It was yummy! We also got a strawberry cheesecake, because we are gluttonous. Note to self: be sure to check the bag before leaving the restaurant. We ended up with a small bowl of minestrone instead of our strawberry topping. Mike also asked for them to add chicken to the salad, but they didn't. Booooo.

They did include some crusty bread, which was nice. Even though we didn't eat it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike and I finally got to celebrate V-day by going to Lulu's, a small restaurant over in Elizabeth. Mike had gotten the idea to come here based on the recommendation of a foodie he knows. Specifically, she noted that the cheese that they serve on the antipasti plate was yummy, so we ordered that to start. It was very tasty! The star of the plate was these little pepperocini peppers that were stuffed with a meat and cheese. Mike loved those. Quite tasty.

Dinner was good, although nothing fantastic. Mike ordered a steak and fries dish. The steak was fine, but nothing special. The sauce he had was good. The fries were overcooked. I ordered a veal special that was served with a shrimp risotto and asparagus. It was good to me, but the sauce they had was a bit bland. Mike hated it.

The dining experience was nice, but not really romantic. We had a somewhat snooty French waiter who was damn near impossible to understand. But I did like the space. It would make for a good first date spot, I think.

After dinner, Mike and I headed to a wine bar called Dolce Vita Wine Bar. This was a neat space. It was a young crowd, probably college students, and wasn't too crowded, so we were able to get a table to watch the live music. It was a mix of good talent, and others with not as much talent but plenty of charisma. It must have been an open-mic night. We were certainly entertained. The wine was nice too. Check out Mike's review of this place on Yelp.

We then went to another bar after that. Too drunk to recall the place, sadly. It is probably a good place for a casual night of beers.

Back in Charlotte

I'm in Charlotte again this weekend. I was supposed to go last weekend, but came down with a nasty flu, so Mike and I had to postpone our Valentine's plans until now. I left the office at 5:15PM, and arrived at Mike's at exactly 9:15PM. With it being a rainy Friday afternoon, I think that four hours is pretty good timing!

Mike and I went over to Nikko's for dinner, and boy, was it a party over there or what! I expected this place to close at 10 or so, but it was open until midnight. We attempted to order something that we saw someone else order last time we were there. We chose poorly. What we ended up getting was some sort of salmon roll that was deep fried. It wasn't very good at all. The rest of our meal was the basic stuff we've gotten before. Nothing much worth mentioning again. Except that I thought our first time there was better than this time. This time wasn't bad. Just not as good.

This morning, after being abruptly awoken by a construction worker continually making a banging noise, we decided to grab bagel sammies at Owen's Bagel & Deli. The guy making our sandwiches was really nice and helpful. There are about 10 types of bagels -- and they call "everything" bagels "combo". Whatev.

Mike got a bacon, egg, and American on an onion bagel. I got a sausage, egg, and Meunster on a combo bagel. Verdict? The sausage wasn't very good at all, and I found myself enjoying my bagel more when there wasn't a bite of meat in it. Mike's was great. The bacon is definitely the way to go.

Oh, and the bagels are steamed! It's good. They're not mushy like I was expecting them to be. They're good! Just don't get the sausage.

I'm done with the Subway at 10th and Piedmont

I used to love going to this Subway. I know that they are all about the same, but at this one, I could:
a) order online
b) get to it easily
c) get in and out quickly because it's ready when I get there
d) pay with a debit card
e) the sandwiches were always made well
f) the guys who ran it were super nice and knew me by face.

So, now?

New owners.

How could it be that bad? Well, for one thing, they only accept cash. I mean, come ON. Really? REALLY?? In this day and age, I can't use a debit card at the local Subway?!

OK, so my list again:
a) order online
I can still do this.

b) get to it easily
No longer -- not with the construction on 10th AND on Piedmont

c) get in and out quickly because it's ready when I get there,
There's never any parking anymore, probably related to the construction

d) pay with a debit card,
Nope. Cash only.

e) the sandwiches were always made well
The last sandwich I got was so poorly wrapped the food partially fell out of it in the plastic bag.

f) the guys who ran it were super nice and knew me by face.
The new woman sneered at me, and didn't appear to know more vocabulary than the words "Cash only" and a couple of gesturing grunts. But I'm assuming that she is indeed literate because the last time I stopped by, there was a sign on the locked door saying that they had to close temporarily, with no further explanation, despite the fact that there was no warning of this when I ordered online. I understand that the application might not be built to handle this, but it does ask for my cell phone number, which they could have called to save me the trip.

Unfortunately, that was the most convenient Subway to me, so I'm going to have to find a replacement store. Sigh... I really liked those other guys.

Chicken and Brie: nom nom nom

I met Kelley out for dinner at 97 Estoria. This place is just a stone's through from her place, and is quite great. It might be a tad intimidating for the yuppy-at heart -- you'd almost think it'd be a pre-req to have a tattoo before stepping into this place -- but the food is delicious, and the beer is cold. And I'm sure my boyfriend would like me to note: they have pitchers of PBR.

I always get the chicken and brie sandwich when I go here. It's so freaking good. I mean, really. Even now, after thinking about it, I want to go over there and get a sammy to go. Alas, I am at home on the couch with the flu. Bugger!

They also serve potato chips with blue cheese on top. That's quite delicious too, although I couldn't see making a whole meal out of it, and it's a gigantic serving. But a good idea if you have a group.


One final thought: this place is hella smoky. Don't plan on wearing anything that can't easily be washed.

Hanging out in Vinings

Ginny, an old friend from high school, came to visit all the way from Charleston. Laura organized a girl's night out, which turned out to be in Vinings. After sipping on some cocktails, five of us ventured down the hill to eat at Garrison's.

This is a great restaurant. Well, actually, I don't know how affirmatively I can say that: I've only been there twice, and I ordered the same thing both times. But others more adventurous than I agree that it is very tasty. There are two other locations besides Vinings: Perimeter and Duluth.

I ordered the lobster bisque and the house salad, which is greens tossed in raspberry vinaigrette with sundried cherries, walnuts, apples and bleu cheese. The salad was a bit overdressed, so I'd order it again with the dressing on the side. But overall, YUM!

We also had drinks. Note to self: be sure to say you only want your martini lightly dirty.

After dinner, we went to Meehan's for a cocktail or three. Interestingly enough, there were cops in there with cops-in-training, and they were asking people if they wanted to participate in field sobriety tests for the sake of teaching a trainee on a legitimately drunk person. Amanda volunteered, and I was able to take some incriminating photos: insta-blackmail.

The bar was nice -- I'd definitely go back.

Mellow Mushroom, you were soggy!

I had Mellow Mushroom at an office lunch yesterday, and I just feel it's my duty to disclose just how soggy that pizza was. Okay, okay, i know that it was a bulk order, and it's possible it had been sitting out for a few minutes. But no more than 10 minutes, I assure you!

The pizza was inedible without a fork. And was super greasy. I will eat Mellow Mushroom again, but I will be prepared for soggy pizza.

No idea who's playing: I just like to throw parties

Sunday night, I hosted a Super Bowl party with a small group of friends. Just like last year, I ordered BBQ from Daddy D'z. It's super easy, super good, and everyone seems to like it.

This year went well. I ordered 4lb of BBQ for about 12 people, and I had enough leftovers to send some home with a few people, plus enough for several sammies for me. I also ordered slaw -- six servings, which was way more than enough. I document this, because I couldn't remember how much I ordered last year, and want to be sure I have enough, but not too much, for next year.

This year, I took people up on them bringing stuff. Al brought chips, Amanda brought four dips, Laura brought buns and pickles, and Amber surprised us with her homemade pinwheels. Note to self: don't tell a person to bring buns if she isn't going to get there promptly.

Daddy D'z is the bomb. First, let me just say how friggin' nice they are there. Both times I've called ahead for BBQ, I've talked to super friendly people who went out of their way to help me plan for the event. And the BBQ is just really good. I highly recommend!

The Giants won. Yayyyy. That's about the total excitement you'll get from me about pro football.

A new brunch spot!

For brunch on Sunday, Mike and I went to Solstice Cafe over in Grant Park. I read about it on Yelp, and wasn't disappointed at all! First, there was no wait, and we were able to sit outside, as it was really nice on Sunday.

I ordered the BLFGT (Bacon, Lettuce, Fried Green Tomato sandwich), which had goat cheese on it. SO. GOOD. It was served with their house salad, which had pears, strawberries, and goat cheese in it. Two major thumbs up.

I'm trying to remember what Mike ordered, but I can't seem to recall. Probably because I was engrossed in my own mean. I do remember that had homefries with his that were crunchy and good. Good thing to remember, since few places seem to prepare decent breakfast potatoes.

Oh, and they serve little bottle Cokes. Cute.

Only critique is that our friendly server fell off the face of the earth at the end of the meal, and finally Mike had to round her up inside. But my sandwich was totally worth the small inconvenience. I'll definitely be back.

Sotto Sotto

For dinner, Mike and I went to Sotto Sotto, which was great! The location was very trendy and pretty romantic. First, we had a round of martinis, and the bartender didn't over-dirty mine, which was nice.

For our appetizer, we ordered the antipasto plate. I was highly impressed on the serving amounts! Plenty of times, I've gotten a similar item for a similar price point and gotten such measly serving sizes. With this plate, you got three types of cheese, a variety of olives, and three types of meat. There was so much on the plate that we never finished it all.

For dinner, I ordered risotto. I'd never had it before, and I must say, it's pretty good! The one I ordered had wild mushrooms in it. I was expecting the texture to be mushier than it was, but it tastes very much just like rice, but with a creaminess to it. Thumbs up!

Mike ordered a duck breast pasta. It was good too, but I liked mine more. His tasted to me very much like lasagna. For dessert (yes, we went all out!), we had their ricotta cheesecake. SO GOOD. It was topped with some type of cherry and cherry sauce, and the crust was served on top, somehow. It was quite yummy.

Oh, I should also mention that we had a glass each of the barolo wine. I didn't look at the wine menu, so that's all I can say about the type of wine. But it was hella good. Worth remembering -- I'd definitely drink that again.

Final thought: the valet guys were hilarious. Mike and I were highly entertained.

Whoa! Lay off the eggs, will ya?

I coerced Mike into hiking Stone Mountain on Saturday, so we actually woke up at a decent hour on Saturday so that we wouldn't waste the day away.

Before heading out to the park, we wanted to get a quick breakfast, so we stopped at Highland Bakery to get a sandwich. Wow, this place gets packed! I had only been once before, at 7AM on a weekday -- let's just say that it wasn't quite as bustling at it was on Saturday AM.

The layout was a bit claustrophobic. Not of the restaurant, mind you, but of the wait area. I easily get anxious when stuck in a tight space, so I backed myself up against a wall while we waited for our food. Next time, we'll have to actually wait for a table, and hopefully that will be a bit more sane.

My bacon, egg, and cheese croissant was good, but oily. And whoa, did they put a lot of egg on it or what? I started pulling egg out of it because there was just too much. By the time I had finished my sandwich, there was enough egg left over to create two servings. And I left a bunch on my sandwich. I wouldn't be surpised if there were about 6 eggs on my sandwich.

Mike is here!

Mike was in town this weekend, and we tried a variety of new places this weekend, which was quite fun and quite yummy!

On Friday night, we went for a late dinner at Sala, which is up-scale Mexican dining in the Highlands. The ambiance inside is really nice, and we had a waiter that was really helpful. We ordered taquitos for the appetizer (a last minute change by Mike -- I had heard the cheese dip, made with goat cheese, was ridiculous), which was okay.

The main courses arrived: I ordered Pollo con Espinacas, based on the recommendation of the server, and my expectations were not let down. It was so good! The only complaint was that I expected the chicken to be boneless. And for the most part it was! But there was a small bone in the dish which was hard to cut around without splashing little drops of cream sauce on myself.

Mike ordered beef enchiladas, which I think he enjoyed. In my opinion (and I think secretly in his), my dish was better.

We both got prickly pear margaritas, which were served with no ice. They were really tart, making us wish we had ice in our glasses, so for our second round, we made the request, and they were happy to oblige.

At the end of dinner, we migrated to the bar to finish our second drink. Mike got a wild hair to try some tequilas, so we discussed with the bartender. Criteria: we want something good, but not Patron, and not too terribly expensive. He promptly pulled down a bottle, and poured us some shots.

I sadly can't remember the name of the tequila, but I thought it was good! I'll have to ask Mike if he remembers the name of it... He also gave us a small taste of another tequila, which was much smokier. I preferred the first, and we contentedly sipped our shots, and pretended like we were tequila connoisseurs.

Why am I so lazy?

I had grand plans to head to the grocery store today and finally fill my barren icebox. No such luck. Call me lazy, or call me realistic because I know Mike's coming into town, and we never eat in.

So I ordered Fellini's.

This is very yummy pizza! I ordered their Fellini's special, which is basically a supreme pizza. What can I say about this pizza? The slices are huge! And yummy! I'd have to say this is one of my favorite pizza places in the city.

I also like Everybody's Pizza, which I came close to ordering. But for one thing, it's pretty pricey. Also, it's right in the Highlands, which makes the parking a major hassle.

Welcome home, Sarah!

I was relieved to arrive home. Traveling is fun, but it takes it out of you! Two countries in under a week is tough.

I had no groceries in the house, so I went scavenging in the freezer to see what I had frozen. Hamburgers it is!

I decided to try out the hamburger recipe in ATK cookbook. (89). It was good. I will need to try this one again, though: at first, I undercooked it. Then I kept it on too long. I went from rare to well done. I prefer a medium burger. Ah well.

I made no sides -- just the hamburger. I was pretty wiped out, so that's all there was to it.

Panama -- the second night

Update (02/11/08):
Todd finally got back to me. This restaurant was called Peperoncini di Mare.

****

OK, before I begin this post, let me say that I can't remember the name of this restaurant. Todd paid the bill, so I asked him, but he's in Nicaragua right now, so I guess he's just going to hold the name hostage until he returns.

So.

Restaurant X was where our prospective clients took us for our second meal in Panama. It was a modern setting, and appeared to be heavy on Italian and seafood, which was perfect, since seafood is definitely the thing to try in Panama. When we discussed what to eat, we had been interested in trying "Panamanian" food, whatever that was.

We later discovered that Panama is a bit of a melting pot, so there aren't an abundance of restaurants that show off the cuisine of Panama very well. Instead, there's a wide range of all cuisines. We discovered that if you wanted to try food indigenous to the area, you better go with seafood.

So I went with corvina. This is the local fish here in Panama, which would explain it being on the not-so-big menu at least four different times. I have had corvina before -- they serve it at Downtown Kitchen in the town where I grew up, and it's a white, flaky fish that's quite delicious.

My meal was good. A little strange, but good! It was served with plantains, which was an interesting combination. The odd pairing, however, was the mashed potatoes that were served with a gravy. It was like having two different meals at the same time: one with a light, citrusy fish; and one, with potatoes and gravy.

For the appetizer, we had a variety of things, but the star was definitely the ceviche. I have no doubt that it was made with corvina, and was so tart and good! So good that we ended up ordering another round of it! Yum!

How do you say, "Table for two" in Spanish?

This past week, I had the pleasure of traveling to Panama for work. No, not the "redneck riviera", the actual country. What a great trip to follow Montreal. After I had been frozen to the bone, I was happy to thaw out in a locale that has a high temperature of 84F and a low of 80F. Sign me up!

After a somewhat grueling trip into the country, we arrived at our hotel, the Veneto, which is a casino hotel -- Panama City is crawling with them. One of my coworkers and I went to a restaurant just a stone's throw from the restaurant, based on the recommendation of the receptionist at the hotel.

So, off to Pomodoro's we went. And the verdict. Eck. After a wild charades game of "I don't speak Spanish, do you?", we were seated in a really nice patio area. The ambiance was the best thing to come, I found out after we were served.

First, the food was really cheap. I don't want to seem like a snob, but the food was too cheap. I mean, c'mon, filet mignon that is $5? I just don't know about that. Panama uses the US dollar, so there were no conversion obstacles here, and we also knew that things were a lot cheaper down here, but really? Really??

It wasn't fine Italian. It was kind of what I'd expect to find in the food court of a mall. I ordered lasagna, which I figured would be difficult to mess up, but the meat was...I don't know...ground a bit too thin? Kind of similar texture as the chili on a Varsity dog? But not as tasty?

We ended up ordering two glasses of the most expensive wine, two appetizers, and two entrees. Our bill was $34. Wow.

Margaritas are yummy

I was going to have a taco night at home until Heather and Chris called me up and requested my company over at Tin Lizzy's. After finding a 45 minute wait over there, we headed over to On the Border instead.

It's your typical Mexican chain, so I hesitate doing a review. But what the hay. I ordered a Texan margarita, and whoah! Talk about heavy on the alcohol! I needed a bunch of lime to balance it out!

They were nice enough to let me order off of the lunch menu, so I got a bowl of tortilla soup and a fish taco. Part of the fish fell out of the taco, and looking at it closely, I think they use frozen taco fillets. Not too impressive, but it was good enough.

It's a good place to meet up with folks for a quick bite, but if you want to go for really good Mexican, you might just want to skip this one.

I had to get the bad Rusan's out of my brain.

Update (03/05/2008):
Just wanted to update that I had RuSan's again recently -- not sure exactly when -- and they were back up to their normal standards. Phew! I was nervous that I had lost my local, cheap sushi!!
***

I ordered sushi for a second time this weekend. I know, I know, it's obsessive, but I just couldn't shake the disaster that was Rusan's last night. I forgot to mention in my Rusan's post that they did a terrible job cleaning the fish: some of the skin was showing on more than one type of fish, and I actually had a fish scale on one piece of sashimi. Ick.

So, this time, I ordered from Zuma. It's a bit pricey, but I was desperate. Sushi is one of my favorite things to eat, and I had to get my previous night's experience off the brain.

Zuma did not disappoint. The food was ready when I showed up, and when I got home, I was surprised to see so much! I ordered two different types of sashimi, and on the menu, they said that it would be 3 pieces each. Not only were they large pieces, there were 5 pieces of each! Whoa! Note to self: they hook you up here!

I also had the spicy tuna roll. They put a small amount of a creamy sauce on top, but it was totally unobtrusive. Could take it or leave it.

The meal was delicious. All the fish tasted fresh, seemed clean, and looked good enough to eat.

So I did.

Rusans, that was just sloppy.

Update (03/05/2008):
Just wanted to update that I had RuSan's again recently -- not sure exactly when -- and they were back up to their normal standards. Phew! I was nervous that I had lost my local, cheap sushi!!
***

I am finally back in Atlanta, where 37 degrees now feels balmy. I decided to pick up some sushi for dinner because I have no food in the house. Rusan's, of course.

I typically just order one of their sushi samplers, which has nigiri and a random roll. This time, I decided to order a la carte: four different types of sashimi and a spicy tuna roll.

Oh, Rusan's! Bad job this time! Ordinarily, my ratings of Rusan's are high! I mean, it's not top-notch sushi, but it's decent enough, especially since it is so cheap. First, the fish this time just didn't seem as good as usual. Second, and this more of a note for myself for next time, they put a bunch of spicy brown sauce over the spicy tuna rolls. I could do without that. Finally! They forgot to pack any wasabi! Boooooo.

The wait was also a bit long. I ordered from the Midtown location, across from Ansley, and they said it'd be ready in 15-20 minutes. I arrived 20 minutes later, and had to wait another ten. I know it's not a huge deal, but it's out of the ordinary! Just because you are busy does not mean I should have to wait for medicre sushi with no wasabi!

Another note to self: you don't like red snapper. Don't order again.

I am not writing this place off. I'm confident that this incident was isolated. But I feel it's worth noting. Maybe Friday night is not the night to go to Rusans...

I just want to sit at the bar, dammit!

So, my second full day in Montreal consisted of a full day's work, with a momentary stop into a lunch place really close to the office. I can't remember the name of the place, nor could Marco, so that's too bad. It was good, but nothing to write home about, so I'll move on.

Marco suggested to me that I try a place called Le Garde-Manger for dinner, which translates to "The pantry." It was seafood, however, and I wasn't really feeling that. Plus, I just felt as though I should take advantage of the Happening Gourmand event. I looked for it, though, and couldn't find it anyway! So there you have it.

I went to Verses instead. My overall thought? I just want to sit at the bar, dammit! I walked in and saw the place was filled, but not packed. As a business traveler, I find that sitting at the bar is immensely more satisfying. You have the bartender to keep you entertained, whether by chatting or by watching. You also don't look so ridiculous as you might sitting at a table all by yourself.

Which is what the maitre d' insisted that I do. So, there I was, sitting at a tablecloth table, surrounded by couples. I even think I heard the guy at an adjacent table ask to his wife, Pourquoi est-elle manger seul? I turned to look at him, and he looked a little embarrassed. I don't think he knew I could understand a little french (note: that was a rough translation, I know).

For my appetizer, I chose the hazelnut crusted goat cheese, tomato tart, and sun dried tomato vinaigrette. It was good! It came with spinach leaves, so it was more of a salad, which was nice. The tart was a bit weird, but I enjoyed the cheese.

For my entree, I chose a medium-rare duck breast, served with sautéed oyster mushrooms, green beans and fresh grapes, with a single porcini ravioli, stuffed with foie gras, on the side. Thoughts? It was good. Not great. The duck breast still had a sizable amount of duck fat on it, which i wanted to remove, but I knew that it would enhance the flavor, so I left it on. Boy, that part was good. But the duck itself was very chewy. Is that how it is supposed to be? Not sure.

The star of that dish was the mushrooms. I'm not sure that I have ever had oyster mushrooms, but I couldn't get enough! Those were so great! The ravioli had a strange flavor to it. I'm not sure what it was. I've had fois gras before, so I am not sure that was it. Maybe the porcini? But I've had that too! Not sure.

Dessert was a molten chocolate cake, served with pistachio ice cream. This, frankly, was why I chose this restaurant. So, I was horrified to get my dessert so overcooked that it had the consistency of a muffin, not cake with chocolate pouring out the middle. NOT GOOD AT ALL. I should have sent it back, but when the server was chatting en francais with the adjacent table, I heard her say they had run out. Quel dammage.

So, overall rating? I didn't think it was that good. In total, my dish would ordinarily cost over $50CAN! Worth it? Um, no. How can you serve molten cake overcooked? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

I will say, however, that the ambience was really nice. Had I been on a date, and not alone, I would have said it was romantic. And that was sitting out on the main floor area (there were other tables that were much more exclusive). If you look up, you can see several floors, which I assume is the hotel that adjoins the restaurant. Check out the photo, left--it's taken from one of those floors, looking down. Incidentally, I sat at the second table to the left.

Next time, I'll listen to my fellow Montrealans, and go to Garde-Manger.

Bienvenue a Montreal!

I am in Montreal this week for work. I have asked repeatedly that they send me to here during the summer, but for some reason, I only get to visit when it's 0 degrees F. OK, fine-- maybe it's 10F.

Marco took me to a neat little restaurant in Old Montreal called Cluny. They fancy themselves an art bar, and that's a pretty accurate description. You can get food here, but it's is also an art exhibition space. On top of that, everything in there is pretty artsy. There's a huge oil painting on the wall, interesting tables and vases that were crafted from things like bowling alley floors, car metal, you name it.

For lunch, I had a delicious Caprese sandwich. It was huge! Montreal certainly doesn't toy around with small serving sizes, which I like.

Before coming to Montreal, I researched various restaurants in the area so I would know some good places to eat. I was elated to discover that I would be here during Happening Gourmand, which is a week in which eight Old Montreal restaurants offer a 3-course meal for $15-25. It's no slouch either. Unlike similar events I've gone to in Atlanta, the three courses full-sized, so you leave the restaurant happily full, having eaten a 40% off meal.

I chose to eat at a place called Restaurant de Vieux-Port. It was great! I chose escargo for my appetizer (entree up here), beef tenderloin medallions wrapped in bacon with chasseur sauce for my main course, and a chocolate mousse cake for dessert.

The escargot wasn't what I was expecting. I thought they'd be a bit slimy and slippery. They were actually a bit chewy. Not in a bad way -- kind of like a mushroom. Good, but not exciting enough to reorder. The tenderloin was also yummy; as one might expect, it was tender. The veggies that came with it were also good.

The shining star was the chocolate mousse cake, which was so good, I teared up a bit. I couldn't eat all of it, and for that, I was really sad because it was so unbelievably good!

Dinner was also very nice because I started chatting with another girl in the restaurant, also traveling on business, who was quite amicable and fun. Traveling alone is inevitable, but when you have to eat alone, it gets lonely, so chatting with her made it a bit more bearable. She leaves tomorrow, and I'm sure that I will never see or talk to her ever again, but it was nice to have someone to share one of my nights in a foreign city.

I feel like I shouldn't end my post without talking a second about breakfast. A full breakfast is included where I'm staying, Hotel St. Paul. Not a big surprise, because it's not a cheap hotel. Very swanky, I've been told more than once that it's a popular place to stay for musicians and celebrities visiting the city. Ooh la la.

The breakfast is no slouch. There's a buffet of various fruit (pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries), hard boiled eggs, 8 different types of bread, cereal, oatmeal, and 6 different types of cheese. It's a really well-done healthy breakfast.

Aloha Sushi

I forgot that I wanted to comment on Aloha. This is a restaurant really close to my house that offers sushi. And when I am feeling super lazy, I order sushi delivery. They have a sampler, which is what I get, that comes with miso soup and a ginger salad.

The sushi isn't the best in the world, but it's good considering it's brought to my door. They put several nigiri in the sampler that I can't identify, but other than one rancid one, I like them all.

Fontaine's has yummy bisque -- usually

Some friends and I went out to lunch at Fontaine's in the Highlands yesterday. I usually really like this place, and almost always order the soup and salad combo (lobster bisque + caesar salad = yum). This visit, however, fell a bit short.

It snowed this weekend in Atlanta. So we were freezing. Instead of my usual order, I went with a coffee, 8 Oysters Rockefeller, and a cup of the bisque. First, my waitress was pretty rude. She brought me lukewarm coffee, didn't bring me the water that I requested, and when I requested it a second time, she slammed it down hard enough on the table for my friend to make a comment.

I asked to have my coffee refilled. She said she'd have to make a fresh pot, in such a way that made it sound like I was causing her an injustice. I didn't get my coffee until we were half-way done through our meal.

The soup is usually thicker. This one was thin. Maybe it's the time of year so they don't have as much lobster meat to put in the soup, but it was pretty disappointing. The oysters were very good. Props there.

Typically, service is pretty slow at Fontaine's, but it has never been rude. I will discard this isolated experience...as long as it remains isolated.

Taqueria del Sol is packed!

Jayson and I went to Taqueria del Sol last night for dinner. Let me tell you, the line for food there is out of control! I wonder if they've explored better solutions for that. But, it's always like that, so at least patrons' expectations are set before they arrive.

We got the cheese dip. Nom, nom, nom. I had two fish tacos. Also quite good. This is always a good standby. As for being the best in Atlanta? Ehhh, not so sure about that. Tin Lizzy's is quite good, in my opinion, and I like the restaurant vibe better there. But Taqueria is still good.

Dressed Salads is pretty friggin' awesome

So, lately, I have been eating a lot at Dressed Salads in Midtown. It's right down the street from my office, and they deliver, although you could just as easily walk there, if the weather is nice.

My standby salad is the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. They put anchovies in it, which I didn't think that I would like, but it's actually quite good. But it's easy to request it be omitted. Other salads I've had there include the Cobb Salad and the Shrimp Scampi Salad. Both are delicious. The dijon vinaigrette that comes on the Cobb is super fresh. You could smell the herbs in it. It must be made fresh daily.

They used to bring in Souper Jenny soups, but don't anymore. Souper Jenny is too far away to get for lunch, so I was sad about that. But I've heard the soups they have now (they make their own) are quite good. We'll see.

Welcome to Charlotte! (Sunday & Monday)

Update (03/05/2008):
The deli, I figured out, is called Just Fresh. I gave it a pretty poor review on Yelp.
***

On Sunday, we tried out a deli that was in the Harris Teeter parking lot --can't recall the name: will have to ask Mike. It was just so-so. It felt like a chain, and the food was sort of cafeteria style. I got a dill chicken sandwich, which was okay considering dill isn't really my favorite. I got a cup of chicken chili on the side -- again, just so so.

I can't recall what Mike got -- Oven Roasted Sandwich? He wasn't impressed.

We won't be returning.

There's a coffeehouse in this shopping center called Dilworth Coffee House. Mike seems to really like it. I will have to try their chai tea when I visit again.

We went out for sushi on Sunday night. We ate at Nikko's Sushi, which is walking distance from the apartment. It was so good. As in, one of the best sushi meals I've had in a long time. We will definitely be back. The vibe inside is very trendy. We sat, of course, at the bar, and our waitress was very helpful. She suggested several things, and the item we got was good! We also had the tempura --not a usual for us-- and that was good too.

Monday morning, I drove back to Atlanta. There's really nothing to report, other than I stopped by Martin's Restaurant, based on some friends' recommendations. It totally hit the spot. I had a sausage biscuit that was so yummy. They recommended the pork tenderloin biscuit, so I will get that next time.

Welcome to Charlotte! (Friday & Saturday)

I made my first pilgrimage to Charlotte this weekend to visit Mike and help him move in. And from what I have seen so far, I really like it! The area he lives in reminds me of the vibe in Athens, GA. Small town feel, but plenty of things to do and places to eat. I will break our adventures into a few smaller posts, so it's not so lengthy.

I arrived late on Friday, and we went to a nearby bar called Tyber Creek Pub. It was kind of divey, but we had fun. The downstairs has an older crowd, and the upstairs looked reminiscent of fraternity parties I attended in college. Much younger up there. There was also live music that was really good, but so loud! Ears ringing the next day loud. Note to self: take ear plugs.

On Saturday, we had lunch at Bojangles. Mike had never been there for breakfast.

Saturday night, we at 300 East. Apparently, this is an institution in Charlotte, and it lives up to that reputation. The food was really good! This is a take-your-parents-here kind of place, and the price point is super reasonable. Mike and I have eaten at many a place that cost more and wasn't as good.

I got the Grilled Gorgonzola-Stuffed Filet Mignon, which is wrapped in apple-smoked bacon and is served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and whatever veggie they have on hand (I got green beans). My steak wasn't cooked evenly all the way through, but it was still good. The bacon wasn't cooked enough to my liking, so I'd probably save myself the calories and not eat it. The green beans were good, but I personally prefer canned green beans, so Mike and I switched sides.

Mike got the Moroccan Spiced Pork Tenderloin, which was glazed in a pomegranate molasses and a charmoula sauce, and was served with a potato cake and sautéed spinach. The spinach was hella good. The potato cake needed a little something extra, so we took the chunk of herbed butter that was served with my steak and added it to the cake, which corrected its shortcomings.

Mike also got a cannolini soup that had pancetta in it. It was really good. A soup du jour, I think, so it's not always on the menu. I had a basic vinaigrette salad, which had a tasty dressing. It had beet shavings on it, and they weren't too bad. :|

Afterward, we met up with Mike's coworker and wife at a bar called Ed's Tavern. It is a sports bar, and was very crowded, but we eventually found a table. It was a fun, run-of-the-mill type of place. A tad loud, but it doesn't have anything on Tyber.

Check out my restaurant review

Feta Chicken with Zucchini

Another meal from Saving Dinner. If you are reading my blog, you're probably going to see a fair share of these.

Tonight, I cooked Feta Chicken with Zucchini. I also made a second attempt at the Roasted Potatoes that I tried when I cooked for Mike. The ATK cookbook provides variations on some recipes, so this time I tried Roasted Potatoes with Feta, Olives, and Oregano (141).

The chicken was good. I didn't really think that the zest was needed. There was already so much lemon in that dish. It was okay, but I probably wouldn't make that again.

The potatoes were cooked exactly as the recipe called for. I got nice browning this time. But maybe too much brown. First, I substituted fresh parsley for the oregano, since that's what I have on hand. I also thought to de-stick the potatoes when I took off the foil, which helped tremendously with subsequent cooking issues. When it was all said and done, I just think I like potatoes that are less dark. These were crunchy, but almost too crunchy. I also thought the topping was okay, but the original recipe is much tastier.

Chicken Tender Parmasan

I subscribe to Saving Dinner's recipes. I find the service to be pretty nice. All the recipes are healthy (Leanne Ely, pictured right, is the nutritionist who makes the mailers), and there's a pretty nice variety of things. Plus, each weekly mailer comes with a grocery list, broken into sections (meat, produce, dairy). The best thing for me is that she does a mailer for servings of two. This is perfect for a person living alone. My typical routine is to cook the meal for dinner, eating one serving, then have the other serving for lunch. This way, I can practice portion control. Good stuff.

So, last night, I ate Chicken Tenders Parmesan with Sauteed Garlic Spinach. Thoughts:

The main dish actually called for turkey, but I had chicken on hand. It was really good! I think that in the past, I have not given the pan and the oil time to heat up, and I did this time. So, even with the non-stick pan, I had nice browning. The taste was delicious -- I wanted much more than one serving, and at 5 Weight Watcher points, it was possible, so I did.

The spinach I put together was way simple. Just added some spinach to a pan with EVOO and about a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic. I wish I had made more of that. It is also super low-cal. I had more spinach I could make, but I got lazy.

Tuna Cakes -- not sure about this one

Tonight's dinner was Tuna Cakes, from Saving Dinner. Not so sure I was going to like this recipe. But I gave it a shot, and it turned out quite good.

The recipe was 8 points per serving, but I felt as though one serving wasn't enough. The cakes were small, so I consider it to be more of an appetizer, rather than a meal. I thought they were very tasty, considering that they were relatively low-cal. Gotta like dill pickles, though. I ended up eating both servings -- 16 points! The recipe actually calls for 7 ounces of tuna -- but cans of tuna are in 6 oz quantities, so I suppose I had a tad less than two servings. But I made up for it in EVOO; I felt that you had to use more oil than the recipe calls for to get adequate browning.

Better try to eat lightly tomorrow.

Houston's has yummy cheese toast

Last night, I took Mike to Houston's. He'd never been. I knew they were a chain in Atlanta, but I didn't realize they were multi-city.

Our food was great. It always is here. I had the pork chops, and the amount of food was absolutely ridiculous! It was HUGE. Mike had the seared tuna steak, which I think he liked. We both had salads before the meal, and they were pretty big as well. I don't remember this from times past, but they serve the salads with cheese toast. Nom, nom nom.

Hella good.

Dinner with Kelley & Kevin at Tierra

Mike came in this Saturday. He has finally left Florida! Celebration! Hooray!

We had dinner with Kelley and Kevin at Tierra, which is a restaurant that I have always thought was a clothing store. It's on Piedmont, close to the gym. We had a nice meal, although I thought service was a tad slow.

I got the roasted beet salad. Not sure what I was thinking! Beets! Ewww. I was hoping they were going to be like a salad that I had gotten a long time ago at this restaurant up in Alpharetta, but thinking back on it now, I realize that they fried their beets. Big difference. I let Mike eat most of the beets.

For dinner, I ordered a special, which was corvina. It was good. Not exceptional. I'm not sure whether I'd come back to this restaurant or not. It wasn't bad. It just isn't worthy of repeat.

I also got pretty drunk. Kelley suggested a bottle of wine, which just the two of us drank. When I left the restaurant, I couldn't figure out how to get out of the plastic thing they hang to keep the cold out. Dumbass!

We went for drinks afterward (just what I needed!) at P'Cheen, a bar near my home that Kelley introduced me to. I love this place! It has a mellow vibe, and good beer selection, and isn't ridiculously crowded. And it's near my house! I hear the food is good, but I have yet to try it.

Cooking a meal for my man

Mike loves to cook. That's a fact. So, in the year and a half of our dating, I have never cooked anything for him on my own. So, we were flipping through my new cookbook, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, and we decided to cook one of the proposed meals in the back. Mike wasn't feeling well, so I took this as an opportunity to make him a delicious meal.

Meal:

• Roast Lemon Chicken (318)
  
• Fast Buttery Peas (136)
  
• Roasted Red Potatoes (141)
  

I think the chicken turned out nicely. Lots of flavor. The dark meat still had a bit of pinkish tint to it -- I probably would've eaten it, but Mike asked me nicely not to, so I stopped. This reminds me that I need to purchase a meat thermometer.

The peas were yummy, and really simple to do. Adding the shallot and thyme just jazzes up your basic old peas.

I got pretty huffy about those potatoes because they took longer to do than I expected. First, I didn't read the entire recipe, so my timing on these was way off. That's my bad (although it gave me the excuse to use my warming drawer for the chicken). But even after I cooked the potatoes according to the time in the recipe, I found that they were not browned enough. The ones on the edge were, but the middle ones were not. This was frustrating. Once they finally came out of the oven and onto the plate, however, they were actually pretty good. Just not totally browned, as I thought they should be.

Overall, I thought the meal was pretty successful, other than the temporary mild tantrum of "Well, I guess that just goes to show you I can't cook!" Not a shining moment, but I got over it.