Haven't been blogging lately because I am doing the Carb Lovers Diet - it is working. But I was traveling this week and went out with co-workers - so I decided to splurge. Had a fabulous dinner in Dallas Tuesday night at Stephen Pyles restaurant in Dallas! Wonderful service and great food. Had a caeser salad with polenta croutons. Beef tenderloin with a stuffed fried squash blossom, and a rice stuffed poblano chili. Yummy. Desserts were to die for I had a giant cake layered with chocolate cake, angel food and a peanut butter mousse with a raspberry puree and chocolate stuffed raspberries! Very indulent and a bit pricey - but worth it. So if you are traveling to Dallas - definitely check it out!
Now back to the diet......
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Taste of Lulu's
Last night four of us took advantage of the Taste of Shokoe event that is going on with restaurants in Shokoe Slip and Bottom. We met for a drink at 5 at Havana 59 - I have not been i that place for years and I am happy to report it is the same as it always been. It was happy hour and they had $4 mojito's and I have to say that they do have the best mojitos I have ever drank. We didn't take advantage of it - but they did have about 5-6 appetizers for $4 each and $3 draft beers.
We had reservations for 6 pm and there weren't many people there when we arrived - but it had filled up by the time we left around 7:30. We took advantage of the Taste of Shokoe and ordered the 3 course meal for $30. The appetizer that I ordered was a bbq shrimp with stone ground grits. It was very good with three large shrimp and the sauce had a bit of spice and was quite good. Others at the table ordered BBQ'd oysters, Beef Tips, and a tomato tart with duck confit. Everyone enjoyed their appetizers.
For dinner I ordered the housemade Fettucine with bacon, crab, and chives. It was really good - with the bacon cutting the richness of the cream and crab. Though it was very filling and rich. I could only eat about half of the serving. Very good though. Two of the others got the lobster mac and cheese and they enjoyed it. My hubby got the skirt steak with garlic spinach and a mushroom sauce. I tasted it and it was perfectly done and the sauce was great.
For dessert two of us got the coconut cream pie - which was more like a cheesecake with a chocolate bottom. It could have used a bit more coconut taste to it - but it was still good. Others had chocolate creme pudding and enjoyed it. Everyone agreed that the dinner was very good and for $30 it made it even better!
I highly recommend you take advantage of the Taste of Shokoe deals. I would go try others if I had some more free time.
Has anyone else tried the special menus for this?
We had reservations for 6 pm and there weren't many people there when we arrived - but it had filled up by the time we left around 7:30. We took advantage of the Taste of Shokoe and ordered the 3 course meal for $30. The appetizer that I ordered was a bbq shrimp with stone ground grits. It was very good with three large shrimp and the sauce had a bit of spice and was quite good. Others at the table ordered BBQ'd oysters, Beef Tips, and a tomato tart with duck confit. Everyone enjoyed their appetizers.
For dinner I ordered the housemade Fettucine with bacon, crab, and chives. It was really good - with the bacon cutting the richness of the cream and crab. Though it was very filling and rich. I could only eat about half of the serving. Very good though. Two of the others got the lobster mac and cheese and they enjoyed it. My hubby got the skirt steak with garlic spinach and a mushroom sauce. I tasted it and it was perfectly done and the sauce was great.
For dessert two of us got the coconut cream pie - which was more like a cheesecake with a chocolate bottom. It could have used a bit more coconut taste to it - but it was still good. Others had chocolate creme pudding and enjoyed it. Everyone agreed that the dinner was very good and for $30 it made it even better!
I highly recommend you take advantage of the Taste of Shokoe deals. I would go try others if I had some more free time.
Has anyone else tried the special menus for this?
Monday, August 9, 2010
Stuzzi - Part Two
Saturday night we went out with some friends of ours to Stuzzi for dinner. We arrived around 6:30 and were seated within 5 minutes - didn't even have time for our drink at the bar to be drunk! The restaurant didn't have any of the a/c problems that I had been reading about....and I really love the transformation from when it was 1 North Belmont. We ordered two appetizers, the eggplant crostini and the mozarella friti. The crostini was $3 and there was only one crostini on the plate. It was good - but really hard to share with 4 people! Felt like our Waitress should have mentioned that we would have ordered two! The mozarella was really fresh and yummy...the breading very light. We enjoyed that. It was served on fresh tomato's -which I pushed aside for the others to enjoy. (don't do tomato's or mayo!!)
We decided to share two pizza's and a pasta for dinner. I enjoyed the italian sausage and rapini one on my last trip so I suggested that one, and Mike picked a littleneck clam white pizza. The bucatini pasta was one I also wanted to try. We ordered the baked olives as well. The pizza's came out very quickly and were both quite tasty. There were literally clamshells on the pizza - and it had the right amount of garlic to make it great. The sausage one was a good as I remembered - could use more rapini though.....I love greens! The pasta was v. good - my favorite. The sauce was tomato and pancetta. The noodles were al dente and paired well with the sauce. I want to go back for just that! The baked olives were interesting and very good. We ordered a bottle of sangiovese to go with dinner and it was a bargain at $25 a bottle.
We were done with dinner by 8 and still felt we had some time before going home so we walked over the Secco the new wine bar on Carytown. We waited for a table for about 15 minutes - but got a glasss of wine to tide us over - I had the Sauvignon Blanc - quite good, very crisp and nice on a summer evening. When we were seated Mike ordered two desserts the white chocolate with olives (yes as weird as it sounds) and the rice pudding. Did not like that all....reminded me of halvah the middle eatern dessert. The wine was good which is why we went there - definitely not a dessert destination though. I would like to go back and try their other food - it looked intriguing. Great cheese selection on the menu too.
Going to Lulu's on Thursday night for a Taste of Shokoe - haven't had dinner there yet.
We decided to share two pizza's and a pasta for dinner. I enjoyed the italian sausage and rapini one on my last trip so I suggested that one, and Mike picked a littleneck clam white pizza. The bucatini pasta was one I also wanted to try. We ordered the baked olives as well. The pizza's came out very quickly and were both quite tasty. There were literally clamshells on the pizza - and it had the right amount of garlic to make it great. The sausage one was a good as I remembered - could use more rapini though.....I love greens! The pasta was v. good - my favorite. The sauce was tomato and pancetta. The noodles were al dente and paired well with the sauce. I want to go back for just that! The baked olives were interesting and very good. We ordered a bottle of sangiovese to go with dinner and it was a bargain at $25 a bottle.
We were done with dinner by 8 and still felt we had some time before going home so we walked over the Secco the new wine bar on Carytown. We waited for a table for about 15 minutes - but got a glasss of wine to tide us over - I had the Sauvignon Blanc - quite good, very crisp and nice on a summer evening. When we were seated Mike ordered two desserts the white chocolate with olives (yes as weird as it sounds) and the rice pudding. Did not like that all....reminded me of halvah the middle eatern dessert. The wine was good which is why we went there - definitely not a dessert destination though. I would like to go back and try their other food - it looked intriguing. Great cheese selection on the menu too.
Going to Lulu's on Thursday night for a Taste of Shokoe - haven't had dinner there yet.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Amuse was not so entertaining!
I was so excited to try Amuse last week after reading the review in the Richmond-Times. I had reservations for that exact night for my book club to check it out. We arrived on time for our reservation for 12 and were lead to two tables apart from each other that seated 6 each. We asked if we could push the tables together and were told, "no, someone might see and want to do again!". So we sighed and split our party up. From there to me it was like we were two different tables, our drink orders, food orders, and dessert orders were all taken separately and served separately. We started with wine ($9-13 a glass)- but generous pours. We ordered appetizers and entrees shortly afterwards. The appetizers came out about 25 minutes later - and were ok. I had the salad with goat cheese, papaya and mango. Both of the fruits were not ripe and hard. The mankintowne lettuce was quite tasty - and the little bit of goat cheese that I got was good. Other people at the table had the crab and corn soup (not bad) and the cheese plate. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.....for our entrees. Finally at quarter to nine they arrived. We were all a bit freaked out because the restauarant was supposed to close at nine. Our waitress who kept disappearing, assured us we would not be kicked out. 3 of the six us had ordered the steak special which was good. The steak was medium rare, with cheddar mashed potato's and served with tempura battered aspargus. Again the food was good - not great, but good. My friend Claire had ordered the escolar and it arrived looking nice - but she took one bite and realized the center of the fish was raw.....the waitress never came by to ask how our meal was....so we flagged down someone else who took the fish back to the kitchen....then Claire waited, and waited, and ......you get the picture. Finally when the waitress came back out - I flagged her over and said -my friend never got her dinner because she sent it back. She then disappeared again. Came back 10 minutes later empty handed and Claire said just box it up I will take it with me......I want dessert! Dessert looked great, I didn't have any - but the table ordered three orders of the profiteroles with vanilla ice cream, I took a bite and it was quite good. Then I got my bill....$82....for two glasses of wine, a salad, and a good entree. Wow! Sticker shock.....way too much. The waitress had added 20% gratuity to all of our checks too because we were a large party - never mind that we didn't even sit together and the service was terrible! Sigh.....Oh and we also never got any bread!!!!!!!! We were not happy about that!
Well Saturday was my in-laws 50th Wedding Anniversary and they wanted to check out the Tiffany exhibit and the restaurant. I already had the reservations for this, so I decided to give it one more try. I have to say - the service was much, much , better. BUT the menu was the same ableit smaller portions. We were going to Lemaire that night for dinner so I ordered light and got the cheese platter for $10. This came with 4 tiny portions of cheese, some flatbread, sliced green apples and honey. My 6 year old was with and wasn't about to eat anything on the menue except for cheese, so she got that as well. Better service, still expensive though. I have to say the museum addition is just gorgeous and I wanted so much to LOVE this restaurant - but I have to say that somethng must change before I spend any more money there.
Lemaire on the other hand was amazing as usual. Had the best mac and cheese of my life!!!!
Well Saturday was my in-laws 50th Wedding Anniversary and they wanted to check out the Tiffany exhibit and the restaurant. I already had the reservations for this, so I decided to give it one more try. I have to say - the service was much, much , better. BUT the menu was the same ableit smaller portions. We were going to Lemaire that night for dinner so I ordered light and got the cheese platter for $10. This came with 4 tiny portions of cheese, some flatbread, sliced green apples and honey. My 6 year old was with and wasn't about to eat anything on the menue except for cheese, so she got that as well. Better service, still expensive though. I have to say the museum addition is just gorgeous and I wanted so much to LOVE this restaurant - but I have to say that somethng must change before I spend any more money there.
Lemaire on the other hand was amazing as usual. Had the best mac and cheese of my life!!!!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Stuzzi
Saturday night, my 6 year old and I met friends (another Mother and daughter) for dinner at Stuzzi. We arrived at 6:00 pm and the place was already mostly filled. We did get a table right away and promptly ordered waters for the 6 year olds and a glass of wine for us older girls. The selection of wine by the glass was small - 4 each for white and red. I had not heard of any of the selections either - mostly Italian. I chose a chianti that was ok. The menu consists of appetizers/little bites, salads, pizza, and pasta. We ordered the calamari, an arugula salad, a sausage and rapini pizza, a wild mushroom pizza and a child's order of a 1/2 cheese and half pepperoni pizza. One thing we thought would have been good is if they would have gone over the menu with us or asked if it was our first time there, etc. The waitress seemed to be very hesitant - not sure if she was new or what.
The calamari and the salad arrived first. The calamari was nicely crisp and tasted very fresh. The marinara sauce that was served with it was good and plentiful. The arugula salad was ok. It was served with fresh parm and the dressing overpowered the spiciness of the arugula. The arugula was actually a bit mild.
The pizza was served shortly after the appetizers which were still half uneaten. We were running out of room on the table. The kid's pizza was made with fresh mozzarella and pepperoni. It was steaming hot when it hit the table. The girls really didn't eat much of it. I think they were too distracted with their Littlest Pet Shop toys and playing with each other to eat much. I tried it and it was quite tasty.
The sausage and rapini pizza was served with fresh basil as well on the top. The sausage was good and plentiful - though the rapini was not. I am a huge rapini fan and there really just wasn't a lot on the pizza. The mushroom pizza was served with an italian salami - can't remember which one and topped with the arugula mentioned above. I liked this one better though there wasn't actually much mushroom on it and the salami took over the palattte. It paired nicely with the crunch of the arugula. I used the remaining marina from the calamari to dip my pizza crust in and it was quite nice. There were a few parts of the crust that were burnt - but overall it was a really good pizza crust.
We were asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu - but since we had a ton of leftovers already we declined. By this time the restaurant was packed and had a line out the door. Bottom line, I would definitely try this restaurant again, they are open for lunch starting today, June 12th. I want to try the pasta's. It is fairly kid friendly - but I would go early like we did. Anyone else have any experience with this place yet?
The calamari and the salad arrived first. The calamari was nicely crisp and tasted very fresh. The marinara sauce that was served with it was good and plentiful. The arugula salad was ok. It was served with fresh parm and the dressing overpowered the spiciness of the arugula. The arugula was actually a bit mild.
The pizza was served shortly after the appetizers which were still half uneaten. We were running out of room on the table. The kid's pizza was made with fresh mozzarella and pepperoni. It was steaming hot when it hit the table. The girls really didn't eat much of it. I think they were too distracted with their Littlest Pet Shop toys and playing with each other to eat much. I tried it and it was quite tasty.
The sausage and rapini pizza was served with fresh basil as well on the top. The sausage was good and plentiful - though the rapini was not. I am a huge rapini fan and there really just wasn't a lot on the pizza. The mushroom pizza was served with an italian salami - can't remember which one and topped with the arugula mentioned above. I liked this one better though there wasn't actually much mushroom on it and the salami took over the palattte. It paired nicely with the crunch of the arugula. I used the remaining marina from the calamari to dip my pizza crust in and it was quite nice. There were a few parts of the crust that were burnt - but overall it was a really good pizza crust.
We were asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu - but since we had a ton of leftovers already we declined. By this time the restaurant was packed and had a line out the door. Bottom line, I would definitely try this restaurant again, they are open for lunch starting today, June 12th. I want to try the pasta's. It is fairly kid friendly - but I would go early like we did. Anyone else have any experience with this place yet?
Monday, June 14, 2010
Charleston
Went to Charleston over the past weekend for a wedding - great times. Stayed at the Andrew Pinkney Inn by the Market. Had beers in an old church turned bar called Mad River. Found a great rooftop bar - Pavilion Bar that had icy cold vodka tonics. Not sure if it was the heat or the bar - but boy they went down great!
The food in that city is great. Had dinner at Magnolia's on Friday night - appetizer of spicy shrimp and sausage over grits, entree of fried chicken breast, garlic mashed potato's, collard greens, and fresh corn. It was soooo good.....
Lunch at a little ramshackle house called Cafe Cru. Great sandwiches - mine was salami and fresh mozarella, and a sublime asian slaw on the side. Husband had a shrimp blt. Want to go back for dinner.
Wedding party was so much fun!! Great band and a low country cuisine buffet.....shrimp and grits, fried green tomato's, collard greens, mac and cheese.....best food at a wedding I have ever had! And best of all our friends Stephen and Sabrina looked so happy and in love - great weekend.
The food in that city is great. Had dinner at Magnolia's on Friday night - appetizer of spicy shrimp and sausage over grits, entree of fried chicken breast, garlic mashed potato's, collard greens, and fresh corn. It was soooo good.....
Lunch at a little ramshackle house called Cafe Cru. Great sandwiches - mine was salami and fresh mozarella, and a sublime asian slaw on the side. Husband had a shrimp blt. Want to go back for dinner.
Wedding party was so much fun!! Great band and a low country cuisine buffet.....shrimp and grits, fried green tomato's, collard greens, mac and cheese.....best food at a wedding I have ever had! And best of all our friends Stephen and Sabrina looked so happy and in love - great weekend.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Supper Club Photo's
I finally downloaded the photos from my camera from the supper club cooking class we had last month. The photos are making me hungry!!!
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