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!!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Travel and sickness......
So it has been awhile since I have posted anything to my blog......I have been traveling and sick...got struck down with strep throat and have spent almost a week in bed! Yikes!!
A few things that I have discovered over the past few weeks......
1. When you are sick Pho is an instant feel good food! My friend ML picked up some beef Pho from Da Lat for me and it was the turning point for me to start feeling better - it is better than chicken noodle soup for what ails you!!!
2. Massanutten Resort has an amazing variety of microbrew beers we had an IPA from Clipper City out of Baltimore that was really, really good. And the pizza wasn't bad at all!
3. VA Beach has changed since the last time I went there and was fun! Ate at a yummy Italian restaurant Il Giardano's on Atlantic. Old school Italian that is really good. The fettucine alfreado is to die for and the veal as well. Plus they make their own mozarella on site.
4. My husband still makes the best pork bbq - ever!!
5. Whole foods has great greens - don't bother making them!
I think that is all for now.......Later Gator's!!!
A few things that I have discovered over the past few weeks......
1. When you are sick Pho is an instant feel good food! My friend ML picked up some beef Pho from Da Lat for me and it was the turning point for me to start feeling better - it is better than chicken noodle soup for what ails you!!!
2. Massanutten Resort has an amazing variety of microbrew beers we had an IPA from Clipper City out of Baltimore that was really, really good. And the pizza wasn't bad at all!
3. VA Beach has changed since the last time I went there and was fun! Ate at a yummy Italian restaurant Il Giardano's on Atlantic. Old school Italian that is really good. The fettucine alfreado is to die for and the veal as well. Plus they make their own mozarella on site.
4. My husband still makes the best pork bbq - ever!!
5. Whole foods has great greens - don't bother making them!
I think that is all for now.......Later Gator's!!!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Ladies Night Supper Club
Last Thursday night, my book club got together for a supper club. This was hosted by Chef Jen Palmer, of Anna's Kitchen. We started at 6:00 pm and had the following on our menu:
- Tapas - Bacon wrapped dates and steamed clams with Chorizo
- Chicken breasts stuffed with Prosciutto, Pesto and Mozzarella
- Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli
- Italian Antipasto Salad
- Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato
The class was hands on and since there were nine of us, we had to take turns jumping in and getting our hands dirty. The first thing we made was the gelato so it would have time to freeze. Easy enough - but a good lesson in making a custard and tempering the mixture in order not to scramble the egg!
Next we made the tapas. Chef Jen was smart - since we all had brought bottles of wine, she knew we needed food to soak up the wine! The bacon wrapped dates were so easy and amazing - they were wrapped with a smoked almond in the middle - yum....and the clams were great too. I only wish we would have had some bread to sop up the yummy sauce and chorizo! We moved onto the chicken breasts - these were sliced and pounded and then spread with pesto and stuffed with the mozarella wrapped in proscuitto. These were put in the oven to bake.
Then came the part I was excited about. As a young child, my Italian Grandmother babysat me quite a bit and some of my fondest memories were helping her make home made gnocchi and ravioli. I hadn't made ravioli in about 25 years so I wanted to try again. This was so much fun! Chef Jen had premade the dough - but we all took turns running it through the pasta machine. Each piece had to go through the machine 6 times and it was so cool feeling the difference in the dough each time. We then laid each piece out and ran them all through. Then we sliced a completed one into strips, brushed them with an egg/water mixture, added the spinach/mushroom filling, and sealed them up. These were dropped into a pot of boiling water. Chef Jen also made a mushroom tomato sauce for the topping.
Once these were done, the chicken was done too. Time to eat! The ravioli and the chicken were good, but the mushroom/tomato sauce made them great! I loved this sauce. It used finely chopped mushrooms which almost gave it the texture of a meat sauce - but no meat. Loved it.
While were eating Chef Jen made the Antipasto Salad which had Butter, Romaine, and Iceberg lettuce, with Salami and provolone, italian beans, and a red wine vinaigrette. Very good dressing - I enjoyed the salad - though I didn't eat much because I was saving room for dessert!
Now dessert....ah....it was the Elise's, the host for the evening, birthday and I got Chef Jen to make a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. We served this with the chocolate hazlenut gelato. Let me tell you this gelato was TO DIE FOR!!!! I loved it. The cake was perfect with it! I have gotten cakes from Chef Jen before - they are all gorgeous and reasonably priced. She is my go to girl for all birthdays now.
Chef Jen also has a catering business and we have used her for my 40th birthday party, an engagement party we hosted, and for a number of birthdays. She is amazing! Her food is great and she works with you and within your budget. I can't say enough good things! Her website is: http://www.akcaters.com/index.htm check out her cake photos!
I am attaching the recipe for the Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato - If you make it let me know what you think! I will post pictures later this week from the class and more recipes!
Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and crushed for garnish
In a saucepan combine milk, heavy cream and sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs are light yellow and thick, about 4 minutes.
Carefully and slowly pour half the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture. Add the mixture back to the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 7-10 minutes.
Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard through. Stir in the vanilla and Nutella until it dissolves.
Chill completely. Process custard in an ice cream machine according to manufactur's directions.
To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls or in a cone and top crushed hazlenuts.
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Vietnamese and Steak in Texas
I was in Dallas Sun-Tuesday this week for work and had two great meals while I was there. I got in late Sunday night and settled for a couple of glasses of wine and french fries at the bar at Hotel Zaza. The people watching there was food enough! Then on Monday a co-worker recommended a Vietnamese restaurant called - Vietnam. A group of 10 of us went there and had a wonderful Vietnamese meal. I had the vermicelli with grilled chicken. I love Vietnamerse food because of how fresh it is. This did not disappoint me. It was served with cilantro, lettuce, basil, and with some Siracha sause on it was a steal for $8! I will definitely go back next time I am in Dallas.
Monday night we went to Nick and Anthony's for dinner. We were with a co-worker who is a big meat eater, so we decided to go for steak. We chose Nick and Anthony's after I found it on this website: http://www.wherethelocalseat.com/ a great resource for when you are traveling. The restaurant was dark and played Sinatra - a quintessential steakhouse. I loved it! I ordered the cold seafood special which was raw oysters, clams, crab meat, and two giant shrimp. It was served steaming cold on a bed of ice with 4 (yes, 4) sauces to accompany them. Very tasty and fresh. I opted out of a salad, and orderd the ribeye and grilled asparagus. Both were done to perfection. The steak was cooked to medium rare and seasoned perfectly. I had two glasses of wine with dinner. The server brought out caviar pre-dinner for the group and a glass of port post dinner on the house for us. Very nice touch. My dinner came to about $110 including tip. Very excellent meal.
Monday night we went to Nick and Anthony's for dinner. We were with a co-worker who is a big meat eater, so we decided to go for steak. We chose Nick and Anthony's after I found it on this website: http://www.wherethelocalseat.com/ a great resource for when you are traveling. The restaurant was dark and played Sinatra - a quintessential steakhouse. I loved it! I ordered the cold seafood special which was raw oysters, clams, crab meat, and two giant shrimp. It was served steaming cold on a bed of ice with 4 (yes, 4) sauces to accompany them. Very tasty and fresh. I opted out of a salad, and orderd the ribeye and grilled asparagus. Both were done to perfection. The steak was cooked to medium rare and seasoned perfectly. I had two glasses of wine with dinner. The server brought out caviar pre-dinner for the group and a glass of port post dinner on the house for us. Very nice touch. My dinner came to about $110 including tip. Very excellent meal.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Dining on the James
Went to dinner on Friday night with my husband and grandmother. My 86 year old Norweigan grandmother was visiting from Minnesota and she being a Norweigan loves water, so I decided to take her to the only place in Richmond that you can dine on the water, The Boathouse at Rocket's Landing. They don't take reservations, but they do allow you to call ahead. I called as we left our house (in the Short Pump area) and the table was ready when we got there.
The restaurant is beautiful and if you are lucky enough to be by a window, we weren't, the view is spectacular. We ordered drinks and were promptly served. The menu is mostly seafood, and the specials of the day were John Dory and another fish. My Grandma ordered sea scallops ($20) I ordered rockfish ($24), and my husband ordered the John Dory ($19). We got the boathouse salad for an extra $4. The salad was good, a lettuce wedge with bacon, blue cheese, and ranch dressing. The food was delivered very quickly. All of the dishes were served with rice. My rockfish was served with crab on top and a lemon butter sauce. It was good - but very rich. The rice cut it a bit. My husband had a sauce on his as well. The scallops were huge and they had 5 on the plate. I took a taste and they were really good. All of us thought some green veggies served with it would have made it more appealing.
All in all, the food was good, not great, but good. The atmosphere was great, loud though. Very trendy and crowded - but it was a beautiful Friday evening. We did see Chef Jimmy Snead walk through the restaurant - so I am wondering if he is now involved with it. While we were there, on the bank of the river next to the restaurant there was a wedding reception going on. It looked like they were having a great time.
I would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers in the outdoor bar area. Has anyone else been there?
The restaurant is beautiful and if you are lucky enough to be by a window, we weren't, the view is spectacular. We ordered drinks and were promptly served. The menu is mostly seafood, and the specials of the day were John Dory and another fish. My Grandma ordered sea scallops ($20) I ordered rockfish ($24), and my husband ordered the John Dory ($19). We got the boathouse salad for an extra $4. The salad was good, a lettuce wedge with bacon, blue cheese, and ranch dressing. The food was delivered very quickly. All of the dishes were served with rice. My rockfish was served with crab on top and a lemon butter sauce. It was good - but very rich. The rice cut it a bit. My husband had a sauce on his as well. The scallops were huge and they had 5 on the plate. I took a taste and they were really good. All of us thought some green veggies served with it would have made it more appealing.
All in all, the food was good, not great, but good. The atmosphere was great, loud though. Very trendy and crowded - but it was a beautiful Friday evening. We did see Chef Jimmy Snead walk through the restaurant - so I am wondering if he is now involved with it. While we were there, on the bank of the river next to the restaurant there was a wedding reception going on. It looked like they were having a great time.
I would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers in the outdoor bar area. Has anyone else been there?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Stress Release
For those of you like me who have an aging body that needs a little TLC once in awhile - have I got a tip for you!
I have been going to see Claire Berresford, from Core Elements, for massages for the past 3 years. She rocks. I have been a big fan of massages for the past 10-15 years and no one has been able to identify and ease my aches and pains the way she does. I regularly go to see her about twice a month. I wish I was like Bob Hope and George Burns who are rumored to have gotten a massage every day - perhaps that is why they both lived so long!
Claire's office is conveniently located off of Hungary Springs and Broad in the West End. She is offering a first time 60 Minute Massage for $50 if you mention you saw this on the Urban Suburban Mom blog. Rates after that are negotiable for ongoing appointments. Her number is 804-283-5221 to schedule an appointment.
If you get a massage from Claire - I welcome your feedback to see if you enjoy it as much as I do.
Happy De-Stressing!
I have been going to see Claire Berresford, from Core Elements, for massages for the past 3 years. She rocks. I have been a big fan of massages for the past 10-15 years and no one has been able to identify and ease my aches and pains the way she does. I regularly go to see her about twice a month. I wish I was like Bob Hope and George Burns who are rumored to have gotten a massage every day - perhaps that is why they both lived so long!
Claire's office is conveniently located off of Hungary Springs and Broad in the West End. She is offering a first time 60 Minute Massage for $50 if you mention you saw this on the Urban Suburban Mom blog. Rates after that are negotiable for ongoing appointments. Her number is 804-283-5221 to schedule an appointment.
If you get a massage from Claire - I welcome your feedback to see if you enjoy it as much as I do.
Happy De-Stressing!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Best Caesar Salad Recipe EVER!
I love this recipe for Caesar salad and get raves from people everytime I make it. It is from the Signature Salads cookbook by Debi Shawcross which has the best salad recipes.
Enjoy!
Caesar Salad with Parmesan Croutons
Dressing;
3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese grated
1 2 oz package anchovies, drained (or 2 tsp's anchovy paste)
3 medium garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl of food processor. Blend until smooth. With processor running, slowly add olive oil. Mix until just blended. Refrigerate until ready to use. (may be made 4 days in advance.
Croutons:
1 baguette sliced into 1/2 inch peices
1 1/2 cups salted butter
1 clove garlic
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese finely grated
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place butter in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute or until melted. Add garlic, dry seasonings and cheese to bowl. Add baguette and toss well. Spread croutons onto a large baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until well browned. Allow croutons to cool. (may be made one day ahead and stored in an air tight container).
Salad:
8 cups thinly sliced hearts of romaine lettuce
3/4 cup parmigianno-reggiano cheese finely grated
Place romaine and croutons in a large bowl. Add dressing a little at a time and toss well to combine until salad is well coated. (you will use about 1/2 of the dressing and crouptons in one recipe). Arrange salad on plates and garnish with a sprinking of cheese and freshly ground pepper.
Enjoy!
Caesar Salad with Parmesan Croutons
Dressing;
3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese grated
1 2 oz package anchovies, drained (or 2 tsp's anchovy paste)
3 medium garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl of food processor. Blend until smooth. With processor running, slowly add olive oil. Mix until just blended. Refrigerate until ready to use. (may be made 4 days in advance.
Croutons:
1 baguette sliced into 1/2 inch peices
1 1/2 cups salted butter
1 clove garlic
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese finely grated
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place butter in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute or until melted. Add garlic, dry seasonings and cheese to bowl. Add baguette and toss well. Spread croutons onto a large baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until well browned. Allow croutons to cool. (may be made one day ahead and stored in an air tight container).
Salad:
8 cups thinly sliced hearts of romaine lettuce
3/4 cup parmigianno-reggiano cheese finely grated
Place romaine and croutons in a large bowl. Add dressing a little at a time and toss well to combine until salad is well coated. (you will use about 1/2 of the dressing and crouptons in one recipe). Arrange salad on plates and garnish with a sprinking of cheese and freshly ground pepper.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Melting Pot Redeaux, Bouchon, and Capriccio's Pizza
Well in the past week I have managed to eat my weigh (ha ha get it - so much for the spring diet!) through three restaurants that are blog worthy. The first one was actually Capriccio's Pizza in the TJ Maxx shopping center off of Broad. We went there last Thursday night for my book club (book was Shanghai Girls by Lisa See -a worthy read). There were 11 of us and the place was slammed when we got there - but they did have our table ready for us - it helped to call ahead. The service was a bit slow - it took awhile for our wine and beer to arrive, but water was there right away and it had my favorite type of ice - crushed. We ordered salads, the greek and the Italian antipasta. Both were good - though the antipasta was more of an appetizer plate than a salad - nary a piece of lettuce on the plate. The cheese was all good quality though on both plates. We ordered three types of pizza - pepperoni, the white pizza, and a special one with artichoke hearts, prosciutto, green olives, and mushrooms. I liked in the same order. The pepperoni was perfectly sauced, cheesed, and meated. I loved it. The white pizza was good - but would have been better with the addition of spinach or artichoke hearts. The last one was pretty good - but a bit soggy for my taste. I will be back.....Check it out if you are a pizza lover!
Next up was Bouchon, my mom is in town so we had a free babysitter and went out on Saturday night with another couple. First off, I love the update to the restaurant from when it was Pomegrante (this is on Broad Street in the Slip - next to Tobacco Company). It is a very modern, cool looking place. We ordered a bottle of red wine (a bordeaux - I suck at remembering the french wines! I need to write them down!) and we all ordered salads. I had the arugula salad with a goat cheese crostini. Very good. My husband was thrilled because they had a beet salad - his fave. The bread that was provided was very very good. Crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle - anyone know who supplies it?
For dinner I had the trout with a brown butter. The chef was nice and exchanged the haricort verts for spinach for me, I had green beans three times already that week (costco bag) and I was over them. The trout was very good and the sauce a perfect match. Anne had the monkfish special, and the guys had flounder stuffed with crab. For dessert, my husband and I tried the creme brulee, well prepared and yummy, and Anne and husband had the crepes, which they liked. All in all, the meal and company made for a great night out.
Finally, Monday night I took my Mom and 6 year old back to the Melting Pot to use my free Dinner for Two that I received from my 4 hour marathon dining experience back in February. I am pleased to say that we had a very good experience. The food was all great, this place really knows how to do their salads, every one I have ever had there is fantastic. The best part is that we were in and out of there under two hours! Yeah! My mom loved it - first time and Parker (my 5 year old) is becoming quite the expert at cooking fondue (she cooks far more than she actually eats! - oh well). The key is not to go with more than 4 people at your table to have a reasonable dining time. The service was very good I am pleased to report.
Anyone else have any similar experiences with these restaurants? Would love to hear your take.
This weekend we are off to the circus - first time for me in years - this should be interesting.
Next up was Bouchon, my mom is in town so we had a free babysitter and went out on Saturday night with another couple. First off, I love the update to the restaurant from when it was Pomegrante (this is on Broad Street in the Slip - next to Tobacco Company). It is a very modern, cool looking place. We ordered a bottle of red wine (a bordeaux - I suck at remembering the french wines! I need to write them down!) and we all ordered salads. I had the arugula salad with a goat cheese crostini. Very good. My husband was thrilled because they had a beet salad - his fave. The bread that was provided was very very good. Crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle - anyone know who supplies it?
For dinner I had the trout with a brown butter. The chef was nice and exchanged the haricort verts for spinach for me, I had green beans three times already that week (costco bag) and I was over them. The trout was very good and the sauce a perfect match. Anne had the monkfish special, and the guys had flounder stuffed with crab. For dessert, my husband and I tried the creme brulee, well prepared and yummy, and Anne and husband had the crepes, which they liked. All in all, the meal and company made for a great night out.
Finally, Monday night I took my Mom and 6 year old back to the Melting Pot to use my free Dinner for Two that I received from my 4 hour marathon dining experience back in February. I am pleased to say that we had a very good experience. The food was all great, this place really knows how to do their salads, every one I have ever had there is fantastic. The best part is that we were in and out of there under two hours! Yeah! My mom loved it - first time and Parker (my 5 year old) is becoming quite the expert at cooking fondue (she cooks far more than she actually eats! - oh well). The key is not to go with more than 4 people at your table to have a reasonable dining time. The service was very good I am pleased to report.
Anyone else have any similar experiences with these restaurants? Would love to hear your take.
This weekend we are off to the circus - first time for me in years - this should be interesting.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wilco and Mekong
My husband and I went out on a school night this week to check out a band that we both really like, Wilco. And taking advantage of having a babysitter, we decided to go out to dinner. Neither of us were really into bar like food, so we decided to go to one of our old favorites, Mekong. We haven't frequented it as much since we moved to the burbs and Da Lat is closer and very good. The husband got the beef Pho, and I got the shrimp and beef mixed grill. We both could have eaten that! The food was fresh and light. We split a 22 oz IPA that was quite hoppy and good. Best thing is that the whole dinner came to $32!
We then headed down to the National to see Wilco. It was a great show! They played for about 2 1/2 hours and we really enjoyed it. It was definitley worth being tired the next day!
We then headed down to the National to see Wilco. It was a great show! They played for about 2 1/2 hours and we really enjoyed it. It was definitley worth being tired the next day!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Grandpa Eddie's for a not so great lunch
Yesterday I went to Grandpa Eddie's with some co-workers for lunch. I have to say - I was disappointed. Maybe I have become spoiled by my husband's oh so good BBQ that he makes ever since he invested into a smoker. I ordered the smoked chicken entree. I asked for collard greens instead of slaw. The platter arrived with a pile of chopped up chicken, a side of fries, and the collard greens. The chicken was dry and the extra bbq sauce they had on the table was just really vinegary and didn't add much to it. I thought the sauce it was cooked in, actually made the chicken a bit bitter. The french fries were fine, but they were french fries! Hard to do them wrong! The collard greens were also disappointing. I like my greens with a bit of a bite and these did not have any bite - even after I added salt and pepper. They were swimming in water too and I think I may have had more water than juice in the container they were served in. The collard greens on the smokehouse table at Whole Foods are great, lot's of red pepper, just a bit of pork, and no water. I prefer those.
So, I don't think I will venture back to Grandpa Eddies. My meal with a soda was $13.64 + tip. Expensive for lunch and not so good.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Short Pump Mall Restaurants - Firebirds and Nordstrom Cafe
This weekend I ate at two different restaurants at Short Pump Mall, Saturday night at Firebirds for dinner, and Sunday the Nordstrom Cafe for lunch.
We arrived at Firebirds at 6:00 pm, my husband, our 5 year old, our relative Kim and her daughter Carly (12 years old). We were given a pager and found 5 seats at the bar. The adults promptly ordered beers - Blue Moon and we ordered Shirley Temples for the kid's. We were told it would be about 45 minutes for our table so we ordered some appetizers for the kids who were starving. We got the Ranch Rings - onion rings with garlic ranch dressing for dipping, and the queso cheese dip. Both were quite good. The onion rings were crispy and the dressing was zipped up with the garlic added to the ranch. The queso dip was served with a boring salsa, but the chips were red, blue and corn chips and the queso had a little kick to it. The bartenders were quite nice and when my daughter fell off of the barstool knocking over her shirley temple they were very nice and promptly made her a fresh one and ignored her wailing!
We were seated about an hour later - and I wish our experience would have been as good as our one at the bar. We were seated right next to the very busy kitchen and it was REALLY loud in the dining room. We ordered drinks (Conundrum White Wine for me -good glass of white) and our food. My husband got the salmon, I got the trout, Kim got the sirloin, Daughter got the kids chicken strips and Carly ordered a BLT. Well Carly's dinner came out as a BLT Salad - not sandwhich. They sent that back - apparently it is on their lunch menu - but not their dinner one. But they did accomodate her and brought her out a sandwhich and fries. Husbands salmon was ok - a bit dry he said. My trout was pecan encrusted, served with a tortilla slaw. The crust was way too sweet and did not cover up the dryness of the trout - if anything it made it dryer. The slaw was more tortilla chip and less cabbage. I have had that side before and usually it is quite good. The peach salsa that was supposed to come with the trout was such a small portion you could barely see it or pick it out from the slaw. Kim enjoyed her steak and baked potato. So one out of three entree's were enjoyed. I guess I just don't see the popularity of this restaurant - to wait an hour to eat here when the food is just ok.....probably won't be back unless it is for drinks and app's at the bar.
Now Nordstrom was a totally different experience. I love the food here. If you have never eaten here - definitely check it out. I went to lunch with daughter, Kim, and Carly again. Kim and I got the Seared Salmon Caesar Salad. It was great. The salmon was done perfectly and the Caesar dressing was fabulous - this was served with a Parmesan Chip that was quite tasty. The girls each got a children's size cheese pizza - which was huge. They both enjoyed and my daughter actually ate almost the whole thing (except for the peice I nabbed)! The pizza was thin with good cheese and great sauce. All in all we all were very happy with our meals! I have eaten there for lunch many times and the salads are too die for. My favorite is a grilled chicken with strawberry salad that has goat cheese, candied nuts, carmelized red onions, and lettuce. They also have a great pear and blue cheese salad. The pizza's, pasta's, and sandwhiches are all great. I used to work with a guy who said their she-crab soup was the best they ever had. I highly recommend you go to Nordstrom Cafe soon for lunch.
We arrived at Firebirds at 6:00 pm, my husband, our 5 year old, our relative Kim and her daughter Carly (12 years old). We were given a pager and found 5 seats at the bar. The adults promptly ordered beers - Blue Moon and we ordered Shirley Temples for the kid's. We were told it would be about 45 minutes for our table so we ordered some appetizers for the kids who were starving. We got the Ranch Rings - onion rings with garlic ranch dressing for dipping, and the queso cheese dip. Both were quite good. The onion rings were crispy and the dressing was zipped up with the garlic added to the ranch. The queso dip was served with a boring salsa, but the chips were red, blue and corn chips and the queso had a little kick to it. The bartenders were quite nice and when my daughter fell off of the barstool knocking over her shirley temple they were very nice and promptly made her a fresh one and ignored her wailing!
We were seated about an hour later - and I wish our experience would have been as good as our one at the bar. We were seated right next to the very busy kitchen and it was REALLY loud in the dining room. We ordered drinks (Conundrum White Wine for me -good glass of white) and our food. My husband got the salmon, I got the trout, Kim got the sirloin, Daughter got the kids chicken strips and Carly ordered a BLT. Well Carly's dinner came out as a BLT Salad - not sandwhich. They sent that back - apparently it is on their lunch menu - but not their dinner one. But they did accomodate her and brought her out a sandwhich and fries. Husbands salmon was ok - a bit dry he said. My trout was pecan encrusted, served with a tortilla slaw. The crust was way too sweet and did not cover up the dryness of the trout - if anything it made it dryer. The slaw was more tortilla chip and less cabbage. I have had that side before and usually it is quite good. The peach salsa that was supposed to come with the trout was such a small portion you could barely see it or pick it out from the slaw. Kim enjoyed her steak and baked potato. So one out of three entree's were enjoyed. I guess I just don't see the popularity of this restaurant - to wait an hour to eat here when the food is just ok.....probably won't be back unless it is for drinks and app's at the bar.
Now Nordstrom was a totally different experience. I love the food here. If you have never eaten here - definitely check it out. I went to lunch with daughter, Kim, and Carly again. Kim and I got the Seared Salmon Caesar Salad. It was great. The salmon was done perfectly and the Caesar dressing was fabulous - this was served with a Parmesan Chip that was quite tasty. The girls each got a children's size cheese pizza - which was huge. They both enjoyed and my daughter actually ate almost the whole thing (except for the peice I nabbed)! The pizza was thin with good cheese and great sauce. All in all we all were very happy with our meals! I have eaten there for lunch many times and the salads are too die for. My favorite is a grilled chicken with strawberry salad that has goat cheese, candied nuts, carmelized red onions, and lettuce. They also have a great pear and blue cheese salad. The pizza's, pasta's, and sandwhiches are all great. I used to work with a guy who said their she-crab soup was the best they ever had. I highly recommend you go to Nordstrom Cafe soon for lunch.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Review - Wicked and Acacia Midtown
Wicked and Acacia
Friday night, my friend Barbara and I went to Acacia before going to see Wicked at the Landmark Theater. We got there about 5:45 pm and were happy to see they had a prix fixe menu for $23. After ordering the Cabernet by the glass, we opted to go for this menu for dinner. This gave you an option of soup (parsnip) and a salad with blue cheese, apples, and nuts. I chose the soup and it was perfect for the rainy night and it was creamy and had bits of bacon that added the right amount of saltiness to it.
The entree choices were plentiful for the prix fixe menu: there was a tilapia, a scallop dish, a duck, a chicken, and a steak. I chose the hanger steak with fingerling potatoes with blue cheese, bacon, and a balsamic sauce. There was also a side of sautéed kale. The food was excellent, the steak a perfectly cooked medium rare and the balsamic sauce was a great pairing with it. The potatoes were fresh and the kale perfectly cooked. I am a sucker for any kind of green and my only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of the kale for me!
For dessert, they had a choice of a panna cotta with a coconut sorbet and rum sauce, a parsnip cake with a cream frommage ice cream, and finally a watermelon sorbet with a biscotti. I chose the parsnip cake (figured I might as well stick with the root vegetable trend) and was pleasantly surprised the cake was served warm and the ice cream was a great addition to it. It was similar to a carrot cake or spice cake. Very good.
All in all, a great dinner for a spectacular price. The prix fixe menu is available M-Th 5:00 – 6:00 pm and Fr-Sat from 5:30-6:30 pm.
We were back in our car by 7:15 enough time to drive to the Landmark Theater and park in the parking garage across the street. We took our seats about 10 till 8:00 and the show started soon after. I have to say – I loved it. I had read Wicked by Gregory Maguire when it first came out about 13 years ago, and thought it was a clever, creative take on the Wizard of Oz series of books. Unlike so many movies that the book is way better than the film, this play was better than the book. It took a lot of liberties with the story line, but I loved the happy ending, I loved the idea of a sustained friendship between Glinda and Elphaba. If you haven’t seen Wicked yet, and don’t have tickets yet, run don’t walk to get tickets – it is fabulous!!!
Friday night, my friend Barbara and I went to Acacia before going to see Wicked at the Landmark Theater. We got there about 5:45 pm and were happy to see they had a prix fixe menu for $23. After ordering the Cabernet by the glass, we opted to go for this menu for dinner. This gave you an option of soup (parsnip) and a salad with blue cheese, apples, and nuts. I chose the soup and it was perfect for the rainy night and it was creamy and had bits of bacon that added the right amount of saltiness to it.
The entree choices were plentiful for the prix fixe menu: there was a tilapia, a scallop dish, a duck, a chicken, and a steak. I chose the hanger steak with fingerling potatoes with blue cheese, bacon, and a balsamic sauce. There was also a side of sautéed kale. The food was excellent, the steak a perfectly cooked medium rare and the balsamic sauce was a great pairing with it. The potatoes were fresh and the kale perfectly cooked. I am a sucker for any kind of green and my only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of the kale for me!
For dessert, they had a choice of a panna cotta with a coconut sorbet and rum sauce, a parsnip cake with a cream frommage ice cream, and finally a watermelon sorbet with a biscotti. I chose the parsnip cake (figured I might as well stick with the root vegetable trend) and was pleasantly surprised the cake was served warm and the ice cream was a great addition to it. It was similar to a carrot cake or spice cake. Very good.
All in all, a great dinner for a spectacular price. The prix fixe menu is available M-Th 5:00 – 6:00 pm and Fr-Sat from 5:30-6:30 pm.
We were back in our car by 7:15 enough time to drive to the Landmark Theater and park in the parking garage across the street. We took our seats about 10 till 8:00 and the show started soon after. I have to say – I loved it. I had read Wicked by Gregory Maguire when it first came out about 13 years ago, and thought it was a clever, creative take on the Wizard of Oz series of books. Unlike so many movies that the book is way better than the film, this play was better than the book. It took a lot of liberties with the story line, but I loved the happy ending, I loved the idea of a sustained friendship between Glinda and Elphaba. If you haven’t seen Wicked yet, and don’t have tickets yet, run don’t walk to get tickets – it is fabulous!!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Saturday Night Happy Hour and Dinner
Happy Hour and Dinner
Saturday night our subdivision had their Spring Adult Social at the new Aloft hotel at West Broad Village. The place was very contemporary looking and had a wide open lobby and bar area. There were about 60 people and drinks were free. It was fun socializing with our neighbors after a long winter of hibernating and not seeing everyone out in their yard. I was interested in what the rooms looked like, but didn’t get a chance to check them out. There were people meeting there playing games and pool. But no food – and I can’t do a happy hour with free drinks and not have food – not a good combination for me! They had a very small walk up and order food area that had pizzas and salads. Not what I was in the mood for.
After about an hour and ½ the husband and our friends Barb and Chris and myself decided to make a break and go get some food. I suggested Anokha, the new Indian place on Lauderdale. Everyone agreed and when we arrived the place was packed! We had about a 10 minute wait and all ordered a Kingfisher at the bar. Once seated, we were all starving and ordered papadum, and veggie samosa’s for an appetizer. I absolutely love tamarind chutney!!! I could eat an entire jar of it! So I was happy dipping my Samosa and papadum in it. They also provided cilantro chutney and raita. Both were equally good.
For dinner we ordered four dishes to share: Chicken Tikka Masala, (my fave), Lamb Vindaloo, Palak Paneer (spinach and cheese cubes), and Baighan Bartha (eggplant). We got garlic Nan to go with the dinner. We each ordered another Kingfisher as well – the Indian beer went perfectly with the spicy food. All of the dishes were seasoned perfectly and everyone enjoyed the food immensely! There were no doggie bags for us! The sauce in the chicken tikka masala is to die for and the nan perfect to slop it up with!
The dinner with appetizers, entrees, two beers each, came to about $115 for four. Not bad at all for a fully satisfying Saturday night dinner and free drinks for happy hour!
I highly recommend you trying Anokha! I will be back!
Saturday night our subdivision had their Spring Adult Social at the new Aloft hotel at West Broad Village. The place was very contemporary looking and had a wide open lobby and bar area. There were about 60 people and drinks were free. It was fun socializing with our neighbors after a long winter of hibernating and not seeing everyone out in their yard. I was interested in what the rooms looked like, but didn’t get a chance to check them out. There were people meeting there playing games and pool. But no food – and I can’t do a happy hour with free drinks and not have food – not a good combination for me! They had a very small walk up and order food area that had pizzas and salads. Not what I was in the mood for.
After about an hour and ½ the husband and our friends Barb and Chris and myself decided to make a break and go get some food. I suggested Anokha, the new Indian place on Lauderdale. Everyone agreed and when we arrived the place was packed! We had about a 10 minute wait and all ordered a Kingfisher at the bar. Once seated, we were all starving and ordered papadum, and veggie samosa’s for an appetizer. I absolutely love tamarind chutney!!! I could eat an entire jar of it! So I was happy dipping my Samosa and papadum in it. They also provided cilantro chutney and raita. Both were equally good.
For dinner we ordered four dishes to share: Chicken Tikka Masala, (my fave), Lamb Vindaloo, Palak Paneer (spinach and cheese cubes), and Baighan Bartha (eggplant). We got garlic Nan to go with the dinner. We each ordered another Kingfisher as well – the Indian beer went perfectly with the spicy food. All of the dishes were seasoned perfectly and everyone enjoyed the food immensely! There were no doggie bags for us! The sauce in the chicken tikka masala is to die for and the nan perfect to slop it up with!
The dinner with appetizers, entrees, two beers each, came to about $115 for four. Not bad at all for a fully satisfying Saturday night dinner and free drinks for happy hour!
I highly recommend you trying Anokha! I will be back!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Whole Foods Market's Five after Five
Friday night, after a stressful week, my friend Gretchen and I decided to check out the Five after Five wine/food event held at the Whole Foods Market in Short Pump every week. They had taken the month of February off and returned Friday night. The concept is simple. You pay $10 (used to be $5) and get a wine glass, a ticket, and an arm band. The ticket is for 5 stations throughout the store that have a wine to taste and a food item to try. We got there at about 10 till 5 and there was already a line of about 6 or so people. We got in line and some friendly people who had been there before us suggested that we get a cart and grab some of the drink holders that attach to your cart. This turned out to be a fabulous suggestion, you could put your purse and wine glass down to actually eat your food! We went to the first station in Produce and they had a Gewurztraminer that was good...I am not a huge sweet wine fan, but after the week I had, I drank it and enjoyed it! The food was a Cream of Lettuce Soup, much better than I would have expected. Creamy, and flavorful.
We then moved onto the Seafood station. The wine here was Venegassu Prosecco. I love Prosecco and this was not a disappointment. For $11.99 a bottle - great choice. I also really enjoyed the food. It was a crisp baguette with smoked salmon and a herbed cream cheese. The smoked salmon was perfect with the prosecco. At this station we told them we were enjoying our first time doing this. They informed us that we were lucky - some nights the lines were 60 people back for each station! We basically walked right up to each one throughout the night.
The 3rd station had great wine a Ruffino Chianti Superiore - great price $11.99 on sale, usually $12.99. The food however was disappointing. It was chicken parmesan on a sub roll. It was really dry and tough. Gretchen and I both moseyed away and threw in the trash. Not our favorite. Thought he next station was....it was french onion soup with a bordeaux called Chateau les Arromans for $9.99 a bottle. Also very good. The soup had a great creamy flavor and was served with a cheese melted on a baguette. Our favorite taste of the night.
At this point we decided we wanted to sit down in the little wine bar that is in the middle of Whole Foods. You have to have a pre-paid card here to get the wine. You load it with money and they have about 20 different wines that have an automated pour and you can do 3 oz, 5 oz, or 7 oz. We got a card loaded up with $15 and I went over to a wine that looked interesting and pressed the 5 oz button. My $15 dollars was gone....I had chosen a bottle of wine that retailed for $115. Gretchen, being the good friend that she is had to spend hers just as quickly as I did and got the same one. We loved it. Well worth the $15. I started to write down the name of the wine and then decided not to - I am never going to spend $115 on a bottle of wine!
The last station was dessert. It was dessert wine - a Tinterra Moscato D'asti. Sparkling and sweet. The dessert was lemon cream vanilla cheesecake. The cheesecake was really good - but the lemon cream on top was so so.
I recommend checking this out - it was a great way to check out new wines (we each left with 3 bottles and combined them for checkout to take advantage of the 10% discount when you buy 6 bottles of wine). They also provide recipes for each of the dishes and I am definitely going to make the salmon and the french onion soup.
Starting this week, the Five after Five moves to Thursday nights. I like this night much better and it may start being on my weekly calendar as a standing appointment! Check it out!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Eurasia - Dinner Review
Review – Eurasia
Tuesday night my book club met for dinner at Eurasia. The book this month was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Great book by the way! There were 11 of us at dinner and I was thrilled that they offered to do separate checks for us right off the bat, we were off to a great start!
The wine menu for both red and white was quite extensive and looked promising. It had my favorite wine by the bottle, The Prisoner, by Orrin Swift which always puts me in a favorable frame of mind! We opted to go with wines by the glass due to the separate checks. I ordered a malbec that was smooth and perfect for a snowy night.
The specials sounded very good a lamb steak and duck, but I opted to choose some items from the menu. I got the Goat Cheese salad that I really enjoyed, the goat cheese was a fried croquette. The dressing was good – but the candied nuts didn’t really pair with the rest of the salad. But I picked over them and ate all of the rest of it!
I decided to order an appetizer and some sides as my dinner. I chose the fried shrimp with Asian Slaw, the goat cheese risotto (my husband hates goat cheese – so when I get a chance to have it – I go for it!), and the brocholetti side. The fried shrimp were great – plump and crispy and I really enjoyed the Asian slaw. The risotto was done well, the rice was perfect. The brocholetti was a bit disappointing. For $5 there was a small pile of greens and not a lot of flavor.
Everyone at the table enjoyed their meal. Some ordered the chicken entrée, the clam appetizers, the oyster appetizers, the lobster mac and cheese, the hot and sour soup. Everyone was nodding and happy. We were all too full for dessert.
I would definitely go back and try this place again and go for a full entrée.
Tuesday night my book club met for dinner at Eurasia. The book this month was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Great book by the way! There were 11 of us at dinner and I was thrilled that they offered to do separate checks for us right off the bat, we were off to a great start!
The wine menu for both red and white was quite extensive and looked promising. It had my favorite wine by the bottle, The Prisoner, by Orrin Swift which always puts me in a favorable frame of mind! We opted to go with wines by the glass due to the separate checks. I ordered a malbec that was smooth and perfect for a snowy night.
The specials sounded very good a lamb steak and duck, but I opted to choose some items from the menu. I got the Goat Cheese salad that I really enjoyed, the goat cheese was a fried croquette. The dressing was good – but the candied nuts didn’t really pair with the rest of the salad. But I picked over them and ate all of the rest of it!
I decided to order an appetizer and some sides as my dinner. I chose the fried shrimp with Asian Slaw, the goat cheese risotto (my husband hates goat cheese – so when I get a chance to have it – I go for it!), and the brocholetti side. The fried shrimp were great – plump and crispy and I really enjoyed the Asian slaw. The risotto was done well, the rice was perfect. The brocholetti was a bit disappointing. For $5 there was a small pile of greens and not a lot of flavor.
Everyone at the table enjoyed their meal. Some ordered the chicken entrée, the clam appetizers, the oyster appetizers, the lobster mac and cheese, the hot and sour soup. Everyone was nodding and happy. We were all too full for dessert.
I would definitely go back and try this place again and go for a full entrée.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Eating Las Vegas
Eating Las Vegas
I got back from Vegas late Wednesday night after being there for 6 days for a pleasure/business trip. But you could have called it the Eating Las Vegas Tour…..I swear I gained 10 pounds! Ha. But I did thoroughly enjoy it while it lasted. The first couple of days were at a time share and then the last 4 nights were at the Bellagio.
Thursday – Dinner at Wolfgang Pucks Trattoria De Lupo at Manadalay Bay. We had dinner before we went to the Lion King show. Dinner was great – I had Caesar salad and Thick noodles with a Bolognese sauce. They had appetizer portions of the pasta, which I took advantage of. The others traveling with me got Buccatini pasta, salmon, and chicken marsala – everyone was happy. The show was great – but unfortunately, I fell asleep during part of it – not because of the show –but because we had traveled from the East Coast that morning and I am definitely an 8 hour a night girl! Note to self - never schedule a show on your travel day!
Friday – Lunch at Tommy Bahamas restaurant – pretty good – burger and asian cole slaw. Met my Dad for lunch and it was his birthday – they brought out a ginormous piece of pina colada cake for him that we all had a bite of – quite tasty. Dinner was at the Palazzo Hotel and Casino at Mario Batali’s place Carnevino– his take on the Steak joint. We got one ribeye steak that cost $135 to share among the 4 of us. It was HUGE, and quite good. We also got 3 sides to share, brussel sprouts, mashed potatos with marscapone cheese, and spinach. All were better than average.
Saturday - was the big gambling day…..took off for old Las Vegas (Fremont Street area) around 3:00 and gambled down there for a few hours….then back to the Palazzo where we had been winning at Casino War (it is addicting – try it). Then we had reservations for Bobby Flays Mesa Grill at Caeser’s Palace. This was probably my favorite meal….great appetizers and margaritas. A cheese dip and quesadilla’s were quite tasty. I decided to get three sides as my dinner: a stuffed chili relleno, tamale, and brussel sprouts (yes I like them!). All were great. My mother in law got the pork dish and it was fabulous – she definitely won the ordering contest! Everyone loved their meal.
Sunday – We were staying at the Bellagio now…so no kitchen for breakfast. Luckily the Bellagio has an awesome pastry chef and the cheese Danish, almond croissants, and other items were to die for. Lunch was at a restaurant at the Bellagio called Noodles, which featured every type of Asian noodle dish you could imagine. I had the Singapore Street noodles with pork and shrimp. Very spicy and good. That night we went to the new Aria hotel (at the new complex City Center). It was gorgeous inside. We went to the 7:00 showing of Viva Elvis and had 3rd row seats. The show was great and the costumes were amazing. We then had dinner at Lemongrass a Thai fusion restaurant in Aria. Very good, red curry with duck. Everyone again enjoyed their food…we had steak, green curry with chicken, cashew chicken, and pad thai at the table.
Monday – Conference day…..lunch at Todd English’s Olives – (salad and chicken sausage with ricotta cheese flatbread) that night we went to Rao’s restaurant in Caesars Palace. This is the Vegas reincarnation of the famous Harlem place that only seats about 20 people. The Vegas place seats 3 times that many people! The food was great – there were three of us and we split the Orichette with sausage and broccoletti, gnocchi with a Bolognese sauce, and the meatballs. Very good and filling.
Ok – are you feeling as large as I do by now? One more day to go….
Tuesday – lunch at Serendipity 3 in front of Caeser’s. The famous NY institution – had to try the frozen hot chocolate – good, but not as to die for as I expected. That night we had dinner at Jasmine – the authentic Chinese restaurant at the Bellagio. There were 8 of us and my boss is from China so she ordered a family style dinner for the table. We had Peking Duck, Short Ribs, Sautee’d eggplant, Sea Bass, noodles, dumplings, egg rolls, etc. All were good and it was fun to try so many different things.
Every dinner was around $60. Some a bit less. It was a wide variety of food and needless to say – I enjoyed myself. And salad and veggies are in my future for the next few months before swim suit season hits!
Next week I hit Eurasia for dinner – look for my next blog about that dinner!
I got back from Vegas late Wednesday night after being there for 6 days for a pleasure/business trip. But you could have called it the Eating Las Vegas Tour…..I swear I gained 10 pounds! Ha. But I did thoroughly enjoy it while it lasted. The first couple of days were at a time share and then the last 4 nights were at the Bellagio.
Thursday – Dinner at Wolfgang Pucks Trattoria De Lupo at Manadalay Bay. We had dinner before we went to the Lion King show. Dinner was great – I had Caesar salad and Thick noodles with a Bolognese sauce. They had appetizer portions of the pasta, which I took advantage of. The others traveling with me got Buccatini pasta, salmon, and chicken marsala – everyone was happy. The show was great – but unfortunately, I fell asleep during part of it – not because of the show –but because we had traveled from the East Coast that morning and I am definitely an 8 hour a night girl! Note to self - never schedule a show on your travel day!
Friday – Lunch at Tommy Bahamas restaurant – pretty good – burger and asian cole slaw. Met my Dad for lunch and it was his birthday – they brought out a ginormous piece of pina colada cake for him that we all had a bite of – quite tasty. Dinner was at the Palazzo Hotel and Casino at Mario Batali’s place Carnevino– his take on the Steak joint. We got one ribeye steak that cost $135 to share among the 4 of us. It was HUGE, and quite good. We also got 3 sides to share, brussel sprouts, mashed potatos with marscapone cheese, and spinach. All were better than average.
Saturday - was the big gambling day…..took off for old Las Vegas (Fremont Street area) around 3:00 and gambled down there for a few hours….then back to the Palazzo where we had been winning at Casino War (it is addicting – try it). Then we had reservations for Bobby Flays Mesa Grill at Caeser’s Palace. This was probably my favorite meal….great appetizers and margaritas. A cheese dip and quesadilla’s were quite tasty. I decided to get three sides as my dinner: a stuffed chili relleno, tamale, and brussel sprouts (yes I like them!). All were great. My mother in law got the pork dish and it was fabulous – she definitely won the ordering contest! Everyone loved their meal.
Sunday – We were staying at the Bellagio now…so no kitchen for breakfast. Luckily the Bellagio has an awesome pastry chef and the cheese Danish, almond croissants, and other items were to die for. Lunch was at a restaurant at the Bellagio called Noodles, which featured every type of Asian noodle dish you could imagine. I had the Singapore Street noodles with pork and shrimp. Very spicy and good. That night we went to the new Aria hotel (at the new complex City Center). It was gorgeous inside. We went to the 7:00 showing of Viva Elvis and had 3rd row seats. The show was great and the costumes were amazing. We then had dinner at Lemongrass a Thai fusion restaurant in Aria. Very good, red curry with duck. Everyone again enjoyed their food…we had steak, green curry with chicken, cashew chicken, and pad thai at the table.
Monday – Conference day…..lunch at Todd English’s Olives – (salad and chicken sausage with ricotta cheese flatbread) that night we went to Rao’s restaurant in Caesars Palace. This is the Vegas reincarnation of the famous Harlem place that only seats about 20 people. The Vegas place seats 3 times that many people! The food was great – there were three of us and we split the Orichette with sausage and broccoletti, gnocchi with a Bolognese sauce, and the meatballs. Very good and filling.
Ok – are you feeling as large as I do by now? One more day to go….
Tuesday – lunch at Serendipity 3 in front of Caeser’s. The famous NY institution – had to try the frozen hot chocolate – good, but not as to die for as I expected. That night we had dinner at Jasmine – the authentic Chinese restaurant at the Bellagio. There were 8 of us and my boss is from China so she ordered a family style dinner for the table. We had Peking Duck, Short Ribs, Sautee’d eggplant, Sea Bass, noodles, dumplings, egg rolls, etc. All were good and it was fun to try so many different things.
Every dinner was around $60. Some a bit less. It was a wide variety of food and needless to say – I enjoyed myself. And salad and veggies are in my future for the next few months before swim suit season hits!
Next week I hit Eurasia for dinner – look for my next blog about that dinner!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Far West End Fave Take-out Spots
Far West End Fave Take-out Spots
So being a working mother who always has a huge to-do list, it is always annoying to be close to that moment towards the end of the day where you and your spouse have the daily discussion about what to have for dinner….I am lucky that my husband does cook, and quite well I might add, but we both tire of cooking and have our list of standard restaurants that we turn to for take-out.
Indian – Malabar (Wellsley shopping center on Lauderdale) – Great chicken tikka masala, samosa’s, and any of the veggie dishes. (804) 364-7077
Chinese – City Lights of China (Gayton Road) My 5 year old loves their egg drop soup with crunchies and we both love the Crab Rangoon. The shrimp with lobster sauce is quite good as well. (804) 741-6716
Italian – we actually order takeout from Maggiano’s when we want Italian. I cook pasta a lot so we don’t do this a lot– but it is close, decent, and large portions so my husband has leftovers. 804-253-0920
Japanese – Osaka hands down – best fried calamari I have ever had. And great sushi too! (804) 364-8800
Mexican – Habanero Mexican Grill on Quioccasin – this little whole in the wall has the best taco’s! They are made the way they are supposed to with meat (I like the carne asada), onions, cilantro and hot sauce in a soft corn tortilla. Excellent!!! I have heard the burritos are good too. (804) 750-2020
And that brings us to….Pizza or Subs…I have a few places I like for pizza:
Sal Cataldo’s on Gayton – great pizza and eggplant parm subs. (804) 740-6593
Leonardo’s Pizza – my fave is pepperoni, spinach and garlic – it rocks – try it! 804.346.3333
And I will admit – we are all suckers for Pizza Hut’s thin and crispy cheese or pepperoni pizza….it is on our speed dial. (various locations)
Anything suggestions on other places to check out?
So being a working mother who always has a huge to-do list, it is always annoying to be close to that moment towards the end of the day where you and your spouse have the daily discussion about what to have for dinner….I am lucky that my husband does cook, and quite well I might add, but we both tire of cooking and have our list of standard restaurants that we turn to for take-out.
Indian – Malabar (Wellsley shopping center on Lauderdale) – Great chicken tikka masala, samosa’s, and any of the veggie dishes. (804) 364-7077
Chinese – City Lights of China (Gayton Road) My 5 year old loves their egg drop soup with crunchies and we both love the Crab Rangoon. The shrimp with lobster sauce is quite good as well. (804) 741-6716
Italian – we actually order takeout from Maggiano’s when we want Italian. I cook pasta a lot so we don’t do this a lot– but it is close, decent, and large portions so my husband has leftovers. 804-253-0920
Japanese – Osaka hands down – best fried calamari I have ever had. And great sushi too! (804) 364-8800
Mexican – Habanero Mexican Grill on Quioccasin – this little whole in the wall has the best taco’s! They are made the way they are supposed to with meat (I like the carne asada), onions, cilantro and hot sauce in a soft corn tortilla. Excellent!!! I have heard the burritos are good too. (804) 750-2020
And that brings us to….Pizza or Subs…I have a few places I like for pizza:
Sal Cataldo’s on Gayton – great pizza and eggplant parm subs. (804) 740-6593
Leonardo’s Pizza – my fave is pepperoni, spinach and garlic – it rocks – try it! 804.346.3333
And I will admit – we are all suckers for Pizza Hut’s thin and crispy cheese or pepperoni pizza….it is on our speed dial. (various locations)
Anything suggestions on other places to check out?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Big and Little Girls Night Out - Melting Pot
My friends and I had planned a "Girls" night out with our daughters in December to go to the Melting Pot, but...it snowed, so we had to reschedule. We planned to go last Friday, but.....it snowed. Then we rescheduled for last night....but, it snowed! Are we seeing a trend here - maybe that is what is causing all of the snow!!! Our plans! Well we decided to break the pattern last night and actually go.
We had dinner reservations for 12, at 5:30 pm. There were 6 adults and 6 children. We were shown to our table which was in a very nicely decorated back room. We were seated in a long table which was fine, but not conducive to conversation. We ordered the Featured Dinner which was an "Alpine" special. It came with your choice of cheese dip, salads, the Feast - which is a main course of meats and your choice of boiling broth, and your choice of chocolate dessert. (we had a coupon which was dinner for 2 for $65 - or $35 each) At the suggestion of the waitress, we ordered the "mini" feasts for the children which includes all of the above, minus salad and a smaller portion of meats and ravioli for $18.95 each. We figured this made sense because if we added them to the cheese and chocolate portion at $8 a pop we were almost there as it was.
We ordered two bottles of wine a Malbec ($24) and a Pinot Grigio ($19). We were informed it was Wine-Down Wednesday and if you ordered a bottle of wine that was $50 or more it was 1/2 price. BUT we couldn't use our coupon, so we nixed that.
NOW the saga began...............THREE hours later, yes, THREE, we were finally paying our check. The cheese came out promptly and we had four pots and had the Cheddar Cheese Dip in 3 of them and Swiss Cheese in the 4th. This was served with apples, bread and veggies for dipping. It was very good. Our salads were served with this course. We all ordered the Alpine salad and I have to say, it was really, really good with candied almonds, cheese and a shallot dressing. Then the wait began....
About 20 minutes later our main course or Feast arrived. This was a broth like mixture that came to a boil in front of us and we were served a platter of raw meat that included chicken, beef tenderloin, ravioli's, sausage, and shrimp. The kids actually loved this part of cooking their own food. All of this was served with an assortment of sauces and mustard with a bowl of veggies (broccoli, potato's, and mushrooms) thrown into the broth for cooking. It was a ton of food and I enjoyed it as well. The meats that were pre-marinate were much tastier to me, and had a better flavor. The sauces were ok - I liked the mustard the best. The veggies were ok - not great, but there was a ton of food....so I skipped them after tasting each type. Our dishes were cleared......
Then the REALLY long wait began. Seriously it was 40 minutes until our chocolate desserts were brought out. We ordered the special one - which was chocolate and peanut butter, a flaming turtle sundae type, and flaming marshmallow oreo cookie one. They were served with an assortment of dipping items such as strawberries, banana's, pound cake, rice krispie bars, cheesecake, brownies, and strawberries. Of course this was what we were all waiting for and it was GREAT....but at 8:00 pm - it was getting really late.....I had asked for our check to be given to us before we even got our chocolate dessert. It showed up after we had already finished our dessert. We figured out how much it was per person - split up 6 ways and provided our credit cards. 30 minutes later, yes, 30 minutes!!! We got our credit card slips to sign! They actually sent another server back to tell us they were having a slight problem and it would be a little longer for our checks. At this point, our daughters were literally dancing around the room....the poor couple who were seated in our private room with us must have wondered what sin they had committed to be stuck in a room with us! I have to say they were good sports about it. We asked for the manager who gave us $15 free chocolate coupons for another visit......as I sat there fuming about my 3+ hour dinner.....it occurred to me that no matter how good the food was, and it was, fresh, tasty, and fun.....I probably would not come back. And I told her that - she then amended the free chocolate to dinner for 2 on them for each of us. That was better and we all accepted it. But to be honest.......I have to really consider whether or not I will actually use it! I mean - we cooked our own food - they didn't even have to do that....and I know they must prep cut the stuff. That was a LONG evening thank goodness that school was delayed for two hours so I could let the Pea sleep in!
Anyone else have a similar or different experience - was this the norm or an anomoly?
We had dinner reservations for 12, at 5:30 pm. There were 6 adults and 6 children. We were shown to our table which was in a very nicely decorated back room. We were seated in a long table which was fine, but not conducive to conversation. We ordered the Featured Dinner which was an "Alpine" special. It came with your choice of cheese dip, salads, the Feast - which is a main course of meats and your choice of boiling broth, and your choice of chocolate dessert. (we had a coupon which was dinner for 2 for $65 - or $35 each) At the suggestion of the waitress, we ordered the "mini" feasts for the children which includes all of the above, minus salad and a smaller portion of meats and ravioli for $18.95 each. We figured this made sense because if we added them to the cheese and chocolate portion at $8 a pop we were almost there as it was.
We ordered two bottles of wine a Malbec ($24) and a Pinot Grigio ($19). We were informed it was Wine-Down Wednesday and if you ordered a bottle of wine that was $50 or more it was 1/2 price. BUT we couldn't use our coupon, so we nixed that.
NOW the saga began...............THREE hours later, yes, THREE, we were finally paying our check. The cheese came out promptly and we had four pots and had the Cheddar Cheese Dip in 3 of them and Swiss Cheese in the 4th. This was served with apples, bread and veggies for dipping. It was very good. Our salads were served with this course. We all ordered the Alpine salad and I have to say, it was really, really good with candied almonds, cheese and a shallot dressing. Then the wait began....
About 20 minutes later our main course or Feast arrived. This was a broth like mixture that came to a boil in front of us and we were served a platter of raw meat that included chicken, beef tenderloin, ravioli's, sausage, and shrimp. The kids actually loved this part of cooking their own food. All of this was served with an assortment of sauces and mustard with a bowl of veggies (broccoli, potato's, and mushrooms) thrown into the broth for cooking. It was a ton of food and I enjoyed it as well. The meats that were pre-marinate were much tastier to me, and had a better flavor. The sauces were ok - I liked the mustard the best. The veggies were ok - not great, but there was a ton of food....so I skipped them after tasting each type. Our dishes were cleared......
Then the REALLY long wait began. Seriously it was 40 minutes until our chocolate desserts were brought out. We ordered the special one - which was chocolate and peanut butter, a flaming turtle sundae type, and flaming marshmallow oreo cookie one. They were served with an assortment of dipping items such as strawberries, banana's, pound cake, rice krispie bars, cheesecake, brownies, and strawberries. Of course this was what we were all waiting for and it was GREAT....but at 8:00 pm - it was getting really late.....I had asked for our check to be given to us before we even got our chocolate dessert. It showed up after we had already finished our dessert. We figured out how much it was per person - split up 6 ways and provided our credit cards. 30 minutes later, yes, 30 minutes!!! We got our credit card slips to sign! They actually sent another server back to tell us they were having a slight problem and it would be a little longer for our checks. At this point, our daughters were literally dancing around the room....the poor couple who were seated in our private room with us must have wondered what sin they had committed to be stuck in a room with us! I have to say they were good sports about it. We asked for the manager who gave us $15 free chocolate coupons for another visit......as I sat there fuming about my 3+ hour dinner.....it occurred to me that no matter how good the food was, and it was, fresh, tasty, and fun.....I probably would not come back. And I told her that - she then amended the free chocolate to dinner for 2 on them for each of us. That was better and we all accepted it. But to be honest.......I have to really consider whether or not I will actually use it! I mean - we cooked our own food - they didn't even have to do that....and I know they must prep cut the stuff. That was a LONG evening thank goodness that school was delayed for two hours so I could let the Pea sleep in!
Anyone else have a similar or different experience - was this the norm or an anomoly?
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Greek 4 U - Review
I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. The food is fabulous, the owners are wonderful. It is my go to place for lunch at least once a week. Today I stopped by and had the lemon chicken soup with fresh bread to go ($2.99 for a large soup!) it is creamy with the right tinge of lemon it - my Greek friends go and buy it by the thermos full. While I was there I got dinner for tonight, it was their special of the day, Lemon Chicken with potato's ($5.99). This is one of my favorites, the lemon sauce pairs very nicely with the potato's. Other items that I love are the green beans, fresh dill makes these a stand-out, and the hummus platter ($4.99) with tzaziki sauce, hummus, cucumbers, feta, greek olives all with pita bread....fabulous. The greek salad is freshly made with great quality feta cheese and olives.
George, one of the owners with his wife Katerina, is a baker by trade so the desserts are to die for. The baklava is the best I have ever had and the coconut macaroons are another one of my favorites. If you like Greek food this is a must try. It is perfect for take-out on your way home from work or for lunch - there aren't a lot of tables, but I usually eat-in once a week at least. Quick friendly service as well. They have recently got the ok to sell wine and beer and have a wide variety of Greek wine and beer to go or to have on site.
Like I said at the beginning - I can't get enough of this place!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Beef Stroganoff - 2nd Weekend Snowed In
So for the second weekend of being snowed in....cancelling plans for dinner, about to go stir crazy....I decided to make one of my favorite winter comfort foods, Beef Stroganoff. I love this recipe and the fresh dill makes it perfect. Here is the recipe for y'all to try:
3 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoons flour
1 cup beef broth
1 (1-lb) beef tenderloin, trimmed, sliced 1/4 inch thick and then into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
3/4 cup cremini mushrooms, halved, then quartered
3 Tablespoons sour cream, at room temp
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
accompaniment: buttered wide egg noodles
Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan over heat and whisk in four and cook whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Add broth in a slow stream, whisking, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Pat beef dry and season well with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a 12 inch skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Saute beef in two batches, turning once, until browned on both sides, but still pink inside, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Heat remaining tablespoon butter with remaining tablespoon oil in same skillet over moderately high heat, but not smoking, then saute' shallot, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute', stirring occasionally until liquid mushroom gives off is evaporated and mushrooms are browned. Return meat with it's juices to skillet and stir to combine, then transfer to a platter.
Reheat sauce over low heat (do not let boil), then whisk sour cream, mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. pour over beef and serve immediately with egg noodles.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Urban Mom checks out the Urban Farmhouse Market and Cafe
Tonight I went to a friends, family, and fans party for the new Urban Farmhouse Market and Cafe in Shockoe Slip (1217 E. Cary Street). I was one of the first 20 "fans" on facebook to respond to their invitation. The building they are in is gorgeous! Right on the corner across Cary from La Grotta. They have done a great job with making the space bright, inviting and cozy with couches and chairs plus tables to sit at. The concept behind this cafe is local, sustainable, and healthy food that tastes great. My friend Barb and I shared a couple of menu items: a Winter Beet Salad with Oranges, Fennel and Mint and a Farmer's Grilled Cheese with Black Winter Truffle Oil. The salad was really tasty with goat cheese sprinkled on it and a dusting of fresh mint. The beets and fennel paired very nicely with the oranges. I would go back for that. The sandwich was good - the bread was homemade and it had the distinct flavor of truffle. I would have liked a bit more cheese on the bread, but I love cheese and there is never enough for me! The menu I grabbed didn't have prices on it yet, and the food was free for the party, so I can't tell you costs, though I believe they are in your normal sandwich/salad/soup cafe ball park. They haven't gotten their liquor license yet, but they plan on serving organic wine and beer. Since a glass of wine was not an option, I got a smoothie (ambrosia berry) that was quite tasty and Barb got a mocha that she deemed much better than Starbucks. The owner came by to talk to us and was very friendly and interested in promoting the produce/goods and the stories of the local farmers/purveyors who provide it. They also have some food items for sale such as organic honey, chips, coffee, and other healthy options. They also serve breakfast and are open M-F at 6:30 and at 7:30 am on weekends. They are open till 10:00 pm Sun-Thu and 11:00 pm on Fri-Sat.
I like the concept of this place and I hope it does well. Their website is: http://theurbanfarmhouse.net/ if you want to check out their full menu and see pictures of the rehab of the building.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Dinner and a Show
Last night my friend Barbara and I met for dinner before going to the Landmark to see The Wedding Singer. We met at Bacchus around 6:00 for a nice, leisurely dinner. I had a glass of red wine, she had white as we decided on dinner. We were the only people in there when we first got there, but the place was filled by the time we left. Barbara got the spaghetti with butter and parm ($8), and a side of spinach with garlic and almonds ($8). I got the pan seared salmon with leeks and artichokes ($16) and broccolini with garlic and parm ($8). Barbara loved her very plain pasta (good parmesan can make or break the dish). My salmon was perfectly cooked with a very nice sauce of the leeks and artichokes with cream. We shared the sides and they were the hits though - very garlicky and the yummy parmesan on the broccolini melted on it perfectly! The almonds added a great nutty flavor to the spinach that I am going to try and copy next time I make sauteed spinach. We shared dessert - creme brulee - which is always yummy. They had other options with homemade ice cream, like apple crisp, and a peanut butter pie. Overall it was a very cozy, nice, decently priced dinner.
Now the Wedding Singer on the other hand, was not so enjoyable. First of all, there were hardly any people there, the entire row in front of us was empty. They played 80's music before the show started - and I was taken back to my high school years.....Beat It, Material Girl, etc. The show started and the opening song was horrible, the sound was bad, and I just didn't like the music. The story line closely followed the movie, but the people in the play did not have the charm of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. I found myself nodding off in the middle of the first act. When intermission came, Barbara and I got up to see if it had started snowing yet, hoping for an excuse to leave, but no snow.....we looked at each other and said "let's go!) and snuck out the side door! As we crossed Main Street to the parking deck, we had a lot of company, one lady remarked - I think my high school put on better shows than that one! But at least we got a preview of where are seats are for Wicked - 6th row!! Yeah
Now we are snowed in - Bolognese for dinner.....yum!
Friday, January 29, 2010
West End Cheap Eats
Here are a few meal deals going on in the West End/short Pump area that you can take advantage of:
Maggiano’s
Buy one meal and get one to take home from a selection of favorite pastas. Also free Vera’s Lemon Cookies to take home.
Shaklefords
From Becky –
A group of friends and I went our for a "nice catch up with the girls" night out. We decided we would eat at Shaklefords. I use to avoid this place because if you graduated from Godwin High School - It always seems like a high school reunion. Sometimes I am in the mood for that but for the most part I am not. Anyway, It was Sunday and the special was half off snow crab legs. So I had to get them. They were delicious and they were only $10. Another great plus was they changed the bread - IT WAS WONDERFUL. I ate three pieces and the pieces are not slices. I cant wait to go back just to eat the "loaf" of bread I consumed while I was there.
Sal Cataldo’s
Wednesday night large $6.99 cheese pizza deals.
Restaurant.com
Has a lot of deals right now - $25 gift certificate’s for $2. They have everything from Lemaire, to El Paso. A really good deal!
Happy Eating!
Here are a few meal deals going on in the West End/short Pump area that you can take advantage of:
Maggiano’s
Buy one meal and get one to take home from a selection of favorite pastas. Also free Vera’s Lemon Cookies to take home.
Shaklefords
From Becky –
A group of friends and I went our for a "nice catch up with the girls" night out. We decided we would eat at Shaklefords. I use to avoid this place because if you graduated from Godwin High School - It always seems like a high school reunion. Sometimes I am in the mood for that but for the most part I am not. Anyway, It was Sunday and the special was half off snow crab legs. So I had to get them. They were delicious and they were only $10. Another great plus was they changed the bread - IT WAS WONDERFUL. I ate three pieces and the pieces are not slices. I cant wait to go back just to eat the "loaf" of bread I consumed while I was there.
Sal Cataldo’s
Wednesday night large $6.99 cheese pizza deals.
Restaurant.com
Has a lot of deals right now - $25 gift certificate’s for $2. They have everything from Lemaire, to El Paso. A really good deal!
Happy Eating!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Children's Birthday Parties - Worth it or not?
My daughter went to two birthday parties last weekend, that she had an absolute blast at….one at the SPCA and one at Richmond Olympiad. The one at SPCA had arts and crafts, a scavenger hunt, play with puppies, food and cake. The one at the Olympiad was based around learning gymnastics techniques and jumping on a trampoline. As an observer of these parties I was watching the young workers at these parties whose job was to corral the children and take them through the activities of the party without getting walloped or lost. I began to daydream about my birthday party memories…….
This harkened me back to my first job….yes at McDonald’s. My job on Saturdays and Sundays was the “Birthday Party Coordinator”. Remember these were the days when McDonalds was still a novelty. Kids WANTED to have their birthday at McDonalds. The party consisted of a happy meal per child, milk or a soda, some lame party games and favors and they had to supply the cake. We sang happy birthday to the child and they ate their lunch and cake. All of this for about $25! Cheap – but pretty lame……and believe me as a 16 year old (probably hung-over too) this was like being in hell!! The children screamed and spilled soda – you had to keep them contained to the corner of the restaurant. And I think I was paid top dollar $3.30 and hour!
I was curious if they still offered this service – and sure enough they do! Here is a link that describes it if you have any interest…http://birthday-party-locations.com/index.php/birthday-articles/birthday-parties-at-mcdonalds/
Now they supply the cake, the ice cream, favors, and balloons. You still get happy meals – but your cost is now between $60-$100. Cheap by today’s standards.
Then I think back to my childhood – 40 some years ago…..I don’t think we have even had birthday parties anywhere except at our own house and then, it was probably one or two friends and family…….hmmm….makes me wonder how we got to this point where there are actually businesses that survive due to these $200 - $400 children’s parties.
But I have to say for my daughters last birthday, I forked out $250 or so to have her party at the Little Gym. No fuss, no muss, and I could sit back and smile and take pictures. Pretty darn convenient….and we won’t even discuss the time I ended up paying $75 for a freaking Dora cake from the Mixing Bowl….long story and another blog topic!
Anyway – the Pea’s birthday is in June and I am already looking for the spot to have her party…..maybe we will old school it this year and do it at our pool…..the nice thing about a summer birthday…..but then again I may end up splurging and do a bowling alley……makes me wonder though….Your thoughts?
This harkened me back to my first job….yes at McDonald’s. My job on Saturdays and Sundays was the “Birthday Party Coordinator”. Remember these were the days when McDonalds was still a novelty. Kids WANTED to have their birthday at McDonalds. The party consisted of a happy meal per child, milk or a soda, some lame party games and favors and they had to supply the cake. We sang happy birthday to the child and they ate their lunch and cake. All of this for about $25! Cheap – but pretty lame……and believe me as a 16 year old (probably hung-over too) this was like being in hell!! The children screamed and spilled soda – you had to keep them contained to the corner of the restaurant. And I think I was paid top dollar $3.30 and hour!
I was curious if they still offered this service – and sure enough they do! Here is a link that describes it if you have any interest…http://birthday-party-locations.com/index.php/birthday-articles/birthday-parties-at-mcdonalds/
Now they supply the cake, the ice cream, favors, and balloons. You still get happy meals – but your cost is now between $60-$100. Cheap by today’s standards.
Then I think back to my childhood – 40 some years ago…..I don’t think we have even had birthday parties anywhere except at our own house and then, it was probably one or two friends and family…….hmmm….makes me wonder how we got to this point where there are actually businesses that survive due to these $200 - $400 children’s parties.
But I have to say for my daughters last birthday, I forked out $250 or so to have her party at the Little Gym. No fuss, no muss, and I could sit back and smile and take pictures. Pretty darn convenient….and we won’t even discuss the time I ended up paying $75 for a freaking Dora cake from the Mixing Bowl….long story and another blog topic!
Anyway – the Pea’s birthday is in June and I am already looking for the spot to have her party…..maybe we will old school it this year and do it at our pool…..the nice thing about a summer birthday…..but then again I may end up splurging and do a bowling alley……makes me wonder though….Your thoughts?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Downtown Lunch/Dinner Spot
Had lunch with my friend Barb today at Tarrant's Cafe on Broad Street/Foushee Street. It had been awhile since I ate there, and I was happily reminded how much I enjoy it.
Our server was friendly and helpful and promptly brought us some yummy garlic rolls with olive oil. The menu is extensive with a number of sandwiches, soups, salads, and entree's. The daily special featured baramundi fish - which I LOVE, but at $16.95 was too steep for lunch.
Barb and I decided to share a greek salad and pizza. (the sister restaurant connected to the main one is called Tarrantino's and is basically a take-out pizza place. The kitchen split our salad for us, and it was very good with olives, garbanzo beans, feta, tomato's, onions, roasted red peppers, and lettuce. The dressing was good, though a bit sweet.
The pizza was fab - NY style - which I prefer, with just the right sauce and cheese. We ordered pepperoni - plain and simple. But perfect.
If you are looking for a new place to try downtown that isn't too expensive for lunch and dinner, check out Tarrant's Cafe!
Friday Evening Thing To Do
There is a thing at Whole Foods that they have on Friday nights that I am dying to try - it is called Five for $5 Fridays where you pay $5 and get a Whole Foods wine glass and you get to try 5 types of wine and 5 different appetizer/foodie type things. Has anyone tried it?
Info:
Every Friday
Five After Five
5:00-7:00 p.m. $5.00 Details
Join us each Friday to sample five delicious dishes and five varieties of wine. Admission is $5.00 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Autism Grant during the month of January. Plus, admission includes a souvenir Whole Foods Market wine glass. What a wonderful way to kick off your weekend! For more information about the Autism Grant visit their website www.autismgrant.org.
Has anyone been yet? I am thinking of checking it out next Friday the 5th - Anyone game?
Info:
Every Friday
Five After Five
5:00-7:00 p.m. $5.00 Details
Join us each Friday to sample five delicious dishes and five varieties of wine. Admission is $5.00 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Autism Grant during the month of January. Plus, admission includes a souvenir Whole Foods Market wine glass. What a wonderful way to kick off your weekend! For more information about the Autism Grant visit their website www.autismgrant.org.
Has anyone been yet? I am thinking of checking it out next Friday the 5th - Anyone game?
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Bra Birthday Club
Last night was the debut of the "pink bra" birthday club. In solidarity with our sisters and in the spirit of embracing our 30's, 40's, and perhaps 50's, we decided to celebrate our womanhood by flaunting what we got! After Beck and Steph went crazy with the glue gun and bedazzler, we all proudly had our ages and glamourous bras to wear!
We went to to the James River Winery, for their Fridays Over the Patio, the winter version of the Fridays on the Patio. The cost is $14 per person (you need reservations) and includes a wine tasting, glass with their logo on it to keep, appetizers, and music. It was a lot of fun! We started our evening with the wine tasting and tasted all of the selection - about 5 whites, 5 reds, and a few dessert wines. I am personally not a big fan of VA wines, I find them too immature. But they had a Chenin Blanc white that was good and the Merlot was quite tasty. ML and I decided to split a bottle of their Rad Red - which is a blend of reds and part of the proceeds went to the Massey Cancer Center too. Most of the wines ran about $15 a bottle. Beck, Steph, and Kris got a the Chenin Blanc and another white to share. We mosied upstairs where the band and food were and found a table. They also encourage you to bring a picnic....and I did. I stopped by Trader Joe's earlier and stocked up on their pub cheese, sausage, jarlsberg cheese, and some crackers. The food they had was ok....chicken wings, typical cheese squares, costco meatballs, some sort of pasta, and veggies. I tried a bit of it and found it fine....nothing to write about honestly. I liked my spread better! The atmosphere was friendly, cozy, and very enjoyable. The band was a duo playing Sting, Steely Dan, etc. tunes. Apparently it was the "meet--up" designated spot for the Richmond 30-40 year old singles club....but it didn't seem like much interaction was going on....tables of ladies and tables of men....
After we left there, we headed to Kona Grill for some sushi and one last drink. We ended up ordering the pot stickers, edamamme, and california roll. This was my 2nd time trying their sushi - and it sucked again. It was fake fishy smelling crab. The pot stickers were good and edamamme is edamamme! But it was a nice place to end the evening.
I have to say that our bra's were embraced (literally and metaphorically) by all! Both men and women seemed to enjoy our good natured fun. In fact, I had a man approach me saying that he and his wife were just having a conversation about how everybody was a conformist and how their wasn't any individuality anymore, and then we walked in and made their night.....that was a great comment to receive.
Stay tuned for more birthday adventures over the upcoming year!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Big Kids Clothing Sale Feb 4-7th
Check out this website:
http://www.kidslayne.com/upcoming-sales/richmond-va/
This is a big new and used clothing sale that will be at Willow Lawn in Richmond on February 4th-7th. They have clothes for kids 0-12 years of age. Check it out!
http://www.kidslayne.com/upcoming-sales/richmond-va/
This is a big new and used clothing sale that will be at Willow Lawn in Richmond on February 4th-7th. They have clothes for kids 0-12 years of age. Check it out!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Old Italian Place but new to me......
Last night I had dinner with my book club at Angela's Restaurant on Ridge and Forest Road. We had read the book Heat, by Bill Buford which was a non-fiction book based upon a journalists pursuit of the roots of Italian cooking and included a stint in Mario Batali's restaurant, Babbo (eaten there - fabulous!) as well as an apprecticeship under a butcher in Tuscany. The book was interesting especially for foodies. So we had decided to have Italian food and someone had recommended trying Angela's. It has been around for years, but I had never eaten there or really heard much about it.
We arrived for our reservation for 12 and had two tables side by side - not really conducive to book club discusssion....but we ended up pushing the tables together and it worked fine. The place was PACKED on a Tuesday night. We found out there was a reservation for 45 people in the cozy restaurant.....the wine was all fairly priced in the $30-40 range and we chose a chianti and a pino grigio. The service was a little bit slow but...considering the large party seated before us...it was understandable. The menu had your typcial pasta dishes, but they seemed to specialize in seafood and veal. They had about 5 or 6 specials and I ended up ordering one - two giant ravioli's stuffed with 4 cheeses and spinach, with a gorgonzola cream sauce, topped by lump crab over fresh spinach. It was really, really good. A bit rich, but a ton of lump crab on top, the gorgonzola sauce was creamy but not overpowering like some can be. I really enjoyed it. One of my fellow diners got the rockfish special and really enjoyed it, the mussel appetizer someone got had about 2 dozen mussels in it and a fab broth. Also the folks who stuck with the straight up pasta (stuffed shells and meat ravioli) really enjoyed their meal as well. I definitely would like to go back and try it when it is less busy.
One thing that really impressed me was their ability to split two bottles of red wine among 5 people and to let us all pay separately. This always seems to be an issue when dining with large groups of people trying to each pay for their own dinner.
I suggest you try this local, family owned joint next time you want to have some Italian food.
Next month our book is the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo....I wonder what we can pair with that for dinner.....
We arrived for our reservation for 12 and had two tables side by side - not really conducive to book club discusssion....but we ended up pushing the tables together and it worked fine. The place was PACKED on a Tuesday night. We found out there was a reservation for 45 people in the cozy restaurant.....the wine was all fairly priced in the $30-40 range and we chose a chianti and a pino grigio. The service was a little bit slow but...considering the large party seated before us...it was understandable. The menu had your typcial pasta dishes, but they seemed to specialize in seafood and veal. They had about 5 or 6 specials and I ended up ordering one - two giant ravioli's stuffed with 4 cheeses and spinach, with a gorgonzola cream sauce, topped by lump crab over fresh spinach. It was really, really good. A bit rich, but a ton of lump crab on top, the gorgonzola sauce was creamy but not overpowering like some can be. I really enjoyed it. One of my fellow diners got the rockfish special and really enjoyed it, the mussel appetizer someone got had about 2 dozen mussels in it and a fab broth. Also the folks who stuck with the straight up pasta (stuffed shells and meat ravioli) really enjoyed their meal as well. I definitely would like to go back and try it when it is less busy.
One thing that really impressed me was their ability to split two bottles of red wine among 5 people and to let us all pay separately. This always seems to be an issue when dining with large groups of people trying to each pay for their own dinner.
I suggest you try this local, family owned joint next time you want to have some Italian food.
Next month our book is the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo....I wonder what we can pair with that for dinner.....
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Great Weekend Winter Dish
After spending the day shopping with BR on a rainy dreary Sunday, I was in the mood for some comfort food. And I was happy to find a recipe that fit the bill in the December, 2009 Cooking Light, Belgian Beef and Beer Stew. The recipe was fairly easy - the biggest work was the prep time to cut up the veggies and to brown the meat, but with some help from my prep cook husband, it went fairly fast. Happy to report that we all enjoyed the stew. Even my 5 year old. Recipe attached:
Belgian Beef and Beer Stew
Worthy of a Special Occasion
Rate the Recipe
Read Reviews (20)
An amber Belgian beer is ideal in this dish, though most amber beers or brown ales—such as Newcastle—would work just fine. Garnish with fresh thyme.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients
3 center-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
5 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 12 ounces)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) bottle amber beer
2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices carrot (about 1/2 pound)
1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices parsnip (about 1/2 pound)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons country-style Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
Preparation
1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings; set aside. Add half of beef to drippings in pan; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef.
2. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until half of liquid evaporates. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add bacon, beef, carrot, and remaining ingredients to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf.
Beer note: With Belgian Beef and Beer Stew, focus on Belgian beers in the style of Dubbel or Brune. These words indicate a dark-colored, malty beer that goes well with braised beef. Moinette Brune ($9/750 ml) offers fruity sweetness that works with caramelized vegetables and a bready quality that matches any stew, while the beer's lively effervescence and surprisingly light body won't weigh down a winter meal. --Jeffery Lindenmuth
Nutritional Information
Calories:
373
Fat:
12.2g (sat 5g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.4g)
Protein:
40.4g
Carbohydrate:
18.4g
Fiber:
3.9g
Cholesterol:
118mg
Iron:
5.1mg
Sodium:
780mg
Calcium:
56mg
Tasty and good for you!
BTW - when shopping a couple of deals BR and I found.....Lands End Store at Sears -40% off of everything, in fact whole store was 40% off - BR got the deal of the day - a winter coat for her daughter for 74 cents!!!! The Book Room down by Willow Lawn - a used book store is having their annual sale, 75% off of all used books - great time to stock up. And for those of you who have Gymbucks - it is redemption time until the 24th......
Tonight I am going to Angela's Restaurant with my book club.....review to follow....
Later!
Belgian Beef and Beer Stew
Worthy of a Special Occasion
Rate the Recipe
Read Reviews (20)
An amber Belgian beer is ideal in this dish, though most amber beers or brown ales—such as Newcastle—would work just fine. Garnish with fresh thyme.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients
3 center-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
5 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 12 ounces)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) bottle amber beer
2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices carrot (about 1/2 pound)
1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices parsnip (about 1/2 pound)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons country-style Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
Preparation
1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings; set aside. Add half of beef to drippings in pan; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef.
2. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until half of liquid evaporates. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add bacon, beef, carrot, and remaining ingredients to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf.
Beer note: With Belgian Beef and Beer Stew, focus on Belgian beers in the style of Dubbel or Brune. These words indicate a dark-colored, malty beer that goes well with braised beef. Moinette Brune ($9/750 ml) offers fruity sweetness that works with caramelized vegetables and a bready quality that matches any stew, while the beer's lively effervescence and surprisingly light body won't weigh down a winter meal. --Jeffery Lindenmuth
Nutritional Information
Calories:
373
Fat:
12.2g (sat 5g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.4g)
Protein:
40.4g
Carbohydrate:
18.4g
Fiber:
3.9g
Cholesterol:
118mg
Iron:
5.1mg
Sodium:
780mg
Calcium:
56mg
Tasty and good for you!
BTW - when shopping a couple of deals BR and I found.....Lands End Store at Sears -40% off of everything, in fact whole store was 40% off - BR got the deal of the day - a winter coat for her daughter for 74 cents!!!! The Book Room down by Willow Lawn - a used book store is having their annual sale, 75% off of all used books - great time to stock up. And for those of you who have Gymbucks - it is redemption time until the 24th......
Tonight I am going to Angela's Restaurant with my book club.....review to follow....
Later!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Second Time Was NOT the Charm.....
Well as promised, I went back to the Wine Loft for my Ladies Happy Hour. The evening started iffy, GFM and I arrived at 4:30 our reservation time, and the door was locked for a staff meeting and we were told it would be another 15 minutes. Luckily it was warm yesterday and not the arctic temps we have been having. Well in reality, we waited 5 minutes and the owner came out to apologize and offered us a free glass of wine for our trouble...definitely worth 5 minutes of my time! There were 10 of us meeting for happy hour and we were given our choice of areas to claim as our own. We chose the upstairs because of the ability to have 10 people facing each other instead of spread horizontally across a space. We got our wine (I picked the Fairview Pinotage that I liked so much last weekend) and within 30 minutes all 10 of us were there. We ordered the cheese plate, chartucerie plate, and the backed brie again. When all of our items arrived they also delivered a marinated monchego cheese plate that they promptly realized they brought to the wrong table, but we begged to keep it and they agreed. It all sounds good so far right? Well it went downhill after that....the service was extremely slow....they give you about 10 baguette slices of bread with the cheeses, which is definitely not enough for 10 people! One each??? We had to ask for more cheese a few times and when we finally got it - it was two small platters with 10 pieces on each. Oh well, we made do. The area upstairs was extremely dark, it was hard to see each other, I could live with that, but sometime ambience gets in the way of functionality. The food was good, the manchego cheese was great, the balsamic vinegar they used to drizzle over it was top shelf, AND would have been fab to dip bread into if we would have had any!!! Then it came time for the check. That took about 25 minutes. One of my pet peeves. When I am done at a restaurant, I am done. I don't want to wait around for another 1/2 hour! We got our check and GFM and I were charged for our free glasses of wine! Not a good thing, and after we mentioned it, gave her our credit cards, and they were rung up, it was still not taken off. So the good will in which the freebie was given was lost in the shuffle! Now with two other wine/cafe places within spitting distance of each other, Cafe Caturra and the Barrel Thief, I would suggest that this place needs to pick it up a notch in service. Cafe Caturra has an awesome happy hour: from 3-6 daily you can get $5 glasses of wine and $4 appetizers. The only issue with that is it is hard to get there before 5:00 so you have to drink really fast!! ha I for one, am very partial to the Barrel Thief. I love the people that run it, have had wonderful evenings there and the music, food, and wine are all great. So I have to say I will give the Wine Loft one more try and we will see if the 3rd time is the charm......
One other quick note, after we left there some of us were still hungry and opted to check out Anohka the new Indian place. GFM, KC, and VG and and went and had a great dinner! We ordered the palek paneer, lamb tikka masala, and a very spicy chicken dish (can't remember the name). Plus garlic naan and papadum. It was all great and we were almost licking our plates to get the last drops of the yummy tikka masala sauce. Check it out!
BR and a few other ladies went to Patina Grill instead, we will have to get the scoop from her later........
Friday, January 15, 2010
Free food for your kiddies
So on those nights that you don't feel like cooking, can't face a Ukrops Rotisserie chicken (they really do kind of suck don't they??). Here are a few place you can go and not pay $5+ dollars for food that your child probably won't even eat. These are courtesy of my PIC (partner in crime) BR:
Sunday Nights Seafire Grill and Qdoba Mexican Grill
Monday Nights Fast Eddie's Jukebox Cafe and Red Robin
Tuesday Nights Champps and Moe's Southwestern Grill
There are a ton of places that have cheap nights for kids too...coming soon. Also some 1/2 price bottle of wine or dinner nights for adults when you happen to be lucky and have a babysitter or are out with your girls!
Sunday Nights Seafire Grill and Qdoba Mexican Grill
Monday Nights Fast Eddie's Jukebox Cafe and Red Robin
Tuesday Nights Champps and Moe's Southwestern Grill
There are a ton of places that have cheap nights for kids too...coming soon. Also some 1/2 price bottle of wine or dinner nights for adults when you happen to be lucky and have a babysitter or are out with your girls!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Yin and the Yang of a Saturday night out in Short Pump….
The Yin and the Yang of a Saturday night out in Short Pump….
My husband recently had a birthday and wanted to go somewhere casual with friends. We ventured out to Dave and Busters, his choice, not mine. I gamely went with him, it was his birthday after all.
We get there and the place was packed. My friend ML and I bravely got our pager for a table and bellied up to the bar for beers while the guys checked out the games. After standing there for 15-20 minutes with no acknowledgement from the bartenders, and no beers…I finally got the attention of the bartender, who said…just a minute babe. BABE?? HE called me BABE?? Right there I knew I was in a high class joint.
We went into the game room which was reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino, except it has children running all over, but the noise and the lights were the same. Two out of the four machines to get cards to play the games were out of order and 20 minutes later, we finally had a card to play. Now, none of us are really big video players so we scoped out the skee-ball, but ended up playing trivia – strictly old-school all the way. The trivia was fun and the competition among us fierce, but it got old fairly quick. So we headed back to the bar, where my husband was promptly insulted by the same bartender. We all looked at each other and said lets get the H out of here!!! We are paying for a babysitter for our children – why would we want to be in a restaurant with screaming children everywhere, bad service and more sensory overload than I could personally handle…….
Now for the Yang….
We walked down the “block” of West Broad Village to the Wine Loft which was having a soft opening that night. What a difference….the owners warmly greeted us and helped us to find a spot to camp out at the bar while we waited for a table. I ordered their featured wine a pinotage (insert name here)…excellent wine for $8 a glass. We were introduced to all of the 4 bartenders who were very friendly; the one who was helping us was Corey. He took our order for appetizers: lamb-pops, baked brie, cheese plate, and a chartucerie plate. When we found a comfy couch with a table to sit at, he offered to just bring the food directly to us when it was ready. We were starving by this point so the food was very welcome when it came, the cheese plate was pretty standard, but good. The chartucerie plate was very good with a pate, prosciutto, and sausage. The baked brie was excellent with a balsamic drizzle on it. I wasn’t crazy about the lamb – it tasted very gamey to me. But the husband and ML enjoyed it.
The Wine Loft has a full bar – liquor and beer for those who don’t appreciate a good glass of wine like the husbands. It also has a larger menu. The service we received all night was excellent – when we wanted another drink we just caught the attention of anyone walking by and they were happy to help us. In fact, ML and I liked it so much we made a reservation for next week and our ladies happy hour…we were their first official reservation. So we will update you on if the service and the experience was as enjoyable the second time around…..
My husband recently had a birthday and wanted to go somewhere casual with friends. We ventured out to Dave and Busters, his choice, not mine. I gamely went with him, it was his birthday after all.
We get there and the place was packed. My friend ML and I bravely got our pager for a table and bellied up to the bar for beers while the guys checked out the games. After standing there for 15-20 minutes with no acknowledgement from the bartenders, and no beers…I finally got the attention of the bartender, who said…just a minute babe. BABE?? HE called me BABE?? Right there I knew I was in a high class joint.
We went into the game room which was reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino, except it has children running all over, but the noise and the lights were the same. Two out of the four machines to get cards to play the games were out of order and 20 minutes later, we finally had a card to play. Now, none of us are really big video players so we scoped out the skee-ball, but ended up playing trivia – strictly old-school all the way. The trivia was fun and the competition among us fierce, but it got old fairly quick. So we headed back to the bar, where my husband was promptly insulted by the same bartender. We all looked at each other and said lets get the H out of here!!! We are paying for a babysitter for our children – why would we want to be in a restaurant with screaming children everywhere, bad service and more sensory overload than I could personally handle…….
Now for the Yang….
We walked down the “block” of West Broad Village to the Wine Loft which was having a soft opening that night. What a difference….the owners warmly greeted us and helped us to find a spot to camp out at the bar while we waited for a table. I ordered their featured wine a pinotage (insert name here)…excellent wine for $8 a glass. We were introduced to all of the 4 bartenders who were very friendly; the one who was helping us was Corey. He took our order for appetizers: lamb-pops, baked brie, cheese plate, and a chartucerie plate. When we found a comfy couch with a table to sit at, he offered to just bring the food directly to us when it was ready. We were starving by this point so the food was very welcome when it came, the cheese plate was pretty standard, but good. The chartucerie plate was very good with a pate, prosciutto, and sausage. The baked brie was excellent with a balsamic drizzle on it. I wasn’t crazy about the lamb – it tasted very gamey to me. But the husband and ML enjoyed it.
The Wine Loft has a full bar – liquor and beer for those who don’t appreciate a good glass of wine like the husbands. It also has a larger menu. The service we received all night was excellent – when we wanted another drink we just caught the attention of anyone walking by and they were happy to help us. In fact, ML and I liked it so much we made a reservation for next week and our ladies happy hour…we were their first official reservation. So we will update you on if the service and the experience was as enjoyable the second time around…..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
