Archive for "Food and Drink"
Mimosa Grill
Posted on May 16, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Mimosa Grill was my favorite restaurant out of all the restaurants I got to try in downtown Charlotte. I think I liked it so much because the food is so fresh. Our server made it a point to tell us that the vegetables are all locally grown at least half a dozen times during our meal. It was almost comical.
Jokes aside, what I really liked best was the mimosa tea. It’s the most delicious non-alcoholic beverage I’ve had in a long time. I’ve had Arnold Palmer’s (half lemonade, half iced tea) before but their tea takes it up several notches. Chad liked it so much that he got multiple refills. I can’t pick on him too much about the refills because I did too. It was delicious. I wanted to go there again and again just for the mimosa tea.
I had the lobster mac and cheese. Not the best choice. That part of the meal was just okay. I prefer the one here at Wine Dive better. I though the mac and cheese was a tad greasy. The salad was great, though. Probably because the veggies are super fresh. The super delicious tea made up for the lackluster mac and cheese so I forgave them.
David had the sea bass.
Chad had crab cakes, which is what I wish I would have ordered. The crab cakes were piled on top of each other with fried green tomatoes sandwiched in between. He said they were just as scrumptious as they looked. After seeing his plate, I really wanted a do over.
Alex got a very healthy salad, which looked amazing also. I bet it was really good. You know, because the vegetables are super fresh, being locally grown and all. LOL.
I joke around but, truly, I really liked Mimosa Grill. The prices were reasonable and the food was delicious and I wish I could have bottled that mimosa tea and brought it back with me to Kansas. I tried to talk the group into eating there again on our final day in Charlotte but no one really wants to eat at the same place twice, no matter how great it is. Usually when you’re out of town, you want to try a bunch of different restaurants. Specially ones that you can’t find your hometown. Such is the case for me, anyway.
Although, Brian seemed really interested in the Nascar Hall of Fame so I see another trip to Charlotte in my future. See you soon, Mimosa Grill!
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Martin’s Tavern
Posted on April 25, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Martin’s Tavern is actually where we ended up eating dinner. It’s a cozy, little restaurant in Georgetown with limited seating and the smallest restrooms ever built.
They put us in a couple of booths at the very back of the restaurant. Brian and I ended up sitting at the Sam Rayburn Lyndon Johnson booth.
Here are some photos of our delicious dinner, starting with the potato skins.
Calamari and shrimp.
Crab cakes.
I think this might be the lobster risotto.
Leave it to Brian to order the most basic thing on the menu.
Filet mignon.
The chocolate awesome lived up to its name. This was Brian’s favorite dessert in DC. He said he liked it even better than the Open City.
I’m so glad we had the opportunity to dine at Martin’s Tavern when we were in DC. The food was fantastic and not to be missed.
A word of advice, if you go, do not sit in the very back corner of the restaurant. That’s we were seated and it was hot. It felt like we were in an oven. Maybe we were closest to the kitchen and that’s why it was so hot? The tavern may be small but there are better places to be seated. Don’t let them put you in back.
Another thing to consider is to avoid drinking so much. The restrooms are in the same corner of the restaurant, right above where we were. To get to them you have to ascend stairs that are both steep and narrow. I’m not sure what the men’s room was like, but the women’s restroom is barely enough for one person. It reminded me of a restroom that you would find on a plane. Actually the whole back section of the restaurant where we were is so narrow and compact that it made me feel like I was on a ship, without the rocking side to side with the waves.
Given the setup, the best advice I can give is to enjoy the food but refrain from excessive drinking. The stairs will be hard to navigate when you’re inebriated. They were challenging enough for me and I was sober. Also, the less you drink the fewer restroom trips you’ll need to make.
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District Kitchen
Posted on April 20, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
District Kitchen is this really cool restaurant in Woodley Park just around the corner from our hotel. With its exposed brick walls and hip ambiance, the restaurant reminds me of 715 in Lawrence. Maybe it’s the lightbulbs.
It didn’t take long for the restaurant to get packed.
It was a busy evening so it took a while for our food to arrive. It was well worth the wait, though. Here are some pictures.
These brussel sprouts don’t look like much but they were quite popular. Everyone who tried a bite loved it, except for Ginger who found it too sweet. I didn’t try it myself though, so I wouldn’t know.
After dinner we got three of the desserts to share and sample.
This is the apple and fig bread pudding with vanilla ice cream.
This is the banana créme brûlée.
Brian didn’t have dinner because he already had dinner earlier that evening (the babe calzone from Open City, which was his favorite meal DC) but he did enjoy the triple chocolate brownie. It was quite decadent and super delicious. I know because I shared it with him. It’s definitely not to be missed.
Another thing that’s not to be missed is a trip to the restroom.
Theis is definitely one of the coolest restrooms I’ve ever used.
I also liked this sign on the wall which is a clever way of saying not to flush anything but toilet paper down the drain. It’s in keeping with the bathroom theme and decor.
I really liked District Kitchen. There are lots of neat little restaurants in Woodley Park and I think this is one of the better ones. Darcy did a great job in picking it out.
If you are ever in the area, District Kitchen is definitely worth checking out. And, the best part is that it’s only a metro stop away. (At least check out the restroom.)
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Dad’s 60th Birthday Dinner
Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
And we take a break from all of the DC blog posts to show you pictures from dad’s 60th birthday dinner at Cy’s Hoof & Horn.
They say that it’s better to spend money on experiences rather than buying things so rather than buying a present for dad we opted buy dinner for the family instead.
For dad’s birthday Brian and I took mom, dad, and Jenni to our new favorite place to eat steak. Jenni got the filet mignon, which is what I had the last time. I thought it was good but I really, really liked Brian’s chicken fried steak so I ended up getting the chicken fried steak this time around.
Brian and dad both got chicken fried steak also.
I don’t know why we each had to get one, all three of us could have shared one piece. The chicken fried steak portions at Cy’s are enormous.
Mom got a steak salad. Only my mom would get a salad at a steak place. LOL. At least her salad was topped with slices of beef, I guess.
Brian and I can’t wait for his mom and dad to visit because we want to take them to Cy’s also. Now that we’ve discovered Cy’s we just want to bring everyone there.
Cy’s isn’t just a great place to eat steak, it’s a great place for a nice family dinner. I hope dad enjoyed his 60th birthday dinner just as much as we did.
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Open City
Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Brian and I found this neat restaurant by our hotel called Open City. It’s so close that you can see the hotel from the restaurant’s patio.
The big windows fold out of the way so that even when you’re inside it feels like you’re outside. We asked for a table on the patio, but we didn’t really have to be outside to enjoy dining al fresco.
The cover of the menu has a drawing of the restaurant’s facade.
Lots of great items on the menu, including gluten free pizza. I’m not sure I’ve come across any other restaurant that offers these. Probably because it’s a risky thing to offer considering the crust ends up tasting like cardboard sometimes (or so I’ve heard). We found positive feedback about Open City’s gluten free pizzas online though. Someone sitting at a table close to us who had it even mentioned that they couldn’t tell the difference. That’s huge. I wonder if cooking the pizzas in their special firebrick pizza oven makes the difference?
Oh, and the best part about Open City is they serve brunch all day long.
I ate at Open City a couple of times with Brian (on our first day and also our last day in DC). I think he ate there more than that because (a) it was cheaper than eating at the hotel, (b) the food is great, and (c) it’s just a short walk from our hotel.
We shared the carnivore pizza on our first time at the restaurant. With its generous smattering of pepperoni, bacon, ham, sausage, etc. it’s the perfect pizza for meat-lovers like Brian and me.
We had to try one of their pies for dessert because they bake their own pastries. This pie consisted of chocolate mouse and chocolate ganache. They serve it topped with whipped cream. It was delicious! If I didn’t know it was so bad for you, I would have had one every single day I was in DC.
There were lots of delicious pastries to choose from in the pastry case. They even had some vegan options.
Brian and I decided to go to Open City again for our final meal in DC. Brian had the babe calzone the day before and he just had to have it again. It doesn’t look very appetizing but, after he had me try a bite, I realized why he liked it so much. The calzone was filled with the perfect combination of sausage, ham, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. Almost like the carnivore pizza folded over.
I got the Open City grilled chicken wings with blue cheese. They were perfect. They were so good that I wanted to eat them all, except I couldn’t because I got so full.
It didn’t help that I couldn’t stop eating the vegan, gluten free homemade potato chips. They weren’t greasy like they sometimes are at other restaurants.
If you ever find yourself in the Woodley Park area in DC, I highly recommend checking out Open City. There are many reasons I can think of why it’s popular with locals and visitors alike — they have great food; they offer lots of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options; they serve brunch all day; they bake their own decadent pastries; and they’re conveniently located close to a metro station. It’s definitely worth checking out!
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