Saturday, July 28, 2012

Food Glorious Food - Tallahassee, FL

Dinner 7/28/12

Shock Top Lemon Shanty beer
FGF potato chips with bechamel sauce and blue cheese crumbles
Pan fried grouper with collard greens and cheese grits
Gnocchi with bacon and cheese grits
Zucchini fries
Cranberry Bread Pudding
Hummingbird Cake

Beer - I've had Shock Top wheat beer before, but the Lemon Shanty added a whole new dimension to this wheat brand.  The lemon allowed the heavier wheat beer to leave me refreshed.

Chips - fresh potato chips, onion flavored cheese sauce, tangy blue cheese crumbles.  Light and delicious.

Gnocchi - like eating bacon and cheesy hashbrowns in the morning.  A little too salty, but great flavor.

Grouper - bold collard green flavor with a flaky, buttery pan fried fish.  It's topped with shoestring potatoes and sitting in a bed of cheesy grits.  Nice meld of flavors.

Zucchini fries - exactly how you would imagine fresh zucchini in an onion ring batter and then deep fried.

Cranberry Bread Pudding - Dense bread pudding drizzled with caramel and sitting on a lake of Vanilla creme anglaise.

Hummingbird Cake - If you have never had one of these, you have no idea what you are missing.  It's best described as a banana bread cake with cream cheese icing.  FGF has the best around!









foodgloriousfood.com/

Food Glorious Food on Urbanspoon

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Coosh's Bayou Rouge - Tallahassee, FL

Lunch - 7/26

Seafood Gumbo
Shrimp Po-boy with Onion Rings

Gumbo - Nice balance of seafood, andouille sausage, and rice.  Coosh is from NOLA and knows how to make gumbo right!

Po-boy - The bread is either flown in from NOLA or baked in-house, because it is the perfect Po-boy bread...crusty on the outside, flaky on the inside, and not too "bready".  The original remoulade sauce to top the sandwich with is out of this world.  Like onion rings, try them Coosh's way!





www.cooshs.com/

Coosh's Bayou Rouge on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Spin! - Leawood, KS

Lunch 7/25

Margarita Pizza with goat cheese and mozzarella cheese
Chopped BLT salad
Boulevard Wheat beer

This restaurant came at the recommendation of a peer.  My first experience was great, so I went back for more.  This review is of my 2nd time here.

Boulevard wheat beer - For those of you who have visited KC, and have not tried a Boulevard brew, you are missing out.  KC's local brewery makes one of my favorite wheat bears.  If you like Shock Top or Blue Moon, you are sure to love this.

Chopped BLT salad - This romaine salad is topped with crunchy bacon and tangy Gorgonzola cheese.  I ordered the half salad and ate it all.  They have other salads available that I've heard are just as good.

Pizza - Known for its pizzas, you won't find anything close to Pizza Hut or Domino's here.  Spin bakes its pizza in a brick hearth, giving each Artisan pie the most flavor.  Though loaded with cheese, the margarita pizza I had was very fresh tasting.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this place to a friend, and will be frequenting here myself.





www.spinpizza.com/

SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza on Urbanspoon

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue - Overland Park, KS

lunch 7/21

Onion Rings
Cheesy Corn Bake
Cole slaw
BBQ beans
Jacks Best BBQ - Crown Prime Rib, beef ribs, and beef burnt ends.

Onion Rings 3 stack - the onions rings were colossal in size and had a great flavor...not too salty.

Corn bake - a very cheesy, corn and potato chowder.

BBQ - all three pieces of beef were spectacular.  The burnt ends were moist and juicy.  My favorite was the Prime Rib.  I've eaten some good prime rib in my days, but I've never had a BBQ smoked prime rib before.  I could come back and have just the P.R.  

BBQ beans - After hearing that I was going to blog about my eats, my waiter, James, brought me some of the BBQ beans.  He said that I must try them.  Apparently they add 10lbs of meat per 5 gallon batch of the beans.  Then they cook them in the smoker underneath the brisket.  The drippings from the brisket add more flavor to the beans.  Though reluctant to try them for fear of being disappointed, I'm glad I did.  They had a nice balance between sweet, smoky, and tangy.  Great side to an awesome BBQ!





http://www.jackstackbbq.com/

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue (Overland Park) on Urbanspoon

Friday, July 20, 2012

Sushi Mido - Shawnee, KS

Dinner 7/20/12

Rock 'N Roll
Samurai Roll
Dinosaur Roll
K.C. Chief's Roll

So as I looked for other sushi places in the KC area, that serve "my" type of sushi, I found Sushi Mido.  What I did not know was that they offer AYCE (All you can eat) sushi rolls for $18.99.  So first, let me explain what "my" type of sushi is.  I like all of my seafood cooked.  Furthermore, I enjoy rolls that are deep-fried and have shrimp or crab in them.  Alternately, if they are not deep fried, topped with avocado is good too.  I was skeptical that an AYCE sushi place would have low quality rolls, but was pleasantly surprised.




http://www.sushimido.net/Home.aspx

Sushi Mido on Urbanspoon

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bravo! - Leawood, KS

Dinner and Summer Blues Concert

Mozzarella ravioli
Margarita flatbread
New York style Cheesecake with a Vanilla Anglaise and brulee crust.

Ravioli - crispy fried mozzarella cheese tucked inside ravioli pasta.  Two sauces to dip (Caesar/ranch dip and pizza sauce).

Flatbread - thin slices of fresh tomato cover the flatbread.  Fresh basil and mozzarella is scattered atop.  Light and refreshing meal.

Cheesecake - By far, the best vanilla cheesecake I've had!  They slice this tall cheesecake and turn it on its side.  Then they sprinkle raw sugar on it and brulee it with a torch.  The end result is a spawn of Creme Brulee and cheesecake.  AWESOME!



www.bravoitalian.com/

Bravo! Cucina Italiana on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Hayward's Pit BBQ - Overland Park, KS

7/18/12 - Lunch


Burnt Ends and Sausage Sampler
Mac n Cheese
Fried Okra


This was a recommendation from a co-worker who raved about the BBQ.


The burnt ends were charred and hard to eat.  I've had beef jerky that was more tender.  Thhough the sausage had good flavor, the sauce almost tasted like a marinara sauce.  For a place known for BBQ, you don't expect to have Italian sausage.


The Mac n Cheese was boxed, Kraft, Mac n Cheese.  Though I really like Kraft's M&C, I don't want to pay $4 for an Easy Mac portion at a restaurant.


The Fried okra was good...though it's hard to mess up fried okra.


I won't be going back here.


www.haywardsbbq.com/

Burnt ends, sausage, fried okra, and Kraft Mac n Cheese

Hayward's Pit Bar-B-Que on Urbanspoon

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Blanc Burgers and Bottles - Leawood, KS

7/14 - Lunch


Gouda cheese fries
Kobe burger



Fries - awesome!  Spicy gouda cheese sauce, real bacon, and green onions.  Pure bliss.
Burger - port wine onions, Kobe beef, mustard seed aioli, on a salt and pepper brioche bun.  Melt in your mouth.  Top five burgers of all time.



www.blancburgers.com/

Gouda cheese fries 

Kobe burger
Blanc Burgers + Bottles (Leawood) on Urbanspoon

Friday, July 13, 2012

Danny Edward's BBQ - Kansas City, MO

7/13/12 - Lunch


Ol' Smoky Sandwich


So, I saw this sandwich on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  The Ol' Smoky was literally the best BBQ sandwich I've ever had!  Tender brisket pieces on a butter toasted bun.  The brisket overflows the sandwich, and gives you the chance to eat the pieces without the bread.  I will definitely be going back here!


*The part of town this is on is not the best, but the food is worth it!


dannyedwardsblvdbbq.com/

Ol' Smoky sandwich (burnt ends)
The Southwestern Corn Bake on the side is something they only make on Sundays.  Very Good!

Danny Edwards Boulevard Barbecue on Urbanspoon

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Bang! - Denver, CO


7/12/12 - Lunch
This was another pick from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  Guy Fieri had the gumbo at Bang! with the jalapeno cornbread.  It looked so good, I had to try it myself.
Gumbo
Jalapeno cornbread
Gumbo - This gumbo had a little kick to it, but the flavors melded together well.  My peer commented that it was not overly salted, which allowed her to taste all of the complex flavors.
Jalapeno cornbread - So imagine a moist loaf of jalapeno cornbread being baked in a loaf pan and then sliced.  Then take the slice and grill both sides on a buttered griddle.  This was the heaven that I got to experience.  I wanted to get seconds and thirds of just the cornbread!
Thanks for the recommendation, Guy!
P.S. - If you don't like seafood, try the meatloaf...I hear it's excellent!
www.bangdenver.com/



Shrimp and sausage gumbo 

Jalapeno cornbread

Bang! on Urbanspoon

Monday, July 9, 2012

Marigold Cafe and Bakery - Colorado Springs, CO


7/9/12 dinner


Hawaiian Swordfish -  Suprisingly tender swordfish steak topped with a mango and pineapple salsa.  The flavors of the salsa brought the swordfish to life.  The vegetable medley was perfectly seasoned.  The potatoes were a little dry.


Creme brulee - Perfect creme brulee.  Crispy sugar topping with a creamy, vanilla bean custard underneath.  All of their desserts are made in-house.


www.marigoldcoloradosprings.com/ 

Hawaiian Swordfish with mango and pineapple salsa 

Creme Brulee with fresh whipped cream 

That day's menu

Marigold Cafe & Bakery on Urbanspoon

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen - Denver, CO

7/8/12 dinner


Andouille sausage and seafood gumbo
Shrimp Creole and grits



Gumbo - while the gumbo had good flavor, each major ingredient had its own flavor.  I was looking for a gumbo that incorporated all the flavors together.  Its almost like seafood and sausage are added to the gumbo base right before they bring it out.
As a caviat, there is plenty of delicious seafood in the gumbo.  The bread that they bring out is a traditional



New Orleans Poboy bread...light and flaky.
Shrimp and grits - the shrimp n grits was a nice follow-up to.the gumbo.  It had a mild tomato base, but light.  The cajun flavors were present and calmed by the gentle grits.  If you try to eat the grits by themself, you will probably say that theres not enough flavor.  They are made to go with the creole base.  They did not skimp on the shrimp.  Would have been great with a pale ale.


www.pappadeaux.com/

 Seafood Gumbo

Creole Shrimp and Grits


Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Highland Tap and Burger - Denver, CO

7/8 lunch


Shroom Luva burger w/ fries


The burger was everything a burger needs to be.  The sauteed mushrooms bring out the flavor of the beef.  The chargrilled flavor comes through with each bite.  Atop the side of fries is are a few pickle chips that are marinated in a mixture of ingredients.  It was the best pickles ive ever had.  The fries were perfectly seasoned, and did not need any ketchup.  Great atmosphere and good price.


$10.26 before tip


highlandtapdenver.com/

 Shroom Luva Burger and fries



Highland Tap & Burger on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Sullivan's Steakhouse - Leawood, KS

7/4/12 dinner


Long Island cocktail
Escargot
Chili crusted ribeye
Wedge salad
Horseradish mashed potatoes
Bananas Foster Bread Pudding



Long Island cocktail  -  nice balance of alcohols and sour mix.  Not too strong, but not all sour either.


Escargot  -  tender and delicious.  Large snails Nested in decorative snail shells floating in a sinkhole of garlic butter.  Perfectly toasted croutons alongside to use as a transport for the escargot to your mouth.  Dont eat all your dinner bread...save some to dip in the garlic butter.  Dont worry about your date...she will love it as much as you do.


Salad  -  very blue cheesy.  Nice tangy flavor.  Blue cheese takes over.the.salad, and tomatoes can be tasted.  If you dont LOVE for blue cheese, this is not the salad for you.


Mashed potatoes  -  pure potato goodness with a hint of horseradish flavor, not heat.  Lightly whipped and airy.


Ribeye  -  suprisingly sweet, beef flavor.  The chili brings out sweetness, not spice.  Perfectly cooked medium-rare. Very rich flavor that can get old after the first few bites.  The dollop of butter on top probably has something to do with that.


Bread Pudding  -  disappointing.  Baked like a muffin.  Crust was hard and chewy.  Dessert was served cold.  Flavor was good, but certainly not the best bread pudding ive ever had.


$95 before tip


sullivanssteakhouse.com/

Escargot 

 Wedge Salad w/ tomatoes and blue cheese

Chili crusted Ribeye with dollop of chili butter on top 

Horseradish mashed potatoes 

Banana bread pudding

Sullivan's Steakhouse on Urbanspoon