Brunch at the Egg & I

Okay, I know I've fallen behind on my blogging and I am really sorry about that. We are living like vagabonds between Georgia and Virginia and I just ended my job. We've had a lot going on but I promise to get better. Maybe while I'm not working I'll have time to watch more cooking shows and get back to blogging.....the important things in life.  I've missed my friends Ree, Giada and Ina. 

Just so you know, I am writing this while on an 8 hour road trip with my husband and two dogs. I'm typing it on my iphone. Are you impressed now?? Probably not, right?

While we wait on more interesting blogs, let's check out an awesome meal I had recently. The hubby and I tried a new brunch spot, The Egg & I, and it was surprisingly delicious! We both went for the pancake, yes that's singular. Check out the pic and you'll see why. It was huge! Bigger than a newborn baby! I went for blueberry, of course. Mine was served with a warm compote that was also yummy.  I probably ate a third of this massive pancake. I'm not THAT much if a pig!

All in all, great new spot and go with someone to share a pancake!

I promise a new recipe soon! Stay tuned...

Dawn's Blogalicious Meets Fishalicious!

How cool is it that the restaurant was named Fishalicious?? Of course, we HAD to go there!  While in Curacao, we did not find great food, but we had high hopes for a restaurant named Fishalicious. It was after my own heart, or at least destined for a blog entry!

When we arrived to the restaurant in our tiny lime green rental car, we were the only people in the restaurant. That was a little alarming at first, but then it began to fill up and we felt better about our restaurant choice.

There were a lot of great choices on the menu, but I was drawn to one type of fish…..catfish! Those of you who know me well know I love me some catfish, but could I really order that in Curacao?? That seemed silly. I should try something else, right? Like barracuda. David still regrets not ordering the barracuda. So I asked the waitress about the catfish. She told me it was from Holland (see, I can’t get Holland catfish at home) and that it was paired with a mushroom risotto (now she’s just teasing me. I love risotto!). ‘Nuff said, I needed to order the catfish! I am proud to admit that I was in Curacao and I ordered catfish! That’s right, judge away people. Before you get too judgy though, take a look at that picture of the catfish. How delicious does that look? Does that look like your normal deep friend catfish? No. Let me tell you, this was the most delicious catfish I’ve ever put in my mouth. It was so different from any that I’ve ever eaten. It was thick, moist and buttery. It was heavenly! I’m so glad I ordered this. It has changed my life!

Let me back up a bit though…….for our first course, we received an amuse bouche. More of an hors d’œuvre than a course really, but I was still so excited. Look at how cute it is. Those are two tiny salmon cakes. David doesn’t like salmon so I got too. Woohoo!

But let’s quickly move onto the most important course…..dessert! They had two of our favorite desserts on the menu and since the meal had gone so well, we had to finish it off with dessert. I got the apple pie and David selected cheese cake that our waitress made that morning. How bad could that be? Both of our desserts were delicious and the best part was the garnish! It was a yummy little caramel lattice treat. The extra touches really add to the whole experience.

All in all, Blogalicious meeting Fishalicious was the highlight of the trip!

Dinner at 525 at The Berry Burk

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about one of my fabulous dinners. I usually post my pics directly to Facebook and forget to come back and blog about them. Ironically, my food pics are the reason I started this blog but got carried away with cooking as a result. Let’s get back to Dawn’s Blogalicious’ roots!

 

My dinner club tried out a new restaurant in Richmond, 525 at The Berry Burk. It is in the old Berry Burk building, across from the Carpenter Center. It is such a great space. If you live in Richmond, you know how hard it is to find a restaurant that has more than 10 tables or that will even take reservations for a party less than six.  Most of the restaurants downtown and in the Fan are very small. This one is a very large space, you’ll forget your downtown. Well, you’d forget except for the large windows surrounding you. It really was a great space. I know I don’t usually write like I’m writing a restaurant review, but if you live in Richmond, you know how hard it is to find a nice space to take a larger group. Okay, enough about the space, the food was awesome too!

 

They have lots of small plates, which made me happy because I got to sample a few things. I really loved everything I tried. I will definitely go back! I couldn’t really decide between a few plates so Amy and I decided to split a started appetizer so we could both get the scallops. They sounded awesome, and didn’t disappoint.

 

We started with the Fried Pork Pot Stickers which were yummy! Don’t you think they look yummy in their photo? I do love a pot sticker and these were crunchy which made them even better.

 

Then we moved onto to the best dish of the evening! This caught the attention of everyone at the table…..Seared Sea Scallops with Sweet Pea Lobster Risotto! What’s that you say? Scallops AND you’re going to throw lobster into my risotto??  This dish lived up to the hype. The scallops were cooked perfectly (Chef Ramsey would be proud), but the risotto was really surprising. I mean, I love risotto, but I didn’t think this one would be out of this world. It was super flavorful! You might not be attracted to a normal sweet pea risotto, but throw some lobster in there and it just because delectable! Highly recommend this dish.

 

And of course we had to finish the night with a few desserts. I went for the obvious choice, Motlen Lava Chocolate Cake. Everything you expect it to be, except they went one step farther with the nutella whip cream….delish! The other girls tried out the Crème Brulee and Bourbon & Pecan Bread Pudding. They seemed pretty happy as well.

 

Perfect evening…..a great meal shared with great friends. We’ll definitely hit this place again!

Dinner at Bistro Bobette

Yum, Yum, and Yummy! I just have to tell you about my night out with the girls from dinner club last night. This wasn’t our official monthly dinner club, it was an extra night out so that we could participate in Sampling Shockoe Bottom. We do love a reason to go out! We selected Bistro Bobette for our dining experience and we were not disappointed. We had been to this restaurant before and been pleased, but when I looked up their menu online for this special week my mouth started watering. They had me at “savory tart with goat cheese and caramelized onions”. Man, doesn’t that just sound delicious? They started off strong with that and kept it going through every course. The deal during Sampling Shockoe is that you select a dish from each category; appetizer, main course and dessert for $30. Great deal, right? As you guessed, I ordered the savory goat cheese tart for my appetizer and it was to die for! Actually, we all got the savory tart. The plates arrived and silence commenced while we all devoured it. I wish I had a piece now. Man, that was good. Check out that picture, doesn’t it look so tasty? Well, it was. Trust me……and I’ll be remaking that one at home soon!

For my next course I selected the Rainbow Trout w/ almonds and capers served with French String Beans. Now don’t get me wrong, this was really tasty, but Terry’s dish won the night. She ordered the Mixed Grill which was pork, beef aiguillette (no idea what that second word is, but it was like a tenderloin sliced), lamb sausage with polenta. Man, that beef blah blah was so good! Denise and I both tasted Terry’s and wished we had ordered it. We enjoyed ours, but Terry’s was mighty fine. Denise got the swordfish. Again, not bad, but it was no Mixed Grill. If that is on the menu when you go, order it!

To finish off the night we all were served our desserts. I had the chocolate mousse which was awesome! Very rich and creamy, as a mousse should be. Perfect size too! Terry got some kind of made up berry crème brulee’, which she enjoyed, but I did not sample. Crème brulee’ has the consistency of baby food to me so I’m not a fan. Sorry. Denise had a cherry tart and it was tasty too. I’ll have to say, we were all pleased once again with our selections. All three courses were a hit!

If you are venturing out to Sample Shockoe this week, but Bistro Bobette on your list! Heck, just put it on your list anyway!

Delicious Dinner at Mint in RVA

If you live in Richmond, you should try the new restaurant, Mint. I went there with my girlfriends last week for our monthly dinner club and we were all really pleased with everything. Of course, how bad can a meal be when it starts off with fried pickles?? They were delicious!! However, here’s a warning, if you don’t like dill pickles, don’t order them! We may or may not have misled a friend to taste them and she immediately made a sour face and looked for somewhere to discard of the fried pickle. But if you like dill pickles (and yes you do Terry), then you’ll LOVE this appetizer!

 

This restaurant is located in the space that was formally Davis & Main. They’ve lightened up the place and it really looks nice now, not as dark and dreary as it was before. We also had great service, Mary, was a very attentive server. That’s for you, Terry.

 

The photo above is my meal. Pan roasted flounder with a roasted red pepper sauce. You think that's sounds yummy, just wait, there's more. It was served with cheese grits and collards. So delicious! Well, Terry said the collards were delicious and I'll just have to take her word for that one. Oh, and don't forget the warm corn bread they brought to the table a couple of times. Sweet and delicious!

 

Give this place a try. We also sampled the bacon wrapped dates. I would have never ordered these, but they are known for them and we were all really pleased. Who knew I liked dates?? Shhhh....don't tell my parents. The other girls had hamburgers, quiche and steak and everyone was satisfied. We left happy!

 

Put Mint on your list of places to try in Richmond!

Awesome Mexican Dinner in Omaha

This picture might not do this food justice, but this is one of the best dishes I've ever eaten! It is definitely the best Mexican food I've ever had. We were in Omaha visiting friends and had dinner at Roja. So if you are in Omaha, look them up. You won't regret it!

My friend, Rick (who's surprise 40th party we were in town for, but he didn't know it yet), asked the waitress what she recommended and she said the cheese relleno, but she added chicken and some kind of yummy sauce on top. When she told us she dreamed about the relleno's, I knew I should get them. I mean, if they are worth dreaming about, I should have them, right? I think she was getting all 50 Shades of Grey on me.  I told her to give me whatever she just described. I was so happy when it arrived! I love pretty food and this was beautiful! Size really does matter. Just look at it! Man, it was so good. I wish I was eating it now.

No, there is no recipe to follow. I just wanted you to see my latest delicious meal! 

Stew on Stew - the BEST Brunswick Stew

As you know by now, I love to post pictures of my food! Well, things aren’t changing today. I’m from a small town, Thomaston, GA, where the best Brunswick Stew in the world is made. I’m not exaggerating, this is a fact! Well, maybe a slight exaggeration since I haven’t traveled the world, but I have done A LOT of sampling to do the research and Piggie Park wins every time! Piggie Park has been a favorite of mine since my high school days in Thomaston. It’s an old fashion drive-in that’s been around since the 1950’s. No, I didn’t go to high school in the 50’s so don’t ask. But let’s do talk about the stew. Seriously, this is the best stew EVER! It is so full of meat and just plain ole deliciousness! I’ve even taught my husband to love it and he wasn’t a stew fan, but he is now. We are in town celebrating my dad’s 80th birthday and picked up dinner for everyone tonight, in addition we picked up 8 pints of stew to take back to Virginia! It’s THAT good people! Take a look.......

Lunching at Croaker's Spot

One good thing about not having a job is that it allows me to have time to lunch with some of my besties! Today my friend, Terry, and I went to one of our all time favorite places for lunch....Croaker’s Spot. People of Richmond, if you haven’t been here.....GO! It is awesome! In addition to cupcakes, you’ll learn that I love me some fried fish too. I am a southern girl after all. Catfish is my favorite, but I’ll eat any of it and call it all catfish! Right Terry?

Today Terry and I mixed it up. We ordered each other’s favorite dishes. Don’t worry, I took pictures of both so you could really experience it with us. Croaker’s Spot is known for their fish boats. Now they claim that a 2 piece boat comes with two pieces of fried fish (let’s call it catfish), but you will find that it comes with 3 or 4. Never just two. Yet another reason we love this place. This is my go-to dish, but Terry ordered this one today. Can you believe she didn’t even toss me a piece of that fish?? Just look how yummy it looks. It's very photogenic.

I decided to get Terry’s favorite, scallops and grits, and not offer her any either. Oopps, sorry Terry.  How delicious do scallops and grits sound?? Well, if you’re thinking pretty dang delicious, then you’d be right. It comes with a gigantic serving of cheese grits and the biggest slab of sweet cornbread you’ve ever seen. BTW, the corn bread is so good it will make you want to slap someone! I refrained and didn’t slap Terry, but dang that stuff is good! And if you ask nicely, they’ll bring you out this warm honey sugary syrup to pour over it. I didn’t need it because it is plenty sweet enough, but it’s not a bad option.

As you can imagine, I’m pretty full and leaning towards a light dinner this evening. Maybe some kale chips and air!