Month: April 2020

Stasio’s Italian Market – Orlando, FL

In the wake of the country’s new social distancing reality, it has been a challenge for a food blogger to write about restaurants. Fortunately, there are a few places open for take-out that I have been able to visit. Stasio’s Italian Market in Orlando, Florida is one of those places.

This is an Italian market that offers meats, cheeses, and homemade dishes that you can take home and enjoy.

They also have a little market area where you can get sauces, pastas, cookies, and some everyday cooking essentials.

I got a container of anti-pasta salad. This was a blend of pepperoni, cheese, salami, ham, peppers, olives, and celery. It was tossed in an Italian dressing that had hints of basil and oregano. It was very filling. They were very generous with the amount of meats they used.

I also got a container of pasta salad. They used tri-colored pasta and mixed it with carrots, cheese, and zucchini. They combined it all together with a little mayo and a little seasoning. The pasta was tender. I liked the raw zucchini they included; it added a nice crunch.

The final thing I ordered was their meatballs. They were huge in size which were perfect for sharing. The meatballs were tender and moist. There was the perfect ratio of meat and breadcrumbs. The flavor from the seasoning was spot on. Their marinara sauce was a little tangy and complemented the meatballs.

I was grateful that Stasio’s was open for takeout. I am glad I was able to help a local business during this time of uncertainty. The items I ordered were great. I look forward to when everything gets back to normal, so I can go and enjoy a few other items from their menu at their restaurant.

Check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/Stasios-Italian-deli-194418224503776/

Enjoy!

T

Ai Fiori – New York, NY

Inside the Langham Hotel in New York City is a beautiful restaurant called Ai Fiori. It has won many awards and I was looking forward to enjoying an elegant dinner.

It all started when a waiter came over with a tray of assorted breads.  I love fresh bread.

I went for the olive bread and the sun-dried tomato bread. With the added ingredients, this bread was full of flavor. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I was able to eat it straight without adding any olive oil or butter.

The Maitre’d’ brought over a welcome appetizer. It was a berry compote with an avocado mouse. The mouse was creamy and paired nicely with the sweet berries. It was a great starter.

We ordered a salad to share around the table. It was mixed greens with a vinaigrette. Very simple.

I ordered the Vellutata, a lobster soup with Périgord black truffle tarragon. It was very similar to a lobster bisque. It was light and not very filling.

We ordered a few pasta dishes as starters to share. The spaghetti was a very cheesy pasta that was tossed with blue crab meat, lemon, and bottarga chilies. The crab meat was a nice, unique addition to a simple spaghetti dish.

Up nest was the Trofie Nero. This was a squid ink pasta. The pasta was shocking when it came out because it was jet black. However, there is no funky flavor from the squid ink. The pasta had a liqurian crustacean ragu on top along with sepia scallops and spiced mollica. This pasta was rich and savory. I could not get enough of this dish. It was delicious, and the scallops were tender.

The last pasta dish was the Agnolotti, which was a ravioli. The filling of the ravioli was a braised short rib. The filling had great savory flavor with a hint of sweetness. The meat was tender. They covered the ravioli in a parmigiano fondata. This was an extremely rich and creamy cheese sauce. The flavors reminded me of a BBQ mac and cheese.

For my dinner I ordered the Capesante. This was pan seared scallops with a black truffle mushroom consommé and trout roe. It was a simple dish with just the right amount of food. The truffles added an earthly taste to the sweet, tender scallops.

While enjoying wonderful dinner conversation I ordered a cappuccino. It was perfect to go with the desserts we ordered to share around the table.

The first dessert was the Pudding di Riso. This was a vanilla rice pudding, roasted pears, and a maple gelato. This was a unique rice pudding. I really liked the pears in it verses the traditional raisins. The maple gelato was creamy and there was only a subtle taste of maple.

The second dessert was the Budino. This was a total coconut dessert. It was a coconut milk pastry topped with coconut almond crumbs and fresh lime pudding in the center. They also served a coconut sorbet on the side. This was my favorite dessert because of all the different uses of coconut. Everything from creamy to crunchy. It felt very tropical.

The last dessert was the Tartelletta. This was a small tart filled with ricotta crema and topped with mandarin curd and kumquat. There was a lemon-ginger sorbet on the side. The filling of the tart was creamy and went well with the sorbet when eaten together. It was sweet and tart.

The meal I had at Ai Fiori was amazing. I really liked that we shared so much around the table. When they open back up after all the Covid-19 social distancing you should check them out.

Visit their website at www.aifiorinyc.com

Enjoy!

T

Rum Fish Grill – St. Petersburg Beach, FL – Visit #2

Well I made it back to Rum Fish Grill sooner than I expected. I really enjoyed my last visit, so I figured I would go back and try some other dishes. Plus, I needed to see the fish in the tanks again.

I really enjoyed the Banana Colada I got last time, so I ordered it again. I love the creamy texture and the sweet taste of banana and coconut. They are a great flavor combination.

I was looking forward to trying some new dishes. I ordered the crab cakes first. They use fresh blue crab meat and mixed it with seasoning and breadcrumbs. They used a lot of crab meat that was sweet tasting. There was an Old Bay remoulade that added nice spice to the crab cake. I really love the flavor of Old Bay on seafood. There was a shaved fennel salad and arugula on the plate that also tasted great with the remoulade.

I also ordered a flatbread. This was the caprese flatbread loaded with fresh mozzarella, fresh cut tomatoes, fresh basil, prosciutto, and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. The crust was extremely crispy and had a nice char from the oven. All of the toppings worked well together. The creamy cheese and the salty prosciutto were the best part.

Both of these dishes went perfect with my Banana Colada. I am glad I went back to Rum Fish Grill. This is a really good restaurant. I highly recommend them.

Check them out at www.rumfishgrill.com

Enjoy!

T

Marie’s – Chatham, NJ

Tucked away in a shopping center is Marie’s, a quaint little Italian restaurant. When you walk in you are instantly greeted with the smell of fresh pasta sauce. It’s enough to make someone feel like they are walking into grandma’s kitchen.

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I was excited to try their arancini, 3 huge rice balls filled with cheesy rice. Marie’s serves them with their homemade vodka sauce, rather than traditional red sauce. It was certainly a nice surprise. The crunch of the arancini was incredible while the creamy insides stayed extremely hot. I could taste hints of different cheeses in every bite. I know they classify this as an appetizer, but I am convinced that rice balls can be an entire meal.

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I could not pass up the opportunity to try their mac n’ cheese. This too was classified as an appetizer so I expected a small dish; when it came out it was anything but small. The baking dish was still bubbling as it clearly just came out of the oven. A nice crispy layer of baked cheese laid on top. They used a combinations of 6 cheeses that blended together with perfection. The prosciutto added a touch of meaty saltiness that worked well with the creamy texture.

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I was not planning on getting dessert since I was so full, but the waiter surprised me with homemade cannoli. That is not something to pass up. The filling was smooth and sweet. I could tell that the cannoli shell was fresh. A perfect ending to a great meal.

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If you are headed to the New Jersey area make plans to stop by Marie’s for a classic Italian meal. Visit their website at: www.mariesdeli.com

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Enjoy!

T

Rum Fish Grill – St Petersburg Beach, FL

Near the Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete Beach is a seafood restaurant called Rum Fish.

Inside the restaurant are these great fish tanks that are filled with an array of tropical fish. They were all different sizes and I even saw an eel hiding under some rocks. I could sit there all day just watching the fish swim back and forth. The tanks were built by the show TANKED on Animal Planet.

I grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered my first happy hour cocktail, the Mango Rum Runner. This was mango rum, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur, orange and pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine. This drink definitely made me feel like I was on vacation. It was sweet, and I enjoyed how refreshing and tropical tasting it was.

This cocktail went really well with the Tuna Poke that I ordered. The tuna was marinated in a miso dressing which was sweet and salty.  The tuna was tender and just melted in my mouth.  I love fresh tuna. They served it on top of sliced cucumber and some arugula. The cucumbers added a crunch while the arugula added a peppery taste. They also served some crispy wontons on the side. These were great when I loaded up pieces if tuna on them. It added extra crunch to the soft tuna.

Since the tuna was so good, I also ordered the Peppercorn Tuna. This tuna was thinly sliced and seared on the outside. I could taste the pepper, but it was not overpowering. It blended well with the salty soy sauce they poured on top as well as the hot mustard. They also included arugula on this dish for extra pepper taste. They topped it off with some pickled ginger. This added a nice tangy bite in between eating the slices of tuna.

The last dish I ordered was the Crab Dip. It came out sizzling hot. They blended together creamy cream cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, and artichokes. Then they loaded it up with lump crab meat. They used a generous amount and it was extremely sweet. They served pita chips on the side. They were perfect to scoop the rich crab dip.

For dessert I ordered another cocktail. The Banana Colada sounded like the perfect way to end my meal. This drink was amazing. They blended banana rum, pineapple juice, pina colada mix, and topped it off with a dark rum floater. I could taste the banana flavor, which I loved. The other juices helped make the cocktail sweet.

I totally enjoyed everything I ordered. The food was fantastic and the drinks were fun and flavorful. I would recommend Rum Fish Grill to everyone. I plan on going back soon.

Check them out at www.rumfishgrill.com

Enjoy!

T

Keens Steakhouse – New York, NY

Keens Steakhouse is a famous restaurant in New York that has been around since 1885. Everyone who visits New York must go there at least once. It started as a smoking lounge. To this day there are wooden pipes lining the walls and ceiling around the restaurant. Back in the day smoking lounges were for men only but in 1905 they opened their doors to the first female patron.

While looking over then menu, the waiter brought over fresh veggies (olives, pickles, carrots, and celery) along with a homemade bleu cheese dip. This was perfect to snack on while deciding what to order.

There was an appetizer that caught my attention on the menu. It was simply thick bacon slices. I figured fresh bacon in a steakhouse was going to be amazing. And I was absolutely correct. They grilled this bacon until it was crispy. It was very meaty and not a lot of fat the way pork belly usually is. If this was not shared it could easily be someone’s meal.

I ordered a bowl of lobster bisque. The broth had a nice creamy texture. There were a few pieces of lobster meat but not a lot. I would have liked a little more meat to go along with the flavorful broth.

For my dinner I ordered the 8oz filet mignon. They prepared it to medium temperature. It was a little rarer in the middle than I would have preferred. Nonetheless, the seasoning on the steak was great, both savory and salty. The steak was juicy as well.

Since this is a traditional steakhouse all of the sides are A La Carte. So, we ordered a few for the table to share. Creamed spinach is a traditional steakhouse companion. The spinach was chopped up very fine and mixed with creamy cheese. It was almost like a spinach dip. I wished there were tortilla chips to accompany this dish.

What else goes with meat but creamy mashed potatoes. And these potatoes were extremely creamy.

The last side was the steamed asparagus topped with hollandaise sauce. The sauce was great. However, I did not enjoy the asparagus as much because it was steamed. I prefer it to be stir fried or grilled up. It adds a little more texture.

Now it was dessert time. There were classic options to choose from, but I ordered something unique. I ordered the Berry Bibble. It was partly because the name made me laugh and partly because I was interested in what this was. It was a blend of cherries and raspberries in a sauce that was topped with whipped cream. It was like a cobbler just without the crust. The fruit and sauce was sweet but extremely tart. The cream helped smooth that out.

The meal I had at Keens Steakhouse was great. The bacon was probably my favorite part. Check out all of their history at www.keens.com

Enjoy!

T

Boulevard Burgers – St. Petersburg Beach, FL

I was told by a friend if I was ever visiting St. Pete Beach in Florida, I had to go to Boulevard Burgers because they had the best burgers on the beach. So when I was there a few weeks ago I made sure to stop in. That weekend I actually visited two different times.

The restaurant and bar were pretty busy both times I was there. I grabbed a seat at the bar. The staff was amazing. They waited on me right away and were attentive the entire time.

The first night I ordered The Boulevard, which is a double patty burger with American cheese. It also came with my choice of sides. I went for the French fries.

The French fries were thick cut. They were crispy but definitely needed some ketchup since they were so thick.

The cheeseburger was extremely juicy. The ground meat was tender and extremely fresh. They used two slices of American cheese, one on each patty. The cheese was so creamy and just oozed down the sides of the patty. The cheese also added extra moisture to the burger. It was the perfect blend of meat and cheese.

Later in the weekend I went back to Boulevard Burgers. I really enjoyed them, so I thought I would get another burger. I got The Boulevard again. This time I shared it and got tater tots.

The tots were crispy and had the right amount of salt on them. The burger came out with the American cheese but this time the cook only put the cheese on one of the patties. This made the burger not as moist as my first one. The meat had good flavor from the seasoning. I was just disappointed it was not oozing with cheese.

The second night I was there they were having a chicken wing special. So I ordered a couple of wings in medium Buffalo sauce. I made sure to get them well done and extra wet.

The wings were plump and full of meat. They were crispy when I took a bite. The sauce was very tangy with a hint of spice. It was a really nice surprise to be able to get wings. These would be perfect for an afternoon of watching football.

The burgers are really good at Boulevard Burgers. It was definitely worth the visit. If you are hungry for a burger, this is certainly a place I would recommend.

Check them out at www.blvdburgers.com

Enjoy!

T

Toasted Monkey – St. Petersburg, FL

St. Petersburg has many fun beach bars to check out. Toasted Monkey is one of those. Thy have the main bar in the front and the actual beach bar in the back.

The day I visited it was cold, so sitting outside at the beach bar was out of the question. Yes, it does get cold in Florida. I stayed nice and warm inside enjoying a cocktail.

While there I also ordered a few starters to snack on. The calamari  was a given to me. We were so close to the water I knew it would be fresh. The calamari was breaded and fried. It came out crispy and tender with a hint of pepper. I did not even need to use the marinara sauce on the side. The flavor from the pepper and the salt I added was enough.

I also ordered the zucchini sticks. This was zucchini that were cut into stripes, breaded, and deep fried. The zucchini was fresh and tender, and the breading was crispy. It was a light breading, not taking away the texture of the zucchini. There was a nice salty taste to the breading. They also sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top that added extra flavor.

Toasted Monkey was a fun little local place to hit in St. Petersburg. The staff was friendly and there seemed to be a lot of locals who visited. I would want to go back on a warmer day to check out their beach bar.

Visit their website at www.TheToastedMonkey.com

Enjoy!

T