Author: gatorgirl.outoftheswamp@gmail.com

Citizens – Las Vegas, NV

When working in Las Vegas during a convention I needed to have a quick lunch. However, I did not want typical fast food. Citizens inside of Mandalay Bay was the perfect solution. It was a quick sit down place that offered a variety of choices.

The inside of the restaurant reminded me of a New York deli. Their menu offers an assortment of soups, salads, sandwiches, and burgers.

  

I went for the chicken cobb salad. It was presented beautifully in the bowl. It was a rainbow of colors.

The chicken they used was fresh and shredded. This was nice because it allowed for chicken to be included in each bite. The other elements to the salad included tomatoes, white cheddar cubes, crumbled hard boiled egg, lots of crunchy bacon, and chopped cucumber for additional crunch. This salad was tremendously filling. I knew it would help me get through the rest of my meetings.

The beauty of Citizens is they are open 24/7. So if you are out in Vegas and get hungry after playing the slots, they can help you out. I took a glance at their breakfast menu and they have some great choices. If you are hungry check them out.

http://citizenslasvegas.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Lemongrass – Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas has a plethora of things to do for everyone. Some people come to Vegas to check out the different shows. Other folks head to the casinos because they are feeling lucky. I come to Vegas excited to try some new restaurants. Since I have been to Vegas before, I knew that restaurants fill up quickly, therefore I prepared ahead of time and made my reservations before I left home.

The choice I made for my first night was Lemongrass. It is a Thai restaurant that marries authentic dishes with a modern twist.

  

Patrons are greeted by beautiful flowers when they walk up. The flowers were a vibrant pink and the size of the arrangement made a powerful statement.

Throughout the restaurant there were beautiful, delicate orchids.

To start with, the table got the vegetarian spring rolls. They came with a sweet chili sauce. It was a classic spring roll that was crispy outside and had flavorful shredded vegetables on the inside. The sauce was better than a typical sweet and sour sauce. I liked the heat from the chilies in the sauce and since the sauce was sweet, the heat was toned down.

The chicken cashew nut dish was a great choice. There was a ton of tender white meat combined with bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, onions, baby corn, and of course cashews. The sauce had robust flavor. The chicken was perfect with this sauce. It would not have tasted right with another meat. The baby corn was my favorite part.

I could not visit a Thai restaurant without ordering the Phad Thai. The stir fried rice noodles came with fried tofu, scrambled egg, and a tamarind sauce. I got mine with chicken but shrimp was also an option. On the plate came chopped peanuts and bean sprouts. I added the peanuts to the noodle but left out the bean sprouts. I like it when they are cooked, not raw.

You can pick the heat level that’s right for you. I went with a medium heat. It was only slightly spicy so in retrospect I could have gone a little hotter. I loved this dish. It was not overly salty and was more on the sweet side. Having the tofu in it added some additional texture and soaked up the flavor of the sauce. The noodles were thin and easy to eat. The scrambled egg that was included also added additional texture without adding any flavor.

If you are hungry for great Thai food while in Vegas, check out Lemongrass. They also have a selection of classic Chinese dishes, including Dim Sum. Visit their menu at www.aria.com

Enjoy!

T

 

Kafe Kokopelli – Dade City, FL

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is have brunch. It is a great way to relax with family and friends plus enjoy some creative foods and cocktails. It was suggested that I try Kafe Kokopelli for brunch. They are located in a building that is over 100 years old. What I learned was the building was originally owned by Ford Motors to see their Model T. I thought it was amazing they were able to restore this location and repurpose it to something for the whole community. They have some pictures of the old building in the wall to keep the history alive.

Now upon looking at the rest of the décor around the restaurant, it feels more like a hunting lodge. There are stuffed bobcats, goats, and boar heads on display.

  

They use antlers to decorate the bar, walls, and lamps. If I didn’t know I was in Florida, I would have thought I was in the mountains.

  

I started off brunch with a mimosa. They make a unique one that combines prosecco, passion fruit vodka, and orange juice. It was a unique flavor that was not that sweet. I could taste more of the passion fruit than the orange juice.

Since I was eating later in the afternoon I was not feeling like any egg dishes. I wanted some more savory dishes. I ordered the almond crusted fried brie as a starter. The brie was lightly breaded for a slight crunch. Drizzled around the plate was fresh honey along with a little honeycomb. The saltiness of the cheese complemented the sweet honey perfectly. There was also a berry compote that came on the side. It was a blend of blackberries and blueberries. They were a blend of sweet and sour. When combined with the cheese the initial taste on my tongue was the sourness but after chewing the sweetness was the star.

By this time I was ready for another drink. I tried their tropical punch. It was a nice blend of rum, banana liquor, orange and pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine. This drink was really sweet, completely opposite of the mimosa.

Since I was sticking with savory foods, I ordered a cup of the she crab bisque. It had lots of lump crab meat throughout the thick and creamy base. Normally with she crab there is supposed to be some sherry on top. I did not taste that element in my cup. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. I am glad I only ordered a cup because this bisque was really filling, especially with all the crab meat.

Now at this point the service was kind of slowed down. I am not sure if they were really busy in the kitchen. I am sure this was just because the restaurant was busy.

I was hungry again by the time my meatball arrabiatta came to the table. These were homemade meatballs that came with fresh pasta. The meatballs themselves were moist and spicy. The sauce that it came in was a garlic and pepper flake tomato sauce. This sauce added additional heat to the entire dish. It was extremely enjoyable. The sauce was also light and did not weigh down the pasta. I loved the fresh linguini pasta they used. I could tell it was fresh by the texture, it was doughier.

The food I had at Kafe Kokopelli was amazing. I only tried a few things from their extensive choices. I would definitely go back to try some other dishes. You can read about their history at http://www.kafekokopelli.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

 

 

Rock N’ Fish – Manhattan Beach, CA

Well here I am again, writing about Rock N’ Fish for a third time. This is one of the best places I have been to in Manhattan Beach. Even with a third visit I enjoyed some new dishes plus my favorites.

I started with my favorite appetizer – the coconut crusted Mahi sliders. The crunchy Mahi is covered with a mango slaw, avocado, and sweet chili aioli. The Mahi itself was flakey and fell apart as I took a bite. It did not have an overly coconut flavor. The sweetness came from the slaw. The sliders were just as good as the first time I had them. They are very consistent.

This visit I decided to try the fried calamari. It was pretty classic, fried nice and crispy. The calamari was fresh and tender. The breading was a little bland; it did need a little salt. The homemade cocktail sauce had an extra kick of horseradish. It added the needed flavor boost to the calamari.

For my main meal I splurged a little and ordered the twin Maine petite lobster tails. The dish was reasonably priced especially compared to other fish dishes. The lobster was soft, sweet, and tender. It melted in my mouth instantaneously. It was even better once I drizzled some of the melted butter on the meat.

My lobster tails were accompanied by two sides of my choosing. I got the grilled asparagus that had a nice salty taste. I also enjoyed the Brussels sprouts. They were chopped very thin. It was more like a slaw. I felt the Brussels sprouts were slightly more bitter this way.

The table saved room for dessert. I made sure to order my favorite dessert, the sticky toffee pudding. It is a wonderful cake soaked in a butterscotch sauce. Then the outside edges become crunchy. It is sweet but that is toned down when you eat it with the ice cream that come with it.

The second dessert we ordered was the chocolate lava cake. This moist cake had a gooey chocolate ganache center. The cake was extremely rich. It also came with some vanilla ice cream, which helped soften the richness of the cake. This ice cream and cake combo reminded me of an Oreo cookie. If you love chocolate then get this dessert.

So I will continue to recommend visiting Rock N’ Fish if you are in the Manhattan Beach area. They are consistently delicious.

Plus their view is amazing.

Visit their website at http://www.rocknfishrestaurants.com/htm/MB/home.shtml

Enjoy!

T

Fire Restaurant – Winter Haven, FL

Winter haven is a small town in Central Florida. They have a cute little downtown area that is having a restaurant boom. Fire is one of those hot spots.

They are pretty big inside. There is an area where bands play. They have an outside patio area, with a full bar. This is also where you can go with your dog.

  

I was pretty hungry when I arrived because I had worked through lunch that day. I started off with the bacon wrapped scallops with an Asian slaw.

The scallops were large in size and wrapped tightly with crunchy bacon. The scallops were very tender and paired well with the bacon. It was as if the were soul mates with one being salty and the other sweet.

The Asian slaw added so many flavors to the dish. It consisted of cucumber and Mandarin oranges. The cucumbers added a crunchy element and the oranges added sweetness. Then drizzled across all of this were three different sauces: a hot sauce, a cucumber aioli, and a sweet and sour sauce. That may seem like an over use of sauce but they all worked spectacularly together. The hot sauce added heat that was quickly extinguished by the aioli. This was great with the scallops and bacon. The cucumbers and oranges were great tossed with the sweet and sour sauce. This was my favorite part; it was extremely refreshing. I would consider making this at home for a side dish.

I also ordered the fried green beans. I do not see these very often so I was happy to order them. They came with a red pepper dipping sauce. The breading had a subtle salty taste. The green beans were really fresh. I could tell as soon as I took a bite. Fresh green beans have a unique earthy taste to them. This is how I knew these were fresh. The red pepper dipping sauce was not spicy at all, it was slightly sweet and added extra flavor.

I also got some wings. They had a couple of flavor choices; I went with classic Buffalo sauce. I wanted them extra crispy because this is how I prefer my wings. They did come out crispy but they could have stayed a little longer in the fryer. They have nice meaty wings. The sauce had that great tangy kick that I have come to expect from Buffalo sauce.

I really enjoyed everything I ordered at Fire. It was all appetizers however, they do have a full menu with many options. I would want to come back and try one of their burgers, they looked great.

Check out their menu at http://thefirerestaurant.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Little Sister – Manhattan Beach, CA

I have written about so many restaurants in Manhattan Beach. It is one of my favorite areas to hang out. I found another little place called Little Sister. After checking out their menu and seeing it was full of Asian fusion dishes, I knew I wanted to stop by.

  

I had made it in time to enjoy happy house, which they called “Spice Hour”. I glanced at the drink specials. I went for the “Tom Hardy”. They called it citrus and fizzy – white wine, passion fruit, and cocchi blanco. To me this tasted like a sangria, just not as sweet. I could definitely taste the passion fruit.

The best about being there for happy hour is they had all the small plates I could try without having too much food.

I started with the char sui pork steamed bun. It came with homemade pickles that were a little spicy. They were a nice garnish. The pork was thinly sliced and stacked on a soft bun. It reminded me of a pork BBQ sandwich; extremely sweet and tender.

Next up were the salt and pepper prawns. They came on skewers with an herb and cashew curry sauce. They were crispy. The curry sauce is what made these prawns stand out. Without the sauce they would have been a standard fried shrimp.

Then came out the lemongrass chicken banh-mi. This mini sandwich had crispy chicken with crushed cashews, mint, basil, and scallions. The sandwich was a little messy to eat. The flavor was amazing. The tangy toppings added so much zest to the chicken.

An interesting dish came  up next, the Balinese fried meatballs. It came with a cilantro-mint chutney. The meatball was covered in breadcrumbs and fried. The meatball was extremely flavorful, full of spices. The dipping sauce added sweetness. It was a unique way to have meatball.

The last little plate ordered was the Imperial rolls. These were a cross between an egg roll and a spring roll. The filling was a combination of shrimp, crab, pork, taro root, and glass noodles. The pork added the most flavor to the filling. On the side came roasted peanuts and a chili lime sauce. I did not use any peanuts but did dip a few bites of the roll in the dipping sauce. It had a tangy taste.

Since the dishes I enjoyed were small bites I was able to save room for dessert. They do petite desserts which allows you to select three choices.

My first choice was the honey lavender crème brulee. There is definitely a food trend that incorporates lavender into food. This crème brulee was lighter than a traditional one. It was also extremely creamy. I could taste the subtleness of the lavender. It gave the whole dessert a sweet taste.

The second dessert was the lemongrass coconut pannacotta. It tasted like a coconut pudding. I could clearly taste the coconut but not the lemongrass. It had small crushed pineapples on top. Having that made this dessert very tropical.

Lastly was the homemade Ding Dong. When I cut into it I was not expecting it to be red velvet cake. That was a pleasant surprise because I love red velvet. The cake was very moist. The chocolate on the outside was rich and smooth. Chocolate and red velvet are a wonderful pairing.

  

I had a wonder visit to Little Sister. This was a great find and would recommend this place to everyone. Make sure you get there in time for “Spice Hour”. Visit their website at www.littlesistermb.com

Enjoy!

T

The Strand House – Manhattan Beach, CA

When I visit the Los Angeles area one of my favorite places to go is Manhattan Beach. There are so many restaurants to choose from. Many of them have a great view of the pier and the Pacific Ocean. The Strand House is one of those restaurants.

Unfortunately the day I visited the weather was not the greatest. It was really foggy over the water.

  

I started off with a Moscow mule as I looked over the menu. They served it in a copper cup so it stayed nice and cold.

There was one appetizer that they are known for called Hamachi Crudo.

It was thinly sliced yellow fin tuna with avocado and drizzled with a tomato seed vinaigrette and red alaea sea salt.  The tuna was extremely fresh and melted as I took a bite. The avocado added a creaminess.

The table shared the squid ink campanelle pasta. I never had squid ink pasta before. It is a little shocking when you see this jet black pasta but it only color. The taste of the pasta was like any other regular pasta.

This pasta dish came with chopped up Maine lobster and English peas ( just like regular peas just very large in size) and garnished with herbs and a lemon sauce. The lobster was tender and the lemon sauce made the dish light and refreshing.

A meal would not be complete without some sort of bread. We ordered the buttermilk Parker House rolls. These were mini size rolls that came in a cute wooden box. This was definitely a first for me. These rolls were a cross between a traditional bread roll and a biscuit. It was a little crispy on top and had a sweet taste.

For dinner I ordered the Hokkaido scallops, which are Japanese scallops. They came with sunchokes, salsify (similar to parsnip), beet beurne blanc, and pink pepper. The scallops were very large; they were extremely tender, sweet, and slightly creamy in texture. The sunchokes (which have a similar texture to artichokes) did not add much to the flavor of the dish but they did add some crunch.

The side dishes were meant to be shared among the table. The first one we ordered was the wood fired Brussels sprouts. They came with a black garlic aioli drizzled on top. I love Brussels sprouts, especially when they are charred on the outside. The aioli really did not add a lot of extra flavor to them. I tasted more of the smokiness from the fire oven they were cooked in.

The second side we ordered was the mac and cheese. You can never go wrong with this classic comfort food. It was served in a cast iron pot which kept it nice and warm. The mac and cheese was good but it was not creamy. They used more gourmet cheeses that do not melt the same way as creamier cheeses.

I enjoyed my dinner at The Strand House. It is a very popular place so if you are interested in going, make sure you have reservations. Check them out at http://www.thestrandhousemb.com/

Enjoy!

T

Big Ed’s Pizza – Huntsville, AL

I was recently visiting Huntsville, Alabama with my sister. We were starting to get hungry but we were not sure what genre of food we wanted. I had actually made a wrong turn while driving around and that is when we stumbled across Big Ed’s Pizza.

The parking lot was packed so I knew this had to be a great local place. We were able to walk in and take a seat wherever we wanted. The aroma in the restaurant was amazing. The smell of pizza filled the air.

  

Reading about their history, Big Ed’s Pizza has been family owned and operated for over 50 years.

They make homemade sauce and dough from scratch every day. They also still use the ovens from the 1960’s when they first opened.

We started off with their hand breaded mozzarella sticks. These were the biggest cheese sticks I have ever had. They were not symmetric in size which is good because that meant they were fresh and not the frozen.

They were so cheesy; the sticks looked like they sliced big chunks of mozzarella cheese to make them. They were extremely hot when they came out. Once they cooled off enough I bit in and the ooey-gooey cheese poured out. They also came with a side of their homemade sauce which was perfect for dipping.

My sister and I decided to share the club salad. Good thing we did because the salad was huge. It was loaded with chopped up ham and turkey, shredded cheese, tons of bacon, and sliced tomatoes. We got it with a side of fresh blue cheese dressing. It was a hearty salad and very fresh. It could have easily been enough for our meal, and that is with us sharing it.

We knew we had to save room for pizza. They have several varieties and sizes. We went for the 10” cheese and pepperoni. A good classic pizza! The size was perfect for us. A 10” came with 6 slices.

The crust was thick but the bottom was super crunchy from the oven. The dough was light and had a slight sweetness. They used a ton of cheese and were very generous with the amount of pepperoni they used.

While we were sitting there many more customers came into the restaurant. The place was packed. I would recommend stopping by on a visit to Huntsville. There is a reason they have been around for so long. Visit their website at: http://www.bigedspizza.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Hot and Hot Fish Club – Birmingham, AL

I have written a lot about the food scene in Birmingham, Alabama. Many of the restaurants I have written about are fairly new to the area. There is one place that has called Birmingham home for over 20 years – Hot and Hot Fish Club. It is owned by world renowned chefs Chris and Idie Hastings.

They are one of the first chefs to bring the concept of farm to table to the area. Because of this concept, their menu will change based on what is available. I was very excited to get to have dinner here since I have heard nothing but good things.

You definitely need a reservation because the inside is surprisingly small. There is a bar area where you can enjoy a drink. In the main dining room there are regular tables and special “chefs” seats. These special seats allow the diner to watch the chefs prepare every meal. It’s like a live action Food Network show.

Each dish that is ordered is prepared from scratch. The chefs put a lot of care and respect into what they are serving, therefore it can take 40-45 minutes for a dish to come out. So just be prepared to enjoy wonderful dinner conversation while you wait.

To kick off the night, I ordered their version of an old fashioned. It is called Fudge Family Farms Bacon Old Fashioned. It is a mouthful to order. They use bacon bourbon, Applewood smoked maple, and bitters. The taste was sweet and extremely smooth. There was a hint of bacon flavor but it was not overpowering.

After ordering drinks, the waiter brought out a little palate cleanser. It was a little slice of toast topped with cream cheese and a pepper jam. It was sweet with a slight hint of spice from the pepper jam. It was good and I wish I could have had a few more. It was the perfect way to begin the meal.

The drink I ordered paired well with the Charcuterie and Cheese board that was ordered. This was great to share with the group.

The board came with several options. It starts with their house made pickles – which were both sweet and sour. The cheeses included blue cheese and several white cheeses. There was a list but I forgot to take notes on the options. For the meats, there was a pâté, homemade venison sausage, and homemade pepperoni. To balance out the salty meats and cheeses, they included candied pecans and almonds on the board. This was the perfect starter as you await for the chefs to prepare your main course.

For my meal, I ordered the pan seared Yellowfin Tuna. The tuna can be cooked to your preference level. I got it seared on the outside and pink inside. It came with a mix of vegetables that included sunchokes (a species of sunflower, also known as the Jerusalem artichoke), artichokes, and sunflower shoots. They were placed on a bed of Freekeh (a roasted whole grain), black garlic, and a Turmeric Why broth.

The tuna was cooked to perfection. The skin was crispy. It went wonderfully with the Turmeric broth, which was also superb. It was not too salty and it was full of flavor. The vegetables were slightly bitter but the broth help calm down that bitterness.

I saved a little room for dessert since they had several great options. What was calling to me was the banana pudding doughnuts. It was presented beautifully on the plate.

There were slices of sweet ripe bananas that were brûléed on top. I loved the sugary crunch when I took a bite. The doughnuts were little doughnut holes covered in sugar. Inside they were filled with a vanilla pudding that was sweet and creamy. Also on the plate was a banana ice cream. It too was sweet and creamy; it had the right amount of butter fat in it.

Technically there was enough of this dessert to share, which is normally what I do. However, tonight I was feeling a little greedy and ate the whole thing by myself.

This was a remarkable meal. I am so glad that I finally had an opportunity to check out Hot and Hot Fish Club. My waiter added to the experience. He was super attentive, always checking to make sure that the table had everything we needed.

Head to their website http://www.hotandhotfishclub.com/ and make a reservation. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

T